Dawn- An age of Darkness
Chapter 44 - Shopping’s Always A Chore P1

The outside air felt stagnant. I was somewhat cured but the questions still remained. I had to replace a summoner to get my answers. So next up is the weapons shop…and then a summoner in the capital? I sighed. This journey keeps getting more and more complicated. And I also had to visit the statue in the forest too, which was another headache all in itself.

I wandered around the town. I didn't know where I was let alone where I wanted to be. Finding the church was easy but replaceing anything else was a chore. "Excuse me, sir," I asked a man outside the cathedral.

"Yes? What is it, lad?"

"Can you tell me, where I could replace Grimp's smithy?"

"Grimp, eh? Hmm….why don't you head downtown. I think it should be somewhere around there. "

Not that informative but definitely progress. "Thank you."

I walked toward the downtown area. I didn't know my way around and had to ask for directions a few times, but it was thrilling to wander around in this town. After a while of searching I arrived at a garden. There was a large decorated sign, it read: to love is to live. My brain was too irritated to process that. I wanted weapons not stupid fetishes of normies.

All my life I'd been single. So, seeing this sign and what came next annoyed me beyond compare.

The garden was quite spacious and the general populace could enter it. A lot of rare and beautiful flowers were here. But what caught my attention most was that people were expressing their affection in broad daylight.

"You're eyes look so pretty," the guy said in an elegant voice.

"Oh, you always say that…." The girl said became embarrassed and looked away. It was cliché but to me it was torture.

What the hell is wrong with this world? How can they be this carefree? If you have time to fondle around then, why don't you just pick up arms and get rid of those damn monsters!? I was really irritated. I learned that the world only revolved around the strong and privileged, and that was true for all worlds, no matter where you went.

I walked around in rage. People avoided me in the road because of that, probably. Before long, I stumbled upon the weapon shop. Was it luck? (Most probably so.)

"Welcome." A stout voice shouted from the counter.

It was a grand shop. There were all kinds of equips. My trusty sword had become too rusty, my clothes too torn. Although they were gifts from Dune, after these few days of clashes, it looked like a rusty nail that had marinated in the storehouse for ages. I needed a change. The owner seemed like a good man. There were other customers there too. So I didn't waste any time.

"I'd like some good armor. Please keep it under one silver. And do you think you can do something with this sword?" I needed to save money, so I tried my luck.

"Let's see, with one silver, you won't be getting much quality but…" He ran his hand through his beard.

My beard was still in its infancy. I had facial hair, but compared to him, it was probably just nothing.

He stopped midway. I got the feeling, he could understand, I was a bit on the poor side. If it comes down to it, I might need to use that gold coin, after all.

"This sword is not usable. You should get a new one," said a man next to me. He was average in size but had a tanned body and I could tell his experience was far-far greater than mine.

Seriously? "It was a gift, so can't we do anything about it?"

"Yeah, can't you go any higher than a single silver? If you had, for example another silver, we might be able to do something about the good part of the sword and perhaps make it into a knife." The owner gave me a pitying look but suggested stuff anyway.

The living cost of this world was low, so I thought weapons were cheap too. But I was dead wrong. To get money you needed to spend it first, I just learned the lesson again in this world.

"I suppose there's no helping it. Please give me the best you can under two silvers…" I suppose I'll have to spend the night in a barn the next few days if I don't earn before the night. It was already evening, so I didn't really have time to meddle around either.

I knew that considering food expanses it would be impossible to stay in an inn. Never knew living was so hard. Maybe if I make it back alive, I'll pay a visit to father's grave.

"By the way, a needle is sticking out from your bag," the man beside me pointed out. The tanned man coughed and initiated a conversation as I handed my sword to the blacksmith.

"Oh! I didn't notice that… thank you…" I really hadn't noticed that. The needle was barely poking its small head and wanted to sting something (I suppose). It was sharp and definitely a pain.

"You should sell them. They should fetch a fair price," the man suggested.

Now that I took a good look at him, he was a senior citizen in his prime. He looked rather dashing for someone old. And he really looked great in full plate armor.

"Hmm… I guess I should have sold these too…" Honestly why was I keeping these anyway? Probably cause I'd forgotten.

"Would you mind selling me a few? My needle stack is almost drained," the owner said.

"How much are you willing to pay?" I said as I brought out my poker face. I for once didn't want to get ripped off, so bluffing was the only way.

"Fifty bronze per piece… it's a fair price wouldn't you say?"

I had lots of needles; close to a hundred perhaps, so I decided to push my luck. "Make it 55 and we'll be in business,"

"That's actually a tough price. Why don't we settle for 105 per pair?"

"You got yourself a deal."

Anything more than the initial price, was a bonus for me. I sold him 90 needles. I kept the rest as insurance. Who knew when you needed some extra cash? Fortunately for me that was enough to buy good quality equipment.

"Looks like my total budget has increased to 45 silvers. So please keep it under 40." Having at least five silver should be enough for a few days…. I was proud, and my chest was puffing itself up almost as if it had a mind of its own.

The owner and the man next to me were too surprised. "How did you count so fast?"

Are they for real? "Oh! It's no big deal. I'm good at math"

The owner said something rather weird. "What's a mat? Is it delicious?"

I stared emptily. "Oh yes, it's very delicious."

"Really where do you get one?" the tanned man said.

Apparently, this world's general population didn't have any formal education, let alone learn mathematics. I envied them and pitied them at the same time. For once in my life, my fourteen years of education didn't seem like a complete waste. "You'd have to travel to a place called Dirt. It's in another world." It was sarcasm in its prime.

Both of them burst into laughter. A few customers nearby laughed too. "Mister you really know how to crack jokes, huh!"

I laughed too. "Never mind. Please hurry up."

"Right!" They probably thought I was some kind of pampered noble. Cause that was the only explanation in this world anyway: after all, nobles and rich merchants were the only ones who received education. And I most certainly wasn't a rich merchant.

All this time the other customers were staring at me. The one, who was talking with me before, was checking me out, for some reason. He was staring rather rudely down my waist where I had my dagger.. I didn't pay much attention though.