When Kurosaki Rei asked about the price, Tuantuan's heart leapt with joy—because she knew this big shot definitely had the means to buy Slaughterer.
"The senior said the lowest price is 20,000 Terminus Coins. No bargaining," Tuantuan said.
The price made some of the explorers hearing it for the first time sigh at just how expensive purple gear really was.
Most first-tier explorers used Fine-grade equipment. Only the better ones could afford Rare-grade gear. After all, many explorers earned only four to five thousand Terminus Coins per world on average.
Faced with purple gear that cost tens of thousands, even top-tier first-stage explorers were often powerless despite wanting it.
"That works. Let's trade," Kurosaki Rei said briskly, without trying to haggle.
He knew the item wasn't Tuantuan's, and the price really wasn't high.
For a near–max-rating purple item, Slaughterer's market value should have been above 20,000 Terminus Coins to begin with. Depending on demand, selling it for 25,000 wouldn't have been strange at all. Clearly, the true owner urgently needed cash, or they wouldn't have let it go so cheaply.
"Thank you for understanding, Boss," Tuantuan said with visible relief, happy that she'd completed the task her senior had entrusted to her. What she'd feared most was Kurosaki Rei trying to bargain—that would've put her in a difficult spot.
Money changed hands, goods were exchanged, and Kurosaki Rei left in a good mood.
Unfortunately, his luck didn't continue. Opportunities like that were rare, and after wandering the trading market for several more hours, he still hadn't found any equipment that truly caught his eye.
When he passed by Tuantuan's stall again near the end of his circuit, she called out to him.
"Boss, didn't find anything you liked?"
She was already packing up; most of her items had sold.
Kurosaki Rei shook his head. "Do you have any other good stuff?"
"You know my level, Boss. Slaughterer was already the best thing on my stall," Tuantuan replied honestly. "But if you've got money, you could check out the commercial street down below. Supporters run shops there—much wider selection."
"Prices are a bit higher, though," she added. "They're not like us explorers. They're not in a hurry to sell."
"Thanks for the tip. I'll go take a look," Kurosaki Rei said, thanking her before leaving.
Tuantuan's suggestion gave him a new idea.
As she said, supporters rarely entered mission worlds. They stayed in the Space for long stretches of time and focused on production, so they weren't desperate to move inventory.
Explorers, on the other hand, stayed in the Space only briefly between worlds. Missions were extremely dangerous, and power growth was urgent, so they needed to quickly convert unused gear into effective combat strength.
That was the purpose of the trading market—explorers digesting loot among themselves. Each took what they needed, and usually no real "profit" was involved, which kept prices relatively low.
The commercial street was different. With "commerce" right in the name, the profit motive was obvious. Supporters ran shops to make money, so prices were naturally higher.
After all, explorers obtained gear mainly in two ways: loot from mission worlds or opening loot boxes. Neither method guaranteed quality or suitability.
Different worlds produced different types of equipment, often incompatible with an explorer's combat style. Loot boxes were even worse—random type, random quality.
That's why the trading market ran on luck. What was trash to one explorer might be treasure to another.
Supporter-run shops on the commercial street were another story. These specialists offered complete equipment categories and even custom orders, perfectly solving the problem of explorers who had money but couldn't find suitable gear.
Before long, Kurosaki Rei arrived at the commercial street.
The foot traffic was massive—and he could feel it immediately. There were many people here who felt stronger than him.
The commercial street was the only place with no rank restrictions. All explorers could come here, so in theory, high-tier explorers were everywhere.
When Kurosaki Rei first entered the Space, he hadn't come here at all. Back then, he barely had any money; coming here would've just been torture.
Now, after walking only a short distance, his eyes were opened.
Anything you could imagine, they sold. Supporters had truly mastered the art of making money, with extremely fine specialization.
Shops selling equipment.
Shops selling recovery items.
Shops selling support items.
Shops selling bloodline items.
Shops selling skill scrolls…
There was even an entire area dedicated purely to equipment, subdivided into main weapons, off-hands, armor, footwear, accessories, and more.
Beyond combat necessities, there were also lifestyle and entertainment venues—restaurants, bars, and the like.
Kurosaki Rei even saw scantily clad girls soliciting customers by the roadside. One handed him a "course schedule" as he passed.
He glanced at it briefly—things like "Eighteen Forms," "Poison Dragon Drill," "Full Set," "Half Set."
He didn't understand any of it.
All in all, the commercial street was far more prosperous than he'd imagined. It was a paradise for wealthy explorers and the stronghold of supporters.
After wandering for a while, he confirmed that prices here were indeed about 20% higher than in the trading market. The larger storefronts were clearly aimed at high-tier explorers—not suitable for him.
Earlier, he'd entered a massive equipment mall. Kurosaki Rei was pretty sure that even the OL-dressed service staff walking around inside had higher attributes than him…
As for the equipment being sold there—he'd never even heard of some of the qualities, and the number of digits on the price tags made him give up on counting.
Eventually, Kurosaki Rei left the main road and headed into a side street with smaller shops. Those seemed more appropriate for lower-tier explorers.
Before long, he spotted a small shop.
There were no hired attendants—just a girl who looked like the owner, sitting behind the counter with her chin propped on one hand, staring into space.
When Kurosaki Rei stepped toward the door, the girl in a sailor uniform instantly perked up, stood, and put on a perfectly practiced business smile.
"Welcome, handsome sir! Are you here to buy a bed?"
"…A bed?"
Kurosaki Rei froze mid-step.
He glanced up at the sign above the door: "Private Customization."
He'd thought this was a place for custom equipment. Was it a furniture store? Had he come to the wrong place?
Stepping inside, he looked around. Sure enough—shelves lined with furniture shrunken via spatial technology. Beds, in particular… lots of beds.
"Oh. I thought this was an equipment shop. Sorry to bother you," Kurosaki Rei said, already turning to leave.
He muttered inwardly: Who in their right mind buys beds in the Space? Are they rich with nowhere to spend money?
In his opinion, money should go toward strengthening oneself first. The default furniture in his room worked just fine.
"Wait, don't go!"
Seeing her potential customer leaving, the sailor-uniform girl panicked. Her shop had just opened, and an entire month had passed without a single sale.
She hurried out and blocked Kurosaki Rei. "I sell equipment too! And I can customize it to your needs!"
Kurosaki Rei eyed the girl suspiciously from head to toe. With that baby-fat still on her face—and selling furniture, no less—could she really be good at forging equipment?
"Please, just take a look! Really, my craftsmanship is good!" she insisted.
She even tried to grab his hand and pull him back—but awkwardly failed. The Space prohibited forced actions between explorers and supporters, including pushing, pulling, or dragging.
"…Alright, I'll take a look," Kurosaki Rei said, half-amused.
He followed her inside, and under her guidance, they went to the back shelves. Sure enough, there was equipment displayed there—previously hidden behind the furniture racks.
"…Legendary?"
Kurosaki Rei's eyes lit up. "You made these too?"
The sailor-uniform girl planted her hands on her hips and lifted her chin proudly, her cute face full of confidence.
"Hmph! Of course I did. So, honored customer—would you like to buy one?"
Kurosaki Rei shook his head. Legendary equipment was far too expensive for him right now.
Still, he'd clearly underestimated this girl. Regardless of her appearance or apparent mental age, she was undeniably a top-tier forging master.
The few items he'd just looked at were all max-rating legendary gear, with powerful effects and no useless fluff—clear proof of her talent.
Unfortunately… this girl really seemed to have something wrong with her priorities.
With skills like that—why on earth was she selling beds?
⭐ Want more? Read chapters early on Patreon ⭐
https://www.patreon.com/VoidInk08
Advance chapters are finished-all that's left is to unlock them.
BONUS CHAPTER SYSTEM 10 reviews → Bonus Chapter
100 Power Stones → Bonus Chapter
🔥The stronger your support, the faster the story moves.