With several hours of daylight remaining after we arrived at the inn and secured our rooms, Stella suggested that we get a head start on procuring the goods we would need for the trials that lay ahead.
"Stella, is there anywhere I can exchange some of my currency for local money?" I asked. "I have several hundred thousand gold coins in this inventory, and they're basically worthless except for their weight in gold." To emphasize, I pulled out a handful of Questcraft gold coins.
Stella pondered for a moment before responding, "We can try a gold merchant first, but if that doesn't work, there is almost certainly a goldsmith in town who would buy gold of that high purity for crafting purposes."
Making our way from our rooms to the bar of the inn once more, we secured directions to both the local gold merchant and a precious metal dealer. Opting to stop at the precious metal dealer first, as it was on the way to the gold merchant, we received a price for gold weight and then proceeded to the gold merchant.
Upon our arrival, Stella took the lead. She spent a good 20 minutes haggling with the merchant. Impressively, she ended up securing almost twice the gold weight value for our coins due to their exotic nature. I handed her a few dozen handfuls of coins to exchange, and she returned the local currency to my inventory at an almost 1-1 ratio.
With the money situation finally resolved and eager to get to the shopping portion of our trip, I decided to distribute some gold among the group so they could buy what they needed without my needing to be present. Focusing on my inventory, I was about to retrieve the new coins when I realized there was only one currency counter still displayed.
Frustration welled up in me, accompanied by the fear that we had just wasted a great deal of time converting money, only for it to revert in my inventory. In a last-ditch effort, I tried willing the local currency into my hand rather than just pulling money from my inventory. To my relief, a prompt appeared almost immediately:
"Blake, what is the matter? Why do you look like your mom just walked in on you cuffing the carrot?" Stella asked, her tone a mix of concern and amusement.
"Cuffing my what?" I shook my head, deciding not to delve into that imagery. "Never mind. I just got a prompt saying I could convert all my gold into local currency, and it automatically converted all my coins into the local money. Basically, we just wasted a whole lot of time," I explained with a sigh.
"Fuck it," I resolved. "Here, everyone, take some gold and buy whatever you need. We'll be gone for a long time, and I don't want anyone dying or running out of important stuff because you forgot it or didn't have the money."
With that, I divided the freshly converted currency among Emma, Stella, and Jacob, each of their faces lighting up at the unexpected windfall. “Ok off to the market before it starts to get dark. I am already starting to get hungry and while I am not tired I wouldn’t mind a relaxing bath in the inn.” I said.
As Emma, Stella, Jacob, and I meandered through the bustling market, the air was alive with the scents of exotic spices and the sounds of eager merchants peddling their wares. We were on a mission: to find various items for our upcoming adventure, leveling in the forests beyond the town walls. Each of us had our own list of necessities, but together, we made a formidable shopping force.
"That's a good deal on potions," Emma noted, pointing to a merchant whose stall was laden with various vials of vibrant liquids. I decided to let them buy whatever potions they thought they needed. The ones I possessed were of limited supply, and even though they were far superior, I wasn't keen on sharing just yet.
"We’ll need a few antidotes too," Stella chimed in. Being a higher-level player and an elf, she had a much more in-depth knowledge of the dangers we would likely face in the forest. "The forests are known for their poisonous plants and creatures," she added.
Meanwhile, Jacob was busy haggling with a blacksmith over a new set of armor, a playful smile on his face that suggested he was enjoying every second of the negotiation. Coming from his background as an orphan for the last five years, I imagined this might be the first time he could afford quality armor and weapons. I had planned to fully equip each of them from my various inventories eventually, but based on Emma’s huge reaction to just a dagger, I realized I would need to do it in moderation. The idea was to slowly give them piece by piece until they became accustomed to the overwhelming boosts to their stats.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Amidst the colors and clamor of the market, something—or rather, someone—caught my eye. A figure, cloaked and clearly attempting to move with stealth, skulked in the periphery of my vision. I chuckled softly to myself. If this was someone's idea of being sneaky, they had a lot to learn. Based on the rest of the market's reactions, it appeared that no one else noticed the man, who was as obvious as a spotlight at midnight.
Really, a dark cloak in broad daylight? I thought to myself, amused. Might as well carry a sign that says 'I'm trying to be inconspicuous.'
As we moved through the market, I continued to notice the figure. They seemed to be attempting to blend into the shadows, yet stuck out like a sore thumb to my eyes. My level was substantially higher than the rest of my group, which probably explained why they hadn’t noticed our clumsy follower.
And the way they're tiptoeing around like they’re in a children’s play... I mused, a smirk tugging at my lips. A true master of stealth moves with the crowd, not against it.
Unaware of my silent jests, my friends continued shopping, each engrossed in their own tasks. I decided not to mention our ‘shadow’; there was no need to worry them over something so trivial.
We reached a stall selling various enchanted trinkets, and Stella’s eyes lit up. “Look at this!” she exclaimed, holding up a beautifully crafted amulet. “It’s supposed to help with mana regeneration.”
Taking the amulet in my hand, I tried hard not to laugh out loud at the pitiful mana regeneration statistics. In Questcraft, it would have been suitable for a level 5, maybe 10, player.
“You know, Stella,” I interjected, “I never did get your level. I have thus far just been assuming you are nearly 100, but you haven’t given me an exact number.”
"What could have given you that impression?" Stella asked, raising an eyebrow. "Don't you remember when I warned you about how a level 45 Bragda could obliterate you? I said that because he was an extremely high level for anyone outside of the world's most elite, let alone for someone within our kingdom. There's a reason that bandit group was able to grow and thrive without being taken out by the local authorities. I'm only level 35, which is still a very high level for the average person here. Most people never go beyond level 15 in their entire lives, and even the most seasoned adventurers tend to cap out by the time they hit level 30. That level 25 Shadowclaw was an outlier. I think it was chased out of its normal territory and into a lower level zone. If it had stayed there long, it likely would have returned to its normal area due to the lower mana density."
I leaned in to get a closer look at the other trinkets on display, while still keeping one eye on our stealthy friend who now appeared to be inspecting a fruit stall, poorly feigning interest in apples while keeping a steady gaze on us.
"Oh, now he’s a produce enthusiast," I thought, rolling my eyes internally. "Maybe he’s making a salad to go with his large serving of 'obviousness'."
“That certainly changes my plans a bit," I said to Stella. "I guess we're going to do a quick power-level session with Emma and Jacob until they are near your level. Then, it will be time for us to get you leveled up too. If 100 is the max level in this world, then that's the level my party will be at. I won’t have you guys dying to some random monster because I didn’t do everything I could to make you stronger.” I would have to do some number crunching and figure out the best way to power level all three of them. Based on my experience from previous MMOs, it could prove to be either really easy or a huge pain in the ass.
Eventually, we gathered all our needed supplies, each of us satisfied with our purchases for the day. As we exited the market, I stole one last glance in the direction of our follower, who now seemed to be retreating into an alleyway.
I shook my head, still amused, but with a small knot of uncertainty forming in my gut.
"Should I have said something to the others?" I wondered, a fleeting worry passing through my mind.
But then I dismissed the thought as quickly as it came. Still, I mused with a grin, "That was one of the least stealthy 'stealthy' figures I’ve ever had the pleasure of spotting."
“Well, if everyone is done with shopping for tonight, let's head back to the inn and get some grub and sleep," I announced. "No point in wasting my buff food tonight since we will be spending most of tomorrow shopping and exploring the town before we head out again.”
Turning back towards the direction of the Inn, I swore I caught another glimpse of our stalker out ahead of us, but this time it was just a fleeting image before he vanished in the crowd. Shaking my head, I led the group back to the inn.