Grendel laughed and said with a smile:
— Excellent! To be honest, I was starting to get a little tired of waiting for you. But finally, you've made your choice. — He reached out and took the golden revolver from Lon's hands.
Grendel walked over to his seller's counter and sat down in his chair, placing the golden revolver on the table. He looked at Lon and smiled.
— As I said, Mr. Renvel. Now I'll tell you about the features of this item — in our case, the revolver.
«Why does the way he addresses me keep changing? He called me "you" informally earlier, and now he's using a formal tone.» — But that was just a passing thought, quickly forgotten.
He held his breath and felt a surge of anticipation.
«Now I'll find out — will my future be a good one or not...?»
Grendel placed his index finger on the revolver and began:
— Colorful Rain — that's the name of the revolver you chose. This revolver originated from the city of Ledon — one of the cities in the Kingdom of Logan. From the family of craftsmen known as Rokrot. — He paused briefly, then continued. — Rokrot was considered one of the greatest crafting families in the world! Their creations were regarded as the finest, and one of those creations — you now possess!
Lon nodded several times and asked:
— If their creations were the best, then that means Colorful Rain must have some amazing power, right?
Grendel nodded and continued:
— Yes. The ability of Colorful Rain lies in its capacity to transform regular bullets into special ones with unique effects.
«The ability to alter the properties of bullets? That's pretty interesting...»
— And how exactly does that work? Any bullet that gets loaded into it transforms? Or does its property get modified?
Grendel leaned back in his chair and smiled:
Even more interesting than that. The revolver has three special bullet effects:
— The first is the "Longshot Bullet," indicated by a green color. Its primary trait is extended range and speed. This bullet shoots out like a rocket with maximum thrust. The distance it can travel is measured in kilometers! It's great for long-range attacks and consecutive shots.
«Dangerous thing...» — thought Lon, nodding toward Grendel.
— The second effect is the "Water Bullet." I think the name gives it away, but I'll explain anyway. It's marked by a blue color, and its main trait is its ability to move underwater. Its effectiveness depends on water — if you're fighting in a lake, this bullet will leave you with no enemies.
«Pretty handy... If you end up underwater, this bullet could really help.»
— The third effect is the "Explosive Bullet," marked by a red color. Its core ability is to explode on impact. It has the same properties as a regular revolver bullet, but once it hits something, it breaks apart and explodes, scattering a wide area with shrapnel.
— Those are all the effects this revolver has.
Lon nodded and thought:
«With a weapon like this, even that doll won't dare come near me. And if it tries... I think one explosive bullet will be enough.»
He smiled and asked:
— So how do I activate these bullets? Will they just appear automatically, or is there some kind of mechanism I need to trigger?
— That's an easy one. — Grendel chuckled.
— You won't have to do a thing — it does all the transforming on its own. To put it simply: you take eight regular revolver bullets and load them into the chamber. Then, after about an hour or two, they change! Two become explosive bullets, two become water bullets, and two become long-range bullets. You'll still have two standard revolver rounds left.
— You're lucky — you picked a very good weapon, with no negative effects. In my shop, getting something like that takes a certain amount of talent.
Lon exhaled deeply, feeling like he had just survived a full-on crisis. But he still managed to smile and asked:
— And that's it? We've made the contract? If so, I'd appreciate it if you let me go, Mr. Grendel...
— You're right. — Grendel nodded. — We've made our contract: you get any item in this shop from me, and I receive your future assistance...
— You've already received your item, so you're free to leave. But remember, I can come to you at any time, unannounced. And when I do, you must do everything in your power to help me... I think by then, you'll be strong enough. Now go!
Lon nodded and took the revolver from the table, tucking it into the inner pocket of his black coat. He gave Grendel one last look and smiled:
— It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Grendel. I hope we meet again.
«Or maybe not...»
Grendel nodded and smiled back:
— Mr. Renvel, you're quite the interesting character too... I look forward to our next meeting.
Lon gave a nervous smile, turned away from Grendel, and walked toward the entrance.
Taking one last look at the objects in the shop, Lon felt some of them watching him. They practically refused to avert their gaze!
«But now I have a revolver... Regular stares won't scare me anymore.» — thought Lon.
With his head held high, Lon approached the entrance door and opened it, slowly stepping through.
===
In a dark and gloomy room sat a man with long black hair and a white mask that had a smile drawn on it. The number "eleven" was also marked on it. He wore a crimson cloak with a hood, and his collar covered his entire neck.
At that moment, he was performing some kind of occult work on the table, creating a pentagram in the shape of a star.
When he finished, the table lit up with an orange glow, which grew brighter, dispelling all darkness in the room.
The orange light became even more intense — until, suddenly, it vanished. Then a man's voice came from the pentagram:
— Grendel? Something wrong? Why'd you wake me up...
Standing nearby, Grendel removed his mask, revealing a youthful face with smooth skin. He looked at the star and replied:
— Krelest, no need to worry. I bring good news...
— Good news?! Ha-ha! I love good news from you. So, what is it this time? What have you done for the organization? — he asked eagerly.
Grendel shook his head and said:
— My travels through the Eastern Region paid off... I found a promising seed that could grow into a World Tree! You understand what that means, don't you?
The voice from the pentagram fell silent, as if deep in thought, but finally asked:
— A seed that could become a World Tree? Ha! That's great! But... do you know who it is? Did you try to make contact, or did you come to tell us first?
Grendel gave a mysterious smile.
— Don't worry. It's all taken care of — he owes me now... I've already come up with a plan for how we can use him.
— Ha-ha-ha! That's our Grendel! The Treasure Hunter! Since you've already recruited him, were you able to determine his type? What kind of Woven is he?
— Yes. Thanks to my little game, he answered all my questions. That helped accelerate the "connection" with his mind and his Woven Body. Unfortunately, he hasn't fully awakened as a complete Woven, which made it a bit harder to determine... But I still managed.
A voice came from the pentagram:
— And what kind is he?
Grendel grinned widely and answered:
— He's a type three Woven — a Weaver.