*rustle, rustle*

In one of the fields, a youth could be seen lurking, taking steps one at a time trying hard not to make a noise. He was in a hunched-up position, lowering his center of gravity to better avoid any stalks or sticks on the ground. With every step, he carefully placed his foot onto the dirt before putting any pressure on it. Even then you could still occasionally hear his feet dig into the soil. The youth continued this process for more than five minutes and moved only about thirty meters further into the field. Once he reached the center of the field he stood in place and focused on a single point in front of him, trying to look out for any drastic movements in his peripheral vision.

The youth stood there patiently, carefully observing any changes. His surroundings were completely silent except for the rustling of the wheat as well as his breath. Minutes passed when suddenly something moved around in the soil. Without skipping a beat he began sneaking towards it again, putting his full focus on this task. Even though the distance he had to traverse was only about eight meters it still took a few minutes. Once there was only one and a half meters between him and the peculiar movement in the dirt he steadied himself and proceeded to take a big leap.

Although face-planting into the soil, he tightly held something wiggling in his hands. Covered with soil, his breathing irregular, he sat up and looked at the dirtworm in his hands. His excited face couldn't be hidden as he quickly exited the field and ran towards the town.

Dirtworms were quite tricky to catch thanks to their ability to traverse easily through farmland. They liked to come up to the ground after a downpour to take in sunlight. They had no eyes nor a sense of smell, but due to this their other senses were amplified to the extreme. Especially their superb hearing caused many to fail at catching them. Not only that, but strong vibrations also scared them away. Their blood was in demand since it had medicinal properties which could significantly help in the process of curing ailments. Its skin could also be used as a sort of bandage to stop bleeding.

Back in Lert, a small town, a youth could be seen walking at a moderate pace, his expression calm and collected. He looked to be sixteen years of age signifying an adult in this world. His name was Vrill. He was an orphan and a commoner with his uncle being the only person in his family other than him to still be alive. Even with his old age he still tried his best to raise Vrill often skimping on food to better nurture his grandchild. Sometimes he had to beg others for food to make ends meet. Because of this many had a bad impression about Vrill and occasionally even called him a beggar's child.

Just before, Vrill had caught a dirtworm in one of the nearby wheat fields. They were not easy to catch at all. It took him nearly half a year of many unfruitful attempts to catch just a singular one. Selling one could allow him not to worry about food for a few months. Therefore he had to act discreetly about this matter. Otherwise, once anybody caught wind of this they might try to take a piece of the pie for themselves. That's why he had washed himself in a river beforehand to get rid of any evidence and dried his clothes before returning to the village. Thanks to growing up alone and having to rely on himself Vrill had learned from a young age how the world functioned and acted accordingly. He had already been scammed and robbed multiple times and learned from these experiences.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

He knew that if he just openly sold the dirtworm in one of the shops many would notice. For the past months, he had painstakingly observed a variety of shops judging which one was the most suitable. Among them, one stood out like a sore thumb. It was Sam's general goods store. It had a reputation for offering fair prices and most importantly not talking about the sales history of its customers. Even then, to be safe, Vrill went into the shop shortly before they closed as he had observed this was when the least amount of people were around.

*ding, ding, ding*

As he opened the door a small bell rang

"I'll be right there, just wait there!" A person shouted in the back of the shop.

After a few minutes of waiting the person came out. It was the shopkeeper, "We're just about to close, so make it quick." It was easy to see that he was annoyed. After all, he was just about to clock out for the day and some kid came in and made him do otherwise.

Vrill gave a nod and quickly put the dirt worm on the desk.

"Hmm? You're selling a worm? Wait- Oh!" His uninterested expression quickly changed to one of curiosity. "A dirtworm, huh?". Although he already had people sell dirt worms in his shop in the past, they were usually not this young. Catching one at his age is quite a feat! Even if it was just a spur of luck it's still quite impressive. "I'll give you two magic crystals for it." He said shortly after.

Magic crystals are the currency of the world. The average commoner household makes just about one magic crystal a month. For smaller purchases, it is possible to break apart the crystal into a smaller fragment.

"Just two? And I thought this shop offers fair prices. Three and a half magic crystals are the lowest I can go." Vrill quickly rebuked while slightly frowning.

"That sort of price for a singular dirt worm is outrageous! Although it is a less costly alternative to a healing potion, the worm's blood tastes and smells horrendous. With some people even puking in response." The shop owner calmly explained. "The highest I can go to is two and a half magic crystals." He said confidently as he looked away dejectedly.

"It's not every day that somebody sells a dirt worm. After all, it's a rare commodity since it's hard to catch. Having one could significantly increase one's survival chances in the wild. There's enough people that would gladly pay a good price for it." Vrill explained in detail.

The shopkeeper looked at Vrill and tapped his fingers on the table in a rhythmic motion. After a few seconds he began to state "Even so, I simply cannot buy it at that price. Two and a half, last offer."

Vrill looked to be deeply thinking about it before suggesting "Let's meet in the middle then. Three magic crystals for one dirt worm."

The shop owner looked down and sighed before agreeing with the deal and giving Vrill his three magic crystals. This alone meant he wouldn't have to worry about food for many months! He had planned from the beginning to sell it at three magic crystals yet purposely set it at a higher starting point to make the actual selling price seem less expensive.

He couldn't have possibly known the market price of a dirt worm by himself, that's why he did his research beforehand. When he looked for the optimal shop to sell a dirt worm to he had sometimes sold lesser goods and struck up a conversation with some shopkeepers. During a conversation, he would slip in a talk about the dirt worm and gain some information every time. Sometimes it was knowledge he was already aware of, or something completely new. This was also how he had found out about the dirt worm's excellent hearing which resulted in changing his way of catching them.

Shortly after the exchange Vrill left the shop and went back to his home on the outskirts of the town with his three magic crystals in a pouch which was situated on his waist at all times. It was a humble shack with only one room. It had a small stove and two makeshift beds. When he arrived his uncle was already in bed sleeping soundly. After checking whether he was truly asleep Vrill also laid down on his bed. After all, getting a good night's sleep was incredibly important to be able to do your farm work properly.