Magic Item Shop Opens!

What happens when a person's thought speed exceeds their body's reaction speed?

You end up watching your own impending attack with your own eyes, unable to react. Mr. Bucciarati, who wishes to remain anonymous, knows this feeling all too well.

Gong Qiying's current body inherited the original stats. The increase in his intelligence attribute significantly boosted his thought speed, but his frail body couldn't keep up with his brain's commands.

"Thump—"

A dull thud. People are already imagining a romantic scene, aren't they? A strange girl falls onto a boy, leading to a beautiful encounter.

However, Elsa didn't fall on him. She maintained her balance steadily. Instead, Gong Qiying was startled and fell himself.

This is so embarrassing.

Just as he was about to get angry, he saw the greatsword on her back.

To call that a sword would be an understatement—we've seen enough, let's move on.

"Uh, excuse me, Lady Warrior, what can I do for you?" He decided to play it safe.

"I'm sorry," Elsa bent down and extended her hand to him, a look of apology on her face.

"?"

What kind of move was this?

Gong Qiying chose to take the girl's hand. It wasn't soft at all. His palm felt calloused from serious training, and he felt like he could crush his own fingers if he squeezed hard enough.

He thought Elsa would gently pull him up, but things once again took an unexpected turn.

Elsa suddenly exerted force and yanked him forward, their faces nearly colliding!

Damn it, I'm really angry now! Gong Qiying glared, thinking, Don't mess with me like this. Even if I get smashed into a pulp by that greatsword, I'll still curse your entire family.

Unfortunately, he didn't know Elsa possessed the exact same harmonious family relationship as Batman.

"Sniff sniff."

"What are you doing?"

Elsa suddenly leaned in, standing on tiptoe, sniffing around Gong Qiying's neck. Her black hair occasionally brushed against his skin, sending tingles down his spine. Her warm breath was intimate, but it made Gong Qiying feel like a Caterpie was crawling on him, making him very uncomfortable.

She wanted to explore higher, but no matter how much she stood on tiptoe, she couldn't reach above his neck. The situation became awkward.

Gong Qiying grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away, saying, "Don't get too close, young lady. What kind of behavior is this, hugging and embracing in broad daylight? If you're really thirsty, I know a good Dungeon. The Monsters there are quite interesting."

Elsa stared at him and said, "Monster smell."

"What?"

Gong Qiying's expression changed. He smiled and asked, "I'm an Adventurer. It's normal to have the smell of Monsters on me, right?"

Strange, this body hasn't been near Monsters for days.

"Not that kind," Elsa shook her head, her expression confused again, as if she didn't know how to describe it.

She felt that the Monster smell on Gong Qiying wasn't the usual "musky" scent, but a deeper aura that penetrated the soul. It was impossible for someone who hadn't been around Monsters for a long time, or even lived with them, to have such a smell.

She had seen people who tamed horse-like Monsters, and those people had a similar scent, but...

The smell on Gong Qiying was much stronger. If she had to compare, it was like the difference between Guangdong spicy and Sichuan-Chongqing spicy.

And the Monsters he was associated with were even more dangerous!

So far, Elsa only knew she had the ability to smell the unique "scent" of the Demon Race and Monsters. Sometimes, this special ability was more useful than magic.

This was the first time she had encountered someone who coexisted with dangerous Monsters. Her curiosity led her to take irrational actions.

Gong Qiying looked at the girl in front of him, feeling a vague sense of repulsion, wanting only to get away from her quickly.

Just as he was about to ask what kind of smell it was, a voice interrupted them.

"Elsa, what are you doing?" Sali chased after them, panting. It was quite difficult for his small frame to catch up to Elsa.

"Sali, I..."

Sali came before Gong Qiying, bowed slightly, and said, "I'm truly sorry, sir. This child must have startled you."

Is this the third young master of the House of Bede? He's so polite.

Gong Qiying had heard of Sali. He heard the other person was a beautiful boy. Seeing him now, Isn't this the kind of pretty boy that old Miyazaki loves?

No, no, I can't judge a book by its cover. What if he turns into a muscular hunk in his second form?

He shook his head and said with a smile, "It's nothing, it's nothing. Being lively is part of being a young girl. If that's all, I'll be going now. You two carry on."

With that, he quickly left.

Sali watched Gong Qiying walk away, then turned his head, which was moving stiffly, to look at Elsa. His face darkened, and he asked, "What were you doing just now?"

Elsa sensed the killing intent and silently took two steps back, saying, "He smells of dangerous Monsters."

"That must be from the Dungeon. I checked his file; he's an Adventurer. Adventurers who frequent Dungeons often have some smell on them. Don't be too nervous. I'll have someone investigate his background, alright?"

As Sali spoke, he suddenly paused.

He had only taken a cursory glance at Gong Qiying's background. The Guards had also gathered information in a short time, and it wasn't very detailed—less than half a page.

But upon recalling it now, one piece of information stood out.

[Mareda, Bronze Rank Adventurer, Registration Time]

The registration time was four days ago!

This was a bit strange.

He thought about it and decided it would be best to have the guards investigate thoroughly.

When Gong Qiying returned to White Whale Street, the workers were sitting in front of his shop, each with a worried expression.

"Why have you stopped working?" he asked as he walked over.

"B-boss!?"

The workers looked as if they had seen a ghost and said, "We heard you were taken away by the guards and thought you'd committed some crime. We were so worried."

"Worried you wouldn't get paid if the work was half-done, right?" Gong Qiying rubbed his neck, still feeling a phantom itch as if a few strands of hair were still there. "Don't worry, I was just called in for questioning. You guys can keep working as usual, and you'll get paid."

After calming the workers down a bit, he didn't stay in the shop to supervise. He wandered outside, pondering what Elsa meant by the "smell of monsters."

Could it be that if you stayed with monsters for too long, you'd develop some kind of characteristic? No, those veteran adventurers didn't have any strange smells about them.

He was also puzzled by the sudden urge to stay away from Elsa. This feeling seemed instinctive, an instinct telling him not to get close to her.

"I should avoid her from now on," Gong Qiying muttered to himself.

A few days later, a notice was published in the newspaper.

"Mareda Magic Item Shop officially opens today, specializing in Dungeon products, with everything you could possibly need. Welcome to our shop!"

Gong Qiying's shop was finally renovated.

Thank you for your monthly tickets, thank you for your rewards, thank you for reading!