"That is one of our finest swords, my lady." The shopkeeper, a man in his seventies appeared, sporting a mild hunchback. He looked at her with a smile, "But, I advise you to pick something else. You have well-balanced arms, so you are better with dual-wielding weapons. I can suggest a pair of short swords that would be the perfect weight for your strength."Re'Kha noticed that he was a Harmoniser from the Ju Clan, and judging by the glow of the gem on his Tikka jewellery, he was powerful. Through his natural talents alone, he would have been able to comprehend two units worth of Metal Qi in a year.
So, judging by his age, she wouldn't be surprised if he had already reached the peak as a Harmoniser. 100 units of Elemental Qi was the peak of a Harmoniser.
"May I know your name, senior?" Re'Kha made a formal bow as she spoke with a respectful tone. The person opposite her might very well be an elder of the Ju Clan. So, she had to show proper respect.
"You can call me Ju'Dra." He said with a smile.
"Senior Ju'Dra," Re'Kha cupped her fists, "I wanted to buy this sword as a spare, to use when my main weapon is damaged. I wanted to commission a specific type of weapon from here."
"Is it an elemental weapon?" Ju'Dra looked around, motioning with his eyes to ask whether the type of weapon she preferred was in display.
"Yes," Re'Kha nodded, motioning with her hand that what she was looking for wasn't displayed. She whispered, "Senior, do you know the names of most Magic Artifacts?"
"If it is something produced in our state, I would definitely know them." He smiled, whispering in return as he motioned for her to follow him. Re'Kha said she'll return soon to Ki'Nua, asking her to continue looking through the weapons as she followed the old man.
Ju'Dra led her to a secluded room situated at one corner of the shop. It was fully sound-proof, preventing people from hearing the conversation continued within.
Ju'Dra became serious as he spoke, "Which Magic Artifact's design do you want to follow for your commission?"
"Harpen Waves," Re'Kha replied.
"…" Ju'Dra turned silent for some time, making the situation awkward. He then sighed as he spoke, "Can you handle that weapon?"
"Yes, I had once practiced using a similarly designed weapon. Sadly, it got damaged during my travels. It wasn't of high quality." Re'Kha nodded.
Harpen Waves was a famous Magic Artifact of her Burkurel Re Clan. A lot of the Harmonisers from her clan possessed elemental weapons designed similarly to that. It was for two reasons: one, to get used to wielding it so that when they wielded Harpen Waves in the future, they would be able to do so without any faults. Two, it was also to prevent people from knowing which was the actual Harpen Waves when the Clan mobilised it. So, even if people schemed to steal it, they wouldn't be able to determine which was real.
So, every Clan had a lot of elemental weapons designed exactly like their Magic Artifacts. Moreover, some of the common populace too made their weapons based on such designs. Unfortunately for Harpen Waves, it got lost when its wielder died long ago. Thankfully, it ended up in her hands.
This was also her plan to make it seem normal in the off-chance people saw her using it. As she had her storage ring, Re'Kha would be able to swap Harpen Waves with its elemental weapon version and pretend nothing was strange.
This was one reason. The second reason was the fact she preferred it the best. It was what she was able to use the best among all the weapons. It gave her a greater advantage.
"Give me a moment," The old man craned the door open a little, beckoning for a servant. The servant quickly entered the room as he bowed.
"Do we still have a stock of an elemental weapon imitation of Harpen Waves?" Ju'Dra spoke.
"We still have them," The servant nodded after some thought as he whispered, "But, we had made it long ago. The weapon design lost its hype ever since the Burkurel Re Clan lost Harpen Waves. We haven't even done any maintenance to the remaining ones that failed to sell after being on our shelf for many years."
"Where are they now?" Ju'Dra pointed at Re'Kha, "Our lady here wishes to buy them."
"They are in our storage. I'll be back soon." The servant replied and dashed off.
"My lady, please continue to look around our weapons until he returns." Ju'Dra then took a second glance at Re'Kha, "Do you wish to buy any armour? We also make elemental armours."
"They are heavy so I don't use them." Re'Kha shook her head. "I think a shield would be better."
"No Harmoniser prefers wearing heavy armours like the ones from the army," Ju'Dra sighed, "But, armours protect you from most of the harm."
"But, my speed is severely impeded because of them. And, against most attacks, I can use my palm projections to defend against." Re'Kha retorted, "I can also hide and resort to long-range attacks using my bow. Running around in the forests and steep terrain wearing armour would swiftly exhaust me. And, its weight would prevent me from dodging any attacks."
She replied with a slight smugness, "I am confident in my ability to even dodge arrows shot at me."
"Haha, I knew you would never wear an armour, just like every other Harmoniser, including me." Ju'Dra laughed, shaking his head as he motioned for Re'Kha to follow him. "But, I wasn't speaking about those normal armours."
There was a door at the end of the shop which led into another room. There, armours were displayed in two parallel rows. But, these armours looked like they were made from cloth and fur. They didn't look like they would protect the wearer from any blow at all.
"It's not much, but they are made from a tough material that doesn't get cut easily. I have ones designed similar to the Re Clan's style of clothing. They are not good against heavy blows, but normal sword slashes won't even damage you if you wear them. And most of all, they are only slightly heavier than the dress you are wearing." Ju'Dra said with pride, "They are elemental armours I personally created. They are the best pick for Harmonisers like you." S~ᴇaʀᴄh the ɴøvᴇl_Firᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.
"And, the best part of them all lies here," He smiled, pointing at a token embedded in its hip section.