[Fifth Floor: Heaven Syvantis]
Zariel was quite upset last night. Well, I did promise her a souvenir, yeah, but I didn't tell her it would be right after my return. She was sentimentally stubborn to the extent where she wouldn't listen to anyone—not even I had a convincing explanation.
I wonder why she's always like that.
I pondered while walking. We were now on the fifth heaven. After last night's quest, I ran out of my weaponry instruments and potions. I told Shika that it would be quite problematic without them.
She, on the other hand, was manageable.
She knew Rojo Clan and Ungu Clan might not hand us the last remaining fragments without a fight—and if we had to be certain about winning, we had to be in our top condition nevertheless.
Shika and I made our way back to the lower heavens and were strolling through the market. Zariel remained at home like any stubborn child would do. Truth to be told, I was somewhat guilty on the matter as well. And I knew how to make her happy. That was another reason why I specifically chose Fifth Heaven.
"Whoa! This place is pretty crowded." Shika exclaimed, seeing too many players around us. They were busy shopping, explaining details, and so on. Most of them were newbies. They probably were exploring the heavens through and through.
"They are newly assigned adventurers," I replied, gesturing as though I was a character like Shika and wasn't aware of the in-game terms. "Every day more and more people tend to become one. Since adventuring through the heavens was quite an exhilarating journey, people love this kind of stuff. Especially when you are with your friends, you can make new and unforeseen memories with them, explore the hidden mysteries, have a great time enjoying the thrilling excitements this world has to offer, and so on."
She seemed to be understanding what I meant. She thought deeply before saying,
"What about you, Zanthrix? Do you have the kind of friends you'd go on an adventure with? I mean—I'm not complaining, but I never really saw you interacting with other adventurers that much. Besides, when I first met you, you were on your own too. Did you set out entirely on your own?"
"For the last part, yes. I did begin adventuring on my own."
I replied and remained silent for a few seconds before saying,
"For the first part, it's not entirely accurate. I have friends (only one to be accurate) but they are far ahead of me. I was reluctant enough to start adventuring, leading myself to fall behind. But I'll catch up to them soon enough."
"I see. Silly me, I thought you were some loner since you traveled alone." She smiled at herself, tilting her head slightly.
"What're you talking about? I'm no loner. I have Zariel with me on this journey. Besides, I'm currently traveling with my friend, you know."
She was slow, but she grasped what I meant. Her blushful face said it otherwise.
Now that she was in her human form, it was easy for me to understand that. It did take me a while to figure out why her cheeks became slightly white when she was in her Iceborn appearance.
At any rate, that was her way to blush—perhaps the most beautiful way I could ever witness. Her flustered face, in both appearances, was divine.
"Is that so…" She mumbled, "I'm glad that you think that way, Zanthrix!"
She smiled stunningly.
*****
After loitering for several minutes we finally spotted a blacksmith's shop. It was a fancy-looking one. The front was spacious. There was enough empty place for even multiple cars to park. It wasn't a parking area, though.
The wall on the interior was magnificently decorated with all kinds of weapons, including every beginner combat-type class item. From daggers to swords, from lances to arrows and bow, and so on—everything was there hanging on the wall like any ornament designed exclusively for decorations.
Each one of them was a Grade-A item. The system interface indicated this, with separate notifications for each weapon.
"Hello, adventurers! What can I get for you?" A good-looking, middle-aged woman came to the front register.
Her black hair was tied in a bun and her blue eyes brimmed with eagerness. She was wearing long, green rubber gloves as well as a green apron. She appeared to be a fine craftsman.
"We're here to buy some weapons…"
"I bet you do, hah-hah. What else would you be here for? For dating. I guess not. Hah-hah!"
I had no idea what she meant by that. Perhaps it was a joke that only she understood and laughed all to herself. Maybe it was just how she was programmed—but her chatty nature felt surprisingly human.
"So what kind of weapons you're looking for, young man." She leaned on the registry desk and smiled with a smug face, " The ones that are highly effective against the monster to protect your girlfriend over there? If so, I can sell you my masterpieces. Just name what class-type weapon you want."
She looked promising. But she had misunderstood Shika to be my girlfriend. I wasn't there to clear her misunderstanding. Nor was I there to buy her masterpieces or anything.
In any case, I didn't bother with her babblings and went straight to the point.
"Give me the lowest grade weapons you have for all combat-type classes. Even a failure is acceptable."
"What a surprise!" She murmured shockingly. "Don't you have money on you to buy my masterpieces? They are cheap you know—starting from a 100,000 Arthum only."
'And you call that cheap huh?' I thought annoyingly and said, "I'm not here for your masterpieces, and yeah, I do have the money to buy at least fifty of those. But I already have high-graded weapons, so I only need low-graded for now."
"You're the strangest customer I've ever seen." She was taken aback, "In any case, it's good for me that someone's willingly purchasing the deadweight weapons of my shop. I have no complaints. Let me bring them for you."
She went to bring them. Meanwhile, I looked at Shika. She was still flustered and averted my gaze. I wondered what motivated her to act out of her character all of a sudden.
I guess people do need their personal space. I shouldn't pry on them too much. I thought and waited until the woman came back.
"Here's the crappy failure weapons of my shop. Feel free to choose whatever you want to purchase."
They were low-graded, yes, and no match against the named weapons that were as low as Grade D. Most of them had scratches on them already—probably not durable enough to last longer, few looked to be in good condition, though.
At any rate, they were suitable for me to catch anyone off guard or in a place where I would have limitations thanks to my system.
I selected six pairs of daggers, three pairs of swords, four pieces each of lance and shield, and numbers of arrows.
"I'll buy these."
"That will be 100,000 Arthum."
"Nice Joke!" I tried laughing it off. There was no way she was serious that someone would buy them for 100,000 Arthum.
"It's not a joke. Twelve daggers for a total of 60,000 Arthum—5,000 for each; six swords for a total of 24,000 Arthum— 4,000 for each; four lances for a total of 12,000 Arthum—3,000 for each; four shields for a total of 8,000 Arthum—2,000 for each and thirty pieces of arrows for total 3,000 Arthum—100 for each. That makes a total of 107,000 Arthum. I'm giving you a 7,000 Arthum discount since no one usually buys that. Otherwise, it was non-negotiable."
'She's smart! I need to outsmart her and bargain for a reasonable price.' I told myself inwardly as I was about to negotiate with her for a fair price.