Greg felt like there was something off about the shop today.

He came in like usual and was using his newfound ability to sell weapons, all for that sweet, sweet bonus.

And then, he felt like there were eyes on him, watching his every move.

He couldn’t quite place what the problem was, when he looked around, nobody was watching him. And yet, the longer the day went on, the stronger that feeling got.

Greg and Paul were sitting on two stools in the corner of the shop. It was just after lunchtime and, more often than not, very few customers came here during that period.

“Hey Paul, the sky is red,” Greg said, nonchalantly.

Paul looked outside at the beautiful blue sky and nodded, “I hadn’t noticed till you said but, your right,”

Greg frowned slightly. “Of course, the sky isn’t red Paul, why did you believe me?”

The fat man shrugged, “I don’t… it’s just because you said it, I thought it was true,” Paul said, after thinking about it for a moment.

There was no real point in doing this test, Greg already knew what his newest ability was. He just wanted to be sure.

‘So people believe everything I say… Huh weird,” Greg thought to himself.

You see, since the incident about a month ago. He had immediately gained a crazy power like phasing through objects.

So, he had barely noticed that, this power was not the only one he had gained. Or, perhaps he had gotten it at some later point. The details weren’t important, what mattered was how he could use it.

Initially, when Greg found out he had awakened the ability to phase through things. He was chuffed.

In fact, the very next day, he almost ran straight to the hunter’s headquarters in order to get a licence.

Because, logically, now that he had superpowers, it made sense that the next step would be to become a hunter… right?

“Hey Greg, why don’t you become a hunter?” Paul asked suddenly, almost reading his mind.

“Ugh, we’ve been through this a million times already. Since the only thing I can do is evade attacks, all I could be used for is bait.” Greg groaned in exasperation.

“Yeah, but do you have any idea how much money those guys make,” Paul said defensively.

The big man got up from his stool and walked over to a shield that was leaning against the wall. He kicked it, giving off a metallic clunk.

“Just this alone is 5000 credits and they go through one of these twice a month,” Paul said poignantly.

“Yeah, and what is your point?” Greg asked glumly.

“How much did you make last month?” Paul asked.

“…1000 credits…” Greg said.

“Exactly!”

Greg stood up and when he did, he felt the eyes following him again. Only this time, he found their location.

A small camera in the corner of the store.

“Paul, watch this,” Greg said, staring straight through the camera lens at whoever was watching him.

Right at that moment, a big man with a bald head and wide shoulders came into the shop.

He was giving off that, ‘I’m just looking, I’m not going to buy anything vibe,’ and yet that didn’t stop Greg in the slightest.

Walking up to the big man, Greg put on a wolfish smile that would give a car salesman a run for his money.

“Hi…” He said, his beaming smile almost blinding.

The big man who had just entered the store turned to see Greg standing behind him. At the man’s side was a massive sword that no human could reasonably wield. None before the Fall anyway.

After nodding to Greg, the big man went to turn away, but it was too late. Greg already had him.

“That’s some sword you’ve got there!” He exclaimed, sounding genuinely impressed.

Almost immediately, the big man was willing to talk. He patted the sword fondly, like it was his favourite grandchild who had just done him proud.

“Ah yes, she’s a beauty. I ordered her special made from a renowned smith you know?” He said, excited to show off his sword.

‘Gross, he just called his sword she,’ Greg thought to himself, keeping the big smile plastered to his face.

“Wow!” He said while whistling in appreciation. “Then I’m afraid you won’t find anything better than that out here,” Greg continued, gesturing to the store that only contained fairly basic weapons and armour.

‘Not that you didn’t know that. You’re just here to show off,’ Greg thought.

The big man nodded, like everything he was hearing made perfect sense.

“But, you know, that thing must have sure cost a lot,” Greg continued, straining to keep his cheesy smile.

“Well… just between you and me…” The big man said before leaning in and whispering a number to Greg that made him want to throw up.

Greg didn’t let his surprise show on his face, instead, he frowned thoughtfully.

“What is it?” The big man asked.

“Hm… I was just thinking. Aren’t worried about it breaking?” Greg asked, finally getting to what he wanted.

“Breaking? She is made of ether steal. That stuff can stop bullets without leaving a mark.” The big man scoffed.

“Right… bullets. Hey, you probably know more than me about this stuff but. Is a Wyrm stronger than a bullet?” Greg asked, pointing towards the man’s beloved blade.

“I…” The big man frowned, not sure of what would happen if his sword did indeed come up against such a fearsome opponent.

But Greg didn’t want to give him time to think it over. He had no idea if a Wyrm was stronger than a bullet, but so long as the big man thought that it might be, he had an opening.

“Look, if I were you, and I had a sword that valuable, I wouldn’t want to take a chance.” Greg said, his words like the whisper of the snake that led Eve astray.

“But what can I do?” The big man asked, nervously clutching his precious blade.

“I have just the thing,” Greg said, confidently thumping his chest.

Greg ran off into the back of the store and returned a few seconds later with another sword.

This sword was about the same size, the only difference being the noticeable drop in quality.

“Another sword?” The big man asked, slightly confused at how this would help.

“No, think of this as more like a test sword. When you come up against an opponent, use this first, if it doesn’t get damaged then you’ll be safe to use your good sword. If it does get damaged then it doesn’t matter if that one breaks,” Greg said this with such straightforward conviction that it made perfect sense.

‘It’s a bunch of bullshit! but hopefully, he likes that stupid sword enough to believe me,’ He thought.

The big man nodded, like this made perfect sense. For some reason, whatever this guy with weird hair and eyes said, made sense. It made perfect sense! It’s like his words were gospel, telling him exactly what he needed to hear.

As the big man fumbled about for his wallet, Greg pointed up to the camera that had been following him this whole time.

And he winked.

Suddenly, he felt like there was someone up there who wanted to kill him. But since Greg knew this was impossible, he laughed and handed the big man the sword.

Almost in a daze, the big man left the store with a sword he didn’t need, and Greg pocketed 5% of the sale price.

He flashed his phone at Paul. The transfer of 250 credits was shown on the screen.

“250 Credits just like that. And I didn’t have to kill any monsters.” He said smugly.

Paul clapped appreciatively. “What’s your secret?” He asked eagerly.

“Good looks… that’s it I guess,” Greg joked.

Paul laughed and upstairs, Big Mike snapped.

He was watching the monitor impatiently the entire time.

Mike saw a man with a beautiful sword walk into the shop and walk out with an additional, worse sword.

“It makes no sense…” He muttered. “I need to get to the bottom of this,”

It wasn’t like Greg selling more items for the shop was a bad thing. But it was the casual way he went about, the nonsensical sales that he made and his complete disrespect for Mike that really annoyed him.

He had just tallied up the numbers and with his bonus this month from sales, Greg was on track to make more money than him. In his own shop!

“No, No this won’t do,” Big mike mumbled, shaking his head in disbelief.

“GREG!” He shouted, banging open the office door as he ran out into the storeroom.

In the far corner, Shawn, who had finally bothered to get off his phone and was trying to set up a suit of armour on a stand watched in awe as Big Mike sprinted out of his office.

Barrelling across the storeroom and collapsing in front of the exit.