Volume 2 - CH 24

Luce and I spent the few days it took Berga to complete our commission with sight-seeing and gathering information in La Colina.

We even tried looking for a [Reaper Assassin] Skill Book that will be needed for Luce’s future build in underground shops, but we had no luck with that.

That being said, we have no hope of getting enough money for the [Reaper Assassin] in the short run, so even if we did manage to find one, we could only gnash our teeth in frustration at most….

I almost went on to buy some moderately useful Skill Books that were pretty cheap with the purpose of selling them somewhere else, but Luce ended up talking me out of it.

The trading of Skill Books is kind of a gray area.

The customers don’t really get punished if a shop owner gets caught, but if the authorities find out that an adventurer made a lot of money with business like that, then they most likely wouldn’t just leave them alone entirely.

If I get into buying and selling too much, then I would most likely get caught by the guard sometime in the future.

If I get caught in La Colina and they find out that I’m an offspring of a noble, then the Howlod Family would take advantage of the situation and include my former family and make it into a big incident.

I don’t even want to think about what face Guild Leader Hallein would make if she’d find out that I was caught for dealing in Skill Books.

On the day the mythril sword was promised to be complete, Luce and I made our way towards Berga’s smithy.

“I think I could’ve sold the [Spirit Fist] Skill Book somewhere else for a lot more if I explained its strengths….”

The [Spirit Fist] Skill Tree allows you to obtain basic hand-to-hand Skills, and also gives a small boost to your Defense.

However, getting those basic hand-to-hand Skills are virtually meaningless.

The reason is because those Skills only work if you don’t use any weapons, which means that you don’t get the Attack bonus or reach advantage they could provide.

The hand-to-hand style also has some advantages in later stages, but [Spirit Fist] only lets you get the basic Skills.

The Defense boost is one of the least popular stat increases too.

However, if you keep investing in [Spirit Fist], then in the end you will get [Stun Resistance] and [Confusion Resistance].

And although those sound quite plain, they are also pretty powerful, so in Magic World there were a number of top players that included [Spirit Fist] in their builds.

Especially in this world, where death means the end, [Stun Resistance] and [Confusion Resistance] should provide a great pay off.

I was excited when I saw it going for a cheap price of 10 million gold, which was almost at its Market Value, but….

“Please stop with that resale topic already, Elma-san.”

Luce had a bitter smile on her face.

“Ah, I now know that the risks don’t outweigh the possible gains, but still….”

Just, as a former gamer, I’m itching to do something with it.

Determining the value of items and trading them to make more gold is a basic skill of a Magic World player.

“It’s just when I think about the fact I could’ve made 10 or maybe even 20 million gold just from reselling it….”

“20 million gold!?”

Luce’s eyes were wide open.

When I saw the [Spirit Fist] on sale for such a discount I was excited.

I could now appreciate why the old granny at the Broken Grimoire Company was so underhanded about the money.

Moving large amounts of money must be a kind of hobby for her by now.

“E-Elma-san, I don’t know about selling it, but how about we buy it after all, just in case, you know…..?”

“Ah, but the risks…..”

This time it was my turn to respond with a bitter smile.

While we were talking, we reached Berga’s smithy.

“Well then…..the Black Steel Armor will take a bit more time to be ready, so let’s take a look at the mythril sword for now.”

My steps were light.

I always get the most excited when it’s time to get some new equipment or Skill Tree.

“Huh….the door is open it seems. That’s strange, it’s usually closed.”

“You just don’t get it, old man. I’m not saying to just hand it over. I just want you to sell me that sword. The only one who could handle that mythril sword in this city’s adventurers’ guild is none other than my esteemed self.”

A voice could be heard from within the smithy.

“I have no weapons to sell to someone like you! This is an order-made weapon to begin with! Just get the hell out of my shop already!”

“I can simply take care of that by paying off their material costs. I’m telling you that I’m willing to fork out some bonus for it too. You don’t want to make me too mad, you know? I’m a venerated high rank adventurer who’s quite close with the Guild staff. If I call out to a few low rank adventurers to put pressure on the shops you are doing business with, then your cherished run-down smithy might just run out of business, you know? I can crush you without even having to dirty my own hands, you know?”

It seems something dangerous was going down.

“This doesn’t look good….”

“L-let’s go, Elma-san!”

Luce and I hurried inside the smithy.

We managed to locate Berga right away.

“Are you alright, old man! Hey, you Magic Swordsman, cut this out right…..! Hn?”

I couldn’t see the Magic Swordsman anywhere.

Yet I just heard the two arguing with each other.

“Hoh, so you are the one who ordered this made. I was wondering what kind of person you would be, but….to think it was just a wimpy looking guy like you. You were oh so proud about choosing who to work for and yet you made a mythril sword for a loser like this. Fuhaha, how droll. Even the mighty Blacksmith Berga couldn’t win against poverty.”

“I can hear her voice, but I can’t see anyone….Is she using some kind of Skill?”

“E-Elma-san, down, look down….”

Luce said nervously.

When I lowered my gaze, I saw a short woman carrying a sword.

Her purple hair was tied in a ponytail.

“You bastard….are you making fun of me?”

“A child….no, since she must’ve been through the Divine Blessing Ceremony, then she must be at least 15…..”

“I’m 17.”

She was glaring at me with fierce, sanpaku1 eyes.

She was clearly irritated judging by her voice.

She was also surprisingly older than me.

“It seems you are looking down on me, huh. Have you heard about the Magic Swordsman with the alias of Black Flame Sword?”

It’s an alias we heard about while we were gathering intel in the city.

The Black Flame Sword… an alias that belongs to one of the very few A rank adventurers here in La Colina.

We heard that this adventurer was from here, but frequently traveled far and wide, and only recently returned to this city.

A rank adventurers are usually at least level 90.

She doesn’t look like some capable of self-restraint either.

If this becomes an argument, then she might kill me in the spur of the moment….

“Why hide it? My name is Hilde, that famous adventurer, the Black Flame Sword…..’s number one disciple!”

Trying to intimidate us, the Magic Swordsman…..or rather, Hilde, declared in a pompous tone while pointing at herself with her thumb.

“Ah, I see….Wow, that’s amazing.”

….it seems she wasn’t the person in question after all.