Market District (2)

Vivian stood in front of a small tent.

 

Inside the tent, there was a man in his late 30s sitting down on top crate and stitching a leather boot. On his side, there was a small table covered with a piece of cloth and there was a pile of shoes on top of it -- some were so worn out while others were still somewhat in good condition.

 

"Hi, excuse me. Do you repair shoes here?"

 

The man stopped what he was doing and raised his head.

 

"Yes. How can I help you?"

 

Vivian took out the broken shoe from her satchel.

 

"I need you to fix this. How much will it cost and when will I get it?"

 

"Let me see."

 

Vivian handed it over and the man inspected it for a moment before returning his gaze to her.

 

"Just this one?" he asked and glanced at the other pair on Vivian's left foot.

 

"Yes," Vivian replied before turning her gaze to the pile of shoes on top of the table. "Are those shoes on the table for sale?"

 

"Some."

 

"Do you have anything that's strong enough and can be used for kicking things?"

 

The man noticed the Copper I pendant around Vivian's neck and her feet where only her left foot had a shoe while the right one was only covered in bandages before looking at the shoe on his hand.

 

“Give me a moment.”

 

The man rummaged through the pile of shoes beside him and grabbed a pair.

 

"How about this one?"

 

The shoes on his hand was a pair of high-cut leather boots and had a metal cover surrounding its tip. The leather looked very worn out, but Vivian could see that it had been properly stitched. Even the metal cover surrounding its tip has been repaired.

 

"How much and how long will that last me if I use that for kicking? I kick a LOT of things."

 

"It would be 1 silver coin. And as you can see, although the leather is already worn out, the quality is still good. It will last you long enough unless you go around kicking lava and acid."

 

"And the repair?"

 

"It would be 3 copper coins."

 

"Let me see if it fits me."

 

The man handed it over and Vivian quickly tried them on.

 

"The owner of that shoe used to be an adventurer who also practices Leg Arts. But it was a long time ago, haven't seen him since," the man said calmly but there was a hint of melancholy in his tone.

 

Vivian didn't notice it because she was busy jumping, walking and doing sudden brakes.

 

There's some space between the tip and my toes but it's not that huge to make me feel uncomfortable or lose balance…

 

Do I buy this…?

 

Seriously, I never imagined that I would buy used clothes and shoes…

 

I mean, only God knows what kind of skin diseases I might catch from wearing them…

 

But if this is already 1 silver coin and it looks like this is the only one that has a metal cover, then how much is a brand-new one…?

 

I also don't have time to waste to go around shopping…

 

Aside from money, I also need the experience to level up my skills as quickly as possible…

 

And the stronger I get, the more confident I will be…

 

She turned to the man.

 

"I'll take it. 1 silver and 3 copper coins, right?"

 

"Yes."

 

Vivian took out 1 silver and 3 copper coins from the coin pouch inside her satchel and handed them over to the man.

 

"Thank you," the man said and noticed that Vivian wasn’t leaving. “Do you need anything else?”

 

“You’re not going give me a number or tag to prevent other people from claiming my shoes?”

 

“Oh, that one. There’s no need. I have a good memory.”

 

“I see. So when will I get the shoes?"

 

"Tomorrow around the same time."

 

"Okay, thank you," Vivian said and then left

.

But just after a few steps, she turned around and went back.

 

"By the way, do you know where I can buy gloves for punching? If possible, one with metal covers as well."

 

"Just head over to this corner and go straight. You'll find some shops there."

 

"Okay, thank you."

 

Vivian turned out and finally left.

 

The man raised his head and stared at Vivian's back.

 

An image of a purple-haired man with red highlights in his early 20s covered in cuts, bruises and bandages was crying and begging him to hurry up in fixing his shoes and gloves flashed inside his head.

 

The man let out a small smile before resuming to fix the shoe he was currently fixing.

 

***

 

Vivian was standing in the middle of a busy street.

 

There were shops on each side of the street and there were also street vendors selling on the sidewalk. 

 

Regarding the street vendors, they simply laid out a piece of cloth on the sidewalk and placed their wares on top.

 

She scratched her head.

 

Is that even legal…?

 

Vivian turned away and searched for the most expensive-looking store and entered.

 

Inside the shop, there were a number of beautiful weapons being displayed -- some on the walls, others on top of the counters and behind glass.

 

There were only about 8 people inside. And among the 8 people, 2 were wearing high-quality equipment that even their weapons looked amazing -- one was carrying a pair of beautiful black swords with red accents and the other one was carrying a gold-colored bow.

 

Did I aim too high…?

 

She shook her head.

 

I'm only here to get an idea of the base price of the items and what they look like...

 

And from thereon, I can go to the street vendors outside and compare them…

 

"Hello, welcome. How may I help you?" one of the female staff asked Vivian.

 

"I'm looking for a dagger, sword and gloves for punching."

 

"What grade are you looking for? And does it have to be enchanted or not?"

 

Grade...?

 

Enchanted…?

 

"I want the lowest grade and not enchanted."

 

"Please follow me."

 

Vivian followed the woman to one of the corners.

 

The woman picked one of the daggers behind the glass and presented it to Vivian.

 

The blade of the dagger was slightly curved and it had a gold handle carved with intricate designs.

 

"This one is made with 100% mithril and costs 12 gold coins."

 

Vivian almost coughed out blood.

 

This is 12 gold coins…?!

 

Even if 1 gold coin is 10 silver coins, you're telling me this single piece of equipment is worth 120 silver coins and it's supposed to be the lowest grade and isn't even enchanted…?!'

 

I rather buy 120 normal kitchen knives even if it cost me 1 silver coin each…!

 

Well, now that I mentioned it, I think I rather just buy kitchen knives…

 

And for a sword, just a steel pipe will do…

 

"I see. How about the gloves for punching?"

 

Vivian didn't bother to ask about swords anymore. To her, swords are basically just longer daggers. So with that logic, she can just assume that the price of a sword would be at least 50% higher.

 

"Please forgive me if I seem too forward, but I can't help but notice that you're wearing fingerless gloves. So I'm wondering if you would prefer a fingerless punching glove or a normal punching glove, or would you like to see both?"

 

"I want to see both."

 

"Okay, please excuse me for a moment," the woman said and left.

 

When the woman returned, she was carrying 2 expensive-looking boxes.

 

She placed them in front of Vivian and opened them.

 

Inside each box was a pair of gloves resting on a red cushion.

 

"These are the gloves I can recommend. But if they're not to your liking, I can fetch more."

 

"No, it's okay. So how much are these?"

 

"This one cost 16 gold coins. The leather is made out of the hide of the One-Horned Brook and the metals are 100% mithril."

 

The pair of gloves she was pointing to was a fingerless type. The leather was color black, it had a triangle-shaped metal on top and 3 thin sheets of metal on the fingers stacked together.

 

"This one right here cost 18 gold coins. The leather is made out of the hide of the Merokor and the metal beads are 100% mithril. You don't have to worry about the metal beads hurting your fingers when punching because the leather on the fingers is quite thick and it also has an extra thin sheet of metal underneath the leather of the top and fingers."

 

The second glove she was pointing at was the typical look of gloves. The leather was color brown and it had beads of metal on top and on the fingers.

 

"I see. Thank you."

 

Chapter end