CHAPTER 35: MIRROR STEP

Wade grinned to himself with his hands on his waist as he took in the apartment.

"Home sweet home."

After a few minutes of talking, Rowan had finally left. Now, he was alone.

He walked over to the wardrobe, opening it. It was fairly spacious. He retrieved his clothes from his inventory, folding them neatly inside the wardrobe.

Unfortunately, he only had two changes of clothes. It made the wardrobe look even more empty than before. He’d need to shop for more clothes.

With a smile, he moved to the kitchen. He reached into his inventory, retrieving the barrel, and placing it on the table.

Opening the barrel, he removed its contents. A bag of yeast, and a bundle of emberleaf.

The leaves of the bundle were already drying at the edges. Wade had no idea if the leaves would be just as or even more effective when dried, but he supposed that was another thing he’d have to find out through experimentation.

He headed to the sink, checking and verifying that there was a tap there. He hadn’t expected to find plumbing in what looked like a medieval world, but this world defied logic anyways.

Confirming that there was water, he walked back to the table, surveying his ingredients. Since he had nothing else to do anyways, it would be better if he used his time to work on the honey mead.

That meant leaving the house to get honey.

But first...

He retrieved the skill stones from his inventory, holding it before him.

[Mirror Step]

[When used, the user splits into two mirrored copies. One is real, and the other is a reflection. The clone lasts five seconds, before dissipating.]

[Requirement: 22 Constitution, 28 Agility]

[Cost: 10 mana per use]

He crushed the stone, and it dissolved into sparks of white light, streaming into his chest.

Ding!

[New Skill Acquired: Mirror Step]

He smiled to himself as the knowledge settled in his mind.

The clone was identical to him, and could be controlled independently. He’d use it to divide his opponents attention, and then strike when the clone has the person busy.

It wasn’t an offensive or defensive skill, but it would help him both defensively and offensively. It was the best of both worlds.

"Time to go."

With a smile, he headed out the door, closing and locking it behind him.

Sticking the keys in his inventory, he walked down the stairs.

Just as he was about to begin making his way down the street, a thought occurred to him.

He glanced at James’ apparel shop, making his decision. With a nod, he walked in, the bell above the door jingling to announce his presence.

James and the earlier assistant, who had been trading ideas over a piece of cloth, looked up.

At the sight of Wade, a slight frown appeared on James’ face. "Wade? Anything wrong with the apartment?" The man straightened, concerned.

"Oh, no. No, nothing." Wade quickly shook his hands, putting the man’s mind at rest.

"Oh, good." James nodded, a smile appearing on his face. "So, how many I help you?"

"You tailor clothes for people, right?" Wade asked.

"Yeah!" James said, his eyes lighting up. "We have an array of selections for you. And if you simply want custom fits, that can be arranged too."

"I see." Wade nodded with a smile, thinking back to the other adventurers he’d seen. They were all dressed nicely in rather plain, but quality clothing. And from what he’d noticed, they all seem to be custom made to fit them.

But he’d also bet getting a custom made outfit was more expensive. He didn’t want that.

"How much for the tunics?" He asked, pointing to the plain blue tunics hanging on the wall. They were clearly made of quality fabrics.

"With just a little spot of sewing to tailor it to fit you, that should cost 60 coins for each tunic."

Wade stared at the man, his eyes narrowing. "60 coins? You really must take me for a fool, James," he said. A single shirt costs the same as the weekly rent of an apartment in the city.

"If this is how you treat your customers, I better take my business elsewhere." He said, coldly, turning to walk away.

"Wait!" James raised a hand, quickly walking to stop Wade. "I apologize! I’m sorry, my bad." The man smiled.

"I simply quoted the wrong price, Wade." James said. "It’s an honest mistake. I told you the price for our custom orders. I didn’t know you meant the tunic on the wall themselves."

Wade stared at the man, saying nothing. They both knew that it wasn’t a mistake. But that was business. The man had thrown the price out there to see if it would stick.

"You know what?" James smiled. "The tunic cost just 20 coins. But for you, I’ll give you a discount. As an apology, I’ll give you for 15 coins. How about that?"

Wade stared at the man for a moment, before nodding. "Alright," he said. "I want just five tunics."

"Five, you say?" James turned to his assistant, who quickly produced a notepad, taking notes.

"Yeah." Wade nodded.

"Perfect. Any preferences in design?"

"Not really." Wade shrugged. "I’ll take the blue ones over there."

James glanced at them with an approving nod. "Come, Wade. Let’s take your measurements, so I can adjust the tunics to fit you better."

Wade followed the man to the side of the store that seemed to be dedicated for that.

He stood still as James measured his arm length, from shoulder to shoulder, and even his chest, as the assistant took notes on the side.

With that sorted, Wade also got some trousers, to be picked up along with the tunics when he returned in a few hours time.

Instead of it filling his inventory, he’d take it up when he came back.

He paid, then left the shop.

Ding!

[Trade recorded.]

[Clothing: 89 gold coins.]

[Cosmic Value: +0.5]

[Balance: 1.5]

He smiled at the sight. Somehow, the situation had ended up with him taking a profit.

James had seen how he’d allowed Rowan to take charge of the negotiations for the apartment, and thought Wade was an easy mark.

Wade began walking down the street, heading out in search of honey.

James just didn’t know. Wade was the Dimensional Merchant.

Profit was his middle name.