Less than two months have passed since the Ascension Program started. Most of the people are hunting monsters or doing odd jobs to earn a living.
Hardly anyone has the time to learn skills like Alchemy, Forging, Runes, Medicinal skills, and so on.
Those who are interested in learning barely get accepted by Fairies. So, less than 0.15 percent of humans are learning important skills.
But even geniuses can't learn much in a month or so.
Due to this, although all hunters hate Fairies, they can't accept the amateur works of human apprentices. Those pills, potions, weapons, and armors are what they have to rely on in the wilderness.
A light mistake in the rune engraving on a weapon can backfire, same for the armor.
“Thought so!” The Fairy muttered in a loud enough voice that the hunter could hear.
“I will be back to pick it up.” Seeing the smug look on the Fairy’s tiny face, the hunter left, not willing to waste his time at the forge.
“How can I help you, Sir?” With a 360-degree change in attitude, the Fairy greeted Kenji.
“I am…looking…for…a weapon.” Still scanning the weapons on display, Kenji stated his business.
“A weapon, we have a large collection of those. From Rank 1 all the way up to Rank 9, even a few Ruler-class ones.”
The Fairy started introducing the weapons hanging on the wall.
“This here is a Rank 2 Sword engraved with the rune [Boost], which can increase the damage dealt upon contact. If you are looking for something more powerful, this is a Rank 5 Dagger with the [Penetration] rune.
If swords and daggers aren't your style, this Rank 4 Spear here is engraved with [Explode] and [Swift] runes, great for group fights.”
The Fairy slowly introduced the three most sold items in the forge. Although the human before him didn't look that rich, he still had Source Ki.
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Something worth a fortune.
“My budget…is kinda tight. Are there…any…cheap swords?” Looking at the price tags of thousands of gold coins on the weapons that the Fairy introduced, Kenji asked.
“No need to worry about the price, we have an installment plan.” The Fairy assured the human not to worry.
“I would…still like…some cheap…sword.” Unwilling to fall into more debt, Kenji said with resolve.
“If you say so…” Seeing the firm look in the human’s eyes, the Fairy didn't pursue any longer and took him to the end of the wall, where plain-looking weapons were hanging.
“This is a Rank 1 Sword. Although it doesn't have any rune engraving, it's made of good materials.” Getting the sword down with his Soul power, the Fairy slowly handed it over to Kenji.
“This…feels a little…off.” Holding the sword hilt with one hand, Kenji had a strange feeling. For whatever reason, his body was rejecting the sword.
“Ehh… try this one.” Sensing the human’s body language, the Fairy took away the light sword and gave him a two-handed sword.
“This one…, I want it.” Holding the hilt firmly in both his hands, Kenji knew this was it.
“It's a Rank 2 Sword engraved with the [Heavy] rune. So, it's kinda a little expensive.” The Fairy tightened the bait.
“How much!” Kenji really liked the sword, and he didn't want to play word games with the Fairy.
“Just 75 gold coins.”
Hearing the price, Kenji was dumbfounded. Even if he sold himself, he wouldn't be able to gather so many gold coins.
“What…about that…one.” Pointing at the Rank 1 light sword, Kenji asked.
“This one? It's a measly 14 gold coins.” Glaring at the sword that he had just hung back on the wall, the Fairy gave the price.
“So much…” Hearing that even the light sword without any rune engraving was so expensive, Kenji was disheartened.
It seemed he wasn't destined to start hunting anytime soon.
But it made sense in Kenji's mind, as he was used to people with E-rank gifts still working as transportation workers. Before, he thought they were scared to hunt.
However, now it made sense. For hunting, one needs weapons, armor, potions, and so on.
Which is why even after acquiring an E-rank gift, many were still working to earn enough money to buy the necessary equipment for hunting.
“Is there…any weapon for…like 5 Silver coins?” Seeing that even the most basic Rank 1 weapon cost more than 4 gold coins, Kenji felt stupid just asking.
“5 Silver coins? Don't have anything that cheap.” For a moment, the Fairy thought he heard it wrong, but the embarrassed look on the human’s face made him realize he wasn't joking.
But this made the Fairy give the human an amused look.
Even common metal ores cost a few silver coins. That was before extracting metal from ores and the blacksmith fee.
Adding the total cost, a crude sword without any rune cost 4–5 gold coins. However, here was a human asking if he could get anything for just 5 Silver coins.
“Wait, here. Take this for 5 Silver coins.” Seeing the human leave in dejection, the Fairy gave him a dagger.
“Really!” Looking at the dagger hovering in front of his face, Kenji’s eyes were filled with excitement.
He immediately fished out five silver coins from his clothes and handed them over to the Fairy.
“Take good care of it.” The Fairy reminded Kenji as he walked out of the forge with his first weapon.
“That was a foolish move. You know how dangerous that dagger could be?” Just as Kenji left the forge, another Fairy appeared out of nowhere.
“I know better than you, as it belonged to one of my few friends.” The Fairy’s eyes were glowing as he answered the Fairy who appeared out of nowhere.
“But isn't it unwise to hand over such a powerful weapon to a mortal human?” The Fairy pressed on, not agreeing with Turian's decision.
“It belonged to the human race. I am merely returning it.” Turian stood firm in his decision.
Although the dagger was a powerful Emperor-class weapon, it belonged to his friend, and he wasn't going to keep hoarding it for the rest of his life.
“As you wish. Before I leave, I need to know how the original owner is.” Before leaving, the newcomer asked another question.
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Author’s Note:
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