Of the few guys that did show off their merchandise, I saw things I never could find in the outside world.

I saw a guy who came from “Grand Gadget City”, our most technologically advanced City, who was selling battle application chips, small advanced (Self Emergent Mobile Operations) SEMOBots, battle-aiding AI programs, and even powerful laser weapons.

I had been interested but everything he sold, he sold at an astronomical price.

The cheapest thing I found was a light beam grenade which he sold for 100 platinum coins each.

I almost cussed out loud in reaction to the ridiculousness but I held in my urge since I didn't want to look like a broke fool in front of so many wealthy Masters.

I once had thought I had left the feeling of being poor behind, but once again the realization of severe economic limitations had caught up with me.

Despite the unwanted nostalgia I only chuckled at my mental trauma and moved forward looking for other things that perhaps were more in my budget range.

I found another guy that was from “Ephemeral Spirit City”, who sold amazing buffing items.

It was all items that were enchanted either with Spirit Essence, Spirit Brands, or just actual Spirits, as his labels informed.

I had little knowledge of the Spirit Arts, as everything related to that Path was very mystical and mysterious, and also hard to come by for the average Joe.

I had heard things related to Spirit Arts were very powerful, but I felt like I had no idea what to look for concerning such items.

Seeing as how I was in over my head I decided to pass on the spirit items, without much disappointment, as the spirit items were also quite expensive, with the cheapest one coming in at 60 platinum coins.

I passed yet another guy who came from “Mystic Heart City” whose items interested me the most.

He sold magical items crafted in a Magic Workshop from Mystic Heart City Volunterra’s Magic Arts capital.

I had a little more knowledge when it came to magical items, being the owner of a couple myself, so the man's magic item inventory piqued my interest.

I wanted to see how my magical items, compared to those made by Mystic Heart City professionals.

What I found was a big surprise to me.

The man had his items spread out with labels that gave the items' names, material makeup, and any special effects and abilities they had.

That this was the norm in the Ranker community so as to get to the point and avoid any unnecessary banter was very comforting for my inexperienced self.

Not only did I like that approach since it was very much my style, it also revealed that the Ranker world wasn’t completely as unforgiving and ruthless in at least some respects.

I examined magical blades, polearms, spears, bludgeons, axes, ranged weapons, shields, armor, accessories, and things that were in a category of their own.

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It was every Expert and Rankers' dream Armory, you wished you had enough money to buy it all.

But after my initial stunned state wore off I started to inspect the weapons more closely.

Once I started to read their material makeup and special effects or abilities my awed state of mind switched to being somewhat underwhelmed.

Immediately I started to notice that although the weapons looked pretty, shiny, and intimidating most of them weren’t made of any fancy material, just refined steel, steel alloys, Purged Iron, and a material called Magic Alloy.

The Magic Alloy sounded impressive but once I felt it, it honestly didn’t feel any sharper than the steel or iron weapons.

I guessed that it had a similar function to Dirgens’ Inner Metals allowing you to more easily imbue the weapon with magical energy.

Those weapons were probably the ones with the best effects, as the other weapons only had enchantments that didn’t sound too impressive to me.

Unlimited Durability Enchantment, Severe Cut Enchantment, Double Multiplication Enchantment, Triple Weight Enchantment, Hot Blade Enchantment, Extension Enchantment, Critical Damage, and so on.

All of the enchantments seemed to be of around the same level, with a couple that did sound somewhat cool, but most of them weren’t anything that blew my mind away in any sort of way.

It felt like most of the magical items I crafted, despite their inferior material makeup, were of better quality and had better effects, like elemental effects.

All of my magical items dealt magical damage, meanwhile I was unsure if any of these weapons other than the Magic Alloy ones did as well.

What put me off was their price, since like everything else I encountered was off the charts.

The lowest-priced item I saw was some magic gauntlets that gave you increased magical protection going for 50 platinum coins.

In my opinion, everything the Mystic Heart City stand owner was selling was overpriced, yet everyone around me seemed to be eating up the magical items and were eager to buy some.

I moved on having acquired greater knowledge on magic weapons, and knowing that I could find a better deal elsewhere, but not before catching the stand owner calling me an “Idiot Warrior ''I supposed in response to my apparent rejection of his items.

I ignored it in the end, understanding the shop owner's sentiment as I too was once in his position.

What caught me off guard was his ability to point me out as a Warrior class Expert without even asking.

I assumed my get-up and equipment made it too obvious.

But in reality, he wasn’t completely right.

I also happened to be an excellent Marksman, but most people probably didn’t see a serious ranged weapon on me so probably dismissed that notion.

After finding that due to my appearance I could be too easily disrespected, my urge to find an item that gave me the significant power boost I was looking for only increased.