The shop Akaza and Simon went to was located on the second level of the Market Square.
There were six levels in the Market Square, and the higher one climbed, the rarer and more expensive the items.
On the first level, one would rarely find an item that’s worth up to a thousand dollars in the first level, but from the second level upward, this was not the case.
However, Simon could not help but wonder if Akaza brought him to the shop they were currently in, so that he’d get broke.
All around him were various weapons, shields, and armors encased in glass boxes.
Many of these encased weapons and armors were aesthetically pleasing to the eye, and on the glass surface were small plaques that wrote the price and details of the items.
Simon stood in front of a leather armor made out of the scales of a demonic crocodile.
’A Peak Profound artifact.’
Simon thought as his gaze was on the plaque containing the information of the leather armor.
There are seven ranks when it comes to artifacts, and these ranks are:
Common
Refined
Profound
Sovereign
Calamity
Transcendent
Divine
Each rank had its own special capabilities and they correlated with the heart ranks of demons.
A Common Artifact is meant for Lesser Demons.
A Refined Artifact is meant for Fiends.
A Profound Artifact is meant for Archfiends.
A Sovereign Artifact is meant for Greater Demons.
A Calamity Artifact is meant for Demon Lords.
A Transcendent Artifact is meant for Demon Kings.
And a Divine Artifact is meant for... Demon Gods.
Each rank also had sub-grades, and these sub-grades were:
Low Grade
Mid Grade
High Grade
Peak Grade
A Peak Profound artifact was meant for a Supreme Archfiend, and if a Supreme Archfiend had a Peak Profound artifact, their power would double.
’This armor can protect the wearer from a physical attack of a Minor Greater Demon without the wearer doing anything, but if the wearer activates the abilities of the armor, it’ll be able to block an attack that was comparable to the force of a Minor Greater Demon punching six times with their full strength.’
’For a Peak Profound artifact, it’s very very good.’
’If I had it, I’ll be able to defeat Akaza with ease.’
’But... ’
He shifted his gaze to the cost of the armor.
’Five thousand merits.’
His right eye could not help but twitch, and he gave Akaza who was observing some gauntlets and greaves in the distance.
’He brought me to this place when he knows that many of the things here are far too expensive for me.’
’Was his goal to mock me or to see if I’ll be foolish enough to spend on some of these expensive weapons and armors?’
Simon shook his head slightly as he turned and left the demonic crocodile leather armor.
It was a good armor for a Profound Artifact, but Simon could not pay five thousand merits for it when he only had a little bit over ten thousand merits.
’If I was the one buying it, I would have spent fifteen thousand merits.’
He shook his head slightly as he had this thought, then he walked out of the store, leaving behind Akaza.
Majority of the armors here cost more than three thousand merits, and this was beyond his budget.
’Even if I have ten thousand merits, I should not forget that my actual income from my classmates is barely over a thousand merits.’
’Spending so much on an armor I don’t really need is not wise at the moment. Besides, only the leather scale armor interests me.’
While Simon was having these thoughts, it didn’t take Akaza more than three seconds to notice Simon’s absence in the store, and without hesitation, he also left the store.
Though, he was cursing Simon inwardly.
When he got out of the store, he looked around and saw Simon walking toward the stairs that led to the first level.
Simon was walking slowly, so Akaza quickly caught up to him.
He looked at Simon, and with a teasing tone, he said. "You’re not buying anything?"
Simon gave him a glance. "No."
He answered simply, not bothering to give Akaza the satisfaction he desired.
Akaza clicked his tongue in displeasure, and he decided to not say anything else.
Eventually, Simon led them to a store on the first level that sold armors, but the armors were of poor quality in Simon’s eyes despite the fact that they were all profound artifacts.
They spent over thirty minutes, moving from one shop to the other on the first level, but Simon did not find a suitable armor despite having gone to nearly a dozen shops.
Akaza could not recall the last time he was this exhausted and frustrated. He was exhausted both mentally and physically.
Was shopping always this exhausting?
Was Simon doing this on purpose as payback for what he did?
Akaza did not know.
But what he did know was that the moment Simon found a suitable in a shop, he was so relieved that even his soul and body released a deep sigh of relief at the same time.
"How much for this armor?"
Simon’s voice drifted into the ears of a free female shop attendant.
The shop they were in was not really a small shop. It was a shop that could take a dozen people comfortably, and there were four female attendants in the shop.
Weapons, shields, and armors were hung on the wall or placed on stands and shelves in the shop.
Simon stood before a simple looking black long sleeve robe with a hoodie.
This cloth was actually a peak profound artifact that could protect the wearer from the attacks of a Supreme Archfiend, but not a Greater Demon.
However, it could also blend one into the darkness and it had the ability to hide the aura of the wearer from even a Minor Greater Demon, as long as a few conditions were met.
Compared to the first armor which could protect the wearer from the attacks of a Greater Demon, this could not.
However, its value was even higher in the eyes of Simon.
The free female shop attendant approached him, looked at the armor and said.
"It’s a thousand merits."