After Comoron entered the portal, he noticed that the King of the Forest was dead, and these guys were trying to sell it.
"Oh fuck. I can't let it happen; it will surely turn into a commotion, and the King will notice these guys."
Comoron thought. It was, no doubt, a hard situation for him, and he couldn't let the nobles or the king know these guys, not until he was free from the problems.
Well, it actually wasn't that bad; at least it was what Comoron thought for now, but it is better to keep these guys away from noble gazes. He had to do something, and so he did.
"Hey guys, do you really want to sell the King of the Forest?"
"King of the what? Hahaha, there's no way we can sell such a thing! We are selling this lion we killed in the forest; he is a tough guy, and we think he will sell at a good price."
Alex answered, and Comoron was amazed. So, "Lion" means the king... He had no time to have such thoughts; these guys are amazing, and he couldn't afford to let the king know them.
"Well, this 'Lion' you killed is actually the most powerful entity in the demonic forest... If you guys were to sell it, the king would just take the entity away from you and pay no more than 10% of what you could get."
"Oh, so this guy here is in the public domain? Nice to know this... Anyway, if we can't sell it, I think we might lose it due to the meat rotting."
"Don't worry about it; the body won't decompose. Its body has very strong magic, and even though it has been kept under the weather for centuries, the body will still survive due to the mana flowing in it."
"hmm, Nice. But we had already entered the room to organize the items. What do we do?"
"Well, you can sell anything. The room is already taken. We have the entire day to take items. These rooms are made for people who don't want to share any secrets involving storage, so we might be in a good situation."
"Well, I think I have a plan if that is the case."
Alex, who was talking, remembered the talk he had with Harper, or Michael; he didn't remember who it was exactly, but he remembered the content of the dialogue.
He instantly gazed at Harper and started
"Harper, does your uncle still run that supermarket?"
"Yes, Alex, he does; why?"
"Well, we can't sell this big guy here, but what will be the reactions of these medieval folks after tasting fast food for the first time?"
"Wait, do you really think we can sell these things? How can we justify its origin? They will certainly ask."
"We can manage it somehow."
Alex, after saying it, instantly turned to Comoron and asked him
"Comoron, can we sell food in that place?"
"Well, we can technically, but they won't buy small quantities."
"Even though it is luxurious?"
"In this case, they might buy in small portions, but you will have to sell at least 20 pounds of such food for a decent payment."
"Alright, I have an idea, even though you will have to help us."
"Alright, you guys saved me after all, so there's no problem."
Comoron answered.
Then, Alex, Michael, and Harper started to climb the stairs. Comoron understood that he should follow them, so he also climbed it.
After the four of them climbed to the main room of Alex's house, Alicia was waiting for them. They had already spent eight hours in the basement. She started to worry; Harper had no wife, but Michael had, and she was Harper's sister. Alicia was already calling Jenifer, as they left without saying much.
She was making dinner when the three of them climbed. But a few seconds later, a fourth man came, and he was different. He was blond, probably around 5'9'', and the most intriguing part were his ears. It was pointy. But she didn't care much about it, but how the hell did that guy appear in their house? The basement was like a safe because all of the guns Alex used in his time as a mercenary were stored there, as were Michael's, Harper's, and Gus. His family didn't want the gun Gus used before dying, so they handed it to Alex. They knew it meant more for him than for them.
The safe was extremely armored; there's no way this guy got inside it without entering the main entrance, and only Alex knew the password. She could only ask
"Alex, who the hell is this guy? And how did he enter the basement?"
"Oh, honey, let me introduce him. His name is Comoron, and we met in an unexplainable situation."
Alex, after saying it, started to tell Alicia about the other world, the portal, and the kingdom. Alex even asked Comoron to cast some basic spells to demonstrate magic to Alicia, and he also told her that he was able to cast it as well, but he didn't have the knowledge for it right now.
30 minutes later...
"Unbelievable... But after this guy, Comoron, cast this 'spell', there's no mistake... You are right."
"Sorry for not telling you it. To be honest, remember that day I appeared all dirty on the floor? Well, it was the first time I noticed I could do it."
"Well, it explains a lot... I won't be angry, because you told me everything. But if something new happens, don't hesitate to tell me sooner, right?"
"Yes, little honey..."
Alex explained everything to Alicia. Harper and Michael went to the kitchen because they had no place in such a conversation. And also because they wanted to empty the beer storage from Alex. It was their way of punishing him for testing them to enter the portal. It could have been extremely bad if they got stuck in some fourth-dimensional space-time rift or something.
"Alright Harper, I think that by now they have finished their talk. Let's do what we have to before that guild notices we are missing."
"Yes, you are right. Let's go"
As Harper and Michael entered the room, Alex and Alicia had already finished the talk. It appears it went good. They felt sorry for Comoron; he had to be in that uncomfortable conversation for over 30 minutes. Well, at least that would be the least he would care about. He was at a distance of a door from seeing LA, and his proud kingdom's capital cannot match LA; that city poses no fight at all.
"Alright, Alex, you can't have this guy walk outside with his flashy ears, right?"
"Oh, yes, honey."
Alicia told Alex it when she handed Comoron a hat to hide his ears. It was simple, but effective. Comoron thought that this kingdom had some kind of prejudice against elves. He couldn't be more wrong.
"Thanks Alicia. It is unfortunate that this kingdom has prejudice against elves; we are extremely good magicians. Even though your place has such advanced mechanisms,
He said it after looking around and seeing the light, the microwaves, the table made of fine material, and other things. He had no doubt that Alex was a noble. He couldn't be more wrong again. His will will shatter apart when he understands the USA.
"Alright, hat on, carry on."
Alex made this joke. Harper and Michael held back the laughter; Comoron understood it was some kind of joke but didn't understand it.
Alex opened the front door. It was a good house in the mountains, and the view of a giant sign in the mountains saying "Hollywood" and the giant towers in the center of a sea of rocks and streets A lot of people are in metal carriages without horses. After seeing the city from the mountain, Comoron understood that this place is far greater than the Kingdom. He was somehow sad because he still held proud of his place, but at the same time he was amazed. If he could get connections here, there's no way the noble faction could go against him.
"Amazing..."
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Comoron had no words for this place. It was surely something new for him.
"Michael, explain to him where we are and what we will do."
"alright Alex. So, this place is called Los Angeles. It is a city founded in the late 18th century, but only in the late 19th century did it start to grow as we know it today. This place held, and still holds, immense glamour, and a lot of rich people are from here. The city itself is only a part of California, where we have the Silicon Valley, a place that holds the electronic economy of our country, even though it is moving to Texas."
"So, the rich people are moving to another kingdom called Texas?"
"No, we don't have kingdoms anymore. We are in a country. California is one of these states, and Texas is another one. They are rapidly growing while we are falling behind. Our country name is 'The United States of America', and we are the most powerful country to ever exist on this planet. While we have people not far behind us, the Russians and Chinese still have a long run before reaching us."
"Wow... So, this is where you took these metal rods that destroy even the king of the forest from?"
"Yes. Indeed. You are quite smart, to be honest. You are from a technologically inferior realm, but you would still do great in the US."
"Seriously? Your people are amazing; there's no way I can compete."
"We were. Nowadays, there are just a bunch of idiots who want to run this place. Even though there are really smart people out there, unfortunately, a lot of them don't know even where our country fights."
"Well, I can see that this place never met war by looking at how great it is."
"Technically, this place already faced a war against Mexico, but it was almost 180 years ago. They even founded this city, but we took it from them."
"180 years? How old is your country?"
Comoron asked it, His kingdom was founded 500 years ago. They had nothing but magic. The first king was a cyan mage who took the land where the capital is. He founded a small village there to call his own. He married a blue-mage girl from a noble house that was falling apart. We can't tell; people say they truly loved each other, even though their marriage was only a way for the first king to gain power and that noble house to rise again. 10 years passed since that, and the small village grew into a great city because of its location and the fact that the first king created a commercial route with the river. The city was a port city that boats could export and import. He rapidly gained power, and his wife had an interesting idea. The Empire was in a weak state, with lots of wars with the sand people in the far south. Her spouse had enough money and power to win a war of attrition, so they might have to give it a try. She told the first king to create a kingdom. Initially, he was afraid of losing the war against the empire, but they were already stuck in the south; they had no way to win. After some thought, the king broke up with the empire, and the war started. They easily defeated the empire. The King and the Emperor signed a peace treaty. After the divine war, as they call it, the map changed. Nowadays, it is still the same. The nobles in the area were happy to support the new emperor, as he didn't put 80% of taxes over them.
This is the map of the continent. In green, is the kingdom territories, in Yellow, is the Empire. Also, there are special zones, such as the Demon Forest (where our characters came from) and the sand people territories. Note that there are also tones in the countries colors, and the more full the tone is, the more the country control that territory. As you can see, the borders aren't well controlled by anyone, because it have a whiter tone. [https://i.imgur.com/MhEf5Hh.png]
In green is the kingdom, and in yellow is the Empire. The fuller the color tone is, more that country controls the territory. There are also special zones, such as the Demon Forest and the Sand People territories, that no one actually controls.
"Well, our country was founded in 1776, so we are almost 150 years old!"
"THAT YOUNG? There are people alive who have lived more than 250 years."
"Wait, this is the surprise here; no way someone can live that much."
"What are you talking about? You are a blue-violet mage. Your life expectancy is about 300 years."
"What?"
As Michael heard it, he froze for a while. There is no way he could live that long. But somehow, he understood that it may be possible. He wasn't a mage, but after traveling through the portal, he is one of them now. He started to think about life, and an awkward atmosphere in the car started.
20 minutes later.
"Here we are, boys. This place here is the supermarket owned by Harper's uncle. We will buy some cheap stuff from there and sell it for high prices."
"Wait, what?"
Comoron heard it. They were literally trying to scam the people in the kingdom by selling them cheap stuff at high prices. Little does he know that this cheap stuff is actually far superior in quality to the royal cuisine.
"Don't worry, Comoron."
Alex said.
"Before you jump to conclusions, what about you try the food? Also, explain to us what kind of material you guys use to store food and sell it."
Harper said.
"Alright. I'll try it before 'jumping to conclusions'. But it is better worth it!"
"Hahaha, you will be surprised, we promise!"
Harper answered Comoron. They had entered the market by now, and Comoron was wearing a hat, so no one actually cared much for him."
"Right guys, take everything we need. Don't pick stuff like matches or flares; these people have magic, and the effects of it are far greater than any match or flare."
"Roger"
As Alex said, everyone confirmed it and started to buy things. Instead, Comoron stopped and started to look around. The super market was far greater than the annual kingdom fair. And it was open to the general public. This country is amazing, he thought.
Comoron followed Alex. The two of them started to buy things such as instant noodles, candies, sugar, salt, seasonings, meat, and everything else. They even bought some cheap cloth to roll all of it up, as they don't want plastic to enter that place yet.
After some 3 hours, Alex bought 400 pounds of meat, 5 pounds of seasonings, 5 pounds of sugar, 10 pounds of salt, and almost 400 units of instant noodles. Michael bought 1000 units of canned food. It was expensive, for sure, but the money he would take back would be far greater; he also bought 200 units of a cheap candy. Harper was smarter than the two of them. He bought 500 chocolate bars. He also bought cheap glass jewelry and 10 gold-plated chains. Alex and Michael looked at Harper. That guy is smart as hell, they thought. Well, it was too late. Well, the price each one of them paid was:
Alex: $2150
Michael: $1520
Harper: $700
"Amazing guys... These items are surely of high quality. And you guys said it was cheap... I never saw a salt as white as this one or this much meat."
"Be amazed later, Comoron; we have to take it out of the packaging and put it on the clothes."
"oh, right. We don't have this kind of package in the kingdom; better just sell it in cloth than in this 'plastic' you said."
"Yes, let's go home and prepare it."
As Alex said it, they entered the car. As they bought so many things, Harper's uncle borrowed them a truck, so the truck just dumped everything in Alex's house and left.
"Alright, we will take at least a day to make it... Let's go back to the guild, leave the room, then pay for a cheap inn in the city and start the operations."
Alex said.
"You are right, Alex; let's do it."
Harper answered. They didn't have any money from the kingdom, so Harper brought one of the chains he bought to sell and also 10 pieces of cheap jewelry. They would gain enough money for a year in the inn.
They entered the basement. And Alex opened the portal. Comoron could see it more clearly now; it was amazing indeed. Something unique. Alex started calling it Gate, but after some thought, he chose to call it Portal instead. It represents both the structure itself and the function.
As they entered it and ended in the guild private room, Alex closed the portal, and they left that room. They headed straight to the guild counter, and they were attended.
"Hello, sirs, How can I help you today?"
The counter said. She was a young girl.
"Do you guys buy jewelry?"
Harper said.
"Yes, we do it. Even though you can get a better price in the streets, some adventurers get jewels in dungeons, and they don't have the time or the will to find a buyer, so they just hand it to the guild, and we sell it for them. We also have some guarantees, which make us a better deal than trying to sell it to problematic customers or anything else."
"That's nice. How much can you get us for these?"
Harper then handed her the chain and the 10 glass jewels. It was 5 rings with a hardened glass "diamond," 3 necklaces with a big hardened glass jewel in the middle, and 2 plastic pearl bracelets. It cost him a total of $60, so he could at least double it.
The girl was stunned; she had never seen such amazing jewels before. The bracelets somehow adjusted to the wearer's size, and the rings were also amazing. Such perfect diamonds were rare to find; they could sell them to nobles for a high price. And the gold chain—even though she never really understood much about it, she could at least tell by the details that it was well made. They were dungeon items, so they will surely soon find a new owner.
The clerk girl surely thought these items were amazing. She estimated that for each ring, she could sell it for 2 platinum coins, so she proposed half of it for the items, and the guild would hand the rest.
"Alright, after some estimations, I can pay you guys a platinum coin."
The clerk said it, and Comoron was amazed by it. He saw the prices in that "super market." These things cost Harper $60, or whatever it means, but for comparison, the meat Alex bought was $5 per pound, so he just sold 12 pounds of meat equivalent in jewels for a platinum coin. That meat is surely of amazing quality, probably equal to wolf beef, which costs 8 bronzes per pound. After some calculations, it is around one gold coin. He sold these jewels for 100 times that price. Comoron finally started to understand that the kingdom means nothing to these guys. They could surpass them if they brought that United States army to conquer them.
"We accept it. Actually, if you pay us in silver and bronze, we would appreciate it."
Harper said to the clerk:.
"Alright, we can do it! It was a pleasure to do business with you guys!"
"I can tell the same!"
Harper said. the clerk, she was surely a nice girl.
"Here, sir, we can't pay everything in silver because we lack enough coins. Please take the payment in separate coins."
"Alright, we don't need it all in bronze and silver, just a part of it."
"Thank sir!! Here are 6 royal gold coins, 20 gold coins, 180 silver coins, and 200 bronze coins."
After this, the clerk handed Harper a bag full of money. That bag was made of poor-quality cloth, but it was enough. Certainly the earth's cloth is better, but it isn't something impossibly better; they could sell the meat and the candies in these.
After the negotiations, the four of them rented a good inn for one week. It cost them one silver coin.
"Alright guys, we have a base here. Tomorrow, we will sell the meat and the things we bought. We have work to do; it isn't like we can sell that much in plastic; we would call it unnecessary attention, something we don't want now."
Alex said. After this, he opened the portal, and the four of them were at Alex's home again. Alicia had already prepared the place for them and started preparing the meat. Alicia already called Jenifer, and she told her that the boys were playing on Alex's new PS5, and they would sleep there for two straight days. She wasn't some mercenary with high combat skills, but she was a good wife, and as such, she was the best support Alex could have.
The four boys started to prepare the material to sell the next day. They were surely excited to see that money entering. Harper had already started to search for potential buyers for the gold coins he had. Each royal gold coin had 100 grams, and Harper could earn 7,500 dollars for each one of the coins. He had six of them. And for the gold coins, they were 10 grams each—nothing as good as the royal gold—but they were easier to sell, and he had 20 of them.
"Oh boys, this is looking good."
Harper said it loudly. Everyone in the room looked at him oddly. Well, at least he seems happy.