ATAPOW Chapter 98
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Chapter 98: Fangs
Early morning.
Scraping noises from fabrics rubbing at each other resounded, as if someone was rummaging for something.
With his consciousness still hazy, Ji Bai instantly opened his eyes. Even in an easy and comfortable environment, he still carried a certain wariness towards his surroundings.
He saw a petite, cherry-colored silhouette sitting beside a small wooden wardrobe arranging some items.
Ji Bai let go of his raised vigilance.
“Ke’er?”
“Oh my! Mr. Ji Bai is awake?”
“Mhm, and what are you doing?”
“I am arranging the clothes for Mr. Ji Bai. These are already dry, so Ke’er is helping by folding and putting them in your wardrobe~” As usual, a therapeutic smile hung on her face.
“Oh… I can handle these trifling matters by myself. You can just leave those to me in the future.” Ji Bai reckoned that it was time to get out of bed for him as well. So he grabbed some clothes and personal items lying on top of his bedside cabinet and shoved them under his blanket.
“It’s alright~ This is what Ke’er is here for~ You can find your breakfast on the dining table~ Now, Ke’er wants to go to the public bath to tidy up her body, so she’s going to excuse herself.” Ke’er fiddled her apron in an adorable manner and did a slight bow.
“I got it. You can go.” Within ten seconds, an orderly dressed Ji Bai had climbed up from his mattress to nod towards her.
He guessed that it had something to do with the nature of her race. A child that was very fond of cleanliness, Ke’er had taken responsibility for each and every household duty in their home and was meticulous when it came to hygiene management.
While Ji Bai wasn’t sure if he was overthinking it, he had always felt that Ke’er was overly polite towards him. It was to the extent that it made him feel like there was a layer of glass separating them.
When he put more thought into it, he concluded that it couldn’t be helped. No matter the circumstances, it must be awkward for a small girl to live together with an adult male. It was already good enough that she didn’t turn her back on him.
Even though today fell on a weekend, Ji Bai was not the slightest bit idle.
He felt the need to purchase some equipment, as sudden and inevitable occurrences always happened whenever he picked up his equipment on the battlefield. It also was a dishonorable act to steal the equipment of the deceased.
Moreover, he had always felt somewhat uneasy without a weapon beside him.
But sadly, it couldn’t be helped due to his finite assets; After he had paid the installment from the damages caused at the lounge and deducted his daily expenses, the amount that remained was pitiably little.
This wasn’t some Xuanhuan-Wuxia novel where one could just casually walk on the street and bump into an old man who would forcefully instill some rare, martial-art techniques on you.
Neither would developments, such as the magical appearance of a precious unpolished gem that no one had ever heard of nor would the cheap auction of a divine artifact take place here.
One got what one paid for. It was unrealistic to cut down demons using a cheap and showy metal blade that one got from a casual bid.
At the very least, the metal used to cast the weapon must be made out of molybdenum, or have molybdenum mixed in.
But this was only the minimum requirement since Molybdenum was the least powerful metal in the【Dark Metal】category.
As for weapons or firearms made up of ordinary metal, their offensive power was so weak that they were incapable of even cutting the body hair of a demon.
【Dark Metals】. As types of metal corroded by dark matter, they were the only thing that was capable of dealing damage to demons.
Dark metals are categorized by the amount of dark matter within them. For example, Molybdenum —the metal with the lowest amount of dark matter— only contained less than one percent of dark matter.
Above that, the quality of materials was listed upward as follows: Catalpa metal, Profound Metal, Precious Metal, Saint Steel, Lacquered Metal, Lustrous Metal.
The previous sword Ji Bai possessed, the Sacred Sword <Heaven’s Abundance>, had been forged by directly using Saint Steel. Moreover, it hadn’t been crafted by the hands of man.
To entrust a treasure like saint steel to a human blacksmith was simply a reckless waste of resources.
However, all of this was no longer important. Heaven’s Abundance had already been placed on display in the imperial capital’s museum as a part of their collection. He would need to buy a ticket if he wished to see his old companion again.
And why was a conflict so harmful to one’s wallet?
Because of【Dark Metals】. Not only were they uncommon, but the forging techniques that humans possessed were also in their infancy. That made the metal difficult to handle, with the possibility that a certain mishap might ruin the metal completely.
As such, one can imagine how difficult it was for a competent knight to get a sword that suited them. Moreover, that was even excluding the number of weapons lost or destroyed in a battle. What happens if one were to factor this in too?
Thus, weapons were very important. This was also the case for high-level knights. Stories of experts fighting using tree branches they had casually picked up was practically impossible and only served as fables used to coax children.
An army of juggernauts wasn’t something someone could buy with money. Furthermore, Ji Bai was still penniless.
Even Ji Bai was clueless as to how many swords he had broken before he had received Heaven’s Abundance.
But first, he had to leave the school grounds.
In reality, ‘Hope Elementary School’ was situated on a different plane of existence. In order to fool people, they had simply set-up the teleportation point inside the toilet of a certain abandoned building in Falling Origin District.
He wasn’t sure about the identity of the omnipresent being responsible for this magnum opus; It was even capable of creating an environment suitable for living organisms to live on a separate plane.
…………
“How much is this sword?”
“You have a good eye, lad! This sword was actually crafted by this store with all our passion! It’s a robust greatsword that was entirely crafted with molybdenum and is all you need to defend yourself! All you need is twenty silver coins and it can be yours!” Said the shop owner in a tone filled with confidence.
“…Are there any cheaper alternatives?”
When it came to the current Ji Bai, twenty silver coins were an astronomical figure.
“Ohh, then it’d be this long spear. Only the tip of it was forged with molybdenum and its price is roughly around 5 silver coins.”
“Is there anything even cheaper…”
The weapons Ji Bai was most proficient with were naturally two-handed longswords. This type of sword demanded the most out of its user and had a hefty price tag. The latter part was the more important point in Ji Bai’s thoughts.
After a series of downgrades and back-and-forth haggling, Ji Bai walked out the weapon store carrying an impure two-handed longsword that contained a smidgen of molybdenum.
This time, Ji Bai’s entire savings had been completely spent. But he had finally gotten a sword, so he wasn’t particularly fussy about it.
With a bit of luck, this sword might be able to last for a while.
As the blazing midday sun hung over the street, a conspicuous silver-grey figure attracted Ji Bai’s attention.
‘The parasite? Has that woman gone out to purchase some goods too? Forget it, it’s best to not get myself involved.’
With his business finished, Ji Bai decided to turn around and leave.
“Can Missus hold on a moment, please?”
“Is something the matter, sire?” Lin came to a halt while walking on the street. She then turned her head and emotionlessly looked at the blue-haired youth who had called out to her.
Showing a mysterious smile, Gordon took down his western-style hat and revealed his face, whose looks were absolutely within the realms of handsomeness.
“We don’t seem to be acquainted with each other.” Said Lin emotionlessly.
“Mhm, this is the first time we met… But I have always felt that I have a strong affinity with you. May I know your name, Miss?”
“Lin.”
“Well then, Miss Lin. This humble self wishes to invite you to a meal and discuss some matters. I wonder if Miss Lin will do me the honor of attending?”
“I’m afraid I’m pressed for time.”
“Pressed for time? What sort of matters are capable of forcing Miss Lin into such a hurry?”
“Personal matters.” Lin slightly knitted her eyebrows.
As someone who liked to keep a set distance away from others, Lin disliked strangers getting too overly close with her. This was especially the case for people incessantly pestering her, even when she had hinted repeatedly that she didn’t want to talk to them.
“Private matters… Haha, Miss Lin is very unique, she’s different from the girls I’ve met before.” Spoke Gordon with cadence.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, for instance, Miss Lin, your overly white skin… Silver hair is something that doesn’t exist in humans, and your hair doesn’t seem to be dyed. The most unique thing, however, is the aura you’re giving out…” As he spoke up to this point, Gordon’s smile gradually turned cold.
“Is it possible to allow this humble self to check whether there are any sharp fangs in your mouth, Miss Lin??”
“The type of fangs that belong to a vampire…”