Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

At this time, Borek was inspecting a greatsword with an approving nod when Shane entered the place…

’Ahh… Does he have enough Zombie Cores to purchase them?’ Shane thought, as he recalled, that Borek could only sell a small part of his creations while the large part must be donated to the shelter’s defense.

Even if he sold a few items, he shouldn’t have a lot since he had only been working for a few weeks.

However, he didn’t know that Lysandra had actually requested several items from him and was paid a hefty sum!

Well, it must be remembered that Lysandra earned tens of thousands of Zombie Cores because of her Advanced Prosthetics buy-and-sell business before!

Furthermore, Borek was previously staying in the Silver Mine Camp. At this time, that camp was probably the richest shelter under Shane’s command.

After all, they weren’t just mining silver but also Spirit Stones! Borek had definitely earned a lot there and Spirit Stones could also be used as a currency considering how valuable they are.

Shane smirked as he approached. ”Didn’t take you for the type to admire someone else’s work, Master Blacksmith Borek.”

Well, he had an impression that Borek only believed in his own creations.

Borek grunted while still inspecting the blade. ”Ahem… Just making sure these merchants aren’t selling junk. Some of them like to pass off cheap steel as high-grade ore.”

Shane didn’t expect such an answer. It seemed that Borek had some bad experiences with merchants before.

The merchant behind the stall, a woman wearing a crimson robe, scoffed at him. ”I’ll have you know, blacksmith, that every weapon here has been crafted by master forgers in the Ember Syndicate.”

Borek narrowed his eyes after hearing this... ”Master forgers, huh?” He lifted the greatsword, bringing it close to his face. ”Blade’s got a fine edge, but the metalwork’s rushed. See this?” He pointed at a faint imperfection near the hilt. ”This flaw will weaken the structure when it takes too many hits.”

The merchant crossed her arms, irritated. ”It’s battle-tested steel, reinforced with mystical ore infusion.”

Shane also nodded at this since the greatsword was only a Rare Item. It was expected to have some flaws with it. In short, it was good enough for its current grade.

Borek then gave Shane a look before turning back to the merchant. ”Tell you what—I’ll buy this sword, but for half your asking price.”

The merchant scoffed. ”Half?! That’s robbery!”

Shane chuckled. ”Borek, you really don’t hold back, do you?”

Borek snorted. ”If I had a forge big enough, I’d make better weapons myself.”

Shane folded his arms. ”Then maybe that’s something I should look into. Eclipse Domain could use a dedicated forge.”

The forge they currently have was something that was already included in the shelter. It wasn’t a modified or improved version.

It seemed that he might have to look into his Anima Store and help Borek obtain a better forge later.

Nonetheless, Borek gave a satisfied nod.

”Now that’s the smartest thing you’ve said all day.”

The merchant sighed. ”Fine. Seventy percent, and I’ll throw in a free sharpening stone.”

Borek nodded. ”Deal.”

Shane watched with amusement as the burly blacksmith made his purchase before turning to browse the rest of the merchant stalls.

***

Shane soon visited the Herbalists’ Consortium’s stalls nearby…

”Ahh… I should ask Anna to visit here.” Shane thought as he saw rows of dried herbs, vials filled with colored potions, and even a few exotic plants carefully arranged.

It had also been some time since he had seen Anna, one of his first recruits in this world. It shouldn’t be a bad idea to have a quick reunion with her and the others.

Anyway, a stout woman in green robes oversaw the stall. At this time, she was grinding a mixture of dried roots with a mortar and pestle as she seemed to be preparing another product.

There was an earthy aroma of dried herbs and rare elixirs and it was quite refreshing.

’Looks like a pharmacy or probably an alchemy store.’ Shane thought as he also noticed several wooden crates with pouches filled with medicinal powders.

”Ah… I saw you talking to Sir Crone a while ago. You must be the lord of this shelter. You really looked like the statue outside.”

Shane wryly smiled at this as he had indeed seen the statue a while ago... It was really well-made and he couldn’t find a problem with it. He was just hoping that Victor would choose other models for his next projects.

”I’m Shane… I just plan to look around.” He replied.

The old woman chuckled. ”Come one…” She then gestured toward her items. ”Tell me, what does a man like you seek? Healing elixirs? Poison remedies? Or something more… potent? I believe you are popular enough to have two or three women at night… I have here some natural herbs to keep you active at night… No side effects…”

”No… I don’t need that. I’m healthy.” Shane waved his hand as he scanned the surroundings.

He noticed that they were all properly labeled and had a concise description.

One of them was Moonshade Tonic, a powerful antidote for undead poisons, and a Crimson Vitality Draught, which has restorative properties.

”I’ll take five bottles of the Crimson Vitality Draught,” Shane said. ”And two of those Moonshade Tonics.”

The old woman nodded. ”Good choices. That will be 150 Zombie Cores, or if you have any rare materials to trade…”

Shane placed ten low-grade Spirit Stones on the counter.

The old woman’s eyes gleamed. ”Ah… these will do nicely. If you have ten more, I will agree to the exchange.”

Shane wasn’t sure if the trade was good or bad but he didn’t mind it for now. He would see later if that was a good exchange or not.

After he gave ten more, the old woman carefully packed the tonics and handed them over.

As Shane turned to leave, she added, ”If you ever need rarer brews, bring me something more exotic. Perhaps… the blood of a Lord Tier Zombie?”

Shane smirked. ”I’ll keep that in mind.”

Although he had Lord-Tier Zombie Blood with him, he knew very well how valuable it was thanks to this Blood Alchemy Book. He could concoct a very powerful Skill Potion with that blood!

For now, he doesn’t have most of the ingredients to brew one but he believes he would complete his ingredients soon.

***

Shane then visited the last area where the Wandering Coin’s Merchants were at.

Crone actually had his own setup with an assortment of rare trade items—high-quality leather, reinforced fabrics, mechanical parts for rebuilding technology, and preserved foodstuffs that had become valuable luxuries.

However, Shane didn’t stay that long in his stall and looked at other stalls.

The stall he visited seemed like an organized mess—tables cluttered with trinkets, enchanted rings, old books, and even mechanical oddities salvaged from fallen ruins. It was the kind of place where rare artifacts and useless junk sat side by side.

’I guess this arrangement is good enough.’ Shane thought.

Soon, he saw a young man with a sly grin stationed at the stall. He seemed relaxed as he twirled a silver coin between his fingers.

”Ah, a new customer! Welcome to the Wandering Coin’s stall number five, where you never know what treasure you might find!”

Shane glanced over the items, picking up a small metal sphere with some unknown symbols etched into it. ”What’s this?”

The merchant leaned forward. ”Ah, a Luminis Orb! Crack it open, and it creates a temporary light field that repels weak undead for three minutes. Very handy if you find yourself in a dark, dangerous place.”

After checking it with his system, it was actually a Rare Item but it only had 12 usages left and needed to be recharged. It was certainly an interesting item but not quite as great as the old Light Orbs from the Flasher Zombies.

Anyway, Shane nodded while setting it aside. His eyes then landed on a worn leather-bound book with strange symbols on the cover. ”And this?”

The merchant’s grin widened. ”Ah, now that’s a mystery! Found it in a ruin deep within the Ashen Wastes. No one’s been able to translate it yet, but rumor has it, it contains old ritual magic.”

Shane didn’t find anything unusual even after using his Heightened Awareness and Perception. As he opened it, he indeed couldn’t read it even with Cloud’s help. He wasn’t sure what it contained, but it intrigued him.

After checking the description with the system’s help, it only confirmed that it was indeed a mystical book that was sealing something.

’It’s sealing something? Now that sounds dangerous.’ Shane thought. He wasn’t sure what was being sealed but it might release something dangerous and it would be better to either destroy it now or perhaps, learn more about the book and deal with it accordingly.

”How much?”

The merchant rubbed his chin. ”I’d say… a hundred Zombie Cores or something with similar value…”

Shane pulled out 30 Zombie Cores and 3 low-grade Spirit Stones. ”This, or I walk away.”

The merchant feigned offense as he heard this. ”Hah! You drive a hard bargain.”