Chapter 110 - 109 – Encounter
I moved farther ahead.
Weapon shops lined both sides of the road.
After entering several of them out of curiosity, I gradually began to understand the pricing of ordinary and specialized weapons.
All weapons... were sold only for real money.
I kept entering shop after shop, searching for someone willing to trade in exchange for Accumulation.
Because of the Weapon Furnace, I would soon possess many ordinary and specialized weapons.
I needed to sell them in large quantities to obtain Accumulation.
Unfortunately, they were only sold for currency.
After more than half an hour, I stopped.
(Martial Arts of the Body)
The name of a shop rose on a sign beside me.
I did not think twice.
I headed toward it immediately.
My mastered weapon, Flame Art... was itself a bodily martial art.
I needed to see what weapons might complement it.
The moment I entered, this shop felt different.
The scent...
It was incredibly pleasant.
A wave of relaxation struck me unexpectedly.
A beautiful calm spread through both my body and mind.
My eyes lifted toward the counter.
It was pure white, gleaming with countless engraved stars.
"How may I serve you, sir?"
A melodious voice arose from behind the counter.
A young woman stood there, with short red hair, brown eyes, and bronze skin.
Her smile was delicate and beautiful.
"Would it trouble you if I looked around at what you have?" I asked.
She quickly shook her head no, raising both hands in a charming gesture of denial.
She reminded me of cosplay girls—those who always tried so hard to act cute.
But this girl was like that naturally.
No pretense.
She stepped out from behind the counter and approached me.
At first, I thought she wore a maid uniform.
The upper half resembled one.
But below, she wore black fitted trousers reinforced with combat straps,
and boots decorated with silver plates.
The trousers clung closely to her legs.
Her body was that of a fully grown woman.
Her face, however, was youthful.
She led me toward the weapon displays.
They were glass compartments.
Inside each compartment was a book.
Each book was a martial art.
And every one of them was a specialized weapon.
What had drawn me here—besides the fact that my own weapon was a bodily martial art—
was that throughout all this time,
the Weapon Furnace had never produced a single body-art weapon.
I did not know why.
But that only made me more eager to understand these arts.
My eyes settled on the first display.
"Guidance Art..." I murmured.
I did not understand its meaning.
Suddenly,
blue light appeared with an explanation:
(Guidance Art begins with your first step in learning.
Then it guides you toward the second step most suited to the first.
Then toward the third step suited to the first two.
And so it continues guiding.)
"That is a good weapon," I murmured.
"Indeed," the girl said softly.
Her tone matched mine perfectly.
She was truly professional.
"Do you know more about it?" I asked, looking toward her.
"I can explain how it functions in general," she replied,
"but detailed information is reserved only for the buyer.
A weapon is its owner’s secret, sir. That is beyond our control."
"I see..."
Then I asked,
"So what can you tell me?"
She raised her hands slightly, lowered them again, and began explaining:
"Guidance Art is intended for Lords who wish to create their own personal combat style.
The Lord may perform any movement he desires.
Guidance Art analyzes that movement,
then directs him toward another movement that develops it further."
"I see... but," I said,
"Does it invent the second movement for you based on the first—
or does it wait for you to invent the second and merely tell you whether it fits?"
"That... I do not know, sir," she answered.
I looked back at the book.
Inside, I wondered:
Does she really not know... or simply not wish to answer?
In the end, she was a saleswoman.
Her duty was to encourage me to buy.
The more details she revealed,
the greater the chance I might lose interest in the weapon.
Natural enough.
"One more question," I said.
She nodded immediately.
"Regardless of whether the weapon invents or guides...
does it continue doing so forever?"
She raised one hand to her brow, then lowered it.
"Could you clarify, sir?"
"What I mean is—
if it keeps inventing or guiding every single time,
then theoretically it could continue endlessly.
But every combat style has an endpoint—
a final perfected form.
So is this a weapon that eventually completes your style and seals it...
or does it keep inventing and guiding forever?"
"I do not know the answer, sir."
"Fine," I said.
I glanced at the price.
"I’ll take it."
"As you wish," she replied.
I pulled a small wallet from my pocket.
I extended my hand into empty space—
then withdrew it.
In my palm lay a golden egg.
A Golden Egg was worth fifty thousand dinars.
Exactly the price of Guidance Art.
I had no idea how I would truly make use of it.
But something about it felt right.
After completing the transaction,
I continued browsing the remaining displays.
It seemed they had placed their best weapon in the very first case.
By the tenth display, I sighed.
All the rest were arts for isolated single movements:
Fire Step.
Ice Step.
Lightning Step.
"Wind Launcher..." I muttered.
"How awful."
The girl smiled.
Then I stopped before one display case.
Above it was a triangular symbol.
"What is that mark?" I asked.
The girl stepped closer and answered:
"It is a pricing mark.
It means the seller desires something other than money in exchange."
"What does he want?"
"The seller may request anything—
a service, an item...
or he may request direct private contact with interested buyers.
In the case of this weapon,
the seller concealed his identity
and requested ten thousand Accumulation points."
"Ah..."
My face remained calm,
but inwardly this information was astonishing.
"Can anyone put up weapons for sale in exchange for Accumulation or services?" I asked.
"Yes, of course.
And everything is kept confidential and bound by Oath Stones."
"I see..."
I scratched my head.
"Is ten thousand Accumulation points really a price someone would pay?
As far as I know, Accumulation is extremely valuable to fighters.
Who would spend that much?"
"It is expensive," she said,
"but interested buyers will pay.
Sir... you are from a small town, aren’t you?"
I laughed and scratched my head again.
She smiled and scratched hers too.
"Yes.
But first tell me your name.
One cannot speak this long without knowing the name of the person in front of them.
My name is Echo."
"A beautiful name indeed.
Mine is Fiona.
Fiona de Vin."
"A very beautiful name, Fiona.
Why did you ask where I came from?"
She smiled.
"Because you do not know about the Accumulation Arena."
"The Accumulation Arena?"
"Yes.
Combat tournaments are held there.
Fighters enter by paying Accumulation,
and if they win, they earn multiplied rewards.
Even Lords have their own divisions."
"I understand now."
That would make things easier.
But...
it would also make hiding myself more difficult.
Still—
for now, information came first.
"So, Fiona...
if someone were to buy all the weapons here,
then relist them in exchange for Accumulation—
would that be possible?"
"Of course, sir.
But we would not display all such weapons for Accumulation at once."
"Why not?"
"Because then the store would appear to be merely an exchange shop for Accumulation.
We are in a tourist city.
Most visitors are travelers.
If their first impression is that we only trade in Accumulation,
they will not return, since that does not interest them.
Our current arrangement gives the impression that we are a multi-purpose shop for both sale and exchange."
"You’re right," I said.
"So it would seem as though I were selling only one weapon at a time for Accumulation.
And if no one wanted it, it would simply remain on display.
That would not be profitable."
"There is one exception," Fiona said.
"If you buy all the weapons,
we can increase the number displayed for Accumulation.
And we can distribute them across our other branches.
We have five branches in five other major cities."
"That’s excellent.
Let’s do that."
After completing all the transactions,
my money was nearly exhausted.
I turned to Fiona and said:
"Thank you for all the information, Fiona.
May I thank you properly by inviting you to lunch?
You may consider it a request for more knowledge—
from a village boy like me."
"Heavens, sir... thank you, but..."
"I won’t accept refusal," I said.
"But sir, I cannot leave.
If I do, they will deduct my wages for the day."
"I see..."
Then a broad laugh burst from me.
"Prepare to leave.
Even if I must pay one hundred thousand,
I’ll pay it to take you to lunch."
I turned without looking back,
ready to leave.
"I’ll wait for you outside," I said.