Hearing that question, Merit closed his eyes for a moment as he thought of something. "Well, a spear like that, with the knowledge I have of it... It can be either priceless or simply a bag of trash, no in-betweens." He replied.
"A bag of trash? Why? It's really good, though." Talon said as he gripped it even harder. He still didn't check its description yet but he was certain this spear was perfect for him. Even if it was considerably weaker than the other ones, he would still choose it purely for the chemistry.
"Yeah, that thing doesn't work. Look at those runes on the side. Those are supposed to be activated for the spear to reach its true potential. But, I have never met a single soul that can actually make this thing work." Merit explained.
Across his journey, he had met countless people on his way, some took interest in that spear all the same. After all, this one looked the most 'normal' within Merit's arsenal and sometimes, the most normal-looking things hide the deepest secrets. Especially when you put it in the context of the owner of this spear... Merit himself.
He was a collector of all special items and a master at choosing what to keep and what to throw. If he kept something as normal as this spear, then that means it isn't normal anymore.
"Well, how about we make a bet?" The entity said with a smile as he thought of an idea.
"A bet? About what?"
"Simple, I want you to try and activate this spear. If you can do that, then it's yours for free. On the other hand, if you can't activate it and it remains the same, you can still take it if you want. But, you will have to pay a price for it. What do you think?"
Hearing that, Talon pursed his lips and went silent. The bet seemed rather safe. There weren't that many big stakes to lose on this which made Talon's decision rather quick.
"Sure, why not?" Extending his hand, he shook merit's to seal the deal.
"Ok, try it now." Merit said as he took a step back with a curious look on his face. He hadn't felt this anticipation of something happening in a very long while. Something within him told him that this spear might've finally found its worthy owner.
Yet, at the same time, he still can't believe that someone would be able to activate this spear so easily.
"Mmm, should I go outside or...?" Looking around him, Talon could only hesitate. The shop was rather small and he didn't know whether it could even be safe if something went completely wrong in the process.
"Don't worry. This place had bore the test of time, it will be fine." Merit said.
"Uh, ok..." Rubbing the back of his head, the young man finally focused on the spear in his hand. Feeling its cold metal on his skin made him submerge his mind into it even further. Before doing anything, he wanted to feel the spear and communicate with it.
"Wha-" Before Talon could even do anything, the ball of energy suddenly launched forward and its target was...
"Move, Merit!!" Talon yelled as he saw the energy ball reach him in a split second. However, the boy didn't even seem to be bothered as he simply extended his hand forward.
The chaotic sphere clashed with his hand and stopped completely. Then, a strong gush of wind exploded everywhere, sending Talon stumbling back a few steps. The entire shop shook violently as if it were hit by a storm.
Covering his face so as not to get hit by something, Talon waited for the wind to subside before he finally peeked through his arm. There, he saw the sphere of energy still in Merit's hand.
"... Interesting..." The latter said as he looked at the spear with a hint of fascination in his eyes. "This is amazing... A perfect ball of Aetheris... So this is what that spear can do?"
'To be honest, I expected many things. This isn't certainly one of those things.' Rubbing his chin, he examined the sphere further. Not only was it a perfectly compact ball filled with energy. Its destructive power was fascinating. So much so that Merit was certain if he didn't stop it, this entire shop would've been blasted into pieces.
No, even more than that, it could've easily destroyed the neighboring buildings too.
A ball, smaller than his hand, capable of a destructive power of that caliber.
"What the hell was that? Why did it suddenly do that?" Staring at the spear in his hand, Talon noticed that the blue color had vanished completely and the rune went back to its former colorless nature.
He didn't understand why the spear reacted that way after an entire minute passed.
"It seems we were wrong. The spear had never done this before. Usually, it consumes the user's Aetheris and never does anything else. You are quite different." Merit said as he grew a toothy grin. "It seems the spear had accepted you as its new master."
Talon blinked silently before he looked at the spear again. This time, he noticed something else. The weapon's connection with him had deepened significantly. It was a subtle sensation at first but only grew more and more prominent the more he looked at it.
He didn't even need proof from Merit to realize that indeed, the spear had accepted him and it was more than willing to let him use it.
Acrypha stared at Talon from the side with a hint of relief. She didn't want to see him dissatisfied with his new weapon even if it was a little bit.
'There couldn't be any better user for that spear. If it refused him, I would be damned.' She thought to herself.
(I uploaded a new book to my account. It won't be the main one, but it's an interesting idea I had for a while now. The name is 'Rise Of The Greatest Blade Arcane'. Do search it up and add it to your collection if you are interested.)