Chapter 25: Great Sword!
It turned out that Slinger's coming here wasn't a coincidence, but it was intentional.
Slinger and his group were also near the dungeon area when the scene of the officer approaching Aakesh happened.
Like other adventurers, Slinger was also surprised and wanted to know as the officer was arrogant toward other adventurers, not putting anyone in his eyes. To find out, Slinger slightly emptied his pocket and bribed the officer. They then learned from the officer that Aakesh had solo cleared not only the Easy level dungeon but also the Normal level dungeon.
Hearing the officer, Slinger came rushing back to the town to recruit him in his group.
Slinger came from an extremely wealthy background; his father was the owner of one of the largest electronics chains in India. After the launch of the game, his father noticed that the game's technology was years ahead of what the current science had to offer. Acting on his intuition, the father told his son to create a guild in the game.
Even though the option of creating the guild wasn't available to the adventurers at this stage of the game, Slinger could still recruit several other adventurers, and when the choice would be open, he would create the guild.
Someone like Aakesh was the perfect recruit. It had only been two days, and Aakesh could already solo clear the dungeons, so Slinger wanted him.
***
"No, I refuse," Aakesh responded after hearing Slinger's offer.
Slinger not only offered him a salary of a hundred thousand INR every month, but he also offered him valuable other benefits like premium health insurance, stocks in XXX electronics, and many other benefits.
Aakesh earned more than that in his engineering job, but when compared with other benefits, there was no comparison. Despite that, Aakesh had no choice but to refuse since he had a goal ahead of him.
Signing a contract would bind his freedom in the game, and he didn't want that. And since Aakesh's family wasn't going through any financial crunch, he didn't need the job. He only needed to complete the three quests left for him in the diary, and he would even become richer than Slinger's father if he played his cards correctly.
Slinger was taken aback by Aakesh's determined refusal. "Do you feel my offer is not sufficient?" Slinger asked after a pause. His father gave him free control over some assets, so for someone like Aakesh, if the situation demanded, he could go further.
"It's not about that. Even if you offer me ten times your current offer, I will still refuse. I like being free," Aakesh said with a smile.
"We could have done wonders," Slinger said with disappointment evident in his voice.
"What do you say about helping us clear dungeons?" Slinger suddenly asked. Even if Aakesh didn't join his organization, if he still helped him clear dungeons, Slinger could take solace in that fact.
"Sure, but that won't be free," Aakesh replied after a pause.
Slinger laughed and extended his hands for a shake. Aakesh didn't refuse the handshake and also raised his hands.
They then shared their contacts. If Slinger needed Aakesh's help, he could contact Aakesh. If Aakesh were free, he would join Slinger.
"Here are your fifty bronze coins," Slinger smiled and handed over fifty bronze coins to Aakesh, after buying the amulet.
***
"Boss, weren't you being too nice to him?" One of the group members asked Slinger after they had gone far from the stall.
The smile Slinger had been carrying since the start disappeared, and gloom replaced it. Slinger didn't like the fact that he went out of his way to hire Aakesh, but he still refused.
"Let's not talk about that." The smile returned to his face as Slinger turned around and faced his group members. No one knew what was going through his head at that moment.
***
After the purchase was complete, Aakesh left the stall and proceeded toward the weapon store. He had already forgotten about Slinger's offer. Aakesh didn't care whether all of that was a conspiracy or sincere.
As Aakesh stood in front of the store selling weapons, he moved a step forward and went inside.
The next moment, tens of different weapons greeted his sight.
"Hello, dear customer! What weapon do you want to buy?" A beautiful receptionist with a gentle female voice approached Aakesh and asked respectfully.
"A Sword!" Aakesh replied as his eyes wandered around the store.
Even someone like him, who wasn't a weapon enthusiast, wanted to take a sword from her and raise it to the sky in a domineering pose.
The receptionist had long gotten used to such reactions from the customers, so she went inside and came out with three swords a few minutes later.
Flamebringer(Ordinary Rank)
Description: A fiery sword with a straight, single-edged blade made of molten lava
Equipment Level: 0
Requirement: Any Sword Style
Damage: 8-12
Speed: 5
Durability: 50/50
Price: 12 Bronze coins
Frostbite(Ordinary Rank)
Description: A cold, icy sword with a curved, single-edged blade made of pure ice
Equipment Level: 0
Requirement: Any Sword Style
Damage: 8-12
Speed: 5
Durability: 50/50
Price: 12 Bronze coins
Shadow Blade(Ordinary Rank)
Description: A mysterious sword with a straight, double-edged blade made of an unknown black metal
Equipment Level: 0
Requirement: Any Sword Style
Damage: 10-12
Speed: 7
Durability: 50/50
Additional Skill: [Shadow Strike]
Description: A powerful attack that unleashes a wave of shadowy energy from the blade, dealing heavy damage to enemies
Duration: N/A
Cooldown: 30 minutes
Cost: 50 Mana, 15 HP.
Warning: Use the skill carefully, unless darkness takes hold of you.
Price: 25 Bronze coins
The receptionist handed Aakesh a book containing the specifications of the three swords, so he didn't even need to use his basic appraisal skill.
Aakesh looked at the swords in surprise, but when his eyes reached the Shadow Blade, his heart skipped a beat.
It looked ominous, as its blade was entirely dark, absorbing light around it. The blade's hilt was adorned with a strange rune that Aakesh believed to be the source of the skill. The blade's pommel was in the shape of a screaming demon's head.
***
Aakesh satisfyingly left the store with the Shadow Blade tied to his waist.