Chapter 3: The First Sale
The young woman folded her arms across her chest, her irritation growing as she looked around the narrow alley. The buildings were old, the streets were poorly lit, and the shops lining the road looked as though they had been forgotten by the rest of the Imperial Capital. Nothing here matched the grand avenues and luxurious establishments she was used to visiting.
Yet she had little choice but to follow her fiancé inside. Once something caught his interest, he refused to let it go until he had satisfied his curiosity. Arguing with him rarely changed anything, and she had long since learned that complaining only wasted her breath.
A soft chime sounded as the door opened.
Warm lantern light spilled across the entrance, revealing rows of weapons arranged along the walls. The air carried the scent of aged wood, machine oil, and polished metal, giving the place the feel of a small workshop rather than a proper weapon shop.
Swords, spears, daggers, and sabers filled the displays. A few looked reasonably well maintained, but most were ordinary weapons with little to distinguish them from the goods sold in countless other shops throughout the city.
Nothing caught the young man's attention at first glance.
Then he noticed the handsome young man standing beside a table near the counter. His posture was perfectly straight, his expression calm, and his features so flawless that he almost looked like a sculpture brought to life.
Behind the counter, Kiara raised her head from her folded arms. She had been resting while waiting for customers, but the sound of the door immediately brought her back to business.
"Big Sister," Zion said evenly. "Customers."
Kiara straightened and looked at the pair.
Her gaze settled on the young man first, and for a brief moment, she forgot what she had been about to say.
Damn, he's handsome.
His features were refined, and there was a quiet confidence in his eyes that made him stand out even among people dressed in expensive clothes. The young woman beside him was equally well dressed, but her expression suggested that she considered the entire shop beneath her notice.
These two look rich.
Kiara quickly recovered and put on a welcoming smile. She needed customers, and wealthy customers could help her establish Nexus much faster than ordinary shoppers.
"Welcome to Nexus. What are you looking for today?"
The young man did not answer immediately. Instead, he began walking along the displays, examining the weapons one by one. His interest seemed genuine, which was more than Kiara could say about his companion.
The young woman stopped in front of a spear and wrinkled her nose.
"Trash."
She moved to a sword and gave it a brief glance.
"Trash."
A dagger received the same judgment.
"More trash."
Finally, she turned toward Kiara, her voice rising with every word.
"Who would even buy this garbage?"
Her criticism echoed through the shop.
Kiara's smile remained in place, although she could not entirely disagree with the assessment. The previous owner's weapons were ordinary, and she had no intention of pretending otherwise. Still, there was a difference between pointing out a weapon's flaws and insulting everything in sight simply because it failed to meet one's standards.
The young man appeared to understand that difference. He had stopped beside a longsword and was examining its balance, paying attention to details his companion had ignored.
A weapon did not need to be valuable to deserve a proper inspection.
After a while, the young woman grew impatient.
"This entire shop is worthless, dear. Let's leave. Even a crow knows better than to waste its time pecking at stones."
The young man chuckled.
"A crow searches for food, while a treasure hunter searches for what others overlook." He turned the longsword slightly before returning it to its stand. "If everyone searched only in fertile fields, gold would still be buried beneath the mountains."
His fiancée rolled her eyes.
"You always have an answer for everything."
Rather than respond, he walked toward the counter.
"Do you have anything else? Something you haven't put on display?"
Kiara studied him for a moment. He was not merely looking for a weapon to buy. His curiosity had been awakened, and she intended to make use of it.
"These weapons came with the shop when I bought it," she explained. "They belonged to the previous owner. They're not what Nexus actually specializes in."
The young man's expression changed slightly.
"Then what do you sell?"
"Something unique." Kiara leaned forward a little, keeping her voice calm. "I'm confident you won't find anything like it anywhere else in the Phoenix Empire."
A spark of interest appeared in his eyes.
"Really?"
"Would you like to see it?"
"Of course."
His fiancée folded her arms again, clearly unconvinced, but she remained silent as Kiara reached beneath the counter.
A polished wooden case emerged from the storage space. Kiara placed it on the counter and opened the lid with a soft click.
Inside lay a sleek silver pistol, accompanied by several brass bullets arranged neatly in their slots.
For a moment, neither visitor spoke.
The young man's casual expression disappeared as he leaned closer. The weapon had no blade, no bowstring, and no visible Ether core. Its shape was unlike anything he had encountered in the Imperial Capital.
His fiancée stared at it with a deep frown.
"What is that supposed to be?"
The young man pointed toward the pistol, then glanced at the sign outside.
"This symbol matches the emblem on your signboard." He looked at Kiara. "What is this weapon called?"
"A pistol," Kiara replied.
She lifted it from the case, holding it carefully beneath the lantern light.
"This is the barrel, and this is the trigger. The bullet is placed inside the weapon before firing." She showed them the relevant parts without rushing through the explanation. "It's a ranged weapon. Under suitable conditions, it can strike a target accurately from as far as ten meters away."
"Ten meters?" The young man's eyebrows rose.
His fiancée let out a dismissive laugh.
"Distance means nothing. A pebble can travel that far if someone throws it hard enough. That doesn't make it dangerous."
Kiara nodded as though she had heard a reasonable argument.
"True. But whether a pebble is dangerous depends on where it lands."
The young woman narrowed her eyes, unable to find an immediate response.
Meanwhile, the young man accepted the pistol when Kiara offered it to him. He turned it over in his hands, examining the smooth surface and unfamiliar design with growing fascination.
"I want it."
His fiancée whipped her head toward him.
"You can't be serious!"
"Why not? It's unique."
"Look at its strange shape. It doesn't even have a grade!" She pointed at the bullets. "And those tiny metal pieces are supposed to be ammunition? They look completely useless."
The young man smiled as he returned the pistol to its case.
"Even if it were only a decorative item, imagine the reaction when people see something no one else owns."
His fiancée stared at him for a moment before releasing a frustrated sigh.
"Fine. Buy your toy."
He turned back to Kiara.
"I'll take the pistol and all the bullets. How much?"
"Five gold coins for the pistol," Kiara answered smoothly. "Each bullet costs twenty silver coins. There are six bullets in the case, so the total is six gold coins and twenty silver."
Her heart gave a small, excited beat.
My first customer.
My first sale.
After opening Nexus, she had spent much of her time arranging the shop and familiarizing herself with the system. Now, someone had finally shown an interest in one of her products. If the sale went through, she could begin working toward her next quest.
But before she could enjoy the moment, the young woman's expression darkened.
"Six gold coins?"
She stepped forward, her voice sharp with disbelief.
"Are you trying to swindle us? You expect us to pay that much for a strange piece of metal that doesn't even have a grade?"
Ether gathered around her hand as she slammed it toward the counter.
Before her palm could land, Zion moved.
His hand closed around her wrist, stopping the strike with almost no effort. The Ether surrounding her fingers scattered into the air, disappearing before it could damage the wooden counter.
"Customers are not permitted to damage store property," he said calmly.
He released her wrist.
The young woman stumbled half a step backward, staring at him in disbelief. She was a three-star warrior, and yet he had stopped her attack as easily as someone catching a falling leaf.
Who is this man?
Her eyes moved over Zion, searching for any clue that might explain his strength, but his expression remained perfectly calm.
Kiara, meanwhile, had not moved from behind the counter. Her welcoming smile was still there, although her eyes had become a little colder.
"If the price doesn't suit you, you're free to leave," she said. "I'm not forcing anyone to buy my products. However, rarity has value, and this weapon doesn't exist anywhere else in the Empire."
She allowed the words to settle before continuing.
"It can kill an ordinary person with a single shot. It can also injure a one-star fighter."
The young man's expression grew serious.
"It can injure a one-star warrior?"
"Yes. The result depends on where the bullet strikes, among other factors. Someone who follows a physically weaker path, such as a mage or an archer, could suffer a serious injury even at a higher rank if struck in a vital area."
The young man looked down at the pistol again. His earlier curiosity had changed into something more focused as he considered what such a weapon might mean.
His fiancée still seemed doubtful, but she kept her distance from Zion.
After a brief silence, the young man placed seven gold coins on the counter. They struck the wood with a soft clink.
"I'll buy it."
Kiara glanced at the coins, pleased that the sale was finally moving forward.
However, the young man was not finished.
"There's one thing I'd like to test first."
He opened the folding fan in his hand. Its surface was decorated with delicate patterns, and the faint glow surrounding it suggested that it was more than an ordinary accessory.
"This fan is Copper Grade," he explained, holding it upright. "If your pistol really possesses the power you claim, it should be able to leave a mark on it."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"If it can't, we'll have to discuss the price again."
Kiara looked at the fan, then at the pistol resting in its case.
She did not argue.
Instead, she took one of the brass bullets and loaded it into the weapon. Her movements were steady and practiced, and the small metallic click sounded unusually clear in the quiet shop.
The young woman's expression tightened.
The young man's eyes followed every movement.
Zion remained still beside the counter, watching without a word.
Kiara raised the pistol and aligned its barrel with the center of the fan.
For a brief moment, the entire shop seemed to hold its breath.
Then she squeezed the trigger.
BANG!
The gunshot thundered through the small shop, startling both visitors. The young woman gasped and jerked backward as the sharp smell of smoke and burnt powder spread through the air.
The young man instinctively tightened his grip on the fan. His hand trembled slightly as he lowered it and looked at its surface.
A perfectly round hole pierced the center.
The bullet had passed straight through, leaving a clean opening on the other side.
Silence fell over the shop.
The young man's usual composure had vanished, replaced by undisguised astonishment. His fiancée stared at the damaged fan, her mouth slightly open as she struggled to understand what she had just witnessed.
Kiara lowered the pistol and checked it before setting it aside.
A small, confident smile appeared on her face as she looked at her first customer.
"Well?"