"No wonder the System set a level requirement," Kael thought, nodding silently as he looked at the Dragon-Vein Greataxe.

  Items produced by the System carried no usage restrictions for Kael himself. Just as the Dragon’s Majesty aura didn't oppress him, he could handle any god-tier weapon with ease. But for others, the world was different. For this axe, being a Brave-rank warrior was the bare minimum just to keep one's footing in its presence.

  "A single axe carrying the actual aura of a dragon... no wonder it costs four thousand Spirit Crystals."

  Tiger Hunt stared at the weapon in his hands, his eyes burning with an intense, raw desire. The price was staggering, but he knew—deep in his bones—that it was worth every single crystal.

  Beside him, Chi Yongqiu was paralyzed by a storm of conflicting emotions. Was the Manager’s claim of "worth the price" actually... the truth?

  Driven by a sudden, frantic curiosity, Chi Yongqiu reached out and pulled the Frost-Crystal Knight’s Sword from the shelf.

  Instantly, an unknown surge of energy flowed from the hilt into his body. He could feel it clearly: his physical defense had been bolstered significantly. With this power, Chi Yongqiu felt confident he could tank a direct hit from a non-strength-type Brave-rank beast without taking a scratch.

  "How is this possible?!"

  Chi Yongqiu felt as though everything he had learned over the past decade was being systematically dismantled. But the evidence was in his hands; he couldn't deny it. He remembered his earlier arrogance, calling the Manager "insane from poverty," and felt his face flush with a burning heat. He wanted nothing more than for a crack to open in the floor and swallow him whole. He was the one "watching the sky from the bottom of a well."

  "Manager, as much as I want this axe, I really don't have that many crystals," Tiger Hunt sighed, smacking his lips in regret as he reluctantly placed the Dragon-Vein Greataxe back on the shelf.

  His voice snapped Chi Yongqiu out of his daze.

  "With this sword, I could actually hunt higher-level beasts in the Cloud Mist Forest!" the boy realized. He marched to the counter and slammed his coin purse down. Two hundred Spirit Crystals—his entire allowance for the semester at Brilliant Academy—were now being sacrificed to this little shop.

  "Manager, about this sword..."

  Kael calmly swept the two hundred crystals into the till, spared a glance at Chi Yongqiu, and said flatly, "All sales are final. No refunds, no exchanges."

  "What?" Chi Yongqiu blinked.

  "That other sword you bought earlier," Kael clarified. "You can't return it."

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "That's fine! I'll just use them interchangeably!" Chi Yongqiu barked through gritted teeth, strapping both swords to his waist.

  "Good to hear. Thank you for your patronage. Come again."

  Kael watched the boy stumble out the door, then turned back to the mercenary.

  "Manager, do you have any other heavy weapons?" Tiger Hunt asked, patting the axe on his back. Its blade was already notched and chipped from years of use.

  "No more axes for now, but I have a Greatsword if you're comfortable with that," Kael suggested.

  The Berserker Greatsword was a heavy, two-handed blade. In a pinch, its broad surface could double as a partial shield—a perfect balance of offense and defense. While it lacked the raw, explosive violence of an axe, its weight was certainly in the same league.

  "A Greatsword works. As long as it has enough weight to it, I can adapt," Tiger Hunt nodded. For a strength-based warrior, the "heft" of a weapon was the primary consideration.

  Following Kael’s gesture, Tiger Hunt lifted the Berserker Greatsword from the rack.

  A wild, chaotic aura immediately erupted from the steel. In a heartbeat, it felt as though the blood in Tiger Hunt’s veins had been set on fire, igniting a boundless will to fight.

  "What a blade! I can feel its battle intent just by holding it!" Tiger Hunt exclaimed, his heart pounding with excitement.

  "Berserker Greatsword. That will be two hundred Spirit Crystals," Kael drawled.

  "Done!" Tiger Hunt shouted, nimbly producing three hundred crystals. "I’ll take some pills as well. Brave-rank beasts have been appearing more frequently in the forest lately; otherwise, I wouldn't dare spend this much coin in one go."

  He strapped the Greatsword to his back and picked out ten standard pills from the other shelf.

  "By the way, Manager, you take Monster Cores, right?" Tiger Hunt remembered.

  "I don't 'buy' them. But they can be used as collateral for Spirit Crystals. A Brave-rank core is worth one hundred crystals," Kael explained carefully. He knew the stingy System wouldn't let him withdraw cash once it was deposited, so he had to be precise.

  "Close enough," Tiger Hunt laughed. He packed his pills and left the shop.

  "Brave-rank beasts are becoming more frequent?" Kael looked toward the city gates. Far in the distance lay the sprawling canopy of the Cloud Mist Forest. "Is something about to happen?"

  The recent disturbances in the forest had already alerted the Mercenary Guild and the City Lord. Normally, the forest was famous for low-tier monsters; the outskirts rarely saw anything above Level 20. High-level mercenaries usually had to trek deep into the heart of the woods to find a challenge.

  But recently, Brave-rank monsters had been swarming the fringes. According to the lucky few who had escaped the deep zones, Class-rank (职阶级) beasts had begun to appear and were migrating toward the outer edges.

  Consequently, the City Lord and the Guild had issued a joint "Monster Anomaly" commission. The massive gold bounty and high mercenary points had attracted numerous teams—but a few bloody lessons had quickly taught the weaker squads that this task was lethally dangerous.

  Currently, one such team was cautiously making its way from the forest edge toward the deeper thickets.

  The squad consisted of seven members, all of whom were women. Their leader was a beautiful mercenary named Lan Ye. In Cloud Mist City, they were famous, often referred to by other mercenaries as the "Seven Stars of Beauty." It wasn't just a comment on their looks; it was a profound respect for their combat prowess.

  "Sister Ye, why are the guild points for this anomaly task so high?" a young girl holding a magic staff asked, crouching in the tall grass beside Lan Ye.

  "Simple. Because it’s dangerous," Lan Ye began, but she was interrupted by a short-haired girl.

  "Fei Xue is right. The Mercenary Guild never gives away 'easy money' for nothing," a voice added from the shadows—it was You Jiu, the team's scout.