The shadow within Mathew’s grasp expanded the second Mat squeezed down on it.

It suddenly expanded, forming a blurry barrier that separated the young man from the rest of the world.

While stuck inside, Mathew’s experience of time changed.

‘It’s always this weird feeling, isn’t it?’ the young man thought, immersing himself in the darkness.

He never got to truly check whether or not the time flowed differently within the merchant’s shop. It was something that only required both parties to carry a clock.

But still, Mathew never really had the time and opportunity at the same time to pull such a basic test out.

And what seemed like a mere moment later, the darkness suddenly pulled away, revealing three tables both on Mathew’s right and left, with a sacrificial chamber in the middle.

All those elements were made from some sort of chiseled stone, giving off a tough and cold feeling. There were some runes inscribed on the sides of each of the tables, while the sacrificial chamber turned out to be…

A big, black, metal pot. A kettle, to be more precise.

“So much for grandeur,” Mathew muttered, his lips twitching in a quick, small smirk.

It appeared that the basic, unupgraded merchant would display its status in the shop. And once its level would rise higher…

“Well, let’s not waste time,” Mathew muttered, scanning the content of each of the tables.

Sadly, most of it was already greyed out. Out of six items that this merchant would normally sell, only two remained intact.

‘A weapon and a scroll, huh?’ Mathew thought, analyzing the items.

Scroll indicated some sort of knowledge; every RPG addict knew that. On the other hand, a single sword on the other table didn’t really need any further explanations.

“I will get both of them,” Mathew said out loud, raising his hands and pointing at the items he wanted.

‘Over two hundred stones, huh?’ Mathew thought. ‘A hundred to summon the merchant, and…’

A total of ten stones suddenly rose up from Mathew’s makeshift pouch, only to turn into a ball of light and then reveal their content.

And just like this, a sword and a note appeared below Mathew’s feet. Notably, though, while the scroll now turned into a blurry illusion, the sword on the table remained as it was.

‘So I can buy multiple weapons, huh?’ Mathew took notice before turning his eyes towards the sacrificial pot.

“I wish to upgrade the shop,” Mathew called out.

“Ten cores,” the familiar, robotic voice responded to Mathew’s call without fail.

Mathew only nodded his head before throwing ten cores into the kettle.

The shadow that earlier revealed the area suddenly pulled towards the young man. Covering everything away from his eyes, it then shook like a single, living organism before receding again.

The stone slabs making up tables turned into proper, wooden stools. And more importantly now, not only each of the tables housed now three items, there were even plaquettes with the names of the item attached!

“That’s surely convenient,” I thought, my eyes moving towards the new grade of items I could buy. Yet, I quickly stopped my head and leaned down, picking up both of the items I had already bought.

“You may now know the names of the wares,” I spelled the words on the note out loud. I then raised my other hand and rubbed the side of my head, not caring for the sword I already held in it.

“I guess those plaquettes are not the benefit of the upgrade, then,” I muttered before raising my eyes towards the new items again.

Contrary to my worries, the items from the first shop didn’t disappear. Yet, with their form blurred, I somehow couldn’t tell at all what they represented. As such, I didn’t know whether I couldn’t buy them yet or if they were already out of stock.

“New grade of weapons, huh?” I commented as I turned my eyes towards the table that still housed the simple sword.

Now, there were two more options. A machete and an ax. Yet, there was a small caveat.

Mathew reached down and picked up the name tag of the ax.

‘Outside of a single exception, this is the only nametag written in golden letters,’ he thought before looking at the weapon in his hand.

It was almost exactly the same.

“What’s the price of those weapons?” Mathew called out to the merchant.

“Five cores for the sword, twenty-five for the machete, one hundred and twenty-five for the fireman’s ax,” the robotic voice, like always, responded in an instant.

Mathew’s lips twitched a little. He then raised his eyes towards what seemed like the densest part of the shadow.

“How much would the weapon I’m holding go for, then?” he asked.

‘In this way, I will see not only whether or not I can sell my stuff, but also what’s the markup on the items,’ Mathew thought, trying to cheat out as much information out of his system as he could.

“Unable to purchase unidentified weapons,” the voice instantly shut down Mathew’s hopes.

‘As if I would give up so quickly,’ he thought, a smirk appearing on his lips.

“Unable to appraise items of the rank higher than the shop,” the voice reluctantly gave Mathew another hint. While it still kept its robotic mannerism and tone… It somehow appeared annoyed?

‘It’s actually way easier than I thought,’ Mathew noticed, his eyes flashing with excitement.

There was something damn satisfying in finding ways around stuff to do what he wanted.

“How much for another upgrade, then?” Mathew asked, crossing his arms on his chest.

“Fifty cores,” the shop’s voice replied in a cold tone.

“Tsk,” Mathew clicked his tongue. “Cheapskate,” he spat on the ground before throwing a fistful of stones into a slightly bigger kettle than before. “Go and get yourself a nicer sacrificial chamber,” he added, slightly perturbed by the changes in the merchant.

This time, no comment came from the merchant. The shadows exploded in volume, once again filling Mathew’s immediate surroundings. Yet, when the shadows retreated a moment later, the shop changed completely.

There was no sign of the former tables, all the items that Mathew had yet to buy were now gone, replaced by the new stock of even higher grade.

“Fuck…” Mathew cursed, realizing his mistake. ‘I guess that’s karma for me, for being rude to the merchant,’ he thought, tightening his fists. “May I ask where all the old wares went?” Mat asked, raising his eyes at the shadows with the hopes of mending his faux pas.

“User now reached a new evolution stage of the shop.” This time, the robotic voice was full of satisfaction. “Please, do enjoy new wares!”