After the situations I witnessed in the two zones, I walked toward the slightly less crowded central area to catch a clue. Even though there were still people clustered around the obelisk, many were rapidly moving toward the outside of the shield.
My target wasn't there; I had set my eyes on the structures with sales counters opened in front of them. In a way, these shops were like small stands set up along the beach in summer resort towns; while three sides were enclosed with wooden walls, one side was half-closed, leaving the upper part of the facade open for sales.
It was impossible to go inside them. When I arrived in front of a randomly chosen one, I was surprised to be greeted by a human being just like myself.
"Welcome to the Weapon Shop, Sinner!"
As if everything that happened wasn't enough, this vendor's address was once again rubbing in the fact that I had fallen into Hell. 'Man, it was just one little glass of raki. It was the only alcohol I managed to drink entirely in my whole damn life…'
After my anger spiked, I needed to throw out a few words of lament. Of course, thanks to the fear of an eight-hour torment, I didn't have the luxury of acting too spoiled.
"I want to buy a weapon to kill the Fallen. Do you have something like a catalog?"
The moment I finished my words, three weapons materialized in the air: a club, a bow, and a short staff with a pale blue stone on it. Contrary to their structures, these primitive, unappealing tools, made of almost raw wood, hovered accompanied by glowing lights.
"Each one is 100 gold. I advise you to choose the one suited to your skills, Sinner!"
"A hundred gold? These are pieces of firewood! And what's up with this currency?"
The words tumbled out of my mouth involuntarily; having lost my cool due to my sheer astonishment, I shouted at the human behind the counter.
"Shut your mouth, Sinner, the shop is banned to you for a week!"
After the attendant gritted his teeth and delivered that single sentence with a piercing glare, the sales stand that had been there a moment ago suddenly vanished. I guess he didn't appreciate the attitude I threw at him. Seeing the crowd still standing around, I realized the shop was actually still there, and he was getting his revenge by banning me from it.
There was no need to get discouraged; I had to try my luck with the others. I'd keep that incident in mind as a warning while heading to the remaining four shops. I wasn't strolling through a mall, and the guy in front of me wasn't a retail employee. If I wasn't careful with my attitude and actions, maybe even worse things could happen to me.
"The Item Shop welcomes you, Mr. Sinner!"
This time, there was a different person in front of me, but this attendant's voice and words seemed to come out softer.
"Hello sir, could I get some information regarding the shop's inventory?"
"Of course!"
The attendant answered with a smile and waved his hand in the air, causing several bottles to start flying around. Unlike the previous place, the product variety here was greater.
"Sinner, the bottles with red liquid inside are to replenish your life force, and the ones with blue liquid will restore your magic power!"
I immediately focused my gaze on the mentioned vials. As I clearly understood, these potions, which came in two sizes, were the versions of the potions you find in games.
"The small ones are 20 gold, and the large ones are 35 gold!"
The price was a rip-off again, but this time I had to think twice before opening my mouth. Slapping a sincere smile onto my face, I started talking.
"Sir, is it possible to get information about their effects?"
"Of course!"
I suppose the attendants use this phrase whenever they are about to give a positive response to questions. So be it; as long as I got the answer, the rest wasn't very important.
"The small ones provide a regeneration equal to 10 percent of your total stats, and the large ones 20 percent!"
The units and terms were all set up in a way I could understand. Although this had caught my interest from the start, after visiting two shops, I was absolutely sure: I guess because we were in The First Layer of Hell, the Creator was being merciful to us.
"In addition to this, our shop carries two types of bags, small and large. You will need to use them when your pockets can no longer carry your materials!"
While rushing from place to place in a hurry, I had skipped the most important issue: what was I wearing right now? In a panic, I patted my left and right sides with my hands, my eyes following suit for ten seconds. Letting out a deep sigh of relief, I realized my body was covered by a two-piece outfit.
I wore wide, short-legged pants made of broadcloth, paired with a long-sleeved, collarless top. Both were plain and simple, making it obvious they were meant solely for covering up.
The pants had two pockets, one on the left and one on the right. Other than that, there were no details on the clothes. Once I was done with myself, I felt the need to look at the other people too. Even though I hadn't noticed it before, I saw that everyone's clothing was identical, regardless of gender.
"Since we've talked so much about gold, if you ever want to consolidate your coins to carry them easily, you just need to come to me!"
The attendant, ignoring my weird movements and comical state, had conveyed the shop's final feature to me. This time, I didn't wait to ask the question that popped into my head.
"Sir, are there other currencies besides gold? If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you tell me what they are, along with their order?"
"Of course!"
"The smallest currency is copper. 100 copper makes 1 silver, 100 silver makes 1 gold, and 100 gold makes 1 pearl."
"Since our shop's currency exchange limit ends there, I won't be able to give you any more information, Sinner!"
Every time he said Sinner, my blood boiled. Okay, we get it, we made a mistake and fell into Hell, but as if that wasn't enough, the attendants using that word periodically was really starting to get annoying.
Right now, I had no choice but to swallow my anger and leave. I wanted to quickly finish visiting the remaining three shops. If I wasted time like this everywhere, I could become the victim of the eight-hour torment, the arrival time of which was unknown.
Even though I couldn't be entirely sure, it felt like I had spent about two hours on this endeavor. Half of the crowd had perished, but almost all the people like me who witnessed it were currently gathered in front of the obelisk and the surrounding shops.
I barely managed to push my way through the small buildings. When I finally visited all of them, I threw myself into a quiet spot; I had to digest and understand what I had learned.
There were five shops in total, and two of them were named Item Shop. I could procure potions and bags for my materials from these. There was one place with three types of weapons, and similarly, another shop with three types of armor.
If I didn't lose my shit over the prices of the armors, which were separated into cloth, leather, and metal, it was only because I was afraid of being banned from there for a week. A cloth robe, barely a step up from what I was wearing, cost 150 gold.
After hearing that, I didn't even ask about the leather and metal ones. I knew myself; if I said two more words, all hell would break loose.
The last counter I visited was named the Skill House. It sold the techniques we Sinners would use to destroy the Fallen. As you can guess, what I just said was the attendant's description of the shop. The price for a single one of the three skill books they possessed was 500 gold. Without even glancing at the books he claimed were for archery, swordsmanship, and magic, I had fled to the spot where I was currently sitting.
The more I thought about it, the more I figured out what kind of trap I had fallen into. In this state, it was impossible for me to buy the vendors' products. My only option was to charge in bare-handed, just like the people I had witnessed being subjected to torture and destroyed.