Ake pocketed the coins with a huge smile on his face. Of course, the pretty Guild clerk didn’t share his enthusiasm after losing 1 gold plate and 23 silver coins to a mere wooden tag, a dark-skinned tribal kid out of the blue.
Nevertheless, he would have lost the argument for the price if it was not for the followers he had gradually gathered from the moment he entered the town’s gate. Almost every one of them was haggling higher and higher prices among themselves until a tall handsome man offered a gold plate over all the silver.
Ake was told that a gold plate was one hundred worth of the shiny silver coins and he shouldn’t refuse such an offer. Of course, even a fool would find it a little fishy, pun not attended, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.
He honestly didn’t see it coming and what the tall man did next surprised Ake.
The man took out his glowing sword and made a narrow and deep V cut on the head. He then plunged his arm in and pulled out a big glowing shard from the open wound.
The sound of the tall man clicking his tongue had told Ake that he hadn't lost much from the sale. On the other hand, he could have profited more than a few slates.
“It is huge but it is still not a [Water] shard,” said one of the onlookers.
“Or even a [Scale] shard,” added a woman.
“The [Slime] sells better, but yeah, what a bummer,” responded another.
“Better luck next time kid,” a random man clasped his shoulder.
Thanks to the pathetic struggle, Ake had completely forgotten about the more valuable shards hidden in each monster. He took it as a lesson as the [Ether] shard should net him more coins. Smaller fishes should reduce the amount of attention and should also increase the chance of getting a shard.
Speaking of attention, the whole thing didn’t seem like a huge deal. The clerk hadn’t bat an eye or gawked at him but it didn’t mean he should catch more so soon. One great catch could be claimed as a lucky stroke but two would probably turn a few heads around.
There was also no doubt that the tall man was a very important person based on how the Guild staff lowered their heads. The pretty clerk who had a permanent scowl turned into an innocent smiling angel as she spoke with the tall man complete with twinkling puppy eyes.
Ake turned around to make his way only to be stopped by the cloaked stalker. The oddly pretty golden eyes were staring at him as if they were warning him.
“There is no need to be hostile, Sila,” said the tall man from behind. “Perhaps it was luck, but he had helped the town significantly with this catch and he didn't cause any trouble doing it.”
Ake cursed inside. Of course, the edgy cloaked person would be the jealous girlfriend. Who would be a better second opinion if it was not someone with a personal reason?
“Not yet,” declared Sila as she stated her attention by silently staring at him.
Ake sighed and turned around to face the tall, important man. The gathered crowd had begun to disperse after a lanky but sculpted-muscle grey-haired middle-aged guy took the huge fish to the back. The man's stare was scary but he was probably the Guild’s butcher.
Ake kept the fact in mind as he was probably the best man to ask about harvesting shards.
A trail of blood could be seen on the floor thanks to the tall man’s nonchalant public dismemberment. After proper preparation, he imagined the fish meat could have easily fed a lot of people, so she had a good point, at least.
But considering its current rarity, only whoever with the coins would probably get the most of it, but those coins going around would still benefit the town economy as a whole. The tall man was not wrong and he was a smart man for thinking that far, unlike somebody.
‘Well, if he had thought that far,’ Ake mused.
“How much would you pay for the secret to catch fish?” Ake went straight to the point.
“Well, I imagine that you will do it for the good of all humanity,” said the tall man while spreading his arms with a knowing smile on his face. “It will change the whole Kingdom when the people no longer need to depend on someone with [Water] shard just to catch a fish. Especially even a useless ‘white’ can do it.”
“Then I can imagine that the esteemed and well-off Guild will offer a lot more than a gold slate, especially when it is for the good of all humanity, am I right?”
The tall man laughed as if the statement was very funny.
“I like this one,” the man smiled, “I’m Borz-Anthon Lewit, at your service,” the man slightly bowed with his right hand on his chest.
Ake returned the copied bow in equal measure.
“But Guildmaster-”
“Hush it, Mars-Sila,” said the Guildmaster. “You’ve got to learn that a reasonable man is much more trustworthy than any heroic goody two shoes. This soul is one and we shall treat him that way, alas he shall become unreasonable. We don’t want that, don’t we?”
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The jealous girlfriend opened and closed her mouth a few times but couldn’t utter a word.
“I might look like a tribal,” he replied, “but as you’ve already pointed out, appearances can be deceiving.”
“Yes, Yes!! This is what I’m talking about,” the man laughed as if he hadn’t had a good one for a long time. “This one understands how the world works, and it feels like I’m talking with another noble, of lesser birth, of course.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Ake replied while Sila looked like her jaw had hit the floor.
“Good, very good,” the man chuckled, “Pris-Acilla, my dear, please arrange a pattern deal with the fine boy. I’ll say another two gold plates at the front and perhaps one out of twenty when the fishing training and license started selling. How does that sound, my boy, Ake?”
“So, do you mean I will get five out of every hundred gold while doing nothing? Such a rate should already be very generous,” Ake replied.
It wasn’t even close to a great deal, honestly, but he would rather not push his luck against an obvious high-born man. The way he presented himself was enough to subtly state that he was way above anyone else. His unnatural charm was shining out of him.
Besides, the additional gold was more than enough for him for the time being. More than enough to pay Liara back and more.
“Oh, I see you are good with numbers too,” the man smiled as if he had dug another well-kept secret out of him, and the man spent some time thinking about it.
“Abolish the silly watch, Sila,” the man finally declared. “We can’t hope for a better soul than an initiated one to join and rise up in our ranks.”
“But-”
“This is an order, little lady,” the Guildmaster cut her off again. “I’m sure the boy understands what will become of him if he disappoints ME.”
Ake knew a subtle warning when it was staring at his face.
The subtle change in the man’s demeanor also rattled the girl in the full cloak.
And from the handsome man’s reaction, math was probably reserved for the nobles or perhaps only for people with a lot of extra money to spend. The man might also think that poor old magicless Earth would be the same if not worse than this place. It would be natural to assume so as the man had no other stick to measure with.
Ake recalled that Liara had told him about the passive [Skill]s. Maybe he could get it as a math-based passive [Skill] after he had more time for himself. It would be great to learn firsthand how it would affect anything.
“Of course, I’m not looking forward to causing any trouble,” Ake said. “I got better things to do than wasting my time on such things.”
“I can’t ask for anything more from a fellow initiated,” the Guildmaster said with a nod.
Ake didn’t know what he meant but he still nodded back. He would rather not try to correct the man when he didn’t know any better.
The tall handsome man smiled at him before he turned around and walked away almost jovially and laughed loudly. The man laughed too much.
Ake could feel the many eyes staring, digging into his back. It was not surprising for him to be wrong, as he was never very good at it.
But today it was proven that he couldn’t be more correct when he thought knowledge was literally power in this world. A simple math [Skill] might push him up the ladder without even trying, Ake just didn’t see how yet. The nobleman couldn’t be trusted still but there was no reason for him to lie about such a thing when there was no profit from lying.
A middle-aged woman walked forward, and God, he wished he was dreaming.
She took all of his breath by just appearing before him. Ake knew that she was bred very differently as soon as his eyes laid upon her. The noble lady was in a totally different class of beauty compared to others.
The blond with big blue eyes of course had excellent curvatures to match her perfectly symmetrical face. The smooth olive skin without any visible blemish made her look like a modern businesswoman in her dark blue blouse and black knee-high tight skirt.
The red gem between the deep valleys was in almost a perfect flawless oval. Ake wondered how and what made it appear very differently on her.
“As you know, I’m Acilla, daughter of Pris. I’m assigned as the Guildmaster’s personal assistant for the time being,” the lady said. “If you please come with me, Initiate Ake.”
“Of course, after you,” Ake said while keeping his eyes away, but what she called him had confirmed his suspicion.
The sexy lady should know that he was a 'White', but based on her demeanor, being an Initiate had swept the fact under the rug for all she cared. Ake also wondered why the woman or the Guildmaster didn’t even care to test him any further just to make sure like any sane person would do.
One thing was for sure, the very curvy lady had assisted more than just on daily jobs by the way she turned and swung the large tight ass. She made the intoxicating sways look so natural as if she had trained for years just for this.
Of course, he had only enjoyed the sight when the lady couldn’t have noticed it as he didn’t want any sort of issue. She brought him to a small room before asking him to wait as she went to prepare the papers.
Ake sunk into the soft sofa and thought about what he should do next. Other than repaying his debt, what kind of stuff should he invest the money in? The answer was pretty clear.
But if he was being honest, he hadn’t suspected the day would go this way. If he kept this up, he would probably become a golden goose in no time. That would be an absolute nightmare.
He was surprised when a girl in a Guild uniform came knocking with the local snacks and drink in her hand. She introduced herself as the assistant to the noble lady and proceeded to pour him a drink while standing a little too close.
Her smile was affectionate and he thanked her for the meal while keeping his eyes from roaming on her similarly excellent curves.
As it turned out, money didn’t faze these top-tier beauties.
‘But status does,’ he mused.
Ake gained such privileges when the handsome noble simply said that he liked him and labeled him as one of the Initiated. The title should have a meaning for the nobles whatever it really meant to them.
Of course, people would treat you differently if they knew you were a lot more than just how you look. It made him think that the two gold plates and ten percent profit share for a patent deal might be more than what meets the eye if he was treated this way.
Lady Pris-Acilla showed up shortly later. She leaned down to deliberately show off her deep cleavage as she presented and pushed the deal in writing across the table.
He couldn’t help but get lost in them for a moment too long. It was a huge blessing when the lady didn’t take a seat beside him as the woman was especially dangerous. It felt like she would bleed him dry before he could get anywhere near her and he would thank her for it.
On the other hand, Ake also learned another crippling weakness about himself. He didn’t know how he had missed it but looking at the written contract had made it crystal clear.
Believe it or not, he was illiterate.