Almacia

Thinking back to where Hephaestus had told him to go, Haru made his way into what was a better shop than the one where he had gone for the armour.

'I am grateful there was time to exchange the items in the Guild. Otherwise, I would have had doubts about being able to buy something here.'

After discussing with Misha about his meeting with the Takemikazuchi familia, Haru remembered he could trade what he had earned in the Dungeon the day before. So now he was with a relatively higher sum of Valis, allowing him to be less wary of the prices.

[62 Grade E, 30 Grade D, 14 Grade C, 7 Grade B weapons are recognized.]

[Entering required parameters: Sword(Katana)]

[44 Grade E, 21 Grade D, 8 Grade C, 4 Grade B weapons are recognized.]

'As expected, most of the weapons here are swords that fit my needs. The problem will be to give a check to all the swords in the room...'

The scanning of the system identified the weapons suitable for him. So Haru could see all the swords suitable for him marked in the room with panels on them. They lighted by colour depending on their rarity. Respectively, the weapons of grade E shone of an apricot colour. As far as he could understand, however, the closer towards the grade S-SSS the more the object shone in intensity, the colour was more vivid, So Haru pictured an almost transparent light for the lowest grades. Instead, the colour so bright it could blind him with the SSS grade.

But paying attention to what he had now, he realized that grades D and C had cherry and strawberry colours. Knowing already the colours of the first three grades, he could understand the last lapis colour, so intense to stand out much more than the other weapons, was grade B.

'Amazing how much difference there is between grades...but It won't be easy to obtain a sword of such a high grade with my money.'

Grade B was probably equivalent to one of the best pieces the blacksmith in the store was able to forge. Which although was not enough for first-class adventurers, it was something incredibly expensive for a low-class adventurer like Haru. With his current money, he would be able to afford a Grade C weapon at most, which would already be good for him. At the same time, however, Haru did not want to spend all of his savings.

His goal was something D-grade that didn't cost too much, but at the same time did its job well. Haru would use the rest of his money to eat daily and, a concept he kept from his previous world, he always wanted to have a small amount of savings instead of spending them all as many adventurers did.

The economy worked and moved in a completely different way than it did in his previous world, but it didn't mean the saving strategy was not a valid option anyway.

Deciding to focus only on D-grade swords, Haru saw all the colours around him dissolve in the air as if they had not been before. An unusual way of narrowing his research, but the important part was that it worked. Seeing only cherry colour illuminate what was a wall where were placed an amount of swords Haru estimated to be about 30 units, he threw curious glances at the various parameters and abilities to discover something more about the weapons. After about 20 minutes of careful research, He found something that made him raise an eyebrow in visible surprise.

---

[Almacia]

Grade: D

Creator: Unknown

Abilities: [Amour Piercing:C], [Sharpness: D], [Adaptability:E], [Durability:D]

Perks: +40 attack

Details: Produced by a Hephaestus Familia's blacksmith, the sword is considered a failure by the latter, who had tried to obtain a sword with different characteristics.

---

Haru had lingered on this sword for obvious reasons. There were many things to note on the weapon. Such as the presence of abilities that he had not been able to find in any other sword. But what struck him most apart from the attack, was the description concerning the sword. It had been called a failure by the blacksmith although the latter had four abilities, 2 of grade D, one of grade C, and one of grade E, and the whole matter was ridiculous in his eyes.

'It's one of the best pieces for its grade. I don't understand how anyone could consider it a failure even if it was not what they had hoped for.'

If he had forged such a sword, even if not of the desired effect, he would have been more than happy. Instead, it seemed that many blacksmiths were so focused on pursuing something in particular, that in front of their eyes, the only thing able to impress them was that something they were desperately longing for. All the rest, as far as excellent quality, could not rival. He did not understand the reason why the blacksmiths' minds were so distorted. But he chose not to pay attention to it, because if the blacksmiths were not such eccentric people, probably Haru could not find these pieces of excellent quality in shops of lower ones.

"...Sorry, can I try this sword before buying it? I want to verify if it is suitable for me."

Trying to keep his voice in a moderate and respectful tone, Haru asked the blacksmith who was sitting at the counter if he could try the sword, and the latter replied he was free to try it. However, he had to hold it with care, without doing anything rash and rough like testing the sword against another.

It was not uncommon for adventurers to try one sword using another, testing the various characteristics of the latter. Knowing that Haru could well be one of those people, he wanted to specify, yet he couldn't comprehend Haru didn't need to try the sword for its qualities at all, he honestly wanted to test if it was comfortable to hold.

Taking the sword from the hilt, Haru could immediately notice details of the weapon. The thick, single-edged blade made of steel, had a small and straight cross-guard with a leather-bound hilt, large enough to protect the owner's fingers.

The balance of the weapon was impeccable. It was something that probably could be understood by the effect of the ability [Adaptability]. Not enough for Haru, however, he let his finger slide on the curved blade of the sword, and he could immediately notice the difference with his previous sword. He ran his fingers across the runes filling the blade's edge. He could feel that if only his finger had been not above, but against the blade, then he would be cut easily, and this was more a feeling than a prediction, this had to be the effect of [Sharpness].

'I have no way of testing if the skill [Armour Piercing] is as I imagine it, but I don't think there are different interpretations for such an obvious ability.'

To him, the ability could have no other effect. But after observing it for a few minutes and having been able to feel the comfort of the latter, supported by an excellent balance, Haru had no doubt. This sword should end up in his hands.

Taking the sword with him, along with its sheath of ink colour, Haru went to the blacksmith so that he could pay for the weapon...

---

Paying the price of 23,000 Valis for the sword Haru left the shop with a smirk on his face.

'I found myself a good weapon at an affordable cost, and most of all, I still have enough savings for any eventuality.'

He had a budget of around 40,000 Valis, so Haru could feel comfortable as he had enough Valis to stay out of the Dungeon even longer than a few days if he wanted to. On the other hand, however, he knew the prices would quickly rise as he rose in grades, which was inevitable as, after a certain point, D-grade weapons would not be strong enough to be useful in the lower floors.

'I'm going to bargain with higher and higher numbers from now on...'

Even having a budget of Valis on the five digits previously was something that the previous Haru had spent years to accumulate, and yet he, in a couple of weeks, already had the opportunity to handle a much higher amount of money.

But one thing that struck him was that along with the sword, the blacksmith had gifted him a belt used to wear the weapon to the height of the hips. Useful to Haru as his last belt worn out because of the War Shadow's blows.

As he pondered over the blacksmith's act of kindness, Haru's attention was caught by a girl as she was walking in the opposite direction as his, probably headed to the same shop he exited from a few moments ago.

Glancing at her, Haru immediately noticed that she was wearing a kimono that caught his attention for its purple colour. But that wasn't all. As if the girl had spotted a gaze aimed at her, she directed her head towards the cause, meeting Haru's eyes. Both, with their expressions, wanted to emit an 'Ah' in surprise, as they recognized each other for different reasons.

'No doubt, this girl must be Yamato Mikoto.'

He remembered that the Captain of Mikoto's familia had chosen to protect his party instead of helping the Bell Cranel's party during an expedition. However, she was the girl who tried to convince the latter to help them. But failed in the end as another one of their members was injured.

He had a rough idea of Mikoto's character. A kind person, who continued on the way of the sword in the same way as him. Yet Haru felt he remembered the girl as if he had already seen her before.

Almost as if she had listened to his thoughts, however, Mikoto approached him without hesitation, bowing slightly as a sign of respect.

"Good morning, Yamaguchi-san. I'm grateful to know you seem to have recovered..."

Her words sounding rather formal destabilized Haru for a moment, but knowing Mikoto's character, he knew this was quite normal. But beyond that, he understood from this 'greeting', Mikoto seemed to be the person who had helped him out in the Dungeon.

"Yes, it seems that way. I still had no way to express my gratitude for your help...."

Since theoretically, Haru didn't yet know her name, he hesitated to pronounce it. But thinking instead that he hadn't heard it, Mikoto introduced herself.

"...I apologize for not introducing myself earlier, my name is Yamato Mikoto. I wanted to talk with you in the presence of the other members of our party, but if you have free time, would you like to go somewhere to discuss?"

Having the opportunity to speak with him, Mikoto did not hesitate to ask Haru if he wanted to go somewhere to discuss. Knowing the latter, respectful as she appeared to be, could not have any strange ulterior motives, Haru accepted without hesitation. Even though he was joking around with Misha about their 'date', he was still amid his feelings for Asumi. Until he was ready to welcome someone else into his heart, these feelings would make him feel like he was betraying the trust Asumi had placed in him if he casually went on real dates or closed the distance with a girl easily.

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(It had to be said, Haru is loyal. Ah by the way sorry if I'm late of a few hours, but this chapter literally took hours to be done so appreciate :3. My discord server: y8VBZAp)

(I'll fix all the Wall Shadows later since some of you told me it was actually War Shadows..lmao)