The next day Viers left Boram in the inn, letting him cultivate in peace. He went into the nicest equipment shop in the middle class area. The shop had a good variety of items and the displayed items were of good quality.

The shop emblem was a drawing of a fat, round goblin with a spear and an axe in both hands.

Rich Goblin’s Vault.

Weapons and Armors for Level 2 and below.

Accept requests for Level 3 gear and above.

The shop was wide and all kinds of equipment were on display. From armor to weapons. From mean-looking axes to elegant-looking knives. Some were in enchanted glass casings, the expensive ones. There were two bouncers at the entrance, not hiding their Level 2 aura.

Level 2s as door guards? The city is really different.

The shopkeeper briskly came to welcome him. He was an average height man in his thirties, a Level 0. Viers doubted he was the owner of this shop but whatever. Viers saw one of the shopkeeper’s teeth was made of gold. It glinted under the magic lamp in this bright shop.

“You got storage items here?” Viers asked the most important question right off the bat.

“Apologies sir but those are extremely rare. Unfortunately there are no such items in the shop,” the shopkeeper replied.

“Then where can I obtain one?”

Viers used the word ‘obtain’, not ‘buy’ on purpose.

“I’m afraid that is above my reach. In the rare case a storage item was sold, it would be at the auction. And the price is always sky-high.”

Hmph, auction. The part where MCs showing their wealth in xianxia stories. A waste of resources if you asked me.

Viers didn't like paying for items with sky-high prices.

For face slapping?

Viers preferred to let his enemy buy the item then take it from his cold, dead hands.

With his attempt to gain dimensional storage foiled yet again, Viers started a shopping spree for new equipment.

The road was not kind to travelers. Monsters, bandits, weathers, terrains, all were working against the men and women on the road.

His magic items, the boots, pendant, and gloves were safe. Viers took extra care to not lose them but the rest was pretty much in a state of disrepair. The nice clothes that Susan nicely made for him had many tears on them. The spear was broken when he fended off a giant bird a week ago.

He took some equipment from a few human enemies along the way but he felt them not quite fit or too low of quality. Even the sword he currently had felt incompatible when he used it.

A great warrior does not need to choose his weapons, they said. Well, try to make a popular MMORPG without any equipment, says I.

Considering the time and place, Viers decided to don a higher tier of equipment. In other words, buying more expensive gear.

Torso armor, waist armor, forearms guards, and a pair of greaves. They were a set, all made of the leather of some goat monster. The shopkeeper demonstrated their toughness by thrusting it with a spear and not even a scratch.

Must be made from a Level 2 monster, the price is… higher than I thought. Well, they say the price is comparable to quality. I can afford it.

The armor set was categorized as light armor. Viers favored mobility over thick and heavy protection, besides, he had his healing factor in case an enemy managed to wound him.

Viers didn't like to rely on equipment but he didn’t undermine their use. However, his Level, body, skills, and Artes were the better investment of resources in his opinion.

Since he could grow. Equipment could not.

Of course, there are exceptions. I have seen Fables with living weapons that can grow super strong but I don't have such a weapon in my hands now, do I?

“Is there anything else, sir?”

The shopkeeper was all smiles now. Viers was a big spender and he was certainly happy about that.

“A cape.”

Viers was a sucker for capes.

He always wore long traveling robes or something similar above his usual clothes if the occasion permitted it. It always made him feel like a superhero, a superhuman.

Oh it sometimes got in the way in a fight, he didn't deny that but that was a small price to pay for coolness. He also liked the motion of taking off his robe before a serious fight. Very climactic. He had done it before and the very first time gave him a full percent increase of his Horizon.

The shopkeeper showed him the available selections. There was even a bright red cape one like the man of steel wore. In the end, Viers chose a dark-green cloak with a hood, perfect for blending in places with much vegetation.

The cape was enchanted with minor tear-resistance and wet prevention. A little extra protection and good for rainy days.

“I’m in awe of your keen eye for style, honored customer. Would that be all, sir?”

“A helmet. The helmet must be a full face.”

“A helmet? A most unusual pick, if I say so myself. Most adventurers are people that want to spread their name and reputation so the helmet has become out of fashion despite the solid protection it provides to the vulnerable area on the face.”

“I’m not most people,” Viers replied plainly.

When he was in Pecan Village, Viers had a realization. Since he wouldn't get a face-changing Arte anytime soon, Viers must find another way to protect his identity. After some hard thinking, he realized he had become overly reliant on magic.

I simply need to cover my face! If nobody knows what I look like, problem solved.

Viers then started using cloth on his face. He resolved to get a proper helmet in the city.

Mando would be proud, Viers thought, secretly pleased about himself.

The shopkeeper with a gold tooth led him to the wall display with lots of helmets. The design was quite different as if custom made and not mass-produced. Most of them didn't fully cover the face. Some had the mouth part open, like a certain caped crusader with bat obsession had.

Might be adequate but I don't want to compromise… Ah, this one looks familiar.

Viers picked a metal helmet with two slanted vertical slits for the eyes and small holes in the mouth area for breathing. The face area was a little jutted outward. It lacked any decoration but it was well made. Overall, it looked like a knight’s helmet.

“Excellent choice, sir. It was made in the style of the famous Knights of the Latias Kingdom. The metal used to make it is also of high quality. It is light but very durable.”

“One knight’s helmet then. I’ll try it with the rest of my equip, give me space.”

Viers unfurled the desert-style face covering and put on the helmet and the other equipment. He sent the shopkeeper away when he was changing.

When Viers was finished, he was like a proper adventurer from fantasy games. He was protected from head to toe but it was light and easy to move in. His sight became narrower because of his helmet. He would need to test how it played out in combat. If it was too distracting, Viers would modify it.

Knight’s helmet and dark brown leather armor below it. There were forearm braces and dark-red colored Dragonweave Gloves for both his arms. The waist armor part was made from the same set of leather armor, grieves for his shins, and the self-dubbed Power Treads boots for the footwear. Last but not least, the dark-green cape that reached his ankles.

“You look positively dashing, sir. The clothes really do make the man,” the shopkeeper spoke.

“Hehe, you compliment me or you compliment your own product?” Viers chuckled. He was in a fine mood so he jested. He did like how he looked in the mirror.

Other than his metal helmet, all of his armor set was in the darker shade of coloring.

Perhaps some paint is in order… That reminds me, is Monhun's helmets all made of metal? Is it possible to make a helmet from leather? What a mystery.

He did some stretching exercises before to test their practicality then moved on to the main event, choosing his weapon.

“Good. I’ll take them all. Now, what kind of swords do you have here?”

“We have many excellent swords that can cut monsters like jelly. I am confident you’ll find them to your liking. Right this way.”

Viers was biased about swords. Swords were cool. 90% MCs used swords. He had tried using a spear before but it only reinforced his fondness for swords.

There was another reason. He wanted to achieve a certain martial mastery. If he used too many varieties of weapons he might become a jack of all trades but master of none. This was not something he wanted.

In Viers’ plan, his main weapon would be a sword, one-sword style. No fancy dual-wielding until he was able to wield a sword as an extension of his limb. Knives or fists for secondary and he would use the bow for long-range.

Swords were displayed on the wall. Shining steel that reflected his own face when he observed close. Not a speck of dust on any of them as they were polished daily. One-third of the displayed section was empty.

“As you surely know, swords are the most popular weapon of choice. Some are already bought by other people.”

“Right,” Viers said nonchalantly, he was busy scanning the swords in front of him.

Nice make and material. There are magic swords too. For fire, water, wind… None for earth affinity. Hammers are better for them? Well there are two for darkness and one for light, wow. The price too is wow.

“Mm?”

Viers picked up a sheathed sword that was placed in a barrel with half a dozen more swords. The best swords were on the wall display, these were the ordinary and cheap ones.

But one of them caught Viers’ eye.

Because of its shape.

“A katana…”