The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 385: The Oldest Store (3)

Chapter 385: The Oldest Store (3)

Hex spent a lot of time browsing through the several items available. To his surprise the store had every fruit and plant he mentioned. What shocked him were the prices.

Azure Moon Lily

Tier required: M2

Price: W 13,800

Silvertongues

Tier required: M3

Price: W 69,000

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Demon-faced Mangos

Tier required: M3

Price: Barter only (items between W 80,000 - W 99,000 have the best chance of being accepted)

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Earth Swallowing Crimson Roots

Tier required: M6

Price: Barter only (items of equal rarity)

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’These prices are nuts,’ Hex cursed. ’I can’t afford any of these. And this is supposed to be the beginning steps. And what’s up with the Demon-faced mangos?’

The Demon-faced mangos weren’t on the list of the items he needed for the Method. He had read about them in a book had found in the baron’s study. He remembered the name because it sounded different than he was used to.

According to the book, these mangos grew on trees that fed on hundreds of Demon-Stage corpses. Eating the mangos helped a person gain a better physique to the point it rivaled the physical body of actual Demons.

He hadn’t expected it to be priced so high. It exceeded the price of everything else. The Earth Swallowing Crimson Roots wasn’t on the list either. He had learned about it after going through some fragments of memories found in the Sand Burial Monarch’s crystal. He still had the crystal. Old Perl hadn’t mentioned it so far and Hex had remained silent about it.

Seeing the price tag on it, he wasn’t shocked. Something that remained stuck in the memory of an Enlightened Knight was without doubt a treasure.

’They have the things I need. But now I need money to be able to afford them.’

There were six more bubbles.

Beast and Creatures

Pills

Crystals

Gems

Weapons and Equipment

Other

Hex had no idea how long he had been inside the store. He didn’t know whether the others had completed their business or not. But this was a chance he didn’t wish to let go. He could come later here. But he wished to prepare for his next visit.

He went through each bubble. He found everything he needed out of each bubble and for the first step. He hadn’t expected some rare items to be displayed before him, a person who had not bought a single item from the store.

He even went through the bubble of Weapons and Equipment. The display of several Refined and Transformation Stage gear were mouthwatering. Hex hadn’t had a decent weapon since he left Asterella. But they were difficult to find.

’I need something I still can use after my transformation into the Dragon Bear,’ Hex mused. A sword was handy and he had the skill to use it but once he transformed into a giant beast, weapons lost meaning to him.

He asked the store for advice. Druids were common in Wrixia. There had to be a few people with a similar issue like him.

"We have equipment that can change based on the size and strength of the wielder. Swords that have a size and weight range within which they can be adjusted. Leather armor that can stretch, of course to a certain limit, among other stuff. Please take a look."

The shelves rearranged themselves and displayed fifteen items. On Hex’s request to filter to the ones without any Tier requirements, he was left with five items on display.

Throne Crusher Mace

Tier required: None

Price: W 100,000

Sea-compressed Shield

Tier required: None

Price: W 150,000

Sun-Welded Gauntlets

Tier required: None

Price: W 115,000

Devil Whale Whisker Boots

Tier required: None

Price: W 250,000

Lava Gargoyle Eye Pendant

Tier required: None

Price: W 200,000

None of the things were stuff he could afford. But now he had a good idea what items he could acquire by himself.

"What items would you like to buy?"

Hex felt a little embarrassed but he had no money. Not yet, at least. He couldn’t afford to buy even a single item at the moment, which he told to the store.

"We accept items in exchange even if the option of barter isn’t listed. We will take a fifteen percent administration fee, though."

Hex considered it. But he had no item of worth, aside from the two crystals of Enlightened stage. And irrespective of the price, he didn’t think exchanging such crystals in return for some weapons would be worth it.

"Is this shop open all the time? And do I need to visit with Sterling?" Having seen the wares the store sold, he was surprised he had not discovered any other customers coming this way. A place like this should be swamped by customers.

"We are open at all times. You are free to visit at all times. After becoming a member you can access the store over a distance. The higher the Tier, the greater the distance you can cover."

Hearing the voice, Hex understood the reason behind the lack of customers. It seemed that the regulars all had acquired membership already.

"Does it mean at the highest Tier I can gain access from across the world?" Hex asked, doubting it. If they could sell their stuff everywhere, the merchants would not have survived.

"Our physical services are limited to Wrixia. The Crack distorts SpaceTime too much to do business safely. The highest Tiers can access the available list and have to rely on delivery services to get their ware out of the store. The same applies when people have stuff we are interested in buying."

...

"Are you done? How was it?"

Quid and Sterling looked at him with a pleased smile on their faces. They had been waiting on Hex, apparently hoping to see him return stunned by the displays inside.

"It was indeed beyond anything I had imagined," Hex admitted. He was still relishing having seen so many treasures. "But it’s depressing not being able to buy anything."

Both Quid and Sterling laughed. They offered a loan but Hex refused. He didn’t tell him but he believed he would soon have plenty of money to return. He only had to wait till midnight.