"How about 50,000 Arthum?" I proposed, knowing that it would be declined—and it did actually.
"Seriously! You want me to sell them at half of their original price." She laughed, "You told me that you have money to purchase fifty of my masterpieces, yet you're still bargaining. You are indeed a strange one, hah-hah."
I knew that, thanks. Even if I had that much money, I still needed to think carefully before buying anything. Otherwise, I'd be bankrupt before I'd know.
"If you want them, the price is fixed."
"Come on! No one will buy these, you know. They'll only occupy the space of your shop. As you said yourself, they're just deadweight. Will anyone agree to buy any failed weapons?"
She took a deep breath and gestured as though she was considering my opinions. She then folded her arms and stared at me with a strange expression.
"You're right, and yeah, no one will agree to buy them. Everyone's after the finest weapon which we, the blacksmiths forge. However, that doesn't mean the failed ones have no value. They are the blacksmiths' stigma—as well as an inspiration to forge a magnificent weapon after each failure. They remind us how many times we have failed and how many times we have succeeded. The Grade-A weapons you're seeing in this shop are thanks to these failures. But…"
She leaned towards me with a gentle smile and whispered.
"I don't want to ruin your reputation before your girlfriend. So how about a 90,000 Arthum, I can't go any down, hah-hah."
Her words were impactful and I started to feel guilty for the bargain. Then again, seeing her lowering the price gave me a hint that I might have a chance. I smiled softly, seeing her generous mindset.
"How about a 60,000? I know I shouldn't bargain after the generosity you have shown, but still. I might've paid you the first price if these had motivated you to make at least a Grade-S weapon. But I don't see them here."
She was awestruck—only a little though.
"To tell you the truth, these were the failed ones when I tried crafting a Grade-S weapon. Otherwise, I don't fail that much. Besides, I probably would've forged one, but I lack the data necessary for it. It led me to forge these failures. I'm surprised that you guessed that far. How about 85,000."
"You are a blacksmith, yet you still lack the necessary data to forge a Grade-S weapon? How come?"
"Well duh! If you have the money to buy a high-graded item why would you waste them on the lower heavens when you have the opportunity to visit the Heaven Dwarvana? It is, after all, known for forging high-graded custom-made items at a low cost. That's why adventurers prefer to ascend there as soon as possible, leaving us with no high-graded weapons to appraise and analyze the data."
She said it with regret. For some reason, I had the feeling of understanding her.
As far as I could tell, blacksmiths poured pride into forging weapons and equipment. That dedication is what led to such remarkable work. On the flip side, acknowledging any lack of skill was seen as a disgrace.
She might be the same.
Although I had no clarification of her inner feelings, I felt a little bit of sympathy and said,
"Let's make a deal. You'll sell me these at half of their original price and I'll provide you the data necessary for making a Grade-S weapon."
"I'll sell everything at half of their original price if you were to bring me a Grade-S item even once, heh-heh." She smiled.
I chuckled after getting her approval. I wasn't sure whether she'd agree or not, but now it became clear.
[Class Shifter (Stage III) has been used]
[Class: Lancer (Tier-6); PEN: 60 (+20)]
"Wait, something's different about you now." She stared at me suspiciously.
'She can detect my class shifting? Pretty impressive!' I thought and replied, "Don't bother with that. You have bigger fish to fry."
As I told her that, I pulled the Emerald Predator out of my inventory.
Since I was in a Blacksmith's shop the system allowed me to select the weapon regardless of the rank limitations.
The blacksmith woman was astonished when I put the lance on her front register. Her eyes sparkled with excitement—she looked like she might start drooling.
"For real!!!!!" she screamed out, "It's the Emerald Predator!" she raised it high with the looks of an investigator.
"You can tell that?" I asked curiously.
"I can tell more than just a name." She said proudly, "This is one of the finest Grade-S lances—the Emerald Predator. It was forged from the bones of a mythical beast, the Emirion Wyvern, and thus had high penetrability and piercing effects. It can pierce the wind like a wyvern flying at the speed of sound. Its attack power is incomparable to the lances I crafted so far. Oh, how I envy you to have this on you! Wait…"
Appraising the lance thoroughly while speaking the details which I hardly gave any attention, she halted suddenly. She looked shocked as if she had seen a ghost in daylight.
"What's the matter?"
"Tell me, are you mad or are you that wealthy to purchase this fellow with one Erthum? Which is it?"
'She can tell that too?' I wondered.
"It looked magnificent when I saw it in the Auction Event. The price was going higher and higher and I had to buy this at any cost. So I used Erthum to dominate the auction."
"Silly customer! You can buy my whole career with just one Erthum! I can't believe that you used Erthum to purchase it."
"Cut that crap! I don't need to know what I can do with Erthum. Just tell me, did you collect the data necessary for forging a Grade-S item."
"Well, I just appraised its basic details. Collecting the data is a lengthy process. I need at least five to ten days."
Sigh!
'Since I'm not qualified to use the lance for now, I think it'd be better if I lend it to her. She did promise to give me everything at half price, but I should consider her feelings instead of taking advantage of her generosity. If I were lucky, she might be able to appraise the 'Characteristic Effect' too.'
I nodded and finally spoke after a long consideration.
"If you like I can let you borrow until I come back here to get it back."
"For real! That would be amazing! I can't ask you more."
Hearing those words made her surprisingly happy. Her gaze lingered on the lance as if she'd forgotten we were still around.
"Ahem!" I tried getting her attention back to the topic. "So about the price…."
"You can take them for free, only for today. I don't mind."
[Item Purchased!]
Huh?
As soon as she mentioned that, the system notified me of the purchasing message. It wasn't what I anticipated.
"Oh, by the way, I forgot to introduce myself. Call me Ela. What's your name?"
"I'm Zanthrix," I replied.
"My name is Shika."
"Have a good day, Zanthrix, Shika. Thank you for the opportunity as well."
She was so enthusiastic that she hardly gave us any attention. Besides, our job was almost done, so it didn't matter that much—I supposed.
****
After the blacksmith shop, we went to buy some healing potions and fatigue reducers. It didn't take much time like we spent on Ela's shop. It was done faster than that.
Now that I was done with my shopping, it was time for me to make out with Zariel. I needed to buy something impressive and alluring for her.
Shika and I strolled until we reached the place that I thought would be a better place to buy something for Zariel. The place I had specifically came to fifth heaven for.