Hero Stones!

Leon gazed in the direction of the voice. There, he saw an old man with a muscular physique. Despite being old, he had very few wrinkles with silver hair.

He wore the widest grin across his face.

"Ah, I just happen to live in the neighborhood. I saw your shop and wanted to check the place out."

"Oh, hahaha, you got jokes!" The old man couldn't help but laugh after listening.

"Ahem! Well, I was wondering what you were selling. I need a few things if I want to continue hunting."

Leon looked around the shop and saw many things. Weapons, Potions, Elixir, Armor, etc on display.

"Hunting? I was wondering about that. I mean, look at what you're wearing. A white shirt and green shorts, who are you hunting like that?"

"Yeah, I know that already, this is why I'm here." There was no way he could continue like this when fighting bosses.

"Hmm, not to mention your gear, you're size is on the large side...I mean the larger side. This is not fit for a warrior." The old man stroked his chin as he 'sized' Leon.

Leon's eyebrows twitched but he didn't get angry and said. "What are you selling? I need some underwear and clothes."

"Hehe, we have all the clothes you need. The higher-ups knew you trialist would need these things."

The old man's eyes scanned Leon's body, his weight, height, and other measurements. Leon had no idea that he was doing this. Once the old man was done, he snapped his fingers and several sets of clothes appeared on the counter.

"What the..." Leon was surprised but he understood that this old man was a part of the trial, so he wouldn't be simple.

The clothes suddenly floated around the shop. The old man told him to take his pick since things such as basic clothes were free.

Leon didn't stand on ceremony and picked the clothes he needed and wanted. He placed them all into his Storage Pouch right away.

"Alright! That was all I really wanted, but I'm a bit interested in the other things you're selling here." Leon was curious, he was here already, so why not see what he could buy?

"The items only have ranks F-, F, and F+ Rank. What I sell here is pretty basic and nothing too remarkable."

The items that really sparked Leon's interest were the Potions and elixirs. Elixirs gave permanent effects, while potions gave temporary effects. Thus, elixirs obviously cost more than the latter.

"Well, I'll like to first introduce myself. My name is Myron, it's a pleasure to meet you, Leon." The old man stuck his arm out for a handshake and Leon followed through.

"Nice to meet you as well, Myron. Honestly, I'm feeling kinda cheap with my points because I really want to use them on that so-called [Cosmic Merchant]."

Leon didn't want to spend too many points, he wanted to save up and buy the [Item Box]. This was his only time to meet this [Cosmic Merchant] and it wouldn't happen again.

That wasn't the only thing he wanted to buy. Leon wanted to purchase other amazing things he saw on the CPU, but he didn't have enough funds. He wanted to farm as many monsters as he could.

"Every item that I sell here doesn't exceed more than 1,500 points. If you're not feeling so cheap, you should be okay with spending this much at least."

Myron smiled but if you looked closely, you could see his lip twitching slightly.

Leon seemed to have thought of something and said. "Would you purchase items I've acquired in the Dungeon that I don't want?"

Leon wondered if he could sell things as well.

"No, I only sell them. You can sell everything you want to get rid of to the [Cosmic Merchant] when you meet him." Myron shook his head. He exclusively sold things, not bought them.

"Well, I'll be on my way, thanks. I'll come back and buy things at a later time." Leon did see any urgency at that moment.

"Hehe, I hope you can clear the first area soon." Myron grinned and said.

"Why is that?" Leon stopped and turned to ask.

"Every three days a new type of Goblin will be added to the zone if it isn't cleared. Right now you're fighting Goblin Bashers and Goblins, but the next thing added might be Goblin Archers."

Leon frowned. A ranged attacker would become a problem if these Goblins coordinated their attacks.

"I understand. Thank you for telling me that." Leon nodded and said sincerely before exiting the shop.

'Many fortunes, kid.' Myron thought, smiling.

Leon went back into his house and immediately took a shower. He felt refreshed after an hour of showering. Leon put on a fresh set of clothes and dove into his bed, he was exhausted.

He fell asleep instantly.

-----

-Avalon Empire.

In a land far away, to be precise, a world far away. There was the Avalon Empire—one of the five major empires on the Exia Continent.

In a secret Chamber was a man clad in red garments highlighted with gems and a notably appealing Diadem on his head.

He had blue eyes and blonde hair. His sideburn connected to his beard, mustache, and Goatee. His skin was fair and handsome, even though he was in his forties he looked like he was in his twenties.

This was the King, he was surrounded by many of his subordinates.

"Your highest Clovis, we received word that the time for the Hero summonings is near." A minister with white hair said happily.

"That's right, we've received news from the deities. The time has come, but we've only acquired one Holy Stone of Bronze and one of Silver quality."

Another minister frowned and said.

This wasn't enough when compared to the other Empires that had acquired Gold and even Platinum Stones.

"It isn't too late, we received a tip that a dungeon has appeared North of here. We'll send troops to destroy this dungeon and grasp the Mysterious Stone!"

Clovis wouldn't allow himself to be outdone by other Empires. So far, things were peaceful in his Empire, at least that was how it appeared.

"This is perfect, but is the information true? We can't afford to mess up or have this information leaked if it's legit. There would be too much trouble on our hands, even the Temple of Judgement would covet it."

"This information is true. Great Arcanist Gwen has caught and spoken to the person spreading the rumor. We caught him a suppressed the rumors right away, but it might not be enough."

Clovis continued. "She has forcefully pulled the information out of him. There shouldn't be a problem, so I want to send troops immediately—we must seize that Stone!

Blood vessels appeared in Clovis's eyes, these Stones were too important for summoning the best quality heroes.

Platinum Stones summoned the strongest type of Hero, while the rest summoned heroes with fewer abilities and qualifications.

Bronze Stones were different, these weren't easy to acquire but they were the most common. These stones couldn't summon heroes, but instead, they could anoint a hero from their world.

If all else failed, they could only rely on this method to get themselves a hero or two. These stones were limited in number and only appeared at times like these. Not just these stones, but all of them were limited in number.

The higher the rank, the rarer they were. These stones could only be used on a certain day and hour. After this window was missed, the stones would be rendered useless and turned into dust.

The Bronze Stones were different, they wouldn't turn to dust and could be used at any time after the great summoning.

Right then, a hard knock was heard at the chamber doors.

"Who is it? Who dares disturb such an important meeting, are you trying to die?!" One of the ministers was furious, he was already on edge due to their situation, and now someone came knocking!

"Lord, minister, we have an urgent message that needs to be passed on immediately!" The man at the door sounded anxious.

"Let him in," Clovis said dully.

The Master Knight opened the door and let the messenger inside.

"What is it? It better be good, or to the gallows with you." Clovis's eyes turned cold. There was no doubt that he was also on edge. This was not the best time to bother him for nothing important or it was likely your head.

The messenger shivered when he saw the King's eye. If his message wasn't important, he was dead for sure.

"B-black Vindicate has set their sight on the North. They seem to be after something, I was sent here by Arcanist Gwen. She quickly left to the North with some hand-picked troops and is asking for backup troops to follow."

"WHAT?!" Clovis stood up in horror!

"Send Commander Red and Blue! Tell General Hanson to gather the troops, I want them to rush the north mountain and set up a perimeter! No one in and no out!"

Clovis roared.

"Y-yes, sir!" The Messenger hurriedly left. The Minister quickly left as well, they had to move quickly. They couldn't let the Mysterious Stone fall into Black Vindicate's hand!

"The Evil Organization has been causing trouble throughout the continent time and time again. We must destroy them when given the opportunity!"

Clovis knew how much of a headache this organization was to every Empire. However, no one knew their location. Even if you caught one of them, they would suicide and they had many ways to die.

A glint of coldness flashed through Clovis's eyes. Their time would come soon, but he'll let them live a bit more after destroying their troops in the north.

"Hmph! You just wait." Clovis took a seat and calmed down. He was filled with ambition for what the future held.

-----

Leon yawned and woke up to a new day. He slept well but he wasn't sure how long he had slept for.

"It's still daytime? What time is it?" Leon was confused. Did it possibly stay daytime throughout the dungeon?

"The Scout Crow has discovered something important!" Leon was stunned.

It was an important clue that could possibly lead him to the [Goblin Caster].