Although Axel was a beginner's village and not very large, the layout of its streets was somewhat complex. At least Adam had been searching the town for quite a while without finding Wiz's magic item shop.
Lucky for Adam, Wiz was pretty well-known in Axel. Most folks in town had heard about the "magic shop lady who can't seem to turn a profit." It was kind of her claim to fame.
After asking two or three people in succession, he finally arrived at the magic item shop.
"Finally found the place! Geez, it's like playing hide and seek with a shop." Adam chuckled, figuring out why Wiz's business was tanking faster than a lead balloon.
Forget Wiz's weird knick-knacks for a sec - the shop's location was a total face-palm moment. Who in their right mind plops a store in the boonies? This ain't some spooky fortune teller's den, it's a magic shop that needs foot traffic like fish need water!
Adam knocked and entered.
Someone greeted him as soon as he entered; this level of service was quite good.
The shopkeeper before him was a sight to behold.
Brown long hair with a single strand sticking up, about 20 years old, large almond eyes, cherry-like small mouth in stark contrast with her somewhat pale skin. A black-purple long dress with golden trim on the edges and sleeves, a curvaceous figure, and an extremely full bosom accentuated by several belt-like protective gear, attracting Adam's gaze.
For some reason, she always carried a weak aura, giving people the impression that she was very easy to bully.
"How may I help you?" Wiz asked softly with a warm smile on her face, "Our shop has a wide variety of magic items. There's surely one that suits you."
Any regular Joe might've fallen for Wiz's sales pitch and bought some random magical doohickey, but Adam? He was broke as a joke. No way he could afford to splurge on anything fancy.
He pretended and said, "Hmm, please allow me to look around first."
"Certainly, please feel free to browse." Wiz said with a smile, then went to organize the merchandise.
Approaching the counter, there really were quite a few items. However, there were even more bizarre products!
For example: one that could greatly enhance the power of Paralysis Magic, but would also paralyze the caster to the point of immobility; another that would greatly expand the area of effect of Water Magic after use, but would also engulf the caster, resulting in mutual destruction as soon as it was used. And so on.
There were many such bizarre items, occupying almost all the display space on the counter. He really couldn't understand how she managed to keep this shop running.
After looking around for a while and understanding Wiz's unique taste, Adam knew the time was ripe to get down to business. Searching for her, he found her crouching in a corner not far away, organizing items on the shelves.
'Oh my {all mine…}!' He couldn't help but exclaim inwardly.
Wiz, crouching in the corner, outlined a beautiful roundness, her perfect curves leading one into endless fantasies, easily becoming lost in them.
'What are you doing?!'
Although Adam's inner voice was scolding himself, he just couldn't control his eyes.
Perhaps because he had been staring for too long, it caught Wiz's attention. She stood up in a panic, looking around herself, and asked in a low voice, "Um... is there something wrong with me?"
If it were an ordinary girl, she would have either been shy or angry, and would have called Adam a pervert long ago. But Wiz was just too oblivious and didn't notice his unusual behavior.
"It's nothing, I was just pondering a question." Of course, he wouldn't say he had been staring intently, instead smoothly transitioning to the purpose of his visit.
"A question?" Wiz blinked her confused eyes.
"Why... is Miss Wiz, known as the 'Ice Witch', in the beginner's village of Axel, and even running a magic item shop?"
"Huh?" Wiz stood there dumbfounded, not quite reacting.
After a moment, Wiz tapped her mouth with her left hand and lightly struck her palm with her right, as if suddenly understanding.
"Oh, I see! You must be a junior member of my former team!" She mistook Adam for a successor to one of her friends and said cheerfully, "Did you come all this way just to visit me?"
"No," Adam replied bluntly.
"No?!" Wiz's face fell in disappointment. "I've just been waiting here for those adventurer companions who told me, 'Come back anytime when you're tired.'"
"Is that right?" Hearing Wiz's words, Adam wasn't surprised. He asked pointedly, "Even if you've become a lich?"
Adam's words hit Wiz like a thunderbolt. She was instantly flustered, her poor brain struggling to comprehend how her secret had been exposed.
The fact that she had become a lich should not be known to anyone in the human community.
However, after two or three breaths, she put on a look of understanding again and said, "I get it, you're actually a member of the Demon King's army, right?"
"Eh, how can that be?" Her face was full of disbelief.
"I'm human, a pure human." Adam said, pointing at his eyes as proof, "I can see through you because of these eyes that have been enhanced by a god."
This was the enhancement magic that Aqua had specially applied to him before he left this morning.
"Ugh..." Wiz let out a whimper. As a lich, she could sense the divine power contained in his eyes and knew he wasn't lying. But then, she defended herself, "Well, even though I'm a lich, I've never harmed humans!"
"Um, there's no bounty on me at the Adventurers' Guild, so even if you defeat me, you won't get any reward..."
"Miss Wiz, although you're a lich who has never harmed humans, you're also one of the eight generals of the Demon King's army, mainly responsible for creating and maintaining the Demon King's army's barrier, right?"
"You even know about that?!" Wave after wave of her secrets being exposed, Wiz was left dizzy by his information bombs.
"Miss Wiz, you wouldn't happen to be unaware that the Adventurers' Guild has long-standing bounties on the Demon King's army generals, would you? The bounty for one is exceptionally generous, hehe~"
Adam's voice gradually deepened, and compared to Wiz, a lich, he seemed more like a demon.
"No... as long as you don't defeat me, I'll do anything!" Wiz said anxiously, hugging him and not letting go.
Wait, what's with this development that's like something out of an erotic manga? This softness, this sweetness...
Whoa there, brain! Let's keep things PG, shall we?
"Actually, my companions and I are novice adventurers who have just set out on our journey, but due to our empty pockets, we were hoping Miss Wiz could provide us with a little Discover more novels on NovelHub - your gateway to endless stories."
Adam did the universal "show me the money" gesture, rubbing his fingers together with a cheeky grin.
C'mon, Wiz, time to cough up the cash. No need to make a fuss!
"Well, although I run a magic item shop, business is very poor. After years of operating at a loss, I don't have any savings left." Wiz said in a low and confused voice, "I've been working hard too! But for some reason, the more I work, the more I lose!"
Let's be real, with Wiz's weird taste in merch and her not-so-hot business skills, she'd be toast if the locals didn't take pity on her. Girl's lucky she's not living off ramen noodles!
Now, most people would've bailed after hearing about her money woes. But Adam? Nah, he smelled something fishy. He bet his bottom dollar that Wiz had a secret piggy bank stashed away somewhere - you know, for all those funky new items she's always itching to buy.
And boy, was he gonna crack that piggy bank wide open!
"Oh~ Is that so? Well, I guess I have no choice but to gather my companions and defeat Miss Wiz. Please become the stepping stone for our adventure." Adam whispered maliciously in Wiz's ear, his words making her tremble.
"No, please don't..."
In the end, Wiz gave in and offered up her little nest egg.
"This is all my savings, a total of ξ100,000."
Adam snagged the cash bag, still toasty and smelling nice, that she'd fished out from her impressive chest. Catching Wiz's puppy-dog eyes and wobbly lip, he couldn't help but let out a little "oof."
"No sweat, Miss Wiz! Think of this cash as a loan. I'll pay you back double in a month, tops. Promise!"
"You bet! I mean, do I look like some kinda demon to you? ...Don't answer that."
'You're worse than a demon!' Wiz thought but didn't dare voice aloud, fearing he might renege on his promise to return her money.
"Alrighty then, catch ya later, Wiz-senpai!" Adam chirped, waving goodbye.
Adam put away the money pouch, smiled at her, and then left the magic item shop.
'I don't want to see you again…' Wiz saw him go with a dejected look. After a while, as if suddenly remembering something, she cried out in alarm, "Oh no, I still don't know his name!"
And so, Wiz lent out ξ100,000 without even knowing the borrower's name.
Meanwhile, Adam strolled back to the stable with a gleeful expression, his wildly beating heart barely contained.
A mere novice adventurer daring to challenge a top-tier lich? He really didn't take Wiz seriously!
And extortion? Not having his head twisted off was already her being merciful.
"I got carried away, got carried away! But it's all because Wiz is too easy to bully. I ended up extorting ξ100,000 from her."
But hey, let's not call it extortion, right? He's just saving Wiz from blowing her cash on weird junk. It's like he's her personal financial advisor or something!
And as a bonus, Adam and his two companions now have initial funds to buy weapons and armor.
What do you call a win-win situation? This is it!
He shook the money pouch, the corners of his mouth turning up in a wild grin as he laughed loudly.
"Man, I'm on a roll! Might have to hit up Wiz's piggy bank again sometime."
T/N: If you want more chapters , check out my Discover more novels on NovelHub - your gateway to endless stories.Discover more novels on NovelHub - your gateway to endless stories.com/mrblackwing