"Welcome, adventurer!"
The moment Lu Qiming walked through the door, two cat-eared girls came right up to him and stood on either side, smiling at him.
"Hello. I'd like to buy some weapons here."
"Adventurer, do you have any particular requirements for your weapons?"
The silver-haired cat-eared girl on his left leaned toward Lu Qiming, gazing up at him with big, watery eyes.
"Twin swords!"
"Twin swords?"
The cat-eared girl was slightly taken aback by Lu Qiming's request, but continued, "Adventurer, are you a dual-wielding swordsman?"
"No, I'm an assassin!"
"..."
The cat-eared girl looked Lu Qiming over carefully, making sure he wasn't pulling her leg.
"Sir, what requirements do you have for the twin swords?"
"Each one should be no longer than a meter. Ideally, they should be black all over, sturdy, and sharp."
"All right, sir. Please wait a moment."
The other cat-eared girl, who had orange hair, turned and walked into the shop. Lu Qiming didn't have to wait long before she came back out.
She was carrying two jet-black swords in her arms.
"Adventurer, these are the twin swords in our shop that currently match your requirements. There aren't many adventurers who use this kind of weapon, so we only have this pair of Divine Judgment in stock."
"Mm."
Lu Qiming took the twin swords from the girl and examined them closely.
Each sword was 0.7 meters long. The blades were forged from an unknown black metal, and mysterious golden runes adorned them, gleaming with a faint, cold light. Wisps of black light wound from the hilts to the blades.
As Lu Qiming gripped the twin swords, they gave a faint ring, and the runes on them lit up on their own.
"Looks like you like me too!"
Lu Qiming gently rubbed the hilts with his fingers. The twin swords moved freely through his hands, and all kinds of sword techniques came naturally to him. With every swing, flashes of sharp light flickered through the air.
The swords in his hands went from unfamiliar to familiar, as though they had melded with his flesh and soul—as if they had always been a part of him.
Lu Qiming's presence shifted, turning dangerous where it had once been gentle. The two cat-eared girls beside him went pale and backed away, watching him in terror.
It felt as though death had descended upon them. At any moment, their hearts might be pierced, their heads reaped. Their bodies began to tremble.
"A-adventurer, please be careful. This isn't the Dungeon. There aren't any monsters here that need killing."
When the killing intent radiating from Lu Qiming became too much to bear, the silver-haired cat-eared girl couldn't help speaking up. If she didn't warn him, she was afraid she'd be dead in the next instant.
"...Sorry. Uh, my bad! I got a little too caught up in it."
Lu Qiming gave the twin swords a shake and slid them into the scabbards at his waist. Immediately, his killing intent and sharp aura vanished, and he became gentle once more.
Only then did the two cat-eared shop assistants dare to edge closer to him again.
"Adventurer, are you satisfied with Divine Judgment?"
"Absolutely! These swords are practically made for me!"
As he spoke, Lu Qiming couldn't help gently stroking Divine Judgment at his waist. Sensing his feelings, the blades quivered softly and rang in response.
Seeing this, the silver-haired cat-eared girl smiled too. As a member of the Hephaestus Familia, she was happy to see a weapon forged by her Familia find a good owner—especially since Divine Judgment was a divine weapon forged by their own Goddess.
Still, she wasn't going to let him off the hook for a single Valis!
"Then, adventurer, your total comes to one hundred million Valis."
"What? How much did you say?"
Lu Qiming stared at the smiling girl in disbelief. Was she seriously trying to rip him off?
"One hundred million Valis—and that's the discounted price for you."
The cat-eared girl pointed at Divine Judgment, looking at Lu Qiming as though he'd gotten an incredible deal.
"This divine weapon was forged by the Great God of the Hephaestus Familia. A mere one hundred million Valis is the price the Goddess herself set after forging Divine Judgment. If she hadn't set the price, even ten times that wouldn't be too much."
"A weapon forged by Hephaestus!"
After hearing that, Lu Qiming no longer found the price so surprising. In the original story, Bell's weapon had also been forged by Hephaestus. But in his case, Hestia had asked Hephaestus to make it for him.
In the end, Hephaestus had forged the Hestia Knife for Bell, moved by Hestia's resolve and their friendship of billions of years.
Thinking of that, Lu Qiming didn't hesitate any longer. Even if his Soul Blade could grow stronger along with him after being bound to the most ordinary weapon, starting with a divine weapon meant it would surely become even more powerful as his soul nurtured it!
"Here. One hundred million Valis!"
With a pained expression, Lu Qiming took out a Black Card. Tiya had given it to him last night after hearing he planned to buy a weapon today. He hadn't wanted to accept it at first, but Tiya had said it was a loan that he'd have to repay, and that having a good weapon would increase his chances of completing his missions.
In the end, Lu Qiming had promised to pay Tiya back within three months before putting the Black Card away.
Sure enough, women only slowed me down when I drew my sword. Rich women didn't—they gave me a better sword!
"Mm-hm."
The silver-haired cat-eared girl stared blankly at the Black Card in Lu Qiming's hand as she took it from him. She had planned to tell him about her Familia's new installment plan, but she hadn't expected him to pull out a Black Card worth one hundred million Valis.
After the cat-eared girl took the Black Card, Lu Qiming left the place that had caused him so much heartache. He had thought that with all those Valis, he could at least afford a full set of armor and weapons.
He hadn't realized how much poverty had limited his imagination. One Divine Judgment had sent him right back to square one.
Adventurer Guild.
Lu Qiming pushed open the door and went inside. He planned to head to the middle levels of the Dungeon today, and he'd come by mainly to ask Eina for information about them.
"Good morning, Eina!"
As soon as he entered, Lu Qiming spotted Eina staring into space beside the counter. He greeted her with a smile.
"Good morning, Qiming. You're late today."
"I went to Babel Tower this morning to buy a weapon, then came straight here."
Lu Qiming lifted Divine Judgment from his waist and showed it to Eina.
"Eina, did you get what I asked for?"
"Here you go. But are you sure you want to go to the middle levels of the Dungeon today?"
"Mm. The monsters on the upper levels aren't helping me improve much anymore."
Lu Qiming took the information about the Dungeon's middle levels from Eina and went to a corner to read through it.
Before you continue