Chapter 15: The Sword Shop
After returning from the forest, Alex realized that he had a small problem. He had almost no money left in his possession, and he needed silver coins just to enter Greenheart City again.
Fortunately, he still had several herbs that he had collected during his trip through the forest. Alex quickly found a place near the entrance where he could sell some of them.
After exchanging a few herbs for enough money, Alex stood in one of the lines at the city gate and waited for his turn to enter. Once he passed through the gate, he adjusted the bag on his back and began walking through the familiar streets.
As he walked through the city, Alex noticed several shops selling weapons and armor. Some displayed ordinary-looking equipment, while others had weapons that looked extremely impressive.
Among them, the swords caught his attention the most.
Some of the swords looked incredibly beautiful, with carefully designed blades and elegant handles that immediately stood out from the ordinary weapons around them.
'After seeing swords like those, who would even want a normal-looking sword?' Alex thought while staring at the displays.
His curiosity quickly overcame him, and he walked into one of the shops without thinking too much about it.
The moment Alex entered, his eyes immediately moved toward the numerous swords displayed throughout the store. Several swords were hanging beautifully along the walls, while others were placed inside glass showcases.
Alex's eyes widened slightly.
These swords were far more impressive than anything he had seen before.
For a moment, he wanted to buy every single one of them.
However, that thought disappeared almost instantly when he looked at their prices.
"Hello, sir. Are you looking for a sword?" a man asked from nearby, having clearly observed Alex's movements from the moment he entered the shop.
"Yes, but these are quite expensive," Alex replied honestly, and his disappointment was obvious in his voice.
Every sword hanging on the walls seemed to cost at least two gold coins, and that was only the lowest price Alex had seen so far.
The most expensive sword he noticed was priced at twenty-two gold coins, and he had not even examined most of the weapons displayed throughout the shop.
'I wouldn't be surprised if there is a sword here that costs more than fifty gold coins,' Alex thought while continuing to look around.
The man chuckled softly and did not appear offended by Alex's comment. Instead, he smiled as though he had heard the same complaint from countless customers before.
"That's fair, but price isn't everything," the man explained while gesturing toward the swords around them. "These swords aren't simply made for appearance. Each one has its own properties, including strength, balance, and sometimes even special effects."
The merchant's expression became increasingly proud as he continued explaining the weapons.
"You're probably familiar with Rising Moon, right?" he asked confidently. "We're not some ordinary weapon shop. Our merchant group is known far beyond this city, and people come from many places just to get their hands on our weapons."
The man continued talking about his company without showing any sign that he intended to stop. The more he spoke about Rising Moon, the prouder his expression became.
'Wow... how does he have such a big mouth?' Alex thought while listening to him.
Before Alex could say anything, a female voice suddenly came from deeper inside the store.
"Oye... you started again. Why are you bothering our customers?" the woman called out, sounding both annoyed and familiar with the merchant's behavior.
Alex turned toward the voice.
Only then did he realize that the store was much larger than it appeared from the outside. The section near the entrance was only a small part of the entire establishment.
He had not noticed the size of the shop earlier because his attention had been completely captured by the beautiful swords.
'Why am I feeling so attracted toward these swords?' Alex suddenly wondered as he looked at them again.
A strange realization struck him.
From the moment he had entered the shop, he had felt almost hypnotized by the weapons. It was as though every sword was somehow attracting his attention and making him want to examine it.
Not calling to him.
Attracting him.
Alex narrowed his eyes slightly as he wondered why he was reacting so strongly to ordinary weapons.
Before he could think about it any further, the woman approached them.
Now that she was closer, Alex could clearly see her appearance.
She looked to be in her twenties and was exceptionally beautiful. Her movements were elegant, and even the way she walked carried a natural grace.
To Alex, she looked almost like a fairy from one of the fantasy stories he had read in his previous life.
"Ma'am, I was just telling him about the glory of our Rising Moon," the merchant said confidently, immediately defending himself.
The woman sighed and shook her head.
"Don't bother customers again. Understood?" she said before looking toward Alex. "And who wouldn't know about our Rising Moon?"
"Well, miss, he looks like he doesn't know," the man replied while pointing toward Alex.
"What? Are you serious?" The woman looked genuinely confused by his statement.
She turned toward Alex and asked, "Is that true?"
"I'm not from the city, so I don't know," Alex answered honestly.
The woman's expression became even more surprised after hearing his response.
"I can't believe someone doesn't know about Rising Moon's reputation," she said, clearly astonished.
"How can you not know? Even if you're not from this city, our merchant group is reputable enough that even children know about us," she continued before suddenly looking more carefully at Alex.
Her expression changed slightly, as if she had just realized that she had forgotten something important.
"Hehe... how rude of me. I didn't introduce myself," she said with a small smile. "My name is Mo Yue. And what's yours?"
'Is everyone in this place so talkative?' Alex wondered. 'Mo Yue is completely opposite to Li Wei, who always stays quiet.'
"My name is Alex, and as I said before, I'm new to this city," Alex replied while introducing himself.
"So, you're here to buy a sword for yourself, right?" Mo Yue asked while looking at him.
"Yes, that's correct," Alex answered.
"Then follow me. I'll show you some of the best swords we have," Mo Yue said as she gestured for Alex to follow her.
Alex followed Mo Yue deeper into the shop.
They continued walking for a while before finally stopping in another section of the store. Alex's eyes immediately widened when he saw the swords displayed there.
There were many more weapons in this section, and every single one looked majestic. Their designs were more refined, their blades looked sharper, and their overall appearance was far more impressive than the swords near the entrance.
Alex immediately wanted to buy at least one.
Then he saw the prices.
His expression instantly fell.
Every sword in this section cost more than one hundred gold coins, and some of them were priced at two hundred gold coins.
'What the hell?'
Alex silently stared at the weapons for several seconds before looking away.
'Forget it. I don't even want to know what kind of sword costs five hundred gold coins.'
Mo Yue seemed to notice his expression but did not comment on it. Instead, she walked toward one particular sword and pointed toward it.
"Why don't you try this one?" she asked.
Alex looked at the sword she was pointing toward.
It was beautifully crafted, with an elegant design that immediately caught his attention.
"This sword was made by our best smith," Mo Yue explained proudly. "You won't find anything quite like it anywhere else."
Alex continued examining the weapon as Mo Yue explained its abilities.
"This sword has a special ability. It can reduce the damage you receive from your opponent by ten percent while increasing your own damage by twelve percent," she said before looking at Alex. "What do you think? Do you like it?"
Alex stared at the sword for another moment.
'It's not that I don't like it,' he thought with a helpless expression. 'I simply can't afford to like it. I'm broke.'
He genuinely wanted to buy the sword because it looked extremely cool, but his current financial situation made that impossible.
'And I don't think all the herbs I collected are worth anywhere near the price of this sword.'
"Well, I like it, but there's an issue," Alex finally said with a sigh.
"Ehh? What's the problem?" Mo Yue asked, genuinely confused by his response.
"I'm broke. I don't have any money," Alex admitted in a low voice.
Mo Yue stared at him for a moment.
"Eh? What do you mean you don't have any money?" she asked, clearly confused. "Didn't you say earlier that you're not from here and that you came from another country?"
Alex remained silent while Mo Yue continued thinking aloud.
"Moving from country to country isn't a simple matter unless you have a powerful cultivation base, a strong background, or enough money," Mo Yue explained while trying to piece together his situation.
She looked Alex up and down before continuing.
"And from your personality, you don't seem to have any powerful backing. Your cultivation base also isn't particularly high."
Mo Yue paused for a moment before narrowing her eyes slightly.
"The only method I can think of is money."
Alex was stunned.
He had never expected the conversation to turn in this direction so quickly.
'Although I've read many books...' Alex thought before suddenly realizing something important.
'Wait... how can I be so stupid?'
He mentally cursed himself for making such an obvious mistake.
He had clearly read that the area surrounding Greenheart City was covered by an enormous forest filled with magical beasts.
Traveling across such a dangerous forest was nearly impossible for an ordinary person. Anyone attempting to cross it would need considerable strength, a powerful background, or enough money to hire strong cultivators for protection.
Yet Alex had casually told Mo Yue that he had come from another country.
'There's no doubt that she doubts me now,' Alex thought as he tried to find a solution.
He had not thought this far ahead.
In all the books he had read, journeys across distant regions were often described casually, with characters simply traveling from one place to another.
But standing here now, under someone else's scrutiny, Alex finally understood how unrealistic his explanation sounded.
Careless.
That was the only word he could think of.
He exhaled slowly while his thoughts raced through every possible explanation. He needed to find an answer that would not raise even more questions.
For the first time since entering the shop, Alex felt something close to genuine pressure.
He had survived magical beasts in the forest.
Yet somehow, explaining his background to a suspicious merchant felt just as difficult.