After a few minutes, Elom led the masked fellow to their exclusive shopping area, a space reserved for only the most esteemed customers. Even in a high-end store like this, there was no way to escape discrimination in some way, as certain products were hidden away, reserved for the elite.
Some things simply weren't meant for all eyes to see. They were special, meant only for the cream of the crop.
The masked seller was brought to the place where these exclusive items were kept.
"Welcome to our VIP Area," Elom announced with pride in his voice. "Every item here is crafted from the highest-grade materials available."
No Mana Stones less than Grade 7 were used in the creation of any of the items here. Only the most refined minerals and Mana Crystals were utilized in the manufacturing process. Not only that, each product was one of a kind, unless part of a set, and even then, you'd never see more than one person carrying an identical item from this collection.
A truly luxurious place.
"Due to your continued relationship with us, we'd like to offer you a gift," Elon said, breaking the silence that had settled over the room. This was the real reason he had brought the masked man to their VIP section.
"You may select any one Artifact of your liking. No, make that two, since your guard there might fancy something as well."
Elom could see the seller's subordinate twitch slightly at the offer, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in himself for employing such a clever strategy.
'He often sends this man to do business with us. If we can get him wholly on our side, I'm sure that would work to our benefit.'
"I see. Then I shall take a look around," the deep tone of the masked man curtly interrupted Elon's thoughts, causing him to straighten up instantly.
"Yes! Please, take your time!"
And so, the seller advanced to the rows of Magic Artifacts, while Elom stood still in place and watched him from his position.
'Hopefully, with this… we can have his goodwill.'
————————————————————
'Holy fuck! These items are insane!'
Riley had been to luxury stores before and had seen impressive Artifacts, like the ones where he acquired his Spatial Rings and his current attire. He had even checked out a few more items through Mason after some of their sales.
But compared to those, the Magic Artifacts he was seeing here were on an entirely different level. They made those other items seem like garbage.
'And what the hell are these prices?!'
In the VIP section of the previous store, the cheapest item had cost a Platinum Coin. Here, the cheapest was five.
"I could buy decent land for that much, couldn't I?"
It seemed that in this world, buying power was far more expensive than buying property. When Riley thought about it, it all made sense.
What good was owning property if you couldn't protect it? A landowner could be maimed, robbed, and stripped of everything they possessed. But those with power? How could they be victims of such cruelty when they are now untouchable?
No, they were the ones who would do the maiming and robbing. They were the ones who would strip others of all they had.
In essence, having power was infinitely more valuable than owning mundane things like property.
Even comparing between the richest multinational corporate owned billionaires on Earth and a hillbilly who could split a mountain and decimate armies, the hillbilly would undeniably hold the true power.
"With enough power, you could even defy established governments and carve your own path…"
With the increasing threat of Magic Beasts, Sea Monsters, and Orcs, the demand for power had skyrocketed.
Riley understood this all too well, so after his initial shock, he forced himself to calm down.
Besides…
'The effects look nice. They're worth it,' he thought, his eyes scanning the plaques beneath each Artifact, detailing their abilities.
Each Magic Artifact had a price tag and a description of its powers, allowing Riley to grasp their potential at a glance.
'This one can actually double the power of Magic Spells by a hundred percent… that's insane.'
It literally meant double the firepower.
'Unfortunately, I'm just a manaless human, so it's useless to me…'
Plus, Riley had the new AF-1 Magic Rifle that his country had developed, so while he was impressed by the abilities of the Magic Artifacts around him, he wasn't willing to purchase it.
'I can see how a weakling could become twice as powerful just from that item, though,' he smirked.
Riley shifted his gaze to Mason, who had been standing quietly the entire time. He had forgotten about him since he was so invested in the items.
"You heard Mr. Tusk. Get over here and choose a Magic Artifact for yourself."
"...Neat."
Mason's quick reaction showed he had been waiting for those words. He leaped from his position and eagerly rushed to the rows of shelves displaying the pristine merchandise.
'All these items are great and all. It's hard to pick one…' Riley mused.
He began to wonder if he should take just one Magic Artifact, test it out, and then return to buy a full set using his Discount Privilege.
'Or should I just get the whole set of stuff I wanna buy now?'
Knowing that there was a high chance that he might burn his bridges with the Exrump Corporation, wasn't it best to milk as much from this entire relationship as possible while it lasted?
'But… what if I don't end up burning those bridges?'
What if the oversaturation he anticipated never happened? It was, after all, just a theory in Riley's head, and there was a chance he could be wrong.
If that were the case…
'Getting all the items I want now will make me seem too eager, as if I haven't seen these kinds of things before…'
It would ruin his image.
'Besides, since Elom Tusk wants to give me a gift, and if I take too many Magic Artifacts, he might feel obligated to give me everything for free…'
Riley didn't particularly mind the idea, but he knew it wouldn't be good for business.
'I can't let them think I'm taking advantage of them. We both need to feel like we're mutually benefiting…'
There was a thin line between interest and greed. Riley didn't want to be the first one to display the latter, though he knew it was inevitable that the Exrump Corporation would eventually reveal their own greed, like any other corporations in his previous world.
'That won't happen anytime soon, though. I should try to be as careful as possible here…'
With that in mind, Riley decided to pick just one item.
As Riley made his decision, he noticed Mason approaching.
"Hey Mason, what did you pick out?" he asked, curious.
"Oh, this," Mason replied, holding up a blade barely three inches long. Despite its small size, it resembled a traditional Japanese katana, complete with intricate details.
"I forgot you were more into swords than guns. Is that why you chose this?" Riley asked with a smirk.
"Yeah, I was a big anime fan before Japan became an imperial power again. You should try it out sometime, maybe fight against some mythical creatures in this world, like a… a Siren, a Cyclops, Giants, Harpies, Chimeras, Minotaurs, a Werewolf! Or even better, a Hydra!"
Riley sighed. "I'm more of a gunman than a swordsman, so that's never going to happen," he said, shaking his head. His eyes caught sight of the runes etched into the blade.
"The numbers, Mason. What do they mean?"
"Oh, right! The description mentioned that it has three effects. First, it always returns to the user after a set period, or you can call it back like a magnet. Second, it can grow into a full-sized sword only for a second. And third, it will be enveloped in magical energy and burst these energies out like a bomb."
Riley nodded, impressed. Those were indeed powerful abilities for a weapon to have.
"That's an impressive weapon, but the problem is you need Mana to activate those abilities, and we humans don't have that luxury."
Mason grinned. "Don't forget we've got plenty of Mana Stones at our disposal, and one of our teammates is working on a device that lets us humans activate Artifacts using those stones."
"Right… I almost forgot."
"But the best part? This blade doesn't even need external Mana to use its functions. It doesn't even consume a single strand of magical energy at all."
"Really? It's got Mana Crystals embedded in it, so it must use its own Mana supply," Riley observed.
"True, but that just means it can't stay big in size indefinitely. There's probably a duration period and cooldown state after each use," Mason added.
"But the Mana in it should recover over time, so it's not a one-time consumable," Riley concluded.
Mason had chosen a remarkable Magic Artifact, and Riley couldn't help but feel proud of him, almost like an older brother would when their younger sibling told them they finally got a girlfriend.
Riley nodded approvingly from behind his mask.
'Now that we're done here, I wonder what the others have been up to…'