Shopping

I spotted an elegant looking long sword with a blue crystal embedded in its hilt, much like my own Blue Fang. It had a gold trim decorating it's silvery blade, while the cross guard had stylistic designs smelted on it.

"Uncle, is this a magic sword?" I asked the shopkeeper who turned in my direction.

"Oh, good eye. That's the only magic sword I have in my shop." His eyes fell to my waist, where my own magic sword was sheathed. "I see you have one of your own too. But honestly, yours is a little more crude when compared to what I have here."

He walked over and lifted the magic sword off its display rack before leaning down and showing it to me.

"See here?" He pointed at the cross guard, "It has magic arrays that enhances the magic of the caster. Roughly speaking, it doubles the effectiveness of water magic."

Now that I took a closer look at the hilt and its crystal, I could identify the magic arrays he was talking about. I wasn't super familiar with magic circles and enchantment, which was an entire discipline on its own which Roxy only barely knew the basics of as well, but I could tell he was telling the truth.

The shopkeeper continued, "Magic swords are rare, since swordsmen who use magic are also rare in the first place. And they would rather have two separate tools for fighting and casting magic because they are not swinging their sword and casting magic at the same time anyways. Besides, magic swords that can be used for both are more expensive than having two separate items."

"How much is it?" I asked, eyeing the sword greedily. It was of a significantly higher quality than my Blue Fang. And even though Blue Fang held a ton of sentimental value for me, I would need an upgrade eventually, especially now that I had disposable income of my own.

The shopkeeper put up two fingers, "2 Asura Gold Coins."

"Expensive!" I pointed at the other swords, "The others here don't even cost half that much!"

If it had been worth the money, I might not have even batted an eye at the price tag. But unfortunately, it was not. Functionally, it worked well enough for its purpose in allowing a magic swordsman use both magic and swordsmanship at the same time. But technically speaking, the magic crystal was subpar performance wise. Even the magic crystal in Blue Fang was a level higher.

I had a sneaking suspicion the enchanter who enchanted the cross guard was not the same person as the blacksmith who socketed the magic crystal. There was no way any magician worth their salt would ruin this sword with such a poor quality magic crystal.

Though the sword was indeed of a higher quality, I wasn't an expert in such matters in the first place. So unless I was able to use in a fight, I couldn't tell how much better it was than Blue Fang. Besides, the quality of a weapon was only marginally important to high ranking warriors, since it was their Battle Aura that provided the large bulk of their fighting prowess.

"It's the only magic sword in my shop after all. It costs more because it is so rare." The shopkeeper explained.

I shook my head helplessly. Doesn't this guy understand basic demand and supply principles? Just because something is rare, doesn't mean it should cost more if demand for it is even lower. Judging from his physique and aura, the shopkeeper must be an ex-adventurer who retired to run a weapon shop. He probably didn't have much knowledge in trading like most merchants.

"Look here, this magic crystal is shit. No, really, it's trash. I would be willing to pay 1 Gold Coin for the sword at most, and that's only for the magic amplifying enchantment on it." I argued, squeezing out what little amount of skill in haggling I had in me.

The shopkeeper huffed, though it was one of amusement rather than ire.

"You didn't see the sign?" He pointed at a wooden sign near the entrance of his shop, "No negotiating. That's how I've always done business and that's how I always will. Damn adventurers always try to haggle for every single copper since they're always on the brink of bankruptcy trying to fund their gear. I ain't going back to that lifestyle, no sir."

I frowned a little and thought about it for a moment before coming up with an idea.

"How about this? I will pay 1 and a half Gold coins for it, but you can keep the magic crystal. I will bring in one of my own and you just help me remove and socket the new one in to the magic sword. Sounds good?"

The shopkeeper looked at me strangely, "Kid, why would you need a sword like that? And do you even have gold coins on you?"

I saw his doubt and didn't blame him for it. I looked like a dumb kid after all, and the man was kind enough to entertain us for as long as he did. More impatient men might have chased us out the moment we step foot in their establishment.

I took my coin pouch and retrieved two gold coins from it while at the same time flashing the Boreas crest on my coat. "I work for the Boreas family. I have the coin. Question is, do we have a deal?"

The shopkeeper looked surprised, "A kid like you, working for the Boreas family? Well I'll be damned. Alright. Mayor Philip have always been kind to us adventurers. I'll show him some face and agree. 1 and a half gold coins for the sword and smithing service right? Not a problem."

I grinned at the successful deal struck, "Deal! I don't have the magic crystal with me now, so just hold on to the sword for me first. I'll be back soon!"

The shopkeeper scratched his head, still in a little disbelief, "Alright kid. Take your time."

I had to pull Eris out of the shop. She was having too much fun looking at the various weaponry, but I needed to buy the magic crystal for the magic sword. I had 3 gold coins remaining from my salary. Just 1 gold coin was enough to get a crystal that was way higher quality than what I had on my Blue Fang now.

She made a fuss, but I promised we would go back as soon as I got the magic crystal I wanted.

We found a shop that sold magic-related items, and found a decent magic crystal for exactly 1 gold coin. They had several in stock, in different colours. The colour represented what element it was suitable for. The one I got was a deep red that had a flickering amber inside its crystallised form.

I was told that it had come from an infantile, A-rank monster, a Fire Wyrm, thus its small size. Otherwise, a magic crystal from a fully grown A-rank monster would have cost ten times as much. Magic crystals would only occasionally form within the bodies of magic creatures who lived in areas of high mana concentration. And even then, it still required luck to find one.

To illustrate how rare they were, I had hunted dozens of monsters around Buena Village and did not find even a single magic crystal from their corpses.

With the necessary component purchased, I returned to the shopkeeper and gave him the magic crystal for the retrofitting of the magic sword. He accepted it with a sigh of amazement at my willingness to splurge, before informing me that it would some time to fulfil my order, since he had other orders to fulfil first.

I told him to send the finished product to the Boreas estate, and only then would he receive the full payment. I wasn't worried he would run away with my magic crystal, but it was just a formality for deals like these to only pay upon receiving the final product.

He agreed and we continued on our shopping trip.

The next stop we went to was a shop that sold armour. Since I was working as a hidden bodyguard, I didn't need something as showy as armour that could betray my identity. But it wouldn't hurt to take a look at the available products for when I would need them in the future. And Eris was excited to look at any thing adventurer-related as well.

Armour generally sold at a higher price than weapons. This was because more materials were needed in its crafting, and also because nobody would be stingy when it came to buying items that could potentially save their life.

Mundane armour that did not have any magical enchantments woven into its crafting were the most common pieces being sold. Needless to say, there weren't any being sold that were in our size. Even armour meant for Dwarves were still a size larger than our current physical frame.

There were a rare few that did have magical enchantments however, and those sold for sky-high prices.

The magnum opus displayed in the shop was a blue-tinted breastplate, with elegant designs etched into its linings that possessed a chillingly mystical aura as well. Apparently, the armour had a passive [Frost Armour] spell activated at all times. Not only could it negate a certain amount of damage directed towards the wearer, it also exuded a cold aura that would slow the movements of enemies.

The shopkeeper had introduced the armour as having been produced and enchanted the one and only Neris Magical Tool Atelier, an S-rank Magic Guild on which there was only one in the entire continent. Only a single product like this would be created and sold by such guilds once a year, which also meant that demand for it absolutely dwarfed its supply.

It was being sold for the exorbitant price of 860 Asura Gold Coins. This was the price of most top-tier adventuring gear, which could only be afforded by a handful of individuals in the Asura Kingdom. These items would also be heavily competed for by large noble families, who had the most purchasing power aside from the Royal Family.

A quick calculation told me that I wouldn't be able to afford the armour even if I worked for the Boreas Family for 10 years. Unless, of course, I went up to King-rank, and could thus demand for a higher salary.

There was something else that had caught my eye however, being shown in a display case. It was a plate shaped object that was slightly concave. One side of it was reflective like a dull mirror, with a magic circle inscribed with runic arrays.

Wondering why an armour shop was selling what looked like a fancy, magic plate, I asked the shopkeeper about it. Unlike the friendly weapon salesman, the armour shop attendant was a lot more impatient with children and only answered with short, curt phrases.

I still managed to learn that the plate wasn't a plate at all. It was a piece of armour. The shopkeeper explained that it was a magic item named Heart Mirror. It was meant to be placed on the left pectoral of a person's chest, underneath their clothes or other armour. Its purpose was to protect the wearer's heart, one of the most commonly targeted weak spots of the human body.

It was usually used to stop arrows, but the magic item was also able to absorb and reflect the force of an attack. Though it can only do it once before needing to recharge. It could be used a second time in quick succession but the magic item would be disabled for a week after that. If used a third time within that recovery period? The Heart Mirror would shatter completely.

The shopkeeper framed the item as a life-saving treasure, and had only recently been purchased from the enchanters of Ranoa Magic Academy. As such, it commanded the grand price of 125 gold coins. That was a price that was slightly more than doubly my annual salary.

For some reason, I had an odd feeling that this item would be very, very important to me. Unfortunately, however, I did not have nearly enough to purchase the item.

Eris had grinned at my unwilling appearance, and offered to buy it for me. With one condition – I had to become her lackey from now on. I rejected her on the spot of course. Did she even understand how much 125 gold coins were? An average peasant family's annual savings would only amount to around half a gold coin, which was 5 silver coins. Which meant the same peasant family could only afford the amour after accumulating their savings for 250 years!

Even for a large noble family like the Boreas, 125 gold coins was not a paltry enough sum that they would be willing to fork out just to indulge the whims of their scions.

And obviously, her mental arithmetic wasn't that good because something that was only worth 125 gold coins didn't even come close to the price I would be willing to sell my life for. I only had to conscientiously save money for a few years before I could afford the Heart Mirror.

Not to say 125 gold coins, even if it was 1250, or 12500 gold coins, it still wouldn't come close to the value I placed on my life.

That was only because it was Eris though. If it had been Master Ghislaine who made that offer… I might have seriously considered it. I wouldn't have minded even if I could become Master Ghislaine's lackey for free.

Though reluctant, I had to walk away from the magic item that I felt inexplicably drawn to.