Chapter 74- Zephir’s Emporium (Part 2)

Chapter 74: Chapter 74- Zephir’s Emporium (Part 2)

Chapter 74- Zephir’s Emporium (Part 2)

The first thing that Rize noticed when he walked in was how cold the entire place. Even though they were coming toward the end of the year, so the temperatures were dropping, it was still shocking how cold that place was. Rize felt a shudder run down his spine as he rubbed his shoulders.

’Why is this place freezing? How can someone even be comfortable in here?’ Rize frowned as he looked around him.

The second thing he noticed was simply how messy it was. No, calling it messy was an understatement; the place looked like it had been run through by a storm not that long ago. The shelves had piles of all kinds of items. Weapons, armors, old artifacts, and even tools that Rize couldn’t recognize.

Those piles spilled onto the ground, so the entire floor was covered in these items. A thick layer of dust covered every single corner of the room.

’This place is impressively dirty. I doubt an abandoned building would look as bad as this.’ He thought as he walked into the building, trying not to step on the weapons. Eventually, he reached the reception counter. There, he tapped the bell on the table.

"Hello? Anybody here?" Rize yelled as he looked around. However, nobody replied. Rize frowned as he tapped the bell again.

’Are they not here? This is so weird.’ He scratched his head. "Hello?! You have a customer!"

His second yell was louder as it reverberated through the entire place, and suddenly, Rize heard a noise.

"Huh?! What?! Who?!"

Rize frowned as he looked over the counter and saw a man lying on the ground behind the chair, sleeping soundly. His yell woke the man up from his slumber as he jumped to his feet, ready to fight.

The man looked extremely old, easily over 80 years of age. He was incredibly skinny and short with a balding head and a long white beard. He looked around him, left and right, before his eyes locked onto the boy.

The two stared at each other silently for a second. The atmosphere felt incredibly intense and hostile, to the point where Rize frowned and clenched his fists.

’Is he going to attack me?’

Seconds passed slowly as the tension grew even thicker. At some point, the man suddenly made a move forward, which alerted Rize.

’He’s going to attack!!’

Then, the man clicked his tongue and turned around before he laid down again, ready to go back to sleep.

"..."

"Zzzz..."

"Hey! I’m literally here to buy something, and you’re ignoring me!" Rize yelled.

"We’re closed, scram, boy." The man said.

"You literally have a sign that says ’Open’ outside."

"If I had a sign that said ’Jump from a building,’ would you listen to it?" The man asked.

"..."

"Exactly. We all say things we don’t mean. Maybe I would mean that last one, though." The old man said.

The boy was completely speechless. The man’s eccentric behavior robbed him of the ability to speak.

’He is exactly as the book describes him.’ Rize scratched his head. "Listen, old man. I’m here to buy a weapon from you. I won’t take too much of your time, and you get money. It’s a fair deal."

"..."

"What do you think? I’m not going to waste your time, old man." Rize said. "I really need a weapon as soon as possible. It’s a matter of life or death."

After several seconds of silence, the man clicked his tongue and turned to face Rize. "A weapon? What kind?"

"Long sword, light, good for medium to short range skirmishes. Show me your options." Rize said as he leaned against the table.

The man eyed him up and down before he turned around and walked to the door behind him. "Wait there."

Rize nodded faintly as a smile formed on his face. ’Even though he might be an obnoxious bastard. Zephir is useful when needed.’

The reason Rize came to that place was that he was looking for a particular weapon mentioned in the story. A very strong weapon that would be perfect for the future. ’I really hope he still has it and nobody took it yet.’

As he waited patiently, Rize decided to check the rest of the shop. He approached random shelves, curiously inspecting the weapons presented.

’These look so ancient but also not bad either. Zephir has a really nice collection.’ Rize thought to himself as he picked up a dagger and blew the dust off of it. It had a nice, golden handle and a sharp edge. Moving it around, Rize eventually stopped and looked at another weapon, and then another. Each weapon looked more bizarre than the other.

After several minutes of looking around, Rize heard the door open again, and Zephir walked in, carrying several swords in his hand. Putting them on the table, he looked at Rize.

"Go ahead, choose," Zephir said as he crossed his arms. "Or should I choose for you?"

"No need. I know what I want." Rize replied as he looked at the selection. Some of these swords looked average to slightly above average. Picking one of them up, Rize analyzed it with his eyes, searching for particular details that he was looking for.

’Hm, not this one...’ Rize muttered as he put the sword down and then picked another one. One by one, Rize inspected them before putting them down with a disappointed look on his face.

Zephir watched the entire scene curiously. "What are you even looking for, boy? You’re not trying to use them."

"Hm? Oh, I’m just searching for a particular weapon. I was wondering if you have it."

"I have all kinds of weapons. You have to be specific. I can’t read your mind."

"Hm, ok, so listen..." Rize leaned against the table. "I’m looking for a Katana, a very old and rusty one. It has a black handle and a black hilt; the blade is also black, but it’s chipped. Do you have that?"

"..." Zephir squinted his eyes, feeling mildly suspicious of Rize. The boy behaved so weirdly, and when he mentioned that weapon, his suspicion grew. "Say, what’s your name, boy?"

"... Rize."

"Rize," Zephir muttered as he looked down before he whispered to the boy. "And why are you looking for this specific weapon, Rize?"

"No particular reason, old man. You shouldn’t ask too many questions." Rize replied with a cold smile. "I’m sure a man like you would have way less to stress about if you don’t try to dig too deep into people’s business, right?"

"..."

’This brat.’ Zephir didn’t know whether to laugh or get angry

"Tsk, hold on there for a second. I think I have what you want."

Turning around, Zephir walked into the room again and came back a minute later holding a different sword in his hand. It looked incredibly old, to the point where the hilt itself had cracks and marks on it that made it seem like it was about to shatter into pieces by the smallest force.

However, Rize felt it almost instantly. The moment this sword entered the room, the entire vibe changed. A new energy dominated the place, one that made Rize instinctively step back. Whatever that sword was, it had a very, very different energy.

One could even call it a malicious energy. One that consumes the positivity in the air and leaves behind fear and uncertainty. Rize’s eyes lit up at seeing that thing as Zephir put it on the table.

’This is it.’ The thrill of finding this weapon turned into a weird smile on his face.