The market was surprisingly crowded for it being so early in the morning.
Every stall was open, and people were already bustling about.
"How do they all get up so early when it's so cold?" Place questioned aloud.
Babis let out a snort.
"Same way you do." He muttered, and Place ignored his words.
"So, there was something you wanted to do?"
"Better to leave it for last." Babis fished out a small clock from his pocket and looked at it.
"I don't think they even begin baking them this early."
"Time to walk around and see if anything catches our eyes?" Ernote suggested.
The other two nodded.
"Might find something interesting." Place agreed. "This is my first time so far from home." He started scanning the stalls.
***
"What is this?" Place picked up a small, but intricately carved trinket with a lot of loose and moving parts.
He held it up, and his guards glanced at it.
"I think I've seen this before." Ernote held out a hand, and Place handed it to him.
The man behind the stall began to speak.
"That is-"
"Ah! There we go!" He was interrupted by Ernote letting out a noise of realization.
The trinkets' loose parts started to slot together and forming a somewhat circular shape.
"It's a puzzle that becomes a compass!" He held it up, displaying it.
"I brought one a few years ago..." He handed the solved puzzle back to the shopkeeper, who was looking at him, flabbergasted.
Place placed a coin down on the stall, and they moved past it.
They continued their walk through the market, looking at a lot and buying nothing, until they came to a stop in front of a shop selling weapons.
"These are arrays," Babis remarked as they looked at the display weapons hanging in the window.
"Array-inscribed weapons... do you think they have enchanted ones?"
"They might, both of them are always in demand."
Place hummed in response, then he strode forward and entered the shop.
"Welcome to Arma's weapon shop! What are you looking for?"
An elderly man sat behind the counter, reading a book leisurely, and another, much younger man, held a cloth as he wiped the dust off of a table.
The young man put the cloth aside and walked up to them.
Place gave a glance around the shop, then turned to his company.
"Your name is Arma?"
"I'm Arma Jr., That's my grandpa," He gestured to the reading man. "Arna Sr., anything you guys want?"
They shrugged and started looking around the shop as Place spoke with the grandson.
"Do you have enchanted weapons?" He questioned.
Junior nodded as he gave a glance at the elder in the chair.
"We have some, but none of them are above the second Scale-grade. Is that alright?"
"Show me."
"Please wait a moment." He went into the back of the shop through a door.
'Second Scale-grade.' Place pondered. 'More than enough.'
Weapons and armor used the same system to denote their effectiveness,
The scale went like this.
Normal-grade. Made from unaltered and non-magical materials, this included everything from wooden swords to swords and armor made from the finest steel.
First Scale-grade. Could be made from normal or magical materials, but they're much better than normal-grade items, (usually due to enchantments and the like) and are able to effectively deal or take damage against Tier 2 creatures.
Second Scale-grade. It's possible to make them from normal materials, but they are usually made from good-quality magical materials and are made to be able to do something against Tier 4 creatures.
Blessed-grade. You need high-grade materials to make a Blessed-grade weapon. An item of this grade is infused with large amounts of energy and blessed using enchanments until it becomes stronger than the previous grades, and is the grade that takes the longest to make.
The effectiveness of this grade varies, but generally, they can be used against a Tier 5 creature well enough.
Ascended-grade. Weapons of this grade cannot be used by normal people for various reasons. At this stage, the item might have a very, very slight inkling of spirit. Most effective against Tier 6 creatures.
There are words about a Heroic-grade, a Divine-grade, and a World-grade, but there are no concrete items in public view.
'Which means that there are probably a few of them hidden in some powerful people's treasuries.' Place brought his quick memory check to a stop.
'I bet that the king has at least one Heroic-grade.'
The young man returned, carrying a metal disc, carved with a spell circle.
Place raised an eyebrow, realizing the item for what it was, but said nothing,
He placed the disc on top of a table, and waved him over.
Place walked over as Arma Jr. channeled magic into the disc, and balls of light emerged from it.
The balls of light spread out and formed into various items.
Swords, spears, maces, armor, etc.
"Take a look." The man stepped back, letting Place take his pick.
"I need a long sword, some backup daggers, and an impact-absorbing shield." Place stated, staring at the pile of enchanted items.
"And some light armor if you have any of that."