Chapter 18: The Merchant

The first thing that came into Allen's view was a fat, jiggly red belly. The floor slightly shook as the infamous fat Merchant, a member of the Red Frog clan, entered the room.

This was one of the most famous merchants not only within the great boundary but also on the entire continent. He himself was a Zulu rank Warrior, with bodyguards that reached the rank of Concetum. These bodyguards were alone so strong that they could probably be the kings of other nations.

"Welcome, welcome." Rubbing both his palms, Allen said with the brightest smile he could put on his face.

If any friend or relative of Allen would've seen this smile, then they'd run as far as possible.

"If you ever see Allen smile, then run as far as you can, plug your ears. He can somehow, by bullshitting, convince you into being scammed!" ~Unknown Friend

...

The Red Frog merchant looked at Allen, narrowing his eyes, his finger naturally extended to his triple cheeks, rubbing them.

'So this is the new secret powerhouse that emerged here. I can't sense his rank properly; I should've brought an appraiser with me.'

The man in front of frog Sheng stood up, bringing a bright smile to his face. 'Hmm, interesting.'

With what he could see, the Red Frog Sheng would've mostly deduced that this was a weak male. In fact, this male was a little feminine in the eyes of the robust masculine frog.

But then there was something about this figure, something similar to Restaurant owner Kudos. The presence of this male was like that of a well-refined sword; with his smile, though bright, it was also sharp.

Moreover, his high-quality clothes, and his neat appearance. It felt quite pleasant to stay around this man.

Rule #2: First impression is everything. Carry yourself like a sword, hide your true intentions with a bright smile on the face. Confuse the customer.

"Welcome, welcome. I've heard a lot about you, respected sir."

"Ha, astonishingly that's the case with me too. Most of the people within the great boundary already know about the tale, thankfully I too was here."

"You flatter me." With a soft and humble tone, Allen said. After exchanging pleasantries, both parties sat on the wooden chair facing each other.

'Hmm, though this wood looks to be simple, it's actually made of a century tree.'

"Quite a good store you have here, sir. Even the goods below are excellent."

"Haa, sir, you really think highly of me. I'm just a humble weapon store owner."

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"And you do an excellent job." The Frog Sheng was really satisfied with the weapons he saw. But what satisfied him even more were the wines; these wines could actually increase your rank! It could help in cultivation!

Frog Sheng had three loves in his life: one was female frogs, the other was money. The third and his final love was food and drinks. Not only were those wines out of this world, but they also helped in cultivation. He felt like if he drank another bottle of wine, then he would reach the next minor rank.

This was why he felt like Restaurant owner Kudos and Allen were very similar. Kudos could make dishes and wines that not only transcended this realm but also helped in cultivation.

"And for the environment of this shop? I will rate it ten leaves out of five. Though I feel it's quite odd that you sell wine along, I'm not complaining."

"I appreciate the kindness. Mud, go bring premium-grade wine for our guest."

"Alright sir, as you say." Mud said as he left the room.

"So this is the shop, eh?" A small, frail-looking figure could be seen. He was wearing a cloak, a supporting stick in his hand with his back hunched. At first, one would have mistaken this lizard as a Frostzard, but upon looking closely, they would notice there were no scales on his body.

This made him look like a lizard from a lesser branch. Right beside him was a young-looking lizard, with his skin being black in colour.

This duo was actually the chief of the prideful race and his trusted spy. They were using a strong artifact to conceal themselves.

Anyone other than the shadow, if they knew about this, they'd go nuts. The chief of the prideful race was disguising himself as a lesser version. But the chief viewed it differently.

A Frostzard's pride? What was that? Could it be eaten?

As far as the chief knew, being prideful in this situation was the last thing to be done, something that only professional courters of death would do.

"Indeed, sir, this seems to be the location."

The Frostzard slightly squinted his eyes. There was a sense of mystic and wonder around this two-storey hut. There was some kind of strange signboard on the top of it that read Frozen Forge.

However, the thing that attracted Chief's attention were the customers of the shop. A lot of them were high-ranking individuals, their reputation great within this territory.

Suddenly his eyes fell on a figure that had a face like a clown's. The Joker race?

The three overlords within the great division - The Joker Race, The Frostzards, and finally The Werewolves.

The werewolves and the Frostzards were respected due to their fearsome strength. But the abilities of Joker race were hidden in a thick veil of fog. Just when the opponent would start to understand the limit of their abilities, suddenly these Jokers would pull out a new trump card out of their ass. Their most famous ability undoubtedly was Provoke.

Silently contemplating, the chief walked forward. His eyes were fixated on the Joker.

'Reguris.'

This was one of the strongest elders of the Joker race. His presence alone was enough to provoke someone. The shadow beside the Frostzard Chief was already getting urges to beat up this Joker.

Thankfully the Chief was able to control his emotions. With his clear lake-like eyes, he looked at the Joker who stared back. Maintaining this eye contact for a few seconds, the chief finally broke out of it.

"For a second, I mistook you for a great Frostzard. Turns out you're just like us." Suddenly, a red lizard man without any scales appeared in front of the chief.

"Old lizard, can you afford any weapon from this shop?" Another scaleless red lizard appeared.

Meanwhile, the shadow beside him, who had taken up the guise of a scaleless black female lizard, couldn't help but grit her teeth. Though she wanted to intervene, the instructions of the chief were clear.

One could describe her with a single word - Yandere.

Meanwhile, the Chief looked at the two red lizard men with a humanly smile on his face. "It's just as both of you say, these weapons do look very expensive, but are weird. I'm just here to see them."

"Don't be so sour, Old lizard; you can borrow some materials from us."

Both the parties stared into each other's eyes creating a frosty environment. But before anything could escalate, a small voice echoed.

"Sir, no fights are allowed here."