CHAPTER 46: [ THE TRADER ]

Alexander walked out of the parking lot, not looking back once to see what happened to the officials.

They most likely grabbed their team leader and drove away.

Even the one who hid inside one of the buildings outside the parking lot, he couldn’t care less.

They sent him through a higher tier dungeon on purpose, they most likely put that man there to watch over the dungeon entrance.

He glanced at Fae, meeting her gaze once more.

"It’s truly just you and me," he said.

Even hidden behind the mask, he could feel her smile.

They were walking on the sidewalk, the streets were still busy with various businesses still full of customers. Some people seemed to be celebrating, while others simply enjoyed the night.

He calmly walked, still firmly holding onto Fae, his eyes dissecting the crowd.

Every gaze that crossed his was balanced against [ The Weight ].

As long as he kept [ Witness of All Paths ] up, anyone meeting his gaze would face it.

[ The Weight ]

[ Gazing into the depths reveals the edge of the abyss one stands upon. The thin thread they balance themselves on while it lies beyond. ]

As long as he kept walking, he realized the spell would undo itself. People froze, but once he got past them they were able to move again.

Each person frozen by his sight left a sour feeling that faded quickly.

[ Witness of all Paths ] could be the difference between life and death, and now that he could leave it on without feeling side effects—thanks to his set and higher stats— he wouldn’t let himself be caught by surprise.

And still, Alexander believed they were lucky he wasn’t activating the Will Breaker’s gaze, which would activate [ The Weight ] to most around him.

Fae didn’t care at all, he wondered if she could even notice anything around him.

His voice, low, described the sights around.

He explained even the simplest of things in case she didn’t have those wherever she came from.

Restaurants, dry cleaners, taxis, anything.

After walking thirty minutes, Alexander got his Adventurer’s Guild issued phone out once more, and looked at the map.

He was following a red line that ended a street further, "The Trader" brightly marked.

They were still holding everything they had dropped in their hands. The chest, the Lich’s robe, its staff—if Alexander’s outfit didn’t grab everyone’s attention, their loot did.

They arrived before the shop, it looked like a prestigious shop, one where someone would buy high-fashion items.

Tall windows, a clean exterior, and a minimalistic interior.

Alexander stepped inside with Fae, the place was empty.

There were many glass counters, inside them were carefully placed items that all looked incredibly expensive.

"Welcome," said the man behind the counter.

Alexander walked to him, his glance lingering on the counters he passed on the way.

The man was short, a name-tag on his breast-pocket giving away his name.

"Archie," he read.

"The one and only. Valued customer, please, could you stop this spell you have going on?" he asked. "Or, at least, when other customers come in? I wouldn’t want you to make potential business run away."

Alexander looked through the store once more, then nodded.

"Sure."

Archie smiled, content.

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

Alexander nodded at Fae, who dropped the chest on the counter. Alexander did the same with everything he held.

"Things I’ve dropped in my last dungeon run."

Archie nodded, taking one quick glance at everything laid before him.

"Interesting," he said, while nodding. "This looks like C-tier items, maybe B, when it comes to the staff and robe..."

Alexander took a deep breath, controlling his emotions.

"By looking at the items you can tell the tier of the dungeon?" he asked.

"Yes, approximately. It’s always safe to go to the lowest possible tier, in this case the lowest your latest dungeon run could’ve been is C tier. A trick sure to entertain some dungeon runners, always quick to correct me."

Archie then smiled.

"Seeing how you’re not correcting me, I’ll assume I’ve hit it close," he said.

"Somewhat," replied Alexander, unable to share a smile of his own.

"So, what do you want to do today?" asked Archie.

"I want to appraise and sell, possibly buy some things."

"Anything in particular you were looking for?" he asked.

"Bottomless bags," he replied.

Archie nodded, a smile on his face.

"Please, could you give me your name?" asked Archie.

"Why?"

"We register trade through the system, it’s mandatory," he said.

Alexander sighed.

"Veil."

"Alright... Veil..."

The man took a step to the left and moved the mouse on his computer, its screen turning on after a second.

"I’ll look at your profile, then we can head toward the next room," he said, pointing at a door. "As you’ve noticed, this is the more high-end part of the store, but we’ll find lower tier stuff on the other side..."

Archie typed a few words, and clicked a few times, but his expression only grew in confusion.

Confusion then turned into concern, his fingers hovering above the keyboard as he read what was displayed on the screen.

He then typed some more, and clicked some more.

Alexander’s gaze captured everything. Every keystroke.

He was typing his dungeon runner name again, making sure he had the right ’Veil’.

"Listen..." started Archie.

Alexander’s annoyance could be read on his face.

"Let me guess, you can’t help me?" he said.

Archie scratched the back of his head, biting his own lips.

Alexander grabbed the stuff on the counter, giving Fae the chest back.

He kept a straight face, and breathed deeply, unwilling to give in to the negative emotion he felt.

"It’s just... the store’s policy..." said Archie, as Alexander turned around with his items in hand.

He walked halfway through the store in silence, ready to leave before being stopped by Archie’s voice.

"Wait!" he said.

Alexander frowned, and turned around.

"Listen, my hands are truly tied here... I wouldn’t keep this job if I did business with you. Everyone knows that The Trader is a place that really puts emphasis on appearances... so if we did business with a cultist..."

Archie then quickly waved his hand around.

"But, not every store is as pretentious...—don’t tell my boss I said that—, You should head to Brak’s. He won’t mind, and honestly, you’ll get better prices there."

Alexander’s frown softened.

"Thanks, Archie," he said, turning around to leave the store.