Did he really not know the prices of these items?
He had worked as a sales clerk in this shop for more than a decade, and for goods this outrageously expensive, there might not even be one customer in an entire month who actually bought something.
The merchandise was undoubtedly top-tier.
After all, every piece had been crafted by a veteran enchanter who had advanced from Tier 5 to Tier 6—a master of enchantment. Across the entire continent, there were barely a handful of enchanters of that caliber.
But the problem was simple.
These items were too high-end.
The price of each one easily started at 10,000 or even 30,000 gold coins.
And the materials used for them were at minimum harvested from King-class monsters, or other resources of equivalent rarity.
Kanzaki Rei strolled around the shop, casually pointing here and there.
Before long, he had cleared out a large portion of the store's inventory.
Robes layered over robes—
The outer robes carried enchantments such as:
Guard of Blunted Edge
Arrow Deflection
Anti-Magic Disturbance
The inner robes carried enchantments such as:
Lightness Enhancement
Vitality Activation
Sound Isolation
Cold Resistance
Thermal Insulation
This world was not a video game.
There was no such thing as equipment slots.
A mage robe could simply be worn in multiple layers.
The only unfortunate limitation was that spellcasting could only be channeled through a single staff.
Otherwise, Rei would absolutely have pursued a dual-wield staff build.
Even so—
Each of Rei's ten fingers was now adorned with rings bearing different magical effects.
Among them were abilities such as:
Perception Vision
Hare's Agility
Severe Injury Restoration
Fate Concealment
In short—
He was now fully armed from head to toe.
He also picked up a few interesting gadgets.
For example, an Observation Lens capable of revealing an enemy's weak points.
Finally, he selected a magic staff worth 30,000 gold coins.
Naturally, it could not compare to the staff currently being crafted for him from Void Astral Wood, but it would serve as a temporary replacement for now.
"Boss, I'm ready to check out."
The shop owner stepped out from the back room.
When he saw Rei already dressed in layer after layer of magical gear, he froze for a moment.
Iz—that guy was wealthy, sure—but he almost never bought equipment from this shop.
With his own magic alone, he could handle nearly any situation.
He simply didn't rely on external equipment.
Looks like this disciple had a completely different style.
The owner, Eizen, broke into a wide smile.
"Hahaha! Little Rei, I knew you had good taste."
"I never expected Iz's disciple to support my business this much."
"Well, since you've bought so many items already, I'll give you a 20% discount."
"That'll be 1,850,000 gold coins in total. How would you like to pay?"
Rei raised the back of his hand.
"Thanks, Uncle Eizen. Contract payment."
"Straightforward! I like it."
Their hands touched.
The transaction was completed instantly.
"Oh right, Uncle Eizen."
"I still have some materials here. Could you help me craft some high-grade defensive magic equipment?"
"Robes, rings, pendants, talismans—anything works."
Rei casually raised his hand.
Several shell fragments and bones appeared on the counter.
Then he tossed the shop owner a storage pouch.
Eizen inspected the contents.
"…This is…"
"Catastrophe-class monster materials?"
While they were not as rare as Tier-7 monster materials, they were still extraordinarily valuable.
"I'm currently busy forging your staff," Eizen said after a moment of thought. "And I've already postponed several other orders."
"I'm afraid I don't have the time to handle these personally."
"But I can ask a few friends or apprentices of mine. They're more than capable of processing materials like these."
Rei smiled brightly.
"Thanks a lot, Uncle Eizen."
These materials had been selected and set aside yesterday with Akasei's help.
After leaving the Curious Magic Emporium, Rei continued wandering through the city.
He stocked up on a large quantity of potions and scrolls.
Potions and scrolls were actually remarkably cheap.
He bought several thousand bottles of potions, along with scrolls for:
Anti-stealth detection
Tracking
Invisibility
And various other specialized effects
Altogether, it cost him less than 20,000 gold coins.
While browsing, he even spotted a Secret Class Scroll priced at 500,000 gold coins.
Class: Puppeteer
Rei purchased it without hesitation.
After wandering through the city for quite a while—
Buying whatever caught his eye—
He had spent only 2.5 million gold coins in total.
Not even 3 million.
In truth, the vast majority of goods in this world were still priced in silver coins.
The gold he had just spent could easily be earned back by running two Tier-4 dungeons with sacrifice farming.
There was simply too much money.
He genuinely couldn't spend it fast enough.
Rei looked toward a massive circular structure nearby.
It resembled a gigantic colosseum.
"Now that I think about it…"
"Pally mentioned that the Fountain of Origin can inspire enlightenment."
"It's supposed to help with comprehending the Origin."
Rei had the distinct feeling that he was only one step away from achieving that breakthrough.
Just one final step.
But that step…
would require a little push.
…
One day later, Rei returned to the Combat Arena.
Registration for the War God Cup tournament would close this afternoon.
The competition itself would begin in five days.
This time, however—
His situation had undergone a complete transformation compared to his last visit.
Mostly in terms of financial power.
The last time he came here, the only valuable thing he had was a 350-gold staff.
Now?
The equipment covering his body—robes, rings, pendants, circlets—
Even after the discount, the total value exceeded two million gold coins.
He stepped through the Gate of Combat and entered matchmaking.
Battle #101.
His opponent was a warrior.
The warrior studied Rei's appearance:
His face hidden.
His height small—possibly a dwarf… or maybe a gnome.
Layer upon layer of robes covering his body.
"…A dwarf? Or maybe a gnome?"
"I only have a ten-win streak, and I'm already being matched against another race?"
"Whatever…"
Countdown — 2
The warrior sprinted toward Rei.
After all, Rei was wearing mage robes.
Naturally, the correct strategy was to close the distance and fight in melee.
Countdown — 1
Rei didn't cast a spell.
Instead—
He leapt backward.
Whoosh!
His speed was actually faster than the warrior's.
[Boot Enchantment: Lightstep Leap]
Fast.
Very fast.
Rei raised his hand again.
A Tier-4 spell scroll unfurled instantly.
[Scroll: Tornado (LV: 2)]
Whoooooosh!
A violent tornado erupted and surged upward into the sky.
The spell was not as powerful as one cast directly by a Tier-4 mage, but it was still far beyond something a Tier-2 warrior could handle.
The warrior was instantly swept high into the air.
What the hell?!
What kind of lunatic uses a Tier-4 Tornado scroll in a duel?
Are you serious right now?!
Rei observed the result and nodded slightly.
"Not bad."
A scroll that cost 50 gold coins.
Definitely interesting.
BOOM!
The warrior crashed back down from the sky.
Surprisingly—
He didn't die from the fall.
Rei thought for a moment.
Then he casually threw a poisoned dagger, finishing the match.
Over the next dozens of battles, Rei's focus shifted almost entirely to testing his new equipment.
He experimented with:
The enchantments on his robes
The effects of various potions
The versatility of scroll-based magic
The anti-stealth abilities attached to certain rings
From his opponents' perspective, however—
They were facing what looked like a walking pile of two million gold coins.
A man who was shamelessly smashing enemies with money.
Seriously, man…
Is this really necessary for a sparring match?
You're throwing away tens or even hundreds of gold coins per fight!
After grinding for four hours, Rei barely managed to reach a 200-win streak.
His opponents simply weren't much of a challenge.
Once he passed 200 consecutive victories, his rating reached 4,000 points, and his multiplier coefficient had climbed to nearly ×2.
At the moment—
He ranked Second Place in the Tier-2 Division of Central Circle City.
..
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