Chapter 170: I Can Modify Anything
Everyone wear masks, and the time comes when they cannot remove them without removing some of their own skin.
Right now, Zane didn’t act like the gutterborn he was.
He acted like a rich man.
But Zane pried too much about the thief that tried to steal from the shop and that made the shopkeeper different.
Zane handled it by showing that he too hate thieves and the filths but the bald man said with certainty that the thief they held wasn’t among the slum dwellers.
He also went on to say that because of his experience...
"I know a gutterborn when I see one."
He said that while peering deep inside Zane’s soul and for a second, the young man felt exposed.
Did he find me?
Everyone else turned vigilant and Draxus was ready to wipe the floor with the bald man.
Zane hid his fear and didn’t avert the man’s gaze.
"I understand. Now move." He said.
The shopkeeper half closed his eyes but then he nodded.
"Yes. I am sorry for that."
He moved his head away.
"I was just telling you about my eyes. I can recognize a gutter from miles away."
You can’t.
Zane laughed inwardly as the shopkeeper continued his walk.
Soon, they reached room number five and the man opened the door.
Zane was in the front and behind the shopkeeper.
The bald man entered the room and the others followed behind.
Zane looked around and he wasn’t expecting the room to be completely empty.
No windows, no furniture.
Just empty space that now had two Phoenix Cages on the floor.
They both belonged to Zane.
The shopkeeper looked at Hena.
"Pour all the weapons here, miss. I will give you a total amount after seeing them."
Hena wasted no time and emptied her Flame ring on the floor.
Metal clanged against the wooden floor and it took two minutes for the ring to stop vomiting weapons.
Jammy also threw the stick he chose among the other weapons and Xavier threw his chained weapon of some kind to the horde as well.
The shopkeeper rubbed his palms with a smile as he began checking each weapon.
He took out a small diary from his pocket and wrote down things after seeing each weapon.
Zane believed it would take a lot of time for the shopkeeper to finish all this work but to his surprise...
"It’s done."
The man finished in under two minutes.
"Wasn’t that... fast?" Zane asked.
The man laughed.
"It’s everyday for me. I already know the prices of each weapon. I simply checked the quantity of a particular weapon and calculated the price."
Zane shrugged.
"Whatever. Just tell me the price of everything combined."
He deliberately showed no further interest in the shopkeeper as according to his observation, rich people don’t do small talks with vendors and shop owners.
The shopkeeper didn’t mind and after some more dabbling with his notes, he said:
"Three hundred gold Lumens or you can also pay in silver and bronze but gold will be preferred."
Zane flinched.
Simply hearing the amount made him realize how poor he was.
But right now, his rich man act should not be broken.
So he swallowed his surprise and said:
"That’s all? You wasted my time just for calculating such a meager amount. Heh."
Zane scoffed and Hena’s brows twitched.
Jammy saw her face and placed his hand on Zane’s shoulder from behind and came to his ears.
"You are overacting, kid. That’s not being rich, that’s simply being rude and pompous."
Zane smiled.
Maybe I met different kinds of rich people then.
"I will pay in gold. Wait a second."
Zane turned around.
The bald man frowned but said nothing.
Zane shoved his hand inside his ring but before taking out the coins, he whispered to Hena:
"How would I take out three hundred coins?"
Hena rolled her eyes.
"You can’t take out that kind of money with just your hand. Just empty your ring and stop when you see it’s enough money."
"What if I gave him more than the price?"
"You are rich. Don’t be miser. He will throw us out if you make him wait."
Zane bit his lip and turned around again.
He faced the shopkeeper.
"Is there a problem, sir?" The man asked.
"How will you count the money?" Zane asked a question of his own.
Hena rubbed her forehead.
She gave up.
She couldn’t relate with the mindset of the poor.
The shopkeeper smiled. "Paulo! Bring the Collector!"
He called the assistant again and the man came running.
Zane raised his brows as now there was blood on his face too.
What is he even doing with the thief?
Zane couldn’t help but want to know more about Paulo’s work.
The assistant had come with some kind of rectangular device on his hand.
It had a funnel on top of it made of glass and after handing it to the shopkeeper, Paulo left the room.
The bald man placed it on the floor and sat down in front of it.
"This is a machine for counting coins. Usually people just throw coins at me without counting and leave so I rarely use it. But it seems you are a rigid rich man."
Hena glared at Zane from behind.
Zane shivered but the machine was already here.
He couldn’t change his words now.
"The coins will go inside the funnel and the Collector will tell us how many there are." The shopkeeper explained the workings and Zane wasted no time.
He was reluctant to show his ring to the shopkeeper as he would like it to remain a secret that his black ring could store things.
But since the money was inside it, he had no choice but to do it.
He walked towards the Collector and placed his ring above the funnel.
The shopkeeper frowned but his eyes widened the moment, coins came out of the ring.
"What kind of ring is this, sir? It’s my first time seeing it. It’s not a Flame Ring. I am sure of it."
Zane licked his lips.
"It’s... I made it like this."
The bald man raised his brows. "How?"
Zane gulped.
His voice didn’t help him but he tried his best.
He showed no disturbance on his face and with utmost unbroken confidence, he ended up saying...
"I can mer—Modify anything!"
