Chapter 18: The Friendship of Two Copper Coins

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Lise didn’t seem to care about the reason Roshu had for wanting to buy a hammer and a sword. She appeared eager to move on to the next transaction as quickly as possible. Naturally, Roshu, saving himself the trouble of explaining, did not volunteer any details. Once again, the familiar snap of fingers echoed.

Lise pointed to the newly displayed exquisite weapons in the showcase and smiled as she said, “These are all second-tier weapons. Please feel free to choose any.”

Roshu glanced at the weapons in the case; each was intricately designed and beautifully crafted, a stark contrast to the dull, grayish first-tier weapons he had seen before. More remarkably, each piece seemed to shimmer under the light.

Surprised, Roshu asked, “Second-tier weapons actually glow?”

“Just coated with oil,” Lise replied with a hint of pride. “I spent several afternoons hand-painting each one.”

She was quite candid about it.

Roshu nodded. “The oil coating isn’t included in the price, right?”

With a grand gesture, Lise said, “Just two copper coins.”

“Are there any without the oil coating?” Roshu inquired, always looking to save a bit.

Unexpectedly, Lise compromised this time, smiling as she said, “Since we’re friends, I’ll throw in the oil for free. If you buy, I’ll deduct two copper coins.”

“Seems our friendship is quite valuable,” Roshu chuckled, nodding.

He then looked back at the showcase; only three weapons matched his needs. One was a hammer that looked wooden, with red crystals affixed to both faces. The hammer’s shaft was massive—roughly the thickness two hands could grasp around. There was also a pair of curved blades, their edges joined to form a crescent moon shape with a single sharp edge like a sickle. The blade reflected a faint blue sheen, likely the result of repeated tempering.

Lastly, there was a broad sword, its blade wide and thick, entirely black, exuding a heavy, deadly aura. A note beside it stated the blade was half a meter wide and half a palm thick, with an additional remark: this sword was extremely heavy.

Each of these three weapons was priced at 700 copper coins, meaning Roshu could only afford one with the money he had.

Smiling, Roshu said, “Miss Lise, your weapons don’t seem to be hard currency.”

Neither the curved blades, the hammer, nor the extremely heavy broad sword fit the typical needs of common professionals. For example, curved blades were rare among weapon users, mostly favored by pirates at sea. The broad sword, too, was impractical for swordsmen not focused on strength due to its weight.

Caught off guard by Roshu’s observation, Lise didn’t hide it and instead laughed, saying, “If these were hard currency, they wouldn’t be priced like this.”

Having failed to bargain, Roshu didn’t want to waste more time and nodded, “Then I’ll take the broad sword.”

Upon hearing his decision, Lise’s smile grew even brighter. “Very well, kind customer, that will be 698 copper coins.”

Roshu handed over the money.

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Lise opened the showcase and apologized, “Sorry, dear customer, this sword is so heavy I can’t lift it. You or your servant will have to carry it yourselves.”

She bowed apologetically.

Roshu smiled, stepped forward, and directly affixed a magical pouch onto the sword, storing the broad sword away.

Seeing Roshu do this, Lise’s expression remained unchanged; she simply smiled and asked, “Is there anything else you need?”

“No, thank you,” Roshu replied warmly. “Thanks for your help, Miss Lise. I’ll remember today for the sake of our great friendship. Have a good night.”

“To our great friendship, good night, Roshu,” Lise returned with a smile, seeing him off.

Roshu left with Layla. The moment he stepped out of the guild’s door, the smiles on both his and Lise’s faces vanished behind a closed door.

Layla noticed Roshu’s sudden loss of expression and sensed an odd atmosphere between her master and Miss Lise, though she couldn’t quite pinpoint what was strange.

“Master, are you unhappy?” she asked.

Roshu was momentarily startled but then smiled, “No, not at all.”

Reassured, Layla relaxed, believing her master wouldn’t lie to her. If he said he wasn’t unhappy, then he truly wasn’t.

After a moment’s hesitation, she asked again, “Master, can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead,” Roshu said with a smile.

“Are you and Miss Lise friends?”

Roshu responded with a smile, “Sort of, if you stretch the truth.”

Layla pondered this familiar answer but soon gave up; it was too complicated for her. Besides, it wasn’t very important.

Looking down at the hand Roshu naturally took hers in, she thought happily, Master isn’t unhappy, and that’s what matters!

...

In the end, Roshu decided to take Layla home to rest for the night. Although he knew that after using the Thorn Guard, the red dragon was surely searching for him everywhere, tonight he had no other place to go. He certainly couldn’t run into the wild—what if he ran headlong into that mad dragon?

So he resolved to rest for one night and decide in the morning whether to venture into the Sunset Jungle for leveling.

By the time they reached home, night was deep. Before approaching the door, Roshu noticed something hanging on it. Upon closer inspection, it was a cloth bag containing bottles of pills and ointments, along with a note.

The note was simple:

“If Roshu sees this paper, remember to buy me a drink next time. If Roshu’s servant finds it, please be sure to inform me of your master’s funeral date.

—Dave.”

That guy, Roshu shook his head with a smile.

He carefully put the bag and note into his magical pouch.

Back at home, master and servant both quickly freshened up. Layla soon collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep.

Roshu took out the heavy sword from his magical pouch, eager to test the nearly 700 copper coin weapon.

So heavy!

The moment he gripped it, Roshu was struck by its unexpected weight. His strength attribute was 17—greater than that of a newly minted second-tier berserker. Yet even swinging it one-handed felt somewhat taxing.

He tried gripping the hilt with both hands and swung it a few times; the feel was just right.

As for the sword’s actual power, he’d find out tomorrow when he slew a goblin.

The sword’s description noted it was enchanted with sharpness, and combined with its weight, Roshu was quite eager to test it.

After trying the weapon, Roshu opened his status panel:

[Name: Roshu]
[Strength: 17]
[Agility: 9]
[Constitution: 7]
[Magic: 7]
[Mental Resistance: 4]
[Skills: Basic Healing Lv. 3 (15/50), Dust Lv. 2 (0/10), Scrutiny Lv. 2 (0/10)]

Looking at his attributes, Roshu fell into thought.

Until today, he had focused mainly on strength and constitution. This broad direction was sound—it most directly enhanced combat ability.

But going forward, he should allocate some points into magic. The healing spell was already powerful; increasing magic would raise the number of times he could cast it, improving both survivability and stamina.

Plus, with Thorn Guard...

Various tactical combinations formed in Roshu’s mind.

Having clarified his development path, Roshu closed his eyes and lay down beside Layla.

Layla seemed to sense something and snuggled closer, tightly grasping the edge of Roshu’s clothes.

Roshu’s sleep was restless. He worried the red dragon might come calling, so he stayed alert, not sleeping too deeply.

Unexpectedly, the dragon didn’t show, but another sound woke him up first.

A child’s voice came from the street outside:

“War news! War news! Wheel Town war news!!!”

Half asleep, Roshu immediately sat up and looked out the window.

It was just dawn. A boy, no older than ten, was running from house to house, holding a stack of scrolls.

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