Annie led Jareth to the sword section.
"There are only Rank 1 and Rank 2 weapons here. The Rank 2 are hanging up, while the Rank 1 are hanging down."
Jareth's eyes roamed over the many exposed blades of different kinds, each with a scabbard hanging beside it and a short, square slip that held descriptions.
Jareth drew closer.
'Weight and rank? With a short piece of advice?' thought Jareth after reading one.
"So, how do I choose… Ms. Annie?" Jareth asked politely.
"You see, there are three sub-ranks of weapons, although they aren't very popular for low-rank weapons—Standard, Prime, and Exquisite."
She stared at Jareth, and he nodded for her to continue.
"When a weapon reaches a particular standard, it gets sold here, but that's just the minimum. So, using standard materials and average smithing technique gets you Standard equipment of the rank. But that can be improved when high-quality materials are used, or better smithing techniques are applied to average-quality materials, resulting in Prime equipment. So, with Prime equipment, one element is missing—either high-quality materials or superior smithing technique. Prime equipment has only one of those. However, most people think Prime equipment have both."
Annie went silent and stared at him, as if waiting for something.
"So… Exquisite equipment has both high-quality materials and peak smithing technique?" Jareth replied with hesitation.
"Bingo! Although, some Prime equipment can be more expensive than Exquisite equipment because of special ores added, making them high quality. But one thing is sure—all Exquisite equipment has more durability than Prime weapons. Thus, the difference between Prime and Exquisite equipment is very minuscule. Only a good weaponsmith can notice it."
"Like you?"
"Do I look like one?"
"No. You rambled—spoke like one."
"Thank you. Even though I don't ramble."
"So, Ms. Professional Weaponsmith, what is good for me?"
"Your preference?" She arched an eyebrow.
"Ugh… sharp?"
Annie's eyes widened. "What kind of weird preference is that!? Of course, all swords are sharp! Do you prefer a heavy sword? A light sword? A huge sword? A chopping sword? A thrusting type? A flexible one?"
Jareth was surprised by her behavior. "I don't know. I just want something good. Maybe when I hold it, I'll know."
"Okay, follow me." She walked ahead.
Following beside her, Jareth's eyes darted around at the various swords.
Annie walked closer to them, even touching some.
"You see that sword? It has kilrium ore, which makes it light, but while kilrium makes it light, it reduces the durability. Still, it's a Rank 2 Exquisite weapon. See the exact copy beside it? That's a Rank 2 Prime weapon because of the weaponsmith. But most people don't know because they're the same price. Even the weaponsmith might not know. Maybe he made it by fluke. Did you notice the price ranges?"
Jareth nodded.
"Standard equipment is on the lower side, while Prime equipment is on the higher side. That's how… laymen buy equipment. But hidden among these Prime equipment are the Exquisite pieces. You see that other one? It contains…"
Jareth responded by nodding like a chicken as she kept chattering about weaponsmithing, berating most equipment and praising a selected few.
She soon reached the end.
"Where… where is my weapon?" Jareth questioned with uncertainty.
"Your weapon?" She asked in surprise, her eyes squinting in confusion. "Oh! Your weapon! I totally forgot about it. What's your rank and level again?"
"Awakened, Level 4."
"Come with me." She led him to a single-edged, deep red straight sword, with black hairline inscribed designs all over the surface.
"This sword is supposed to be a Rank 2 Exquisite weapon, but the pyromite, which adds a burning effect to blood, plus the ledinium, make it weighty for better chopping. Although it's Red Star Edition 2, this one is bothering a Rank 3 weapon."
Warily eyeing the price of 75,000 aures as if it would bite him, Jareth retrieved the sword and swung it around. She wasn't lying; it was heavy, unlike his last sword.
"Red Star? Nice blade. I'll probably change the name. Is this a jian, a tang?" muttered Jareth.
"What?"
"Just complimenting the sword. I'll send you forty-five thousand now so I can survive on the rest. The thirty thousand… I'll return it in three—no! Five days! Just five days."
"Okay. But don't push yourself to death to get my money. If you die, nobody will repay me the balance."
"You don't need to warn me; I love my life."
"Good. Follow me."
She led Jareth to the desk, where she paid for it after the attendant collected his arcanist badge and registered it.
Annie quickly ran away after giving him her account number.
Jareth gazed at her vanishing back. "She didn't even wait for me to thank her, or wait for me to send the money. A weaponsmithing nerd, huh? And a rich one at that."
Shaking his head, he sent his sword to his badge before sending the money. He ate at a restaurant along the street before heading home, feeling that he might spend his money on random things if he stayed out.
Upon getting home, he lay on the bed to sleep again but kept turning from side to side, feeling restless.
So he wandered around the house, giving himself a personal tour, touching and reading about different things in the 'safezone' of the house. He didn't dare enter their private spaces; that will make him resemble a creep.
He even saw Esta's and Liana's birthdays marked on the calendar on the wall.
Feeling bored, he went to the basement and had a battle with 'Jareth'.
He didn't use his new sword; he used the Rank 1 swords in the basement. Gazing at the sword, he didn't see anything different from what Annie had mentioned, apart from its light weight.
'These all look the same. Professionals are really different from us. Well, let's battle…'
This time, he went wild, using everything in his arsenal except Quagmire, pushing himself beyond his limits.
To his shock, the robot beat him with ghostly movements, even though he could see it. It just took longer than before—about fifteen minutes. Not believing it, he tried again, but the result was the same. He began copying its footwork.
They went at it for hours, resting only when his mana was exhausted, but the time until his defeat remained consistent.
Jareth even felt the robot was toying with him.
All the pride in his heart vanished from escaping from the center of the ruin estate vanished.
'I'm still a rookie. I need to improve. Its speed isn't much different from mine, but it still beats me without using a spell.'
Dragging his body upstairs, Jareth went to bathe but fell asleep in the tub.