Chapter 8 : Gear Items IV

I can’t believe vampires really can’t cross water.

I had suspected it since the sunburn incident, but now it was clear that I had inherited all of a vampire’s weaknesses.

I took a step back and asked Aurel,

“Aurel.”

“Yes?”

“Can you turn into mist and cross over?”

Aurel’s face paled as she shook her head, not even considering the possibility.

I also tried using my shadow or attempting a long jump to cross the water, but the ingrained aversion in my mind was too strong to overcome.

There’s no choice.

I sighed and told Aurel,

“Wait here. I’ll be back shortly.”

“You’re not going to abandon me, right?”

“Of course not. I’m just going to get some wooden planks. Wait here.”

I pried Aurel off me and reassured her.

If I intended to abandon her, I would have done so already, and I wouldn’t have given her the shop-grade weapon.

I left the sewer and headed to the nearest building.

If vampires can’t cross water, then I need to create a bridge.

After rummaging through the debris of a collapsed building for a while, I found a suitable metal plate.

It was sturdy enough for Aurel and me to jump on without bending.

This was perfect.

I took the metal plate to the sewer entrance, struggling with its weight.

“Hmm…”

But there was one problem.

The metal plate was too large to fit through the round manhole opening.

I decided to bend the metal plate with all my strength.

Screeeechhhh!!!!!

The plate shrieked as it deformed.

Eventually, the bent plate was small enough to fit through the manhole.

I called down to Aurel.

“Aurel!”

“Yes!”

She immediately responded, indicating she was waiting right below.

I slid the plate down and said,

“Catch this!”

“Okay!”

I trusted her.

After a moment of hesitation, I released the plate.

Whooosh-

The heavy plate quickly descended.

I followed right after.

“Charlotte!”

As I landed, I heard Aurel’s voice.

She was holding the bent plate securely, having caught it without any mishap.

I nodded and told her,

“Lay it over there.”

“Okay!”

The plate served as a makeshift bridge over the water.

Although the aversion to the water hadn’t completely disappeared, it was manageable.

Step by cautious step.

Aurel and I carefully crossed the plate bridge.

Once across, we retrieved the plate and used it to create another bridge.

We continued this way, slowly but steadily exploring the sewer.

The sewer was just as dreadful as the outside world.

Trash floated on the water, and mold covered the walls and floor, causing us to frown.

It seemed some people had taken refuge in the sewers to escape the dangers outside, as there were signs of human presence throughout the sewers.

After wandering through the sewers for a while, Aurel and I discovered an unusual spot.

“Is this what we think it is…?”

I nodded silently in response to Aurel’s question.

At the end of the sewer, there was a suspicious-looking door.

It was the only place that remained clean, free of mold, and had a small, glowing sign above it.

[OPEN]

A glowing sign in an area with no electricity was very peculiar.

There was no doubt that a shop NPC was beyond this door.

I cautiously reached out and opened the door.

Ding….

As soon as the door opened, a small bell rang, and bright lights filled the interior of the shop.

The fresh air inside the shop was completely different from the humid air of the sewer.

It felt like stepping into another world.

Aurel and I entered the shop, our mouths were opened.

The first thing we noticed was the wall covered in various melee weapons like swords.

While admiring the array of weapons,

we noticed a Black man sitting casually in a chair.

“Are you a customer?” the Black man asked without even looking up. Clad in flip-flops, gray capri pants, and a sky-blue Hawaiian shirt, he was undeniably familiar.

Anyone who has played Blood Carnival would recognize him.

This Black man looked just like the shop NPC from the game. His oddly relaxed voice also matched perfectly.

I frowned and took a step back.

His lifeless, hollow gaze was quite unsettling.

“Who… what are you?” I asked.

“Hmm…” he tilted his head at my question, glancing at the many swords hanging behind him. “A weapons dealer?”

Aurel and I both knew he was a weapons dealer.

I shook my head and asked a more precise question.

“Are you even human?”

“That’s a ridiculous question. Do I look like a vampire or a werewolf to you?”

The conversation was going in circles.

I sighed and tried again.

“Do you know a game called Blood Carnival?”

“Blood Carnival…? Never heard of it.”

A shop NPC from Blood Carnival who doesn’t know the game?

I exchanged a cautious glance with Aurel.

“Maybe he’s not real.”

“Not real?” I asked.

“Yes. Just like the hybrids or items that spawn in the field, which didn’t originally belong to this world. Perhaps this man was created in the same way,” she explained.

“So, the god who made this world also created this shop NPC?”

“Yes, that’s what I think.”

I folded my arms and glared at the Black man.

He seemed uninterested in the topic we had just discussed.

“This didn’t exist in the last five years, right?”

“That’s correct…”

“Then why has it appeared now?”

“Maybe it’s a delayed patch?”

“Patch?”

“Yes… it is a game, after all.”

I sighed at Aurel’s words.

A god patching the world in real-time?

It sounded absurd, but in this already absurd world, her words held some truth.

Aurel, carefully watching me, approached the Black man.

“Can we see what you’re selling?”

“Of course!”

He brought out the weapons hanging on the wall.

The table displayed three items:

• [Matte Katana]
• [Military Longsword]
• [Military Dagger]

I frowned at the sight.

The wall was covered with various swords, but the Black man only brought these three.

“Is this all?”

“That’s all I can sell right now.”

“What about the ones hanging behind you?”

“They aren’t for sale yet.”

“Why can’t you sell them?”

“It’s not time yet.”

“And what does ‘not time’ mean?”

The Black man, who had been answering Aurel’s continuous questions earnestly, clammed up.

As if he couldn’t say more.

Unable to get further answers, Aurel sighed and asked another question.

“How much are these items?”

“5,000 credits each.”

“Credits…”

Aurel looked at me with a worried expression.

But no matter how hard she looked, credits wouldn’t magically appear. I didn’t have any credits either.

After a moment of contemplation, Aurel’s eyes lit up as she had an idea.

“Do you buy items as well?”

“Of course. Show me what you have.”

Aurel smiled brightly at the Black man’s response. She rummaged through her pockets and pulled out a small glass bottle.

“I’ll buy that for 100 credits each.”

It seemed this NPC could buy various items. I took off my backpack and tossed it in front of the Black man.

“How much for everything in here?”

“Let’s see…”

The Black man quickly calculated.

He offered 100 credits for consumables like potions and bandages, 200 credits for canned food, and 500 credits for books that raised passive skill levels.

I sold everything except the potions, and the total came to 2,000 credits.

After the transaction, I frowned and commanded the shadow to kill the man before us.

But the shadow hesitated and did not follow my command.

As a last resort, I slammed my fist on the table.

Bang!

The sound was strange when my fist hit the table.

Even with all my strength, the table didn’t break.

As expected, the interior of Blood Carnival’s shops was a no-combat zone.

This rule applied here as well.

“Hmm…”

I cleared my throat and hid my fist behind me.

Aurel was looking at me with a puzzled expression.

Avoiding Aurel’s gaze, I spoke.

“Shall we go then…?”

“Are you done?”

“We don’t have anything else to buy… or sell.”

Aurel glanced longingly at the equipment on the wall but eventually followed me.

We had confirmed the existence of shop NPCs.

We also discovered that we could exchange respawned field items for credits.

This defined our task.

We needed to farm as many items as possible and accumulate credits before finding another shop.

Aurel and I left the sewer and continued exploring the city.

After a full day of exploration, Aurel and I managed to gather 10,000 credits.