I got up a bit groggy and went to the kitchen to whip up something to eat before bed.
After making dinner, I went straight to bed.
NEXT BRIGHT
I woke up to a feeling that felt familiar yet also strange to me, I was drenched in sweat, was moving in a steady rhythm, my muscles contracted then stretched with each movement.
I opened my eyes, and the room came into view, technically the upside down view came into view.
THUD!
I fell on my back after realising what was happening.
I was working out.
It's was a new feeling to Outis, but a casual routine to jin-hun
Despite my perfect form Outis never once trained his body, he believed, that his true potential was in his mind, probably why his influence overshadows Jin-hun, who trained both his body and mind equally.
Sigh~
"Well, exercising is pretty good for the body and mind, and I wouldn't like to lose this perfect form, so I guess I have to keep working out"
I got up and positioned myself for push ups, then began.
Hours passed as i transitioned from one exercise to the other, in accordance to Jin-hun's memories.
After I was done I immediately went to the bathroom to wash up, as I was utterly drenched in sweat and i was already feeling itchy.
~Pheew~
I gave a long sigh of relief as I stepped out of the shower.
"That was refreshing", I said, wiping my face with a towel.
~~
~~
I made my way downstairs after dressing up, "should I continue reading?" I asked myself looking at the direction of the study room.
"Nahh, I'm already exhausted from reading too much, I can't touch another book" I replied myself flatly.
'So what do I do?'
"..."
"..."
"...!"
"I have a great idea!, I should go into town to purchase a weapon, afterall Outis doesn't have one, and I can't go to the abyss zone without something to defend myself"
"Then it's decided!... I should go and change"
I excitedly went back upstairs to my room, and began changing, from a plain medieval white t-shirt to a 90's dark crimson shirt and a dark brown 90's coat and pants.
I stood in front of the mirror and combed my hair, which had also undergone changes by growing a bit more now reaching my neck.
Finishing, I stood there nodding acknowledging my looks. After a few seconds passed I picked a suitable shoe and left the house, but not before carrying enough money to purchase what I wanted and locking the door.
I got into my ride and drove to the only weapons store in town, owned by an old retired weapons crafter, famous in town for his rudeness.
~~
~~
"Damn the road is messed up!", I muttered as I stepped down from my carriage and straightened my clothes.
I was already packed in front of the store, and I got to say, it looked more luxurious than most of the stores in town.
The store was coloured red and black, had fancy weapons on display, a clean entrance, a large sign board on top that read, "Mortis's weapons", and the most shocking!, was the store was partially made of bricks, which was technically a luxury common people can't afford.
BLING!
'Ah!, even has a door bell'
"Welcome"
The old man behind the counter greeted in a monotonous tone. His deep voice carried a silent sence of authority.
'That was clearly a Russian accent'
"I would like to purchase a weapon" I said flatly
"...." The old man didn't say anything as he stared at me for a couple seconds, I don't know if I could call it stare, cause his eyes were closed this entire time, but strangely I could feel his gaze.
Finally he moved, stretching his arm towards the weapons shelves, that was neatly categorized and arranged. The shop had adopted a modern supermarket arrangement pattern, with the red and black interior blending in perfectly.
~Pheew~
I silently let out a breath, and my face slowly went deadpan.
The first aisle I passed were the ranged weapons, which consisted of spears, javelins, longbows, short bows, and throwing knives, and they all looked very eye catching, but unfortunately they weren't what I was looking for.
The next aisle were the heavy weapons, which had, mauls, axes, maces, clubs, broad swords, and a few others, but I just walked passed them only admiring their craftsmanship.
The following aisle had the armoury and shields, which I had no business with.
The next had swords, but they weren't all the same, they were a variety of swords inspired by different earth civilization, like the, Katana, Jian or the Dao, gladius, claymore, rapier, and more. Each had alterations, some large some small, with each giving a unique taste.
But sadly I wasn't really interested in swords, not that I couldn't use them, but because I needed something I had total mastery of, which was the dagger and gun, but since there isn't a gun around here, I had to settle with a dagger.
And finally I saw the aisle that contained what I was looking for, the close range weapon aisle.
~~
Looking at this fancy daggers, I was faced with another issue, the quality.
'I don't want a dagger that lacks strength' I thought.
"...!"
The old man was walking towards me, his hands clasped behind him, his steps measured, and despite being called old man Mortis and having grey hair and beard, he looked quite jacked.
"You don't seem to know what you're looking for" he said monotonously.
'Definitely Russian'
"I do know what I am looking for, I seek a dagger elegant yet strong, I see elegance but no proof of strength", I replied mirroring his tone.
"..."
"Everything here is guaranteed to be strong, only a fool would doubt what comes from my store", he replied after a short silence
"I see", I replied then turned my attention back to the daggers.
Looking at the daggers, one caught my eye, it's sleek design, dark steel blade, and black handle, looked eye catching.
"It's name is "Black Fang", the old man said in his usual tone.
"A fitting name", I replied in same.
"It's the only relic here that wasn't made by me" the old man replied
"....!"
I frowned for a second as a series of information steered up in my head after hearing the term relic.
"I would like to buy this", I replied as I tried my best to bottle my excitement.
"Very well, follow me" the old man said as he took the dagger from the shelf and headed back to the counter.
I said nothing and just trailed behind him as I went through all the information that resurfaced a moment ago.
We arrived at the counter shortly.
"So how much will it be?" I asked internally excited.
"About 10,000 Donn bright steel" old man Mortis replied casually.
"....!"
"That's... that's a lot" I said in total bewilderment.
'That's going to leave a hole in my savings'
"That's too much, even for a relic!" My voice unconsciously rose as i spoke.
"Then you don't know the worth of one, even one of the weakest relic sells at a higher price"
"..."
'Fuck!!!, he makes a solid point, but the amount though'
"Alright then i will be taking it, but at discounted price" i replied after a second of consideration.
"10,000 Donn bright steel is the lowest I'm willing to give you"
I stayed silent and counted out 8000 Donn bright steel, then placed on the counter.
"8000 Donn bright steel, all the money i have on me" i said, internally wishing for him to accept
"..."
He stayed silent as he stared at the money, his eyes were never once open by the way.
"Make it 9000 and it's a deal"
'...'
Seems now was my turn to stay silent and contemplate.
"Fine" i agreed after thinking for a moment.
~~
~~
Two hours later i returned home a bit dejected.
The feeling of suddenly being broke is down right depressing. I experienced little of it as Jin-hun.
Walking sluggishly up the stairs and to my room and upon entry I threw my jacket to the bed and fell on it.
"Arghhh what a shity day" i spoke dejectedly
I pulled out dark fang from it's sheath and stared at it.
"Beautiful, dangerous, and painfully expensive, you better be as good as the information i remembered on relic depicted"
"You know what let's test this shit out" I said pushing myself up from the bed, "there is no better way to check if a weapon is good than in actual combat" I said with enthusiasm before asking myself "so who do I fight?".
"This is book town there are hardly any warriors posted here nor are they any reports of theft, so fighting a warrior or a thief isn't possible right now" I said slowly feeling blue before getting a sudden remembrance "what about that creature I saw before, it even looks weak, makes a good weapon practice" I said looking hopeful.
I got up from bed and dressed up for action."I don't think this is a good idea" a sudden thought crossed my mind, "well if am going to a place filled with monsters and horrors you only get to see in movies and games I should at least have an idea on what I will be seeing than looking like a total noob in front of professionals" I replied Jin's consciousness like he was in front of me.
I finished my preparation and went out immediately, climbed down to the base of the cliff and after just a few steps I arrived at the abyss border. "Wow these looks really amazing. Like look at these massive rune like symbols on the ground glowing and it's as high as my eyes could see" I said with enthusiasm.
While trying to cross the border I felt a massive surge of cold energy pass through me as if accessing me for a few seconds before I could move.
Have been walking for the past thirty minutes in a lifeless area, i could see trees so devoid of life that they crumble at one's touch, the mist so thick I could feel it on my face and the deeper I go in the less I could see.
My location presently is disturbingly far from the border as I could no longer see the bright moon, "I think I should head back, I can barely see" I said hugging myself because of the freezing cold as I noticed a dark silhouette in the distance.
"Finally a lost" I said busting with excitement as i pulled out my dagger and sprinted full speed at it and bombarding it with multiple slashes and stabs but I felt no impact.
"What the fuck!!!" I said in retreat as the lost in front of me now has it's attention on me while making strange noises.
With the sudden sounds of bones breaking and arranging, I began retreating slowly as the once human sized lost grew bigger by the second and eventually slowly towering over me becoming something right out of a horror game.
"Okay I think this was a really bad idea!!!" I said as cold sweat rolled down my face.