"How about 50,000 Arthum?" I proposed, knowing that it would be declined—and it did actually.
"Seriously! You want to sell them at half of their original price." She laughed, "You told 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."
"Co 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 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 an 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 tis we have failed and how many tis we have succeeded. The Grade-A weapons you’re seeing in this shop are thanks to these failures. But..."
She leaned towards 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 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 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 co?"
"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 so reason, I had the feeling of understanding her.
As far as I could tell, blacksmiths poured pride into forging weapons and equipnt. 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 sa.
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 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 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 beca clear.
[Class Shifter (Stage III) has been used]
[Class: Lancer (Tier-6); PEN: 60 ( 20)]
"Wait, sothing’s different about you now." She stared at 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 Erald Predator out of my inventory.
Since I was in a Blacksmith’s shop the system allowed 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 excitent—she looked like she might start drooling.
"For real!!!!!" she scread out, "It’s the Erald 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 na." She said proudly, "This is one of the finest Grade-S lances—the Erald 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 , 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 custor! 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 , 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 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 co 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 ntioned that, the system notified of the purchasing ssage. It wasn’t what I anticipated.
"Oh, by the way, I forgot to introduce myself. Call Ela. What’s your na?"
"I’m Zanthrix," I replied.
"My na 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 so healing potions and fatigue reducers. It didn’t take much ti like we spent on Ela’s shop. It was done faster than that.
Now that I was done with my shopping, it was ti for to make out with Zariel. I needed to buy sothing impressive and alluring for her.
Shika and I strolled until we reached the place that I thought would be a better place to buy sothing for Zariel. The place I had specifically ca to fifth heaven for.
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