Elwin was going to be late for meeting up with his party again, he could already tell. There wasn't really much he could do about it, though. Part of his ranger class was dealing with [Traps], which meant he had to fix damaged ones from the day before, experiment and create new ones, etc. The problem was that he had to have the supplies to do so, which meant he had to wait until the shops were open to do so. They so rarely were when they finished their work for the day, so that usually meant he'd end up being late in the mornings.
Well, it wasn't like there was a very accurate way to tell time for someone like him anyways. There were sundials and the city's bell tower which rang every hour on the hour, but that often led to people waiting around for each other. Most of the lower class, such as farmers, didn't even live in a city with a bell tower, so they simply had to get used to a routine of waking with the sun and turning in when night fell. Some of the richer noble families could afford pocket watches and had servants who would wake up at the same time the farmers did, ensuring they could wake their master up and keep them on schedule, should it be necessary. Such a job was common to be given to the head butler, who was the only one with enough trust and respect amongst the servants to be trusted with such expensive technology.
Elwin couldn't help but think on such matters as he passed by the abandoned shops on main street on his way to the general merchant's shop. As an elf who had awakened a combat class, his parents had high hopes for him and had sent him off to one of the many academies in their kingdom. Granted, it had been one of the cheaper ones, but it had been enough to ensure he could learn all of the basics as well as hear many tales from his teachers who thought adventurers should be encouraged to dream big. Too many of them would end up dying in dungeons, but their jobs were important ones in their society, so they needed hope to cling to. His other party members hadn't been quite as fortunate as he had, only receiving a basic public school education, but he hardly faulted them for that.
"Ahh, young Elwin! What can I help you with today?"
Raine, the general merchant asked. He smiled politely in return as he replied
"I'm just looking for the usual, some twine, hinges, and other bits and bobs for my [Traps]. We took down some goblins the other day and some of them just haven't quite been functioning correctly since. I ended up having to scrap a few in their entirety and I'll likely have to build some new ones to replace them."
Raine smiled knowingly as she replied
"Let me take a look around and see what I have. I think I may have a well-loved scroll with a design you might like that just came in."
Elwin nodded, waiting patiently as his thoughts started to wander once more. Raine was from the shifter race, a turtle if you would believe it. Most of the population in their city was made up of elves, like himself, but there was a bit of everything in their city. One of the quirks of living near a port that acted as a hub for trade with far-off kingdoms, he supposed. His parents had once told him that not everywhere in this kingdom was like that and his time in the academy had certainly reinforced that fact.
Some corners of the Rosefall Empire had towns and villages that were so segregated that they only allowed elves and their direct family, including spouses, to live there. Even visiting such places tended to be fairly limited with exceptions only being made when it was deemed absolutely necessary either for political reasons or the health and safety of the community. They were hardly going to turn away a talented doctor during times of plague or war, after all.
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Raine came back holding a scroll in the air as she proclaimed
"Just like I thought. Do you want to take a look?"
Elwin was hardly a rich adventurer who could easily afford to purchase things on a whim, but he tended to keep some savings for occasions such as this, so he nodded. Most of the [Traps] he tended to utilize were made up of primarily wood with some being prepared ahead of time and brought with him while others had to be set up on the spot. Both had their uses, but he did have to admit that wood tended to break far more often than he liked.
This scroll seemed to be for a more advanced design utilizing metal and boasted that it was strong enough to take down a bear. He'd likely have to get in touch with a blacksmith to make some of the larger pieces before using his class skill to analyze the [Trap] mechanics well enough that he could put the rest of it together and easily make repairs, should they become necessary. With a pinched expression, he asked
"How much are you asking for it?"
Rained smiled as she replied
"Relax, child. I'm hardly showing it to you so I can try to rip you off. There aren't any other rangers around right now and I got this at a discount myself. Someone didn't quite have enough to cover the cost of the potions needed for their crew and threw this in to cover the rest. Besides, you're practically my best customer. How does ten silver sound?"
Elwin's eyes widened, that was practically a steal for something like this! The scrolls were consumables for rangers as it would be burnt up in the process of his skill memorizing it. He could always use some of his mana to create new ones, if he ever reached a high enough level and completed the associated quest, but it wasn't like rangers were that common in the first place. So, something like this could easily go for far more than she was asking for.
He eagerly bought the scroll, decimating his savings and ensuring he'd be eating slightly worse rations over the next few days. His other party members, Amelia and Coryas, never seemed to have as many problems with saving up as he did. Amelia was currently saving up for a better set of mage's robes and a staff while Coryas was happy with his hammer and seemed to spend his coins a bit more frivolously. Elwin was sure he was still setting some aside to save, just in case, but he also had no problem giving them money or treating them all to a nice meal after a particularly hard day of work.
After stopping by a few more shops, Elwin finally made it to the adventurers' guild where his party was boredly waiting for him. Coryas made his typical annoyed remarks about how long he had to wait and then they were off to the dungeon. The gargoyles were ready to handle, Elwin mostly just set [Traps] to capture them. Thanks to Amelia recently unlocking a rock bullet spell, it actually seemed to be more beneficial to capture them first. They could end up with a more whole gargoyle corpse, ensuring the guild was more likely to purchase it from them. Coryas was very capable with his hammer, but anything but a headshot and they'd end up having to leave the remains in the dungeon because it would be useless.
It took a while to gather the gargoyle corpses, but they still managed to gather enough throughout the day that all three of them had to carry a bag to the guild. When Elwin ended up struggling to carry his alongside his other gear, Coryas ended up taking over, making remarks about how silly it was that a girl could carry more than him. Amelia smiled awkwardly at him, not complaining at all. Their group dynamic was mostly decent and everyone recognized the others' efforts, even if they tended to bicker like siblings. So, Elwin remained in a good mood, not bothered one bit by the remarks.
The guild receptionist seemed pleasantly surprised by their haul today as she paid out the coins they had earned. Usually, they were lucky to get half as much as they had today, but that was back when Coryas was doing the bulk of the work. Since they were all improving, that meant they could earn more pay as well. An entire silver for every mostly intact corpse and half that for any usable, but more heavily damaged ones. Then they just had to split it three ways and worry about any potions and repair costs they might have incurred. Thanks to their stay in the dungeon, they didn't have to worry about anything but food when it came to daily expenses, which left more to go towards their savings. If they kept improving, maybe, one day, today's scroll would even seem like mere pocket change.