Soon after exiting out of the bank, Shinto hurriedly made his way through the town's plaza as he headed east, where Parm's Marketplace was at. With the weight penalty finally off his shoulder, he was as light as a feather.

"Phew..." Tiredly stretching his arms, he loosely shook them as he felt relief that the weight no longer hindered him from his movements. "...now that that's out of the way, I can move on with other matters."

Nodding his head, Shinto opened up his status window as he scrutinized the details of his third unique stat, [ Wisdom ].

...

[ Wisdom ]

Through time, knowledge and experience accumulate. Bound by the essence of apprehension—the magic power within you grows by 0.01% per wisdom stat.

•Unique Class Effect (Shadow Diviner):

-When equipping a (Book) or a (Staff) as a weapon, certain attributes will be unlocked depending on the weapon type.

•The higher the stat, the higher the effect.

•Stat points cannot be distributed into this stat.

"...what's this?" At the sight of the stat description before him, Shinto's brow raised in thought. "There's a unique effect on it?"

Contrary to his expectations of a common stat like [ Wisdom ], never would he have thought that it would provide a class-exclusive effect. It was the first time he had seen such a case.

"Huh. So this stat doesn't just raise your magic power?" To his knowledge, the Wisdom stat was a common stat for classes of the mage-archetype as it raised the overall damage of magic-based attacks. "Hmm... I guess with this effect, I'll have to prioritize finding a spellbook or a staff for a weapon."

Though classes may have their own specialized weapons or equipment to focus on, within the game, there were no restrictions to equip any type of gear on a player. This meant that players had the freedom and ability to equip any type of weapons, armour, or even items—so long as they could fulfil said requirement or condition to equip it.

"Since it's between these two... I suppose I'll have to go for a stave," he muttered out to himself with a sigh. "It's not like every day you can find a spellbook lying around to use..."

Strolling down the streets, his eyes slowly glanced around the many stalls in the area, quietly eyeing the products on display. Compared to the town's plaza, the marketplace wasn't as crowded—as such, allowing for Shinto to have a clear view over all the items sold.

"—but whatever. I'll think about finding a spellbook later." Shaking his head of the thought, his attention now turned towards a few stalls by the distance. "For now... Just getting any equipment will suffice."

...

Moving over towards the stall, Shinto's eyes immediately scanned through the catalogue of items as he picked out the equipment on display. In the next moment, after choosing the set of gear for himself, he proceeded onto payment.

"Oho? Is that all?" The merchant sitting behind the stall rubbed his chin with delight. "That'd be 41 gold total, please!"

"41 Gold? Here you go." Shinto repeated to himself as he quickly took out the needed amount of coins from his inventory. Then, he handed it over to the vendor—In return, receiving a vest, a cloak and a pair of boots.

Successfully completing the transaction, Shinto soon shifted his gaze away from the stall, now turning towards his inventory window. There, he began scrutinizing the details of the equipment he bought.

...

[ Leather Boots ]

Rarity: Common

Defensive Power: 20

Durability: 75/75

*AGI +1

A leather boot mass-produced by a famous leather smith company in the Kingdom of Zemul. Sturdy and rather light, it's a fitting boot to wear for exploration.

Condition(s): None.

Weight: 20

...

[ Old Cloak ]

Rarity: Common

Defensive Power: 7

Durability: 60/60

*Aggro Rate -2%

*Evasion Rate +1%

A cloak that is comfortable to wear while allowing the user to hide away from enemies when given the chance to. Though, it may not often work that well.

Condition(s): None.

Weight: 10

...

[ Novice Vest ]

Rarity: Common

Defensive Power: 23

Durability: 80/80

*Stamina +1

A vest typically made for newbie adventurers who seek to explore the land. With its tight, yet flexible fabric—one couldn't go wrong with wearing this! Though, if it smells, don't blame the creator but yourself for not cleaning after yourself!

Condition(s): None.

Weight: 15

"Sigh. Since it's way too late into the day now, I'm stuck with not so good equipment..." he sighed in thought as he moved away from the stall. "Oh well. I guess I'll have to make do with what I have."

With the evening sun setting, it meant that the marketplace was soon about to be closed. As such, most, if not all the good quality gear were already sold out. Thus, he had no choice but to buy the current set of equipment.

"...hah. With body gear done, now all that's left is to get myself a weapon." Making his way through the streets once again, he was now looking for a weapon's shop. However, as he reached towards the end of the marketplace, his brows raised in slight confusion upon making contact with an odd stall by the distance. "...huh?"

Over by the distance was a certain shop that had caught his attention. It seemed to have a wide variety of exotic items on display, which was a surprising sight in a town like this one.

"Aren't those... High-end gear?" he rubbed his eyes in astonishment. "What...?"

Stepping closer towards the stall ahead of him, Shinto's eyes scrutinized the display much more closely—Inspecting the unique items on display. Within his field of vision, he noted that the items were far above the level of quality that was typically sold in an average town like Parm.

"...i-it is high-end gear," Shinto blinked, still shocked at the discovery of the stall. "But... For something like this to be here of all places..."

While he was in thought, the man by the name [ Kuhit ], who was tending the stall, quickly greeted the young man as he approached the shop. "Oh my! A customer! Why, hello there! Please have a look around!"

"Right, thanks. I'll have a look around." Shinto nodded his head calmly whilst attempting to hide his shocked face. Then, he continued to inspect the stall, but this time, picking up the items to check up on its information.

...

[ Amulet of Kura ]

Rarity: Epic

Type: Accessory (Necklace)

Durability: 500/500

Stats: Max HP +350 / INT +20 / Fire RES +5%

*Upon receiving any type of fire damage, there will be a 30% chance of countering the attack with 70% of the inflicted damage and 120% of the user's attack that's converted into true damage.

The Amulet of Kura, one that was adored by a nymph who was hidden away in a temple far off into the desert regions of Sarku. She who cherished the amulet day by day, enhanced it with her own power—as such, allowing this item to hold the essence of flames.

Condition(s): The boss [ Nymph of Lazard ] must first be defeated by the user once before equipping.

"...a rare item drop from a dungeon in Sarku? Weird... It's being sold here?" he was bewildered by the many discoveries in this shop. It was extremely rare to find an epic item out in the open marketplace, especially one dropped from a boss. However, here it was, within his hands right now. "Hmm... The player's auction sells an item like this for 40,000 gold. But how much does he sell it for?"

Typically, these types of equipment were sold at the auction in the player's market instead. This was one of the various ways gold circulated among players, as they trade and buy items on a daily basis there. Though, items on the auction were much more expensive compared to when it's sold in an NPCs store. This was because of the rare appearance of these gears with low drop rates.

"...let's see. If I can get a good deal here, then I could profit," he muttered to himself as turned to the vendor in front of him, soon inquiring about the item. "Excuse me, how much is this amulet for?"

"Oho? What's this? I see. You sure have some good eyes for a newbie adventurer, eh?" Delighted at the inquiry from Shinto, Kuhit let out a hefty laugh. "Bwaha! Good, good! I like ya kid! This amulet is priced at 120,000 gold! But since you've seen the value of this item, lemme cut ya a deal! I'll give ya a 50% discount, so 60,000 gold!"

"60,000 gold...?" Shinto's eyes slightly shook upon hearing the price uttered out by the vendor. "I-I'm sorry... But did I hear wrong?"

With a hesitant voice coming from Shinto, Kuhit replied with a vigorous laugh. "Hmm? Haha! I said that this amulet's worth is 120,000 gold. But, just for you, it's half-price!"

Shinto didn't hear it wrong. The item was truly 120,000 gold. It was a total scam!