A rare seed

Taerun was shocked that he figured out where his tattoo was. Sato on the other hand was excited to see the dwarf in this world. They are called gate passers because they came from a different dimension through the gate. 

"Umm. Sir, will you let go of my hands?"

"Let go? Boy, you're not from this world aren't you?"

Sato was shocked to hear the man's words. "What do you mean he's not from this world? This punk grew up with me in the daycare since we were diaper kids." Sato asked.

"I grew up here. But why did you ask this bold question?"

"Boy, do you know who your real father is?"

"My father died before I was born. So who am I supposed to know about him?"

"I see. Anyways kid. Forget what I just told you. You came here to buy a weapon, right? I will give you a discount."

So, he stayed silent. Looks like he's hiding something from me. And the fact that he knew about my tattoo is more suspicious. I need to look into this matter.

"We came to buy Frotos seeds. Do you have them?" 

"Yes? But what are you going to do with those seeds? They are trash. And the tea of this seed is terrible."

"I want to taste it. That's why."

Sato was checking the heavy swords he found in a rusty box but he was unable to lift them. It was too heavy for him. "Taerun!! Why isn't this thing moving?".

Taerun looked back and saw he was struggling to lift a small sword with all of his strength. 

Tsk!!

"Why do you want to carry this? It's probably an A-grade item that weighs a ton or two."

"The young man is surprisingly correct. It's an A-grade item built with dragon teeth. Even an F-class hunter can't pick up that weapon." The dwarf was measuring 100 kg seeds in a huge back and checking on the tattooed boy in secret. 

"Wow!!! It's a fine blade. But why is this shop so empty? I don't see any hunters here." Sato asked. 

"Hunters don't visit this shop because they like machine-made weapons instead of handmade ones. Tsk!! Those idiots."

But Taerun's eyes were on something else that will be very popular in the future. The twin dragon blade.

It's a blade used by a famous hunter in 2060. It was so light and comfortable to use. But in a conference, he said that it had a secret that he was never able to unlock. It required a special authority to unlock the full skills but in the end, he never found out what it was.

And it was hanging in a corner among so many rusty swords right in front of Taerun. So he asked, "Old man, how much for those two swords?"

The dwarf looked in the direction he was pointing and saw two useless swords that he never paid attention to. "That trash? I can give that for free to save some space. But boy, how are you going to carry them?"

"I have my way. Just give them to me."

The dwarf took down the sword from the upper shelf and put them in a leather bag. But Sato was still staring at some shiny armour he found while searching.

   I should buy him something for him too right? It will be rude of me to send him back home empty-handed. 

So, Tearun looked into the accessory section to look for some rings or brooches but he found something else. He chose a rusty locket from the box full of junk and said, "Old man, how much is this worth?"

"Did you come here to pick some trash up? Take the whole box. I just put them here to throw them away. Aren't you going to buy something else that worth some money, boy?"

"I was just checking. Are you sure it won't cost me anything If I take them?"

"No, take it and leave. Your bill is 30k yen. Now pay the money and get out." The dwarf became angry because he was choosing nothing but trash.

So, they quickly ran away from the store with all of their things and left the shopping complex.

   I don't know if I'm lucky, or if it's a mere coincidence that I bought the world's best twin dragon sword and the dark witches ring. And I also bought the awakening booster seeds for just 30k yen. I am so damn lucky today.

Sato was so happy that he got to witness the swords, so he forgot about Taerun and what he bought from that shop.

"Man, today was really awesome!! Taerun! We should hang out there often."

But when he looked at Taerun, he saw a ring on his hand. So, he leaned to his shoulder and said, "What's up with that rusty ring? Did you buy that junk from the shop?"

"Did you forget? Everything that is sold there is manufactured from the materials they collect in the dungeons. So, it's a magical item."

Sato's jaw nearly touched his chest when he heard the word 'magical item'. He was really surprised that Taerun was able to buy a thing from the awakened store.

"Magical item? Can a normal person use magical items? Didn't the scientists warn normal people about this? If a normal person uses a magical item that generates an attack spell, there's a 99.9% chance of losing his finger or a full hand."

   So he did his studies carefully.

The weaponry that hunters use has magical effects and stats like games. It has its own status bar and levels based on its material. The higher the material value is, the greater the weapon is.

For example, an iron knife is weaker than a platinum knife. They might look the same, but the difference is huge. 

It's the same case with a hunter's weapon.  A weapon might look so weak and small to kill an opponent, but it will surely slice a huge monster's neck if it's an A-class weapon.

The hunters have higher defence and endurance abilities than normal humans. So, if a normal human got in the middle of a fight between two hunters, he will just fly away and die. 

Or the worst case scenario, 'He will just become a grilled chicken due to the heat.' 

Normal humans have zero tolerance for any type of attack magic. That's why the government forbids normal people to go near any fight where hunters are using magic.

But sometimes, it's different for some people. A normal person will automatically become awakened if he makes physical contact with any kind of magical power. But it's a life and death situation. About 99% of people dies and 1% become an awakened in the accident.

That's why Sato was worried for his friend.

"Don't worry. I won't die."

Sato asked his mom that he will stay the night at Taerun's house, so both of them went home in the evening. There was only Taerun's mom and his little brother in the house, so he felt a little comfortable.

"Sato, long time no see. How are you son?"

"Hello aunty, I'm doing good."

"Taerun, why don't you give Sato a change of clothes? I will prepare dinner."

"Yes, mom." 

He put down his bag and asked Sato to come inside his room. So he followed him and Taerun locked the door.

"Taerun, are you sure you should keep that ring in your hand? I'm scared?"

"Don't worry. Just sit down and take this."

Taerun gave him a seed he bought from the store and told him to lie down straight on the floor.

"But what are you going to do?"

"Just lay down, you piece of shit!!"

Sato was too shocked to hear him and did what he was told to. "Now, eat that thing and close your eyes."

"This thing?" Sato looked at the hard seed of some unknown plant. But he was his trusted friend, so he ate it without crewing.

Back in 2058, the real use of the seed was invented by a scientist while making a cup of tea from it. Later, he made a potion that helps to level up, but the seed went extinct.

After that, another scientist discovered that the seed was ready to eat raw to level up but it was too late by then. People wasted all the seeds by making useless tea. And the gate to that dimension was closed long ago.

   But now, I have more than half of the stock in my position. It will surely help me to level up. And this time, I will help my whole family to survive the monster wave.

"Um, Taerun, I ate it. But why do I feel warm inside my stomach?" Sato was very confused to see warm breath coming out of his lungs. 

"Don't worry. I ate two just now. It was really expensive. So don't throw up." 

The question mark on Sato's head was changing colour to a brighter one. And suddenly, the question mark started to crack and it vanished into thin air.

  <Congratulations. You have helped a normal person break through his barrier. You have levelled up!>

The sound rang into Taerun's ear but his attention was elsewhere. 

"Taerun, do you hear something in a computer voice talking around my head? Am I sick?"

"Keep laying down. It's not fully digested yet. You might break the weak aura if you move a single muscle."

   I need to keep him like this for 5 more minutes. Or he will blow his body into a lump of smashed meat. Or worse, he could blow up my whole house.