Michael was led to a section of the room dedicated to hammer-like weapons.
He noticed a variety of them, differing in size and appearance, some large, some small, some shiny, others dull.
At first glance, what stood out was the expensive aura that seemed to radiate from their very cores.
Michael quickly bypassed the smaller hammers, his focus narrowing on the massive ones.
As he observed them, he began to understand why the middle-aged man had referred to them as "models."
Though these hammers were clearly the real deal, it seemed that they were more for display than for sale in this particular room.
After scanning the options, Michael's eyes eventually settled on three of the largest hammers, the only three gigantic ones in the compartment.
[Type: Heavy Warhammer]
Creates a powerful shockwave upon impact, stunning enemies and shattering defenses. Ideal for breaking through fortified armor and barriers.
Releases a chilling blast with each strike, slowing enemies and weakening their defenses. Particularly effective against fast or evasive opponents.
[Type: Reinforced Warhammer]
Delivers devastating physical blows, with a chance to temporarily cripple an enemy's movement or attack power. Highly effective against larger, brute-type foes.
From the brief descriptions alone, it was clear that these weapons were far superior to common rank ones like Michael's broken spear.
Comparing the two felt almost insulting—Michael's spear, built with just better synthetic metals, paled in comparison.
The craftsmanship and appearance of the three hammers were also leagues ahead.
Titan's Wrath was a massive blackened steel warhammer with jagged edges and a crimson gemstone embedded at its center.
It was 6 feet long, with a hammerhead nearly 2 feet wide.
The weapon looked more like a siege tool than something wielded in battle, suggesting it required immense strength to handle.
Its handle was wrapped in dark leather, and faint red runes pulsed with power along its head.
The rare materials used in its construction were obvious.
Michael imagined hitting another version of himself with this hammer and knew it would hurt—very, very badly.
The thought of his undead male orcs, who had the same strength as him, if not more, especially if they used {Berserk}, wielding a weapon made Michael determined to get a good weapon.
He imagined that, when they evolved into one-star extraordinary rank creatures, the weapon might start to hold them back, but at that early stage of the next rank, this hammer would likely still be useful.
Then there was Frostcaller's Maul, a frosty blue hammer with a translucent, ice-like head that constantly emitted a chilling mist.
It was 5 feet in length, with a hammerhead roughly the size of a small barrel.
The grip was made of silver metal, etched with snowflake patterns, and its head glowed softly in dim light.
Michael imagined this hammer would look particularly fitting for his blue apes, at least if one were judging by appearance alone.
Lastly, Bonebreaker, a rugged warhammer with a solid, bone-colored head that appeared to be carved from some ancient fossil.
It was 5.5 feet long, with a hammerhead shaped like a boulder, nearly 1.5 feet in diameter.
The handle was reinforced with dark iron bands, and its surface bore cracks that glowed faintly with an earthy hue.
Michael wasn't too sure about buying the Bonebreaker—it seemed particularly lackluster compared to the others—but it did have its merit.
It was the true blunt-type weapon among the three, just what one would expect from a hammer.
After seeing the hammers, Michael felt no desire to continue looking for more.
These hammers seemed perfectly suited for his undead, and he figured they'd probably prefer smashing things rather than slicing them up.
"How much are the three?"
After making the decision to buy the three types of weapons, Michael turned to the middle-aged man from the trade center.
"The Titan's Wrath is priced at $230,000 each, the Frostcaller's Maul is $265,000 each, and the Bonebreaker is $175,000 each. Are you planning to buy them, and if so, how many?"
Hearing the prices, Michael silently drew in a sharp breath.
The equipment was just as expensive as he'd imagined, but he could still manage it.
Even if he bought more in advance, it didn't seem like his 16 million would run out anytime soon.
If rare rank weapons are this expensive, extraordinary rank and above must be in the millions, if they're even accessible with money.
At least it's not that expensive for now.
I need to use this money to effectively boost my strength. Evolution points are the fastest way, but I also need to level up to keep up.
Unfortunately, money doesn't seem to help with that. At least it can get me equipment and monster corpses to fill my open slots.
A disorganized stream of thoughts flashed through Michael's mind as he replied to the middle-aged man, who was straightforward when it came to business.
"Do you have any goblin and forest wolf corpses here?" Michael asked, choosing to inquire instead of answering the middle-aged man's previous question directly.
Though the middle-aged man from the trade center was confused, he still gave a response.
"Yes, we have those corpses here. You can only buy up to 20 of each, though."
"What about black apes?"
The first time he had bought corpses, Brian, who had attended to him then, told him they had black ape corpses, but at the time, Michael had known they would be well outside his budget, so he hadn't given it much thought.
Now that he had money.
Currently, Michael had 20 open slots, and he planned to fill five with goblins, five with forest wolves, and five with black apes.
As for the remaining five, Michael intended to use them for an experiment.
He wanted to see how his undead would react to an ordinary animal or insect.
The unique properties of some animals made Michael very willing to experiment, even with the risk of the pain from severing the connection with any undead he didn't like or if something went wrong.
As for asking about the corpses the Association could offer, Michael wanted to buy more equipment in advance and make sure he handled everything all at once.
Of course, he could have just bought the equipment without asking, but he figured it was better to know what they were doing next after leaving the door.