A young child aged no more than twelve was currently smugly looking at the scene in front of her. Her fiery red hair paired well with her temper as she was casually watching two shows at once.
“Child, who’s the owner of this store?” Miyamoto stared at her, looking past the multiple envoys. “Can we speak with the owner of the sword?”
“Child?” Helena looked at her body and felt that it was getting annoying that she was stuck in this form. “Well, as for your questions, he’s sleeping. He gave it to me so I could sell it in his stead. Well, what are your offers?”
The envoys felt completely dubious about the entire situation. They were about to barter with a young girl in front of them, something that was well below their full capabilities.
“Would you like a set of jewels that would sparkle even under the night sky?” One of the envoys offered Helena.
“Jewels…” Helena thought for a little while. “Yeah, I like jewels. What do you have?”
“Well, that settles it!” An envoy immediately brought out multiple beautifully shining crystals from his spatial ring. “All of these jewels for the sword? How about it?”
Ha! This is too easy! A child really is too easy to wow. The envoy thought to himself gladly.
Helena glanced over the jewels and saw that they were merely nothing more than a bunch of rocks without any sort of mana inside them. In short, these were just a bunch of rocks, not jewels.
“Hmm. Not sparkly enough. Pass.” Helena waved her hand as she showed pure boredom.
Showing off is fun in of itself but acting naive also has a side to it as well. If that’s the case, I can see why Cain would be acting like this. Helena lightly giggled as she enjoyed her time trying to get impressed. Her gleeful smile then turned into spite as veins popped up on her forehead. Too bad he's actually like this.
“Ha?” The envoy was left speechless by how Helena brutally rejected him. He had thought that she had the sword within his grasp only to be misled by such a little girl. “Didn’t you say…”
“They weren’t sparkly enough. Who’s next?” Helena glanced around seeing that these envoys were immediately agitated. They were shouting out things that they thought a girl like her would like. From within the crowd, Miyamoto decided to stand back and not make a fool out of himself.
Hmm? That little guy saw through it. Haha, how cute. Helena giggled and continued to enjoy watching the fools before her panic.
That girl… something’s completely off about her. A child after ten years in the other world? Either she’s hiding her true self or her talent is so terrifying that we couldn’t even compare. Miyamoto’s eyes opened before, unlocking a sense that he hadn’t unleashed in the world for fear that his body wouldn’t be able to take it.
Taking such a risk was almost suicidal but there was something he needed to verify, “Eye of the Sword!”
All within Miyamoto’s vision turned black, returning to pure emptiness. There was no light, no color, no shape. There was only the concept of one’s talent. A small sprout appeared before him, a field of weak flowers. Some were slightly higher than others yet they were still ignorable.
His eyes stared at a young red-haired maiden, instead of a flower swaying from side to side, he saw the same young red-haired maiden looking back at him with a smirk on her face, taunting him. Never before had he seen something like this, for a person to remain as themselves within this vision… even he didn’t know what it meant.
“The personification of their talent towards the sword… what does it mean? Weaklings could only be a droplet of water or a single blade of grass! Some of the well-off talented people were mountains or rivers! One of the strongest talents I’ve seen was a star in the vast void! Never had it before been a living person!” Miyamoto firmly understood one thing, whoever that girl was, she wasn’t simple.
“Star?” Miyamoto felt something odd, something completely out of place. It was as if the abyss was starting to grab ahold of him, tempting him into looking above him. He felt a calling, he felt… a desire to do as his heart told him. To look up.
Miyamoto snapped out of this temptation… this desire to follow his heart. “What’s going on?” As he struggled to keep himself sane, there was a sign of weakness. He let himself go for but a mere moment as he looked up at the skies in his own world.
There he saw, the shadow of the abyss- Miyamoto bit his lips as he immediately canceled his Eye of the Sword. He tried to keep himself relaxed yet his rapidly beating heart couldn’t be hidden from Helena’s senses. She giggled as she noticed that he almost saw something that would’ve consumed his soul.
“What about toys? You like toys?” Another envoy finally said something so absurd that even they knew that it was far too much of a stretch.
“Toys?” Helena recalled Cain telling her about a small board game. “Toys sound good. What do you have?”
“T-That… worked?” The envoy immediately recomposed himself and tried to explain the doll that he had brought out. “This is a famous item that countless children have desired throughout the world. Even though society had just started to stabilize itself our group has ensured that the joy of childhood would be retained.”
Helena held the doll in her hand. It was crafted out of shoddy materials and disgusting bad craftsmanship in her eyes. Yet once the other envoys saw just how far and willing they were going with this, they almost lost all hope.
“To give something like that…”
Huh? What are you idiots talking about? Helena looked at the doll in her hands and was quite confused.
“What do you want me to do with this?” Helena waved the doll around without a care. “This just can’t be all, right?”
“Eh? What do you mean… is that all?” The envoy who had proudly brought this item out started explaining. “This doll wasn’t supposed to be given to you at first due to how well made it is. From a Rank 7 crafter, he had used the carapace of a Fabric Devourer which is a Rank 7 monster. It has been bound together by Rank 8 spider silk which ensures its durability! Better yet, It’s actually a morphing golem! If you inject enough-”
Helena did as she was told, injecting enough mana to instantly power up the golem. As the doll was infused with an immense amount of mana, it immediately short-circuited and started sizzling. Steam started to pour out of this doll as it ceased all function. Helena continued pouring in more mana only to realize that she may or may not have already broken it unknowingly.
“Doesn’t work.” Helena threw it right back at the envoy who was so proudly explaining. He didn’t even manage to realize that the doll that he was so proud of was lying on his face. As her her, well she looked away trying to shy away from all responsibility of breaking it.
“W-Wait! What do you mean it doesn’t work?” The envoy carefully received the doll back. Even making sure that it wasn’t handled too badly.
“Check it, useless.” Helena yawned as she completely ignored the fact that it broke due to her. She then proceeded to lean back on her chair and spin around, “Defective goods. Get out.” Helena said so in a deadpan face, trying to skirt out of trouble.
If anyone objects I’ll just delete them. Helena thought to herself as she spun around.
“T-That… that cannot be! It was working this morning!” The envoy tried to input mana into the doll yet for some reason it won’t transform. The sheer embarrassment of being put down like this would look terribly for the force behind him. He kept on trying but due to the other envoys wanting to form a relationship with her, they all kicked him out unjustly.
Miyamoto saw everything happen before him, he saw Helena… more accurately he had a glimpse of Helena inputting in mana only for the doll to not work. His unnerved feeling about this seemingly unassuming store was starting to worsen.
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
If that wasn’t bad enough, he felt his very foundation being shaken. Miyamoto’s intuition told him that he was in extreme danger, danger so certain that he would die if he stayed here any longer. Despite common sense telling him that he was definitely a superior expert in the current world, he still trusted his instincts.
As he was about to leave, this unknown fear started to appear before him in the form of a black-haired girl. He was stuck in place as he was forced to meet her face-to-face.
Nue yawned and stretched her limbs as she went downstairs. She glanced at the many people staring at her appearance and placed her attention back toward Miyamoto. She narrowed her eyes and left, going into the kitchen to find something to eat. “No fight…”
“Young lady, is that the owner of the sword?” An envoy coughed as she tried to retain her calm from seeing such an entrancing sight.
“Oh, Nue? Nah, she’s a freeloader like me. I mean, like Harry. Ahem, slip of the tongue.” Helena saved her reputation with that. “Well technically, she’s supposed to be our guardian but…” Helena looked at the entrance towards the living area and sighed as questionable bits of food matter sprouted from inside.
“Nue! What did we tell you about eating food!” Helena roared from the counter. She was annoyed because she would have to clean it up later.
“I forgot!” Nue screamed right back. The noises and splatter still appeared from the distance yet were somehow starting to get drowned out. The noise lowered enough so that their conversation wouldn’t be ruined anymore but it still made everyone baffled.
“Just… never mind her. She has a screw loose.” Helena tried to put their attention away from the girl who suddenly interrupted the discussion.
The envoys seemed to have been star-struck as they didn’t even question what Nue was doing. The initial conversation that was supposed to be trying to impress Helena suddenly turned into one about Nue.
“Nue? That’s a lovely name, when does she get off work?”
“Ahem, if you don’t mind me asking, is she single?”
“Beat it! I saw her first.”
Helena needed to make sure first, “Did you all just collectively forget that you needed the Rank 9 sword?”
“We didn’t! We were just trying to make small talk. As per business customs.” An envoy tried to weasel himself out of this situation but it really didn’t work.
Helena sighed and with a serious look on her face, “That the best you got? Get out.”
“I… yes.” The envoy who tried to make himself look better just walked out. The feeling of not being able to see Nue again was the more painful part than losing the opportunity to get the sword.
Miyamoto took in a massive gulp of air as he tried to calm himself. Although he felt like he could take Nue on, there was something intrinsic about her that he felt that his very essence would be consumed.
“What the hell is this place?! Nothing makes sense! First, it’s this little girl and next, it’s that teenager! What else is this store hiding?” Miyamoto initially thought that this would be an easy journey with him leaving with the sword yet it turned out there were even greater experts hiding other than him.
“Just what kind of world did they come from? What could possibly let these monsters develop this easily?” Miyamoto’s desire for the sword was dwindling at a rapid pace. At this point, leaving with his life intact was much more important. He used his skills and tried to stealthily leave the premises.
Helena was starting to get bored again and noticed that Miyamoto was trying to leave as well. “Well, how about you old man? What would you like to offer for the Rank 9 sword?”
Miyamoto was just about to reach for the door when he was finally stopped in his tracks, “This old man… please just ignore me. It seems that I wouldn’t be able to afford it after all. It was my mistake.” He had to swallow down his pride if he wanted to live. Within the den of monsters, leaving alive would be reward enough.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to see the sword? Why not? It’s just seeing it. Here you go.” Helena tapped at the empty space by her side and reached in, taking out the Rank 9 sword for everyone to see.
Eh? When did that happen… don’t tell me. Helena recalled that Cain touched it for a while before she received it. She immediately felt a headache. That buffoon made this situation even worse! If the mana inside this weapon wasn’t so weak then I would’ve noticed! Argh!
What initially seemed like fun and games was now a genuine scenario. A Rank 9 sword was great and all but it wasn’t enough to give any super force any advantage. This was what everyone initially had planned out. Unfortunately, rumors were only rumors.
Before them was the rumored sword, the rumors stated that it was a genuine Rank 9 sword yet the rumors made it seem as if it only barely managed to reach Rank 9. A Lower Rank 9 weapon would do wonders for a super force. Now, a Peak Rank 9 weapon would finally catch the attention of some major superpowers who had an extremely terrifying swordsman.
A Peak Rank 9 sword would let a Peak Rank 9 expert to be able to deal with a Lower Rank 10 creature. This was in all honesty… huge. This would be more than enough of a safety net that a Peak Rank 9 sword would finally be a priority.
Yet the sword in front of them wasn’t a Lower Rank 9, a Higher Rank 9, not even a Peak Rank 9 weapon. It was a genuine Lower Rank 10 sword. A sword that had reached the point of receiving a legendary status. A game changer.
All the feelings of catering and making themselves look a fool were finally justified. They all immediately put down their pride and made actual offers. “Young Lady, our guild would be willing to pay 10 High-Quality Mana Stones and 100 Medium-Quality Mana Stones. We could negotiate the price even further.”
“Wait! 11 High-Quality Mana Stones! That’s our entire guild’s wealth! We could offer Rank 8 monster materials in addition to it!.” Another envoy rapidly said out loud.
“13… We would be… willing to offer 13 High-Quality Mana Stones.” The envoy was clearly clenching his fists so hard that blood was dropping off his hands. This was actually something that could financially ruin a guild.
“13 High-Quality Mana Stones and- go away!” An envoy slapped his friend and continued offering. The fate of his current guild was now resting on his shoulders. “And, a promise of 2 High-Quality Mana Stones within a week!”
“Psychopath! Madman! Lunatic!” The other weaker guilds were immediately barred out due to the insanely high price tag that was immediately placed on the Lower Rank 10 sword.
Oh woah, so they can actually get serious? I didn’t know that. Helena was taken aback but just decided to let them compete amongst themselves.
An envoy who had just finished talking to his superiors yelled out loud, “We’re willing to give you a map of the dungeons that we have explored so far! As well as 1 High-Quality Mana Stone!”
“That’s even more deranged! Are you risking everything on this?!” An envoy was completely shocked. A map of the dungeon was essentially priceless, hell, even more valuable than the guild itself! It was paved with the efforts and corpses of countless search parties, to give this away was far too much. Even for a Lower Rank 10 sword.
“Us as well! Our map has achieved a 2% completion of the first layer and 0.042% of the second layer! I dare say that the value of this map is well beyond what others could offer!” An envoy was gritting his teeth as he said his offer out loud.
“That’s… insane… our guild had only managed to explore less than half a percent of the first layer. And you’re telling me they’ve explored the second layer already?! Just how fast are they? How many bodies were sacrificed?”
The envoy who offered such an insane completion rate grumbled, “None of your business.” Everyone here could see that it really did take the guild far too much sacrifice to do such a thing. In reality, life in the current world wasn’t fun at all, it was filled with chaos and slaughter. Only through sacrifices could they build on the foundation for the future.
Now it was resting on the last three envoys left. As everyone could tell, these three were the greatest public guilds of the current world.
A pink-haired girl who was wearing formal attire giggled and said, “I represent my guild, the Eye of Magic, to say that we no longer desire the sword. We are backing out.” She waved goodbye and immediately left, not even bothering to wait it out and see who won it.
The envoy that had been towering over every single person here ever since the beginning finally spoke, “We are willing to offer information.”
This caught everyone’s attention, while everyone else was giving practical items such as a map of the dungeon and High-Quality Mana Stones, he said he would give information.
“I know those suspicious looks very well. As I’ve been allowed by my guild, Dominion, to expose it! I will let you understand the true gap between us. It is information on how to regain your previous strength quickly. Yes! It is very accurate information on how to regain your peak!” His voice roared and his aura surged, showing that he was… a Lower Rank 8! This was completely breaking common sense! The current peaks of the world were only Peak Rank 7.
Everyone was completely taken aback at just how valuable this information was. This was, in another sense, game-changing. A game-changing weapon for game-changing information, it just seemed far too well fit.
Even Miyamoto was tempted, “That’s… possible so soon? If it’s her then there’s a slight possibility…” Miyamoto’s eyes narrowed as he recalled a petite girl enjoying her life above a sea of corpses.
“Haha, my sister seemed to have seen through it before I did. I really do fail as an older brother.” Another pink-haired man laughed, despite the mountain that he needed to overcome, he still braved it with a smile on his face. “Although my guild, Epitome, doesn’t have anything too unique to offer, what we do have is wealth. And. A. Lot. Of. It.” He slowly said it out loud at the end.
“50 High-Quality Mana Stones.” The pink-haired man said it out loud ever so casually as if these items were just stones on the ground. The sheer wealth of Epitome was well beyond anyone’s imagination at this point.
Even Helena’s eyes were shocked wide open as even she wondered how they got that much. And she made the world! She was really tempted by those 50 High-Quality Mana stones, they could expedite the ‘process’ by a whole ton.
Then again… I do have Cain. His existence alone is a cheat code. I should also probably stop him from making anything like this for now. Helena looked at the sword in her hand and remarked that even though Cain hadn’t personally made it, the power of this item could not be underestimated.
“How about you old man? What do you offer?” Helena pointed her sword towards Miyamoto. Her fiery dark eyes pierced through the void to see through him. “Well? We’re waiting…”
Miyamoto was faced with the scrutinizing gazes of the countless envoys. “Simple. I know what you want and I know it very well.”
Helena’s ears perked, she was dying to find out what he would offer, “Well? Let’s hear it. Nensho Miyamoto.”