"Alright, big spender, let's see what we've got here."
Belon pulled out several items and dropped them onto the counter one by one with quick, practiced motions. He then placed the last item down and spread his hands dramatically.
Quickly after that, he picked up a guitar and grinned. "Alright, feast your eyes on this beauty, huh? It's called Song of Pain. Made by the Pitbull Production. Yeah, I know, fancy name, right? Try not to drool on it."
He spun it slightly in his hands, clearly enjoying himself.
"Ever heard of a guy named Oscar Whilde? Real classy type. He once said, 'Music is the art which is most nigh to tears and memory.' Beautiful, poetic, makes you wanna cry, right?"
Belon leaned in, lowering his voice.
"But here's the fun part. This guitar? Oh, it will bring tears to your enemies. Not because the music's beautiful, oh no. It's because of the pain. The kind of pain that makes you question every life choice you've ever made."
"And the pain? Oh, it sticks. Carved right into their memory forever. Now that's what I call emotional impact."
For some reasons, Rohan had no idea who Oscar Whilde was. But that did not matter. To him, the guitar sounded fascinating, and the thought of using it once he became an Indigo mage in the near future intrigued him.
But even so, he remained patient, waiting for Belon to introduce the next item.
Belon noticed the look in his eyes and clapped his hands once. He then reached down and picked up another item from the counter, holding it up between his fingers.
It was a white bone, long and curved, shaped like a blade.
"This is not just a normal bone, obviously," Belon said, his voice quick and a little too excited.
"This is mass-crafted by the one, the only, the legendary mage Teorica Octavian. And guess what? He only made ten of these. Ten! You're basically looking at a collector's dream, pal."
"And who doesn't know the guy, huh? The man who singlehandedly pushed the Elftorian army, yeah those arrogant, long-eared pricks, all the way back to their land. I mean come on, the guy wasn't just strong, he was the army!"
Belon suddenly paused, blinking.
"Okay, okay, sorry, I got carried away. Big fan. Huge fan. Anyway, the blade, right, the blade! That's what I'm selling."
A brief silence followed, though Belon barely let it exist.
"The main purpose of this bone blade? This bad boy summons dozens of skeleton soldiers. I'm talking full-on bone brigade. Marching, clanking, no complaining, no lunch breaks, no 'oh I pulled a muscle'—because guess what, no muscles!"
He pointed at the imaginary battlefield like he could already see it.
"You're getting jumped by a bunch of mages, right? Big problem. But then, boom! You've got this blade. You snap it, wave it, do whatever dramatic thing you wanna do, and suddenly you've got an army. Numerical disadvantage? Gone. Deleted. Evaporated."
"And just like the guitar, the Song of Pain, yeah, that one, both of these beauties go for 250 gold coins. Each. Fair price."
Rohan nodded, fully acknowledging how good these items were. However, his eyes still lingered on the last item on the counter.
And as if Belon could tell, he immediately lifted the item. It was a crescent-bladed axe that gleamed with a crystalline blue edge, its surface veined like frozen lightning. The golden haft, intricately engraved, shone with regal warmth, balancing elegance and lethality.
"This? This is madness, my friend, this item is so good you might actually want to marry it. No kidding. I'd officiate the wedding myself."
He flipped it in his hand with a grin.
"The name? Edge of Storm. Sounds cool, right? Looks cool, is cool. Do I know who made it? Nope. No idea. Mystery artisan. But hey, does it matter? Look at it!"
He swung it lightly, eyes widening for emphasis.
"Every single strike, every swing, this thing makes a thunderous boom. I'm talking loud. Real loud. You hit someone with this, you're not just hurting them, you're ruining their hearing for life. Eardrums? Gone."
He leaned in, lowering his voice like he was sharing a secret.
"And that's not all. This beauty sharpens all your senses. Vision, hearing, smell, everything. You could read my store sign from a mile away. Someone farted across the street? You know who did it. Someone trying to ambush you? Please, you already smelled them coming."
Rohan nodded, but he didn't look nearly as amused. If it enhances all senses… then pain would be amplified too.
After a brief pause, Belon added. "And why's it called Edge of Storm? Oh, I'm glad you asked, imaginary question-asker. Once a day, you can summon a lightning bolt. I'm talking full-on, sky-cracking, boulder-shattering lightning."
He spun the axe once more, then held up four fingers.
"And for all that power, all that glory, all that dramatic entrance potential… just 400 gold coins. Absolute steal."
Rohan stared at the axe for a moment, then slowly looked back at Belon. "Why didn't you explain the item's restriction and side effects?"
Instantly, Belon gasped like he'd just been personally insulted.
"Because I don't sell junk!" he shot back, clutching the axe dramatically. "Every single item here is top quality, carefully crafted, premium grade, no refunds necessary! Side effects? Pfft. Tiny. Microscopic. You'd need a magnifying glass and a scholar to even notice them."
"And the restriction? Come on, that's just your soul essence output. Basic stuff! The bone blade summons dozens, sure, but if you're, say, a cyan mage? Ohhh, now we're talking hundreds. Armies! Legions!"
Rohan didn't look convinced.
"Side effect?" Belon repeated, looking at the axe like it had personally offended him. "This beauty? The mighty Edge of Storm? Oh please, the only thing it does is give you the occasional urge to scratch yourself a few times a day. That's it. That's the big scary drawback."
He leaned in, lowering his voice like he was making a brilliant point.
"And let's be honest, you'd do that anyway. So really, is it even a side effect? No. It's just… life. Not even worth mentioning. Honestly, I'm doing you a favor by not wasting your time with it."
"And it's not like I could scam my customers," Belon continued, throwing his hands up like the idea offended him on a personal level. "The moment you touch the item, boom! All the detailed information just goes straight into your head."
He pointed at Rohan like he had just delivered the final, undeniable argument.
"And you know that! You bought that Ring of Punishment from me before. Remember? You didn't complain. Not once! Why? Because the side effect was negligible!"
Rohan paused before he nodded slowly.
After that, he spent nearly ten minutes assessing which item he should buy, carefully weighing each option in silence.
Across from him, Belon never shut up.
His voice filled the shop nonstop, a constant stream of words that somehow never ran out, as if he physically couldn't go a single minute without talking.
Rohan did his best to ignore it.
At some point, a faint clink echoed through the room. An item hanging on the wall not far from him suddenly dropped to the floor.
Rohan's gaze shifted toward it for a brief moment.
Then he looked away. He wasn't making the same mistake again. So he ignored it, keeping his focus on the items in front of him, while Belon's endless chatter continued in the background.
After a while, Rohan decided to ask, "Say… these skeleton summoning things, can I command them for a construction project? Like building a house? Or maybe a church?"