Alex sold some of the herbs at the entrance that he had collected from the forest, as he didn't have any money in his hand to enter the city.
After exchanging a few herbs for money, he stood in one of the lines and entered.
As he was walking on the street with his bag on his back, he saw multiple shops that sold armor and various swords. Some of them looked very beautiful, while some looked like trash, meaning normal. After seeing such beautiful swords, who would want a sword that looked normal?
He quickly entered the shop. Looking at showcases of numerous swords hanging beautifully on the walls, he felt amazed. These swords were so beautiful that he wanted to take them all; however, once he saw the prices, he quickly stopped his mind from being tempted by them.
"Hello sir, are you looking for a sword?" asked a person who was clearly observing Alex's movements from the start when he entered the shop.
"Yes, however, these are quite expensive," he said, disappointment clear in his voice.
Each sword hanging on the wall had at least a price of 2 gold coins, and that was the minimum. The maximum price he saw was 22 gold coins, and he hadn't even looked at most of the swords.
'I wouldn't be surprised if there is a sword that costs more than 50 gold coins,' he thought as he continued looking at the swords.
The man chuckled softly, not offended in the slightest. "That's fair. But price isn't everything. These swords are not just for show. Each one has its own unique properties. Strength, balance, even special effects. That's what you're really paying for."
Before Alex could respond, the man continued, his tone becoming more animated. "You've heard of Rising Moon, right? We're not just any shop. Our merchant group is known far beyond this city. People come from all over just to get their hands on our weapons."
The merchant continued speaking about his company and he don't seem to be stopping soon. The more he spoke, the prouder his face became.
'Wow… how does he have such a big mouth?' thought Alex.
"Oye… you started again. Why are you bothering our customers?" Suddenly, a female voice came from deeper inside the store.
This store was not as small as it seemed from the outside. Even Alex became surprised by the magnitude of it. However, at that time, his curiosity was taken away by the beautiful swords, and he didn't think much about it.
'Why am I feeling so attracted toward these swords?' a sudden thought came to his mind, and realization struck him.
From the moment he had entered the shop, it was like someone had used hypnosis on him, and it seemed like every sword was calling to him. Actually, not calling, but the correct word would be attracting.
The girl came closer, and now he could clearly see the woman.
She looked to be in her twenties and was very beautiful. Her way of speaking and even her way of walking was very elegant. She looked like a fairy from those fantasy stories.
"Ma'am, I was just telling him about the glory of our 'Rising Moon'," he said with confidence on his face.
"Sigh… don't bother customers again. Understood? And who might not know about our 'Rising Moon'?" she said.
"Well, miss, he looks like he doesn't know," said the person.
"What? Are you serious?" Even she became confused when he said this. "Is that true?" she looked at Alex and asked him.
"I am not from the city… so, I don't know," he said, and the lady's expression became surprised.
"Can't believe that someone doesn't know about Rising Moon's reputation." Her face was full of astonishment.
"How can you not know? Even if you are not from the city, our merchant group is so reputable that even children know about us," she said, then looked at Alex's face and suddenly realized something.
"Hehe… how rude of me, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Mo Yue. And what's yours?"
'Is everyone so talkative here? Mo Yue is totally opposite of Li Wei, who always stays quiet,' Alex thought.
"My name is Alex, and as I said before, I am new in this city," said Alex, introducing himself.
"So, you are here to buy a sword for yourself. Am I right?" asked Mo Yue.
"Yes, that is correct," replied Alex.
"Then follow me, I will show you the best swords for you," said Mo Yue as she gestured Alex to follow her.
Both of them walked deeper inside and stopped after a while. He saw many swords resting there. All of them looked majestic. He at least wanted to buy one of them; however, his face shrank when he saw their prices.
These were all above 100 gold coins, and there were even swords priced at 200 gold coins.
"Why don't you try this one?" she pointed at a sword. "This sword is made by our best smith. You will not find anything like this anywhere."
"This sword has a special ability. It can reduce the opponent's damage by 10% and can increase your damage by 12%," she explained. "What do you think? Do you like it?" she asked as she looked at Alex.
'It's not that I don't like it, but I can't afford to like it. I am broke,' thought Alex, as he truly didn't have any money at the moment. 'And I also don't think all the herbs will be worth equivalent to this sword.'
"Well, I like it, but there is a issue," said Alex as he sighed. He truly wanted to buy this sword because it looked really cool.
"Ehh. what's the problem?" asked Mo Yue because she was truly confused.
"I am broke… I don't have money," said Alex in a low tone.
"Eh? What do you mean you don't have money? Didn't you earlier say that you are not from here, that you came from another country?" asked Mo Yue in confusion.
"Moving from country to country is not a joke unless you have a powerful cultivation base, background, or money," said Mo Yue as she tried to piece things together.
"And from your personality, you don't seem to have any powerful backing, and your cultivation base is not high," she continued. "The only method I can think of is money."
Alex was stunned. He had never expected something like this.
"Although I have read many books… wait… how can I be so stupid? I have clearly read that the area surrounding this city is a very large forest in which many monsters reside. So, it is nearly impossible to travel across unless you have a high cultivation base," Alex cursed himself for making such a mistake.
'There's no doubt that she doubts me,' thought Alex as he tried to find a solution. What could he say so that she wouldn't suspect him?
He had not thought this far ahead.
In all the books he had read, journeys like this were always described so casually. But standing here now, under someone else's scrutiny, he finally realized how unrealistic it sounded.
Careless.
That was the word.
He exhaled slowly, his thoughts racing as he searched for a response that would not raise more questions.
For the first time since entering the shop, he felt something close to pressure.