"This place isn't really a bazaar, is it?"
"It's not. I saw Churches and castles in the Guild Sector. Mansions too."
"Did you join a guild?"
"No, I was just lost and confused so I went there."
Kazi and William talked while Sun-young lagged a step behind. The party killed mini slime after mini slime, slime after slime, Slime Jack after Slime Jack. They levelled up quite a bit and earned over ten thousand Prize Points each.
Normally, when entering the gate, a player was spawned to a random point of the forest. As a party, however, they came as one, which was how they managed to repeat the main objective and earn Prize Points over and over again. It was a simple system. Think of it as replaying a stage on a video game.
"Wait, is that a unicorn?" Kazi laughed uncontrollably as he pointed to the majestic white horse. William's gaze followed. Sun-young shortly followed. Their expressions turned to disbelief.
"That's definitely a unicorn," William said, jaw dropped.
Its rainbow horn sparkled and its four legs walked without an owner. Interestingly, luggage was on its back as if it was given specific instructions. The merchants acted like it was normal. The newbie players were gobsmacked.
The three stood to the side and watched it walk. Its every little move was glorious, in spite of its laborious task.
There were horses, there were camels, there were many animals in the bazaar. But a unicorn? Kazi stifled a chuckle. Seeing the measly ordinary horse appear in its wake felt almost comedic.
Sun-young took a step back. "Can we go?" she asked hurriedly.
"Scared of animals?" Kazi teased.
Her reply was blunt and a tinge shaky, "I've never been around them, so yes."
"I've ridden horses but camels?" William shook his head. "Can't blame you."
William and Sun-young did struggle in regards to the wild and all things stamina-related. They weren't like Kazi, who was capable of sprinting and running and leaping without struggling. William used his frame and weight to kill slimes while Sun-young focused on her foot-work. Quick and efficient was the best way to describe her. Kazi had kept an eye on her during every fight, trying to learn and imitate what she was doing. She introduced herself as an ordinary young woman from Seoul but her movements said otherwise.
Returning to their stroll, Kazi peered over his shoulder. Sun-young's gaze remained on the ground and despite the busy bazaar she managed to avoid bumping into people. When it came to animals, she made a point to go far away in advance.
"Hey, yo, look at that place, it's busy as hell."
William gestured to a blacksmith shop called Tubal's Forge. Upon entering, the air was thick with the scent of heated metal and the symphony of hammer meeting anvil. It was open for anyone to view and to enter, resembling an open cave almost.
Inside, amongst the small crowd of thirty, a single blacksmith stood. A single blacksmith struck his hammer with decor.
"He's probably doing it at a cheap price if he's got all these people lined up," Kazi deduced. "Let's check another place."
Searching the bazaar was quite the adventure. There were agents from guilds occasionally getting in their way or overbearing merchants. Kazi was adjusted to it but neither William or Sun-young were. In fact, Sun-young flat didn't respond when someone spoke to her unless it was Kazi or William. Strangely enough, she didn't freeze or start stuttering. She just…didn't speak. She stared blankly.
The time came when William found a seller with no line-up and decent looking weapons. A stall at the corner of the Merchant District with swords and axes hung on a wall.
"Hey," Kazi greeted with a grin. "How do you do?"
The stall keeper crossed his arms and tied his white bandana. "Heh, lookin' for something? Might want to get back later. My stuff ain't for chumps!"
Kazi gave a cursory look over his stuff. Sure enough, there was a gleam that screamed quality. He had struck gold. "What are your prices?"
"I used to be a blacksmith oriented player, so none of my stuff is cheap," the stall keeper said. "You still confident?"
"I think so. We did a bunch of farming."
The stall keeper turned and carefully took a black sword from the wall.
"This is the Sword of Saint Peter. The real thing. If you had an analysis skill, you'd be able to tell. It's worth five hundred thousand points."
'Sheesh. I have about fifteen thousand myself. Even if me, Ms. Sun-young, and William pool our points together, we wouldn't be close to getting it.'
"Can I hold it?" Kazi asked. "I want to check its weight."
The stall keeper handed it over. With both hands on the blade, Kazi eyed the black sword. The tip was wide, similar to machete, and it was approximately twenty-seven inches long with a small hilt. He tilted to one side and then the other.
'Three point eight inches wide at the tip and quite light. Five and a quarter pounds. It's made of steel too—and I assume magically enhanced.' There was a spark to it. A stickiness against his fingertips. 'Magic?'
[ New skill learned : Weapons Analysis Lv. 1 ]
'Oh, a new skill! Nice!'
Immediately following that, another screen appeared, brown in colour and hovering pointedly over the black sword.
[ Weapon Name: Sword of Peter
Rank: C
Attack: ?
Current Value: 500,000 PP
Description: With this very sword, the Apostle Peter cut off the right ear of the high priest's servant at the time of Jesus' arrest in Gethsemane. ]
'Huh. I guess I know he wasn't ripping us off.'
"Is there anything valued at fifteen thousand?"
"Fifteen thousand?" The stall keeper raised a brow. "You have that many?"
"Each of us do," William supplied.
"Wow." The keeper hooked his finger under his chin. "That's actually…hmm. Alright, fine. I'll sell you guys at a discount. Ten percent off for everything."
Kazi noticed the way his eyes lit up. He saw potential in them. He thought that attaining fifteen thousand points was exceptional. Rare. An investment worth losing some money over. The keeper took back the Sword of Peter and offered him another sword.
"This here is about fifteen thousand points—thirteen thousand for you guys. I crafted it myself, it's called Shadowfang. It gives your dark attacks a bit of an oomph."
"I use lightning," Kazi corrected.
"Oh." The stall keeper was a little taken aback. Did he mistake him for someone else? "My bad. You looked like a dark element sort of person."
William casted Kavi a look. He didn't believe that.
"Alright, lightning blade…here it is." It was a long sword with a yellow stripe down the middle. "I call it the Touch of Thunder. It costs a bit over twenty thousand but again I'll sell it to you for thirteen thousand."
[ Weapon Name: Touch of Thunder
Rank: D
Attack: +33
Current Value: 13,000 PP
Description: A sword crafted from Ahmet Yilmaz to support lightning-based attacks. ]
'33 attack? Sheesh! The basic sword I received from Azrael added 11 attack points and even the khanda gave only 12.'
"I'll take it," Kazi announced, to William Sun-young's surprise. The stall keeper nudged it forward and he checked its weight. His eyes scanned its smooth edges as it went to a pointed tip and his fingers glided over the cruciform hilt. Through his fingertip, he breathed from his heart, through his arm, and to the tip of his finger. He felt a static shock. A connection.
"Yeah, this is good," Kazi confirmed with a nod. "How do we do a transfer?"
"I'll initiate it. Begin transfer for Touch of Thunder with Kazi."
[ Transfer details:
13,000 PP —> 1x Touch of Thunder Sword
Accept? ]
"Woah, how do you do that?" William asked.
"The mind." The stall keeper tapped his temple. "You gotta be thinking of the offer and the details and the Game System does the rest. Generally, the seller has to create the offer but a person can also offer a bid too."
Kazi accepted.
[ Receive:
1x Touch of Thunder ]
Kazi went to his inventory and swiped it onto his left hand. He was back to being a dual wielder. Automatically, another sheathe appeared on the strap behind him.
"That's also the Game System?"
This time, it was Sun-young who asked. The stall keeper laughed.
"Yep. You can still grab your own magic sheathe but generally the system gives it to you. Anyway, Miss, you want a different sword?"
Sun-young shook her head. "I'm fine."
"And you, sir?"
William opened his mouth and promptly closed it. "Er…I dunno. To be honest, I want something to eat before I choose."
"Let's do that then. We can pick up your next weapon later."
"Don't forget to mark my place on your map," the stall keeper said. "Don't want my newest loyal customers to not know how to come here."
"No problem." Kazi opened the White Abyss map. He zoomed in on where they were and double-clicked on their location, opening up a small menu. There was an option to stamp a location. Kazi clicked on that. "There."
"Thank you. Until next time, my friends."