Abel was making his way to the central square after selling off all his loot. Just the Rat King Meat sold for 45 copper coins per piece!
He had made quite the sum from all the monster parts, a total of 39 silver and 32 copper coins. Along with the 9 silver and 28 copper coins he had from before, it brought his total saving to 48 silver and 90 copper coins!
He had sold off everything in his spacial bag that was from the dungeon along with the loot from the small monsters he hunted in the area during the past day.
Just the silver he had on him now was worth nearly 2 months’ worth of salary at his old job. Of course, that’s excluding his “overtime” with his under the table dealings of aged meat.
But that wasn’t all his wealth as it didn’t include the leftover loot in the dungeon along with all those ores. Although the leftover monster parts were barely worth a few silver coins, every single copper coin added would help.
‘After clearing out the ore’s I could even sell off the information about the dungeon for a nice amount. But I should clear it a few more times before that.’
Abel gleefully thought to himself as he looked around to find a buyer for his old bags and equipment. The shop refused to purchase used goods so he had to sell them to a player.
He felt quite reluctant to sell off the ordinary sword he gained through the training course, finding it be a sentimental weapon. But he couldn’t afford to keep an entire slot taken up by it in his spacial bag, he could stuff more loot there instead.
In the end, his practicality won over the bit of affection he had for the weapon. After walking around the different stalls, he realized they’d all quote him the same price for his goods since the profit margin was so miniscule.
He went back to the merchant player that told him why he was offered the same price everywhere. He felt this young man was quite earnest and straightforward. Unlike the others that would quote the price and then tell him to bugger off if he didn’t like it.
He found the young man closing a deal with another player and kept a good distance away. He was showing them both that he wasn’t snooping on their conversation.
Once the player finished his business and took off, Abel walked up to the small stall and told the young merchant he wanted to sell his equipment to him.
“I told you bro, they’ll all either quote you the same price or even lower. If you had some different goods then there might be some leeway but your stuff is simply too ordinary and low-leveled.”
The merchant before him seemed to be around the same age as Abel, with ashy blond hair and thin brows over calm green eyes. But in any virtual reality, he could also be an old man masquerading as a youngster.
Abel didn’t think much about what other players might look like in real life and assumed even if they changed some features, it wouldn’t be too much. He could guess this player was actually young by the way he spoke and the way he carried himself, the so-called aura a person would subconsciously give off.
“4 silver coins for all the goods, its not a bad deal. Do you agree?”
“Sure. What do you do with this stuff anyway?”
Abel curiously asked after handing over the goods. He couldn’t think of anyone wanting to buy a used starter sack. Maybe the bag, sword and armor would sell but the starter sack had half as much space and everyone would have one at the start.
“I have a tailor friend that could repurpose the bags into something better that I sell for a higher price. For a fee of course but I still make some profit. As for the sword and armor? I can resell them to newbs for a cheaper price than the shops.”
Abel was surprised at the answer and thought of something before asking the young merchant.
“Do you by any chance know of a decent alchemist… or a potioneer perhaps?”
“Hmmm… I know one. I can’t say he’s any good though, he’s barely been learning for a week. Why do you ask? You need to refine something?”
Abel was thinking of getting the Rat Meat from his second dungeon run refined. Instead of selling it for cheap copper coins, he might as well have it refined and then sell the poison at a nice markup. He’d make much more money that way but there was a glaring problem. He couldn’t refine it himself and he didn’t know anyone that could either.
When he walked around the central square, he was checking out the different merchants and seeing if any of them would be agreeable to work with on this matter. He honestly didn’t care about getting a little extra for the old bags and sword. He was just testing out the characters of the different players.
Although he still didn’t know this young man and definitely didn’t trust him, he at least made a good first impression.
“Actually, I might have a business proposition for you. If you’re interested….”
“You shouldn’t leave others hanging like that!” The young merchant was eager to hear about this money-making deal but the young man didn’t continue. He looked around first before finally replying,
“Is your potioneer friend capable of refining Rat Meat into poison?”
“He’s an alchemist, not a potioneer but he should be able to… why? You have a lot of Rat Meat?”
The young merchant was surprised, he knew the poison could be sold for 10 times the price of the meat. That meant one bottle of poison would sell for one and a half silver, while it would take 2 or 3 Rat Meat to refine depending on the skill of the refiner. But even the worst potioneer or alchemist wouldn’t require more than 5 Rat Meat.
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“Not at the moment but I’ll have it soon. What I have in mind is quite simple, I’ll supply the loot and have you pass it onto your friend. After they refine it, you can sell it for a profit. We’ll deduct the cost of the Meat from the sale and split the profit between us.”
“But what about my friend, he’s the one refining it so he should get a share too.”
The young merchant spoke up on behalf of his friend, which was a good sign for Abel since it meant the young man wasn’t the unscrupulous type that would sell off his mother and father if the opportunity arose.
Too bad Abel wasn’t friends with them so he didn’t care. He wanted to maximize his profits and was already being generous by offering an equal split with the merchant.
“How you guys split your share of the profit is between the 2 of you. Rat Meat is hard to find in this area so he should be thankful to gain the experience and level up his skills.”
The man argued further on behalf of his friend. Abel realized they were probably close friends in reality seeing as how the young merchant was adamant in giving his friend a share.
“Look, this deal won’t be profitable without all 3 of us. My friend’s skill is a key aspect to the sale of a more expensive good which means he’s integral to the plan!”
After arguing and haggling some more, Abel relented and agreed to split the profits in a 4:3:3 ratio after deducting the cost of the loot. Abel would get 40% while the merchant and his friend would get 30% each.
Abel was actually quite pleased with the end result. He would get extra coppers as loot cost and a split of the profit from the sale. Most importantly, this young man’s character was to his liking if he stuck up for his friends’ interest like that. He only wondered whether this friend of his would treat him the same way.
“We should sign an agreement at the Adventurer’s Union. No offense but we just met and I don’t even know you so I have to protect myself” Abel finally said after they came to a preliminary agreement.
The Adventurer’s Union acted like an unofficial guild. It didn’t offer any profession like the other guilds but worked closely with the merchants’ guild to co-ordinate many professionals, offering a place to post jobs and quests that require a certain skill.
Merchants loved getting bodyguards for their caravans from the Adventurer’s Union while nobles and other powers would post a quest for something specific when they needed it.
A person didn’t have to officially join the union to get a job, you could work as a freelancer but you could only pick from the public quests. This is what most players do once they reach a higher level and wanted to leave their starting kingdom.
The only requirement to get a Union token was to be level 5 and pay a fee of 10 silver coins. It was valid and recognized in all branches of the Adventurers Union throughout the world.
“I would have mentioned it too if you hadn’t. I’ll also invite my friend as well so the two of you can meet. By the way, we should add each other as friends. If you have any more business deals like this in the future, then please help a brother out!”
*Ding*
Coinweaver would like to add you as a friend, Accept?
Yes/No
‘Yes’
“Interesting name… a seamster of coins?”
“I can say the same about you. What’s up with the weird name?”
Coinweaver asked but he wasn’t really curious. There were all sorts of strange avatar names in Faeron and all over the virtual world. He’d seen some pretty bizarre names over the past year NeuroNex was released.
“Nothing, it’s just lost in translation.” Abel replied vaguely before changing the subject, “I’m going out to hunt so I won’t be in the city all night. You should talk to your friend and message me when you guys are ready to go to the Adventurers Union.”
“Sure, I just sent him a whisper but it looks like he’s offline. He’ll definitely be on by morning at the latest.”
Abel simply nodded his head and took off. He wanted to go back to the dungeon and start mining right away.
He recalled he didn’t know what type of ore it was yet; his Metal insight was still too low to give him any information so he made his way around the central square and found a store that carried out appraisals.
There were some items that players might come across but couldn’t identify due to their low level of skill. While there were items that required a specialized professional to gauge their worth, so these appraisal shops could be found in every city and town across the world. Perhaps only the villages wouldn’t have such a specialty shop.
Tring Tring
After entering the shop by the name of ‘Appraisers Haven’ Abel sought out a specialist in ores and was told it would cost 10 silver coins!
‘Damn money-suckers. No wonder people are having a hard time making money when you have to spend 40 coalition credits just to appraise a damn rock.’
Abel thought in disgruntlement but still forked out the money in the end. He went to a separate room in the back where he found an old man sitting behind a desk with his eyes closed.
After pulling out the black ore and placing it on the desk, the man opened his eyes that shone with a gold ring around his pupils.
“This is a specialized ore young man. I cannot discern its complete properties with my current skill level. It is a peak-grade, the highest grade of its kind and a type I have never seen. But I am sure of what it is… Nocturnium.”
*Ding*
Nocturnium:
* Weapons forged with Nocturnium could have a unique property of causing temporary blindness or disorientation to foes upon a successful strike.
* Nocturnium-infused armor could provide a limited form of invisibility or increased evasion.
* Nocturnium dust mixed with other sharpening agents could create whetstones that enhance the keenness and durability of blades, especially effective during the night.
The old mans’ word and the lack of further information pissed Abel off but the NPC’s following offer eased his annoyance greatly.
“There are many uses for this high-grade Nocturnium ore but this is all the information I can provide. If you wish to sell it to our humble shop, we would be glad to offer 3 gold coins in exchange.”
Abel thought for a few seconds. He was tempted, very tempted actually. This was 1,200 Coalition Credits! He was certain there’d be further uses for this ore but his smithing level was still too low.
He couldn’t even identify this high-grade ore without the help of a specialist and it would only be collecting dust in his spacial bag. He remembered all the lower grade Nocturnium in the dungeon and decided to bargain further.
“I can sell it but 3 gold coins is too little. Offer me a fair price”
“Young man, 3 gold coins is fair.”
“We both know it isn’t. Just because I didn’t know what it was before doesn’t mean I don’t know how much it’s worth. Nocturnium is a rare metal and a peak-grade ore is worth far more than 3 gold coins!”
He actually wasn’t sure but he was betting this was the case. The single ore in the trap chest wouldn’t have been deemed so precious otherwise.
The old man seemed to be thinking, or perhaps he was silently communicating with someone else but he eventually agreed.
“Very well then. 5 gold coins, that’s the most we can offer. You have to remember, this is still a raw ore that hasn’t even been smelted into an ingot and still requires an Expert Smith to handle.”
“Fine. 5 gold it is then.”
Abel wanted to push further but he was afraid the deal would fall through so in the end, he agreed. He thought he might be able to push it up by another gold coin but he was worried this was the little gambler’s voice within him that was speaking.
After making the transaction Abel swiftly pulled up the currency exchange tab and looked at the current conversion.
‘hmm 4.1… should I wait a little more. No, there’s still the dungeon so I’ll definitely make more money. I should guarantee the money in my coalition account. I have a lot of expenses coming up, if I died and lost 50% of my wealth then I’ll probably kill myself in anger.’
After thinking matters over, he quickly exchanged 5 gold and 30 silver coins for a total of 2,173 coalition credits.
He might not have made the most money out of the few that actually profited from Faeron, but he was definitely the fastest!