Lon continued to examine various items in Grendel's shop. But now with a hint of caution, as the incident with the doll showed him that this place wasn't exactly safe.
Although, he had acted foolishly back then. He didn't immediately run to another part of the shop, but that was because he was frightened and tense — he simply couldn't make a quick decision to flee.
But later, when the doll scared him, he was ready to send it flying into the skies!
Unfortunately, just as he was about to reach the doll's head with his foot, Grendel arrived and stopped him, saying it might damage the shop's goods.
But damn it!
The doll was the one at fault — it tried to scare him!
Lon snorted coldly.
«If it weren't for Grendel, I would've sent that doll flying to god himself! It would've been scared out of its own seams!»
«But unfortunately, that shopkeeper ruined everything! And instead of apologizing to me, he keeps scolding me for my "wrong" attitude toward him, while he always makes up excuses to justify himself!»
«Alright, I just need to calm down.» — Lon sighed deeply and exhaled.
«I think I just need to forget the situation and focus on finding a proper item in this "wonder" shop.»
The doll incident had seriously frightened him, which is why he kept complaining about it. But having set the event aside, he decided to continue browsing.
Unfortunately, he couldn't find anything normal on the shelves. All the items were either strange and radiated an unpleasant aura, or creepy — like the doll he encountered earlier.
For instance, there was a weird broom with a handle made entirely of human hair, supposedly designed to provide "comfort" to the user.
Or a strange monocle — with a human eye drawn on its lens.
And that's not even mentioning a cactus in a jar or a piece of paper with bird wings attached to it…
In short, the items here felt like bizarre experimental combinations of things that shouldn't exist. They looked like they were simply "fused" together to create something new.
But that's exactly what made browsing so interesting.
Seeing something "wrong" or unnatural is always fascinating — especially if you're an ordinary person who no longer gets surprised by ordinary things.
But there was a big downside — danger. At the moment, Lon was under the shopkeeper's protection, and if something went wrong, Grendel would save him. But what if Grendel wasn't here? Would these semi-living objects still stay put?
No. They'd probably tear Lon to shreds or perform some ritual to honor a dark god. And that's just one of many possibilities, so his curiosity had to remain limited to this shop.
Lon looked at one of the items and suddenly thought:
«I wonder what would happen if I concentrated and looked at these items with my eyes?» — the idea suddenly popped into his head.
After entering the shop, he had deactivated his focus, which stopped the pain in his eyes. Now he wanted to reactivate it to see what would happen.
But immediately, he felt a nagging warning sensation in his heart. It was as if it told him not to do it.
Lon frowned and started thinking of all the possible reasons:
«My intuition is telling me not to do this… But what could happen? Will I see something I shouldn't? That seems pretty logical — after all, when I used my eyes in the void, I immediately noticed Grendel's little house…»
«But what are these items hiding?.. If even my intuition warns me… then it must be something significant.»
«It's better if I just ask Grendel. He should know.»
Lon looked toward the counter and asked Grendel:
— Mister Grendel, what would happen if I looked at these items with my concentrated vision? Would I see something I'm not supposed to?
Grendel looked at Lon with interest and smirked:
— I'm surprised you thought of that. But here's my answer: if your intuition tells you something, follow it. Don't go against yourself by doing something foolish. Just listen to your heart — if you want to survive…
«Just listen to your heart — if you want to survive… That's pretty deep, especially in this situation.» — Lon instantly felt the weight of Grendel's words.
He smiled at Grendel and thanked him:
— Thank you, Mister Grendel! Your words carry deep meaning, and I was able to understand it.
Grendel simply nodded and waved his hand, telling Lon to go back.
Lon turned back to the items and thought:
«If even Grendel himself warns me about the danger I might face during the experiment — it's best not to do it.» — he decided.
To him, life was more valuable than some unknown experiment. Especially if those experiments were life-threatening. He wasn't foolish enough to risk himself for the unknown.
Sighing, Lon continued to examine the shop.
While browsing, Lon tried to strike up a conversation with Grendel:
— One thing keeps bothering me… Mister Grendel, what exactly is my potential? You said I have great potential that will awaken in the future. But what is it?
— You'll find out soon enough. I have no need to explain it. You have your own path, one that you must walk. — Grendel answered with a smile.
«I'll find out soon, huh? I wonder what kind of potential I have? Maybe it's my concentrated vision? Or something more…»
«Though it's a bit nerve-wracking, there's no need to rush. I still have plenty of time. For now, I'd better try to find a good item.» — Lon looked at various items and sighed.
There were too many of them, and they were all different. But the problem was — he didn't know their powers. A sword he found could be cursed and kill its owner. And an amulet might have the power to absorb — not enemies, but its wearer!
Of course, that was just speculation he made up. But it didn't change the fact that every item here was dangerous. And each had to be chosen with great caution.
Lon walked between the shelves, examining things and evaluating them in his head, until he noticed a wooden box with something golden sticking out of it.
«Another golden amulet?» — he immediately asked.
He crouched down and pulled aside the gray cloth covering the box, revealing what was inside.
«So beautiful…»
The protruding "golden amulet" turned out to be a revolver! A very beautiful revolver, in fact.
Lon slowly reached for the revolver and grabbed it to examine it.
It was large and heavy. A long-barreled revolver with an eight-round cylinder!
Its barrel was made of pure bright gold, like the color of the sun in the sky. And the rest was made of silver that gleamed brightly.
The revolver was graceful and magnificent. The craftsman who made it was a true king among artisans!
— Will you choose it? — Lon heard Grendel's voice behind him.
— Hm? It's really beautiful, and seems like a good pick. I also don't feel anything strange from it, and my intuition isn't warning me… So yes, I choose it! — he answered in a firm tone.