I walked with Livi toward the boss's room, which was indicated by the attendant.

We passed through several other rooms as well; this place was truly spacious.

It turned out there were more rooms than I had anticipated. One of them was a room filled with various types of armor.

I finally arrived in front of a room with large golden double doors. On each door leaf, there was a depiction of two facing pegasus, accompanied by several carvings surrounding them. The store owner must have splurged on decorating just a door, and it surely required a significant amount of money to create a pair of doors. Imagine how many donuts or burgers I could get with all that money.

Livi, who was beside me, was also mesmerized by the design of this room. Now, she was observing a pair of gargoyle statues displayed on the right and left sides of the door. There was a white gargoyle statue with blunt teeth and a radiant smile. I was sure from its shape that it was a gargoyle monster, but since when were gargoyles white and had a cute appearance with a radiant smile?

"A peculiar artistic touch," I thought to myself as I looked at the two statues.

"Please enter," the male attendant opened the door for me.

With a bit of nervousness, I entered the room, and Livi followed behind me.

The room appeared incredibly luxurious. All the furnishings looked very expensive—several silver and gold-colored glass cabinets, a pristine white carpet, and two large white and blue chandelier lamps hanging from the ceiling, seemingly utilizing magic as there were no visible cables. Finally, there was a plush, light brown furry sofa.

Sitting on the sofa was a white-skinned man with black hair, wearing black pants and a white-colored T-shirt. His muscular physique showcased broad shoulders, and his well-defined chest muscles were clearly visible through his translucent shirt. He appeared to be in his forties, standing at around 190 centimeters tall. Behind him stood another muscular man with tanned skin, sporting a military-style haircut, presumably serving as a bodyguard.

"Welcome, please have a seat," the muscular man in the white shirt invited me to sit.

"Yes..." I replied.

I sat down as instructed, and Livi also took a seat beside me. The sofa felt plush and soft as I settled onto it.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hector Holfier, the owner of San-Holfier Company," the muscular man introduced himself.

"I'm Vans."

"Livi..."

Both of us introduced ourselves in turn. As I glanced at Livi, she seemed very nervous, while I was accustomed to situations like this due to my past experiences in the workforce.

"Sorry, why did you invite us here?" I initiated the conversation and asked for the reason we were invited here, even though I already knew why.

"May I see your sword?" As I suspected, this was the reason he called me. Without beating around the bush, he asked to see my sword.

I took out the white Althea sword from my storage and placed it on the table. Unlike Livi, Mr. Hector wasn't surprised by the dimensional storage.

"Amazing... extraordinary. This sword is truly exceptional." Mr. Hector continued to gaze at my sword with shining eyes, filled with admiration. He seemed like a child who had discovered a new toy. It appeared that he could also see the statistics of my sword.

"May I try touching this sword?" Mr. Hector pleaded with me.

"Yes, go ahead." I didn't mind if he just wanted to hold it. Besides, I had already given permission to Mr. Hector, even though the sword information clearly stated that it couldn't be transferred.

"Aaaah..." *Bruakk!

"Eeeh..."

"Eeeh..."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"Sir..."

Suddenly, I, Livi, and Mr. Hector's attendant were shocked to see Mr. Hector falling and being thrown backward after touching my sword. It seemed like he was shocked by an electric shock when he held my sword. I had no idea that my sword had this effect. There was no explanation whatsoever in the sword information about such an effect. It meant that my sword was more terrifying than I had thought. Even someone I had given permission to would still be affected. Truly impossible to transfer ownership. Only I could hold it.

"Are you alright, sir?" Mr. Hector's attendant asked.

"I'm fine, I just experienced the stun effect from that sword," Mr. Hector said, standing unsteadily.

I picked up my fallen sword from the floor and placed it next to me.

"Well, how about we make a transaction?" Mr. Hector said, staring at my sword.

"A transaction? What do you mean?"

"Just name the price you want for your sword."

Mr. Hector still didn't give up on acquiring my sword, even though he had experienced its effects firsthand.

"Why do you want my sword? You know very well that it cannot change ownership."

"Well, it doesn't matter. I can keep it as part of my collection."

What kind of answer was that? Shouldn't a merchant aim to profit from a trade?

"A collection? What's the point of collecting a sword like that?" I asked curiously.

Personal collections usually have no material benefit; they are merely for personal enjoyment. Unless you showcase your collection to gain profit, then it can be considered a business.

"I collect several unusable swords, such as cursed swords, and I've even seen swords that can absorb life energy or swords that can kill their owners. Your sword is an exception. I admit that your sword is extraordinary, even though only you can wield it. It utilizes an encryption system that can only receive data based on the magic circuitry of its owner. Not to mention its additional advantages, such as attribute configuration, regeneration, immunity to anti-magic, and it's made of a material I've never seen before. Even if I can't use it, at least I can sell it to a nation, because your sword surpasses even national treasures."

Honestly, I couldn't answer his statement. Mr. Hector's mindset as a merchant was even crazier than I thought.

"So, can we proceed with our transaction?"

"Sorry, I won't sell it," I replied, firmly reassuring Mr. Hector.

"How about we barter then?"

He still didn't want to give up on obtaining my sword. He went to retrieve two swords from his cabinet.

"This one is made from the tail of a Leiurus scorpion monster, and this one is made of adamantium. What do you think?"

As I evaluated the two swords, both of them were ranked S and both were black. One had poison capabilities, and the other was a magic sword similar to mine, capable of combining with magic attributes. However, neither of these swords could even compare to a fraction of my sword's power, and my answer was clear.

"Once again, I'm sorry, Mr. Hector, but I still refuse."

"Fine, this is the last offer. How about exchanging it for this entire store and all its contents? I won't lose out, and this is just a branch store."

What was this? This transaction had become utterly unreasonable. Even Livi had been frozen, witnessing the absurdity of this transaction.

"Enough, Mr. Hector. This transaction has become illogical. It's better if we end it."

"Sigh... Very well, I knew this would happen," Mr. Hector sighed, taking a deep breath.

"But at least allow me to witness the capabilities of your sword."

Mr. Hector took out two mithril swords from his cabinet and held them simultaneously.

"Are we going to have a duel?" I asked to confirm.

"Yes, I want to personally experience the power of your fighting skills and your sword. After all, I used to be an adventurer myself."

"Alright, where shall we have our battle?"

Reluctantly, I agreed to his request. I also wanted to experience fighting against a veteran adventurer, and perhaps gain some experience from this battle. When I looked at Mr. Hector's statistics, he was a former adventurer with a B rank and worked as a warrior. That might explain why his body was muscular, despite being a merchant. Merchants in my mind, based on stories and novels, were usually either overweight or thin, frail-looking old men. It seemed that Mr. Hector always took care of his physical condition as a former adventurer turned merchant.

We were directed to a place behind the store, a training arena with a concrete floor, where we would have our battle.

"Are you ready?" Mr. Hector asked.

"Yes," I replied.

Mr. Hector stood, holding both of his swords. Without a stance or a signal, he immediately attacked me with great speed. Reflexively, I drew my black sword from its storage and used both of my swords to block Mr. Hector's sudden attack. His strike came down forcefully from above, and I held both of his swords horizontally just above my head. The pressure was strong, pushing my body backward, but he didn't push further. Instead, he retreated to readjust his position. It seemed that he anticipated my sudden use of the black sword.

Despite having a powerful sword, I was still lacking in experience and control. Meanwhile, Mr. Hector was a seasoned warrior with vast experience.

Mr. Hector attacked me again, his two Mithril swords colliding with mine. Since the beginning, I had been focusing on deflecting the attacks he launched. He didn't give me any openings to counterattack, keeping me in a defensive position.

I heightened my sensory perception and tried to read his movements better, making the tempo of the fight intensified. As the match progressed, I managed to read the direction of his attacks and made the best moves to face them, slightly improving my chances of winning. However, I still remained in a defensive position, constantly receiving his attacks.

"Enough," Mr. Hector suddenly stopped the fight.

I let out a sigh, feeling a bit tired. This was different from when I fought against a pack of wolves in the forest.

We returned to the previous room to continue our conversation. It seemed that I would be spending a lot of time here today, deviating from my initial purpose for coming to this place.