Suave Seller

Though the abilities he gained from his test summons weren't exactly flashy nor seeming to be instantaneous win-conditions in a fight, he already felt they had use in battle and outside of it. All that was left for him now was one thing before settling in for the night: acquiring a usable weapon.

"I'd suggest getting some rest soon. We'll want to visit the Guild early before all of the quests are taken by others," Edith informed him, sitting on the second bed in the room.

"Sure–just one more thing before I check out," he assured her with a smirk.

–However, 'one more summon' was only applicable in his mind because he had become a bit too lost in his recent fortune.

"...Weapon Summon!"

[New Weapon Obtained: (B) Dull Dagger | Special Traits: Able to cut butter!]

[Pity: +1 | 4/100]

A terribly useless dagger without any sharpness to its edge; another dud weapon summoned once more.

"Another!"

[New Weapon Obtained: (B) Broken Long Sword | Special Traits: Half the weight!]

[Pity: +1 | 5/100]

A sword that was missing the entire upper half of the blade, the rest of which didn't look any special either, dirty and somewhat dull and cracked.

–It took six more summons, all of which were [Basic] rarity, primarily useless weapons until he acquired one that met his satisfaction:

[New Weapon Obtained: (R) Frostfang | Special Traits: Ice Cold!]

[ATK: 5]

[Pity: 0/100]

The sought-after ten-percent summon was hit, and with it, a golden flash embarked from the digital display of his Gacha system.

"Yes! Finally!" He triumphantly announced.

In his hand was a spectacular dagger with a black handle and a blade that was forged of an ice as tough as steel, giving off a frosty air through its mystical length.

Edith yawned, "...Good job, Master," she tiredly congratulated.

"Don't worry, I'm heading to bed now," he said with a satisfied smile, still enamored with the enchanted dagger he summoned.

All-in-all, he managed to leave himself with thirty-seven copper, reluctant to spend further as there were still essentials to consider, and perhaps better banners that would arrive with his own leveling.

'Tomorrow, I'll take whatever quests I can and level up…I'm going to take this life for what it's got,' he decided.

–

As the next morning arrived, he was met by Edith, who seemed to long since be awake as he sat up and yawned, stretching his arms.

"Mornin' Did you sleep well?...What's that?" He rubbed his eyes.

The silver-haired woman was holding a large sack that seemed stuffed full of heavy material, though his groggy mind hadn't yet figured it out.

"Morning and yes, I slept well enough. I gathered all of the 'failed' weapons you summoned last night. If you're not going to use them, you should sell them to the local blacksmith," Edith suggested.

"Good thinking," he nodded, getting up.

As they both left the room, Lucas found himself immediately greeted by a burly figure that filled the width of the inn's cozy corridor.

"Aaaaagh," the man yawned like a bear.

"Morning, Gunter," Lucas said, looking up at the familiar man.

"Morning! Ga-ha-ha! I slept like a log," Gunter said, now following behind them as he scratched his beard.

Surprisingly, there wasn't a single point of evidence that suggested that the booze-lover was even hungover in the slightest; the man was simply an anomaly of mead.

Gunter looked down curiously, eyeing the sheathed, black-handled dagger attached to Lucas's belt, "Looks like you got some new gear."

He looked back at the booze-drinking warrior pulling a bit on the heavy sack of weapons he had slung over his back with a smile, "You bet. I've got a lot of duds I need to sell. I wanted to check out the Guild first, but I don't really wanna lug all of this around in the process…We should go to the blacksmith's shop first."

"I offered to carry it," Edith slightly pouted, huffing under her words.

"I've got it, I've got it," Lucas assured her with a chuckle.

Gunter laughed boisterously with enough volume to surely wake up the entire inn, "Ya don't get it, Edith! This is a man's honor you're treading on! Lucas won't let a woman carry his load!"

"Only fools abide by such principles," Edith remarked, looking away.

"Say what–?!" Gunter responded in surprise.

"A woman can be every bit as strong, if not surpass a man. Case in point, I could easily take you down in a fight," Edith told the booze-loving warrior.

"Is that so…?" Gunter smiled as a vein pressed against his forehead.

The silver-haired girl's hand neared her sheathed sword while Gunter seemed ready to reach for the ax strapped to his back at a moment's notice. It was frightening just how quickly the reputation of fighter's got out of hand.

"Alright, enough of that," Lucas intercepted.

The air of tension immediately settled from his intervention; despite being half the size of Gunter and not nearly as skilled as Edith, the two combatants didn't waste a moment to head his command.

"Apologies, Master," Edith momentarily closed her eyes, nodding her head.

"Ga-ha-ha! I was just kiddin' anyway! Don't worry, Lucas!" Gunter laughed.

While they arrived at the lobby of the inn, he checked out before a brawl of disaster occurred in the lovely establishment, quickly heading into town with his two familiars.

Out into the town, soft, orange rays of the morning sun cascaded down on the waking community. The buildings of stone-and-wood perfectly fit the aesthetic of a fantasy beginner town he had in his mind as an avid gamer, along with the townsfolk he saw either sitting outside of their homes or the adventurers who strolled by.

"Today is a big day–well, first things first, let's see if the blacksmith will take this junk off of me," he muttered.

Gunter proudly walked forward, ushering for the two to follow, "If Merdlum is the same as I 'member it, the blacksmith's shop should be down this road!"

–

As claimed by the booze-loving familiar that held knowledge of the town, he found the shop he was looking for, walking through the front door that had a small chime. It was like stepping into an armory; bins of singular pieces of protective gear were for sale, along with racks of swords, axes, and just about any conventional tool of killing.

"Welcome to Falmur's! I'm Falmur, by the way!"

The owner there greeted the three openly, taking off his leather gloves that were clearly worn and pushing the protective goggles from his eyes. He had a gruff, but welcoming voice and a bald head etched with scars.

"Yo," Lucas returned the greeting, walking over to the wooden shopkeeper desk before hoisting the heavy sack of [Basic] rarity weapons on top of it.

A heavy "thud" resounded, bringing a curious look from the owner of the equipment shop, who raised an eyebrow at the sack.

"How much can I fetch for everything in there?" He asked.

"Well, let's take a look," Falmur said, opening the sack of weapons.

While the bald-headed man rummaged through the sack, Gunter and Edith scoped out the place, checking out the gear, though Lucas made it clear with a look to both of them that he wasn't exactly looking to pay for anything there.

Rubbing his chin, the blacksmith grumbled a bit before finally looking up from the sack, "Hmm, I can do seven copper."

"Seven?! That's it?!" Lucas reacted in surprise.

"Listen, kid, seven is being generous. None of this can go on the racks," Falmur told him, holding up one of the swords from the sack, which was rusty and chipped, "I'd have to spruce all of these up–you're basically selling me materials here."

'It cost me twenty-four copper to summon that junk…! Talk about shitty resale value!' He lamented.

There was no haggling that could be wiggled in; the price was stone, and though he sulked about it, Edith assured him it was a fair deal.

"Thanks for your patronage! Make sure to come back if you get your hands on anything else or if you see anything here you like!" Falmur waved them out with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah…" Lucas walked out of the shop, muttering as he pocketed the seven copper he got in return.

An abrasive slap on his back arrived from the towering booze-drinker, followed by laughter that boomed out.

"Keep your chin up! We're on our way to the Guild–a place where the dreams of those with a fire burning in their hearts are made! Honor, glory, wealth–! All of it!" Gunter told him.

"You don't have to sell me on it, but yeah, sounds awesome," Lucas replaced his gloom with an excited smile.

Edith added in with a small smile, "It's a great place to begin your journey, no doubt. Don't worry–we'll be by your side, Master."

"Thanks," he nodded with a smile.

While it was a small time, there was certainly no shortage of commuting merchants and passing-through adventurers, leading to the stone-and-dirt roads of Merdlum being busy in the rising morning.

Arriving at the doorstep to the Guild of Merdlum, he felt an air of adventure swirling around the establishment; it was tall, but not imposing, made of fortified stone and wooden logs.

"Here we go," he said under his breath.