--- Secret Shop and the Old Alchemist

"Old Man, you're not ripping me off, aren't you? These prices are outrageous!"

"Hmph! Brat, if you are only here for window shopping, you can just piss off right now! My goods are of high quality and worth the price."

"Tch!"

'Worth the price, your ass! This is obviously a rip-off!'

Inside an unassuming shop, two people can be seen having banter.

One is a hunched-over, white-haired old man sitting on a chair, manning the counter. He had a long white beard tied in two ponytails and a stern face that looked as if no one would be able to cheat on him.

The other one in front of the counter is a handsome black-haired young man with golden eyes. It was Chris. He had a frown on his face while browsing through the old man's inventory, occasionally complaining about the ridiculous price of the items the old man was selling.

It has been two days since the announcement of the World Boss's appearance, and Chris was about to return back to the capital yesterday to check it out when he stumbled upon an NPC getting attacked by some robbers. It was the old man in front of him.

After "saving" the old man from the robbers, the old man asked to be escorted back to his home, so he decided to help him out. It turns out that the old man was a Heavenly Alchemist who sells different kinds of concoctions in this small, unassuming hut. He was delighted because what he discovered is a secret shop.

Right now, though, he was already on the verge of committing murder due to the insane price, which was a hundred times the normal. Even though he has deep pockets and the items are really useful, not just for him but for his friends as well, the price is quite unreasonable, so he couldn't help but complain.

[Orion's Concoctions and Tonics!

Explosive Concoction(B) - 100k Plat. ea.

Frost Concoction(B) - 100k Plat. ea.

Bear's Tonic(B) - 100k Plat. ea.

Rabbit's Tonic(B) - 100k Plat. ea.

Monkey's Tonic(B) - 100k Plat. ea.

HP Restoration Tonic(A) - 2M Plat. ea.

MP Restoration Tonic(A) - 2M Plat. ea.

Invincibility Tonic(S) - 40M Plat. ea.

Inventory Reset: 15:26:22]

Every single item in the old man's inventory can make anyone drool, especially the last one. He also needed a thousand pieces of the very first item to finally upgrade his epic-ranked Power Shot. So without any more complaints, he bought it. Upgrades are more important than coins after all.

-25,000,000 Platinum Coins

[You obtained Explosive Concoction x1,000.]

"Oh! It turns out you have some coins in you, brat."

"Hmph!"

'I guess my discount works on this old man's shop too.'

After buying the stuff he needed, he proceeds to upgrade his skill.

[You are about to combine Power Shot(B), 1,000 Explosive Concoction, and 50 Spirit Stones. Would you like to proceed?

(Note: Upon failure, the items used will vanish forever.).]

'Proceed!'

[Combining...]

[Combination Successful!]

[You obtained Exploding Shot(A).]

[Exploding Shot(A)^: Active Skill.

Charge up your arrow for up to 60 seconds and the released arrow will deal 100% of Ranged Attack in a 500 meter radius for every 5 seconds charged.

Can switch to "Power Shot" anytime.]

(Hidden: Explosive Shot(A) + 10k Empty Books + 10k Spirit Stones + 10k Explosive Concoctions + 10k Fire Gems = Exploding Shot(S).)

[Power Shot(A): Active Skill.

Charge up your arrow for 10 seconds and upon the release, deals 1,500% of Ranged Attack. Can be canceled anytime. No manacost. No cooldown.]

"So the skill can be toggled, huh? I thought I had to learn Power Shot again."

'Next, the bow...'

While Chris was upgrading his stuff, the old man was looking at him, or rather, at what he was doing, intently, with eyes that had a glint in them. He didn't notice it since he was busy and the old man didn't disturb him.

[Combination Successful!]

[You obtained Glenda(S).]

[Glenda(S)Max Lvl.25^: Longbow.

+48,000 Ranged Attack, +25% Crit.

Triples the user's attack range.

Skill 'Exploding Shot' will deal twice the damage and effective range.

Skill 'Power Shot' charge time reduces by half and will deal twice the damage.

Add skill 'Vulcan' and 'Pierce'.]

[Vulcan(S): Active Skill.

Shoots 1,000 Arrows on a single target within 20 seconds, dealing 50% Ranged Attack per arrow.

The caster will be immobile and cannot do anything else until all the arrows are fired. CD: 8 Hours.]

[Pierce(S): Passive Skill.

Allows the user to shoot through multiple targets, dealing 100% Ranged Attack without losing it's power.]

'Hehe... with this baby, I might be able to kill a world boss? It's just too bad that I can't upgrade it anymore, even though it's a named weapon...'

He smiled wryly with a little bit of disappointment in his eyes. Although his black wooden longbow had an incredible bonus, especially for his favorite skill, he might part with it in the future as its rank can't be increased anymore.

"Old Man, do you have a savepoint here?"

He began to ask the old man for a savepoint to return to, as he planned on buying things from him in the future. After all, the things he was selling would be helpful for his friends and guild members. So even if they cost a lot, he didn't mind anymore.

"Hm. Go to the back of my house. Return scrolls are 1,000 gold each!"

"..."

Chris then activated the save point after buying a hundred scrolls from the old man. He didn't care about the pricing anymore, as he just wanted to test his upgraded skill and weapon now.

He was actually worried for the old man, because if other players managed to stumble upon this shop in the future, they would definitely commit murder upon seeing the ridiculous prices of his items.

Even though the old man was rude to him and somewhat greedy, he reminded him of the late grandpa who had previously owned his house and taken care of him.

Little did he know that his worry was not needed, as no one would be able to find this place unless the old man wanted to. It was only thanks to his high Luck and Charm attributes that he managed to discover such a secret.

"Wait up, brat!"

Just as he was about to rip his return scroll to the Moon Empire Capital, the old man stopped him.

"Hmmm?"

"Here, take this. I've seen that you're an archer yourself, so this might help in your journey. You have to fix it first, though, and I'm sure it will be worth it for you."

"I'm not actually an archer. I just prefer the bow as a ranged weapon..."

"No need to lie, brat, I can tell if someone is an archer or not."

"..."

Smiling wryly, he accepted and checked out what the old man had given him. He suddenly became excited upon seeing what it was.

[Orion(SS)^Lvl.1: War Bow(Damaged)

(Hidden: Can be fixed by using the following materials through the combiner.

-Heavenly Ranked Bow(Any)

-Divine Shard x1,000

-Fire Gem x100,000

-Spirit Stones x100,000

-Pearls x100,000

-Spider Queen's Silk

-100 Drops Of Heavenly Liquid

(Can be renamed by the user once repaired.).]

It was a black, recurved, short war bow with white tinges on various parts of its body. It also has some protruding spikes on the edges and in the middle, making it absolutely beautiful and intimidating.

"Yep, I'm an archer now..."

"..."

*Gulp!*

'Holy crap! This looks so badass!'

"Old man, this..."

"Hmph! It's a thank-you gift for saving me. Now, piss off!"

*Bam!*

The old man immediately shut the door afterwards, leaving him behind with a wry smile, speechless.

'Heeeh... It turns out you're not stinky after all..."

"Thanks, Gramps! I'll be back and buy all your stuff someday!"

"Hoh? Then bring more coins next time, and there will be no more discount for you!"

"..."

Shaking his head, he then tore the scroll with a grin that stretched from ear to ear, leaving the small, lonely house behind, which suddenly vanished from sight afterwards. The old man who was behind the door was actually smiling upon hearing his farewell words.