Barter

"You piece of shit! Don't waste my fucking time!" The Merchant scowled loudly, his flat hand smashing on the wooden counter separating him and Zayn.

In the eyes of the skinny merchant, Zayn was just a Normie kid, nothing else. The only reason why he didn't straightaway snatch the Warhammer was that he would be frowned upon if he would lower himself to steal even the things of Normies. That was not good for business.

Zayn ignored how angry the Merchant was because it was nonsensical. The merchant looked like he was in his 20s, his Stigma was small and blue in color. The design of the blue Stigma was rather simple because it was an old scale that was pretty small in size. It didn't even cover half of the merchant's back of the hand. His brown hair was greasy and his amber-colored eyes were filled with anger and greed.

'If you feel better lashing out at me for having been granted a shitty blessing, go for it…but stay professional, you piece of shit!' Zayn cursed in his mind without saying anything out loud.

He already knew how society works so he accepted being mistreated for a little longer. Changing the outlook of society wouldn't be easy and Zayn was not planning to achieve that, either way. However, what he could do was gain respect and be feared as an individual!

For now, there was not too much Zayn could do about their attitude, thus, he retrieved five purple marbles and put them down on the wooden counter.

"How much can I get for them?"

The marbles rolled over the wooden table before they stopped as they came in contact with the young merchant's hand that was still resting on the counter.

Looking at the half-broken marbles, the merchant was just about to shout out loud and beat the shit out of Zayn for bringing trash into his shop, and for wasting his time when something caught his eye.

His mouth clamped shut and his eyes squinted as the merchant carefully picked up one of the purple marbles.

"Cores of the Undead…"

The merchant looked at each of the purple marbles for a few seconds before he put them down on the counter once again.

"Where did you get them from??" He asked intrusively, his eyes shining brightly.

For a moment, the merchant even forgot his initial anger and obvious contempt at Zayn for being a Normie.

"I killed a few Undead, obviously."

"..."

"They seem quite valuable. How much can I get for them?"

Zayn was a petty person. Of course, he would remember those who mistreated him, and he would use every possible opportunity to enrage those who would take him too lightly.

He was a Normie, so what? Who said that he needed a Blessing, Powers granted from some God, let alone their system?

Zayn was fine by himself, without anyone else writing his destiny for him. He didn't need the Blessing of a God to become stronger. His Grimoire and memories were more than enough to gain more benefits than the strongest Blessing could grant him even if it would take him more effort than those blessed bastards. That was something Zayn was certain about and he was willing to work toward that goal with all his might!

It was necessary to be strong enough for what he had planned, either way…

The young merchant squinted his eyes and he looked at Zayn for a quarter of a second before he cleared his throat.

"For Cores of the Undead of this size and in such bad condition, I can give you…40 copper coins!"

Zayn pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing that the merchant was trying to con him because he was a Normie, young and he might look like an innocent, naive fool.

'Well, if you want to play with me, then let's play along!'

"I changed my mind. I can barter the Selvia Warhammer if you wish!" Zayn proposed all of a sudden.

The merchant had already forgotten about the Selvia Warhammer as his focus was locked on the five Cores of the Undead, but his eyes shone even brighter than before as he heard the enticing words of the Normie.

"You could have said that earlier, you little rat!" He growled even though he was happy when he noticed the coldness within Zayn's eyes.

'Your greedy ass should be grateful to make a profit today!' Zayn merely thought before he pointed at a few things he wanted.

"I want the 40 copper coins and everything I've pointed at in exchange for the five Cores of the Undead and the Selvia Warhammer!"

Zayn spoke in confidence but the merchant could only look at him in bafflement for a moment. The confidence was wiped away from the face of the shrewd businessman because Zayn was the most unique customer he had encountered in a long time, in a favorable way for the merchant, of course.

"I'm making a loss with that trade, but take it," The Merchant said while making a sad face as he retrieved a small pouch with exactly 40 copper coins inside.

'What loss?! I'm the one incurring a loss here!'

Zayn got his hand on the things he pointed at earlier and the merchant watched him vigilantly.

It was almost as if the merchant expected him to snatch a few more goods than bargained for. He would intervene if that were to be the case.

However, Zayn didn't take anything valuable that exceeded the price he could get for the Selvia Warhammer.

He got his hand on a large silver iron mace, a large shield that was shaped like a teardrop, a large backpack, and a scabbard for the silver iron shortsword.

Zayn fastened both the pouch and the scabbard to his student uniform before he used the stripes of the large shield to put it on his back.

The shield covered his backpack and the large silver iron mace which he had stuck horizontally between the specifically allocated stripes at the long shield.

'I am a…turtle…' Zayn realized but he ended up shrugging his shoulders.

He knew that he made a slight loss with the exchange but carrying around the Selvia Warhammer was simply not feasible for someone like Zayn. He was way too weak and it would attract more attention than his current possessions.

Furthermore, a large silver iron mace and a long shield made out of keran wood and coated with silver iron were a much better combination than a single heavy silver iron Warhammer.

If Zayn wanted to, he could still go out and fight Skeletons, but it was also possible to fight other opponents with the Human Spirit. There was no need to smash the Warhammer around and accidentally injure himself in the process. Instead, it was possible for Zayn and the Human Spirit to work together and achieve better results without the warhammer, even if it was a very good weapon against the Skeletons.

Thus, he left the merchant's shop in satisfaction, leaving behind the skinny merchant who grasped the shaft of the Slevia Warhammer with greed in his eyes.

"You are mine, baby!" He purred like a cat while trying to easily lift the Warhammer.

However, he slipped because of the unexpected weight of the Warhammer and fell on his butt.

"Huh?"

The Merchant gave it a second try, firmly closed his fingers around the shaft of the Warhammer with both of his hands, and gave it a hard tug using all his might.

In the following seconds, the merchant's entire head turned red like a tomato, and his eyes bulged, yet, the Warhammer barely moved.

"What the…" He blurted out the moment he let go of the warhammer's shaft. It crashed into the dark wood floor, throwing splinters around where it remained unmoving like an iron fortress.

"This kid…carried that thing all by himself…?"