YM778.TV Chapter 91: Bartering in the City
"You are too young for those shops," Adam said, blocking Julius\'s vision by standing before him.
"Can\'t I just have a quick look, big bro? I promise not to stay long." Julius asked curiously.
"I said no!" Adam suddenly screamed while holding the boy by the arm, startling him.
Adam\'s sudden outburst startled Julius, who looked up at his brother in surprise, his eyes wide with shock. His big brother didn\'t often yell at him, but when he did, it was usually for his own good.
"I understand. I won\'t go in these shops." Julius reassured Adam.
\'I\'ll ask Arun what is inside later.\' The boy thought, unaware that his naive and innocent curiosity would make him set foot into the world of adults.
"Let\'s head back to the business district. We\'ve got important things to take care of." Adam said, letting go of the boy\'s arm.
Julius acquiesced with a nod. They retraced their steps through the bustling streets until they arrived back at the main avenue they had traversed earlier that day.
He stepped into a dimly lit shop, the scent of cured leather wafting through the air. Racks of finely crafted belts, bags, and leather armors lined the walls.
"Sell one silver worth of the snake\'s skin and use it to turn a part of the skin into leather," Adam said.
Julius walked up to an old-looking merchant sitting behind the counter and retrieved the serpent\'s skin from his bag.
"Hello, I want to sell one silver worth of this tier two magical beast\'s skin. I also want to turn one silver worth of what is left into leather." Julius asked with a polite smile.
The old merchant\'s eyes lit up as he examined the skin with the eyes of a professional. His old but sturdy hands ran through the material before he looked back at Julius.
"Sure. Come back in a week to get your leather. However, I must warn you. Magical beast leather is extremely resilient and hard to work with. You\'d better ask for a specialist if you want to use it." The old merchant said honestly.
After all, such leather was usually used to craft sturdy armor. He didn\'t want the kid to end up with a product he couldn\'t use.
"Thank you for your warning, mister. I\'ll come back in a week to get the leather." Julius answered, smiling warmly at the old man.
Next, he proceeded to another shop specialising in magical beast body parts and approached the counter.
"Hello, I want to sell the eye of a tier two serpent. With the money, I want you to polish the other eye. It should look like an ornament." Julius asked a middle-aged merchant.
However, the man shook his head. "I need twenty silver in addition to the eye." He said, greed flashing in his eyes and his voice dripping honey.
Twenty silver was exorbitant. A commoner\'s family of four could live for two years with that amount.
The man clearly wanted to abuse Julius\' naivety and lack of knowledge to make a sizable profit.
"Let\'s search for another shop," Adam said, shaking his head at the merchant\'s shamelessness.
Julius nodded and made his way to the door. However, the merchant quickly offered, \'Fifteen silver! Trust me, it\'s a good price.
However, Julius kept walking. He ignored the dishonest merchant and exited the shop under the middle-aged man\'s disappointed gaze.
He thought he should have asked for ten silver when his head suddenly jerked back. He raised his hand to hold his reddened and painful cheek in shock. He could swear someone just slapped him. However, he was alone in the shop.
As Julius entered another shop, Adam thought, grinning, \'That\'s what you get for trying to scam a kid.\'
This time, the shop owner was more honest and asked for three silver in addition to the other eye. Julius sold what little serpent skin he had left to cover the extra cost before leaving.
The merchant guaranteed him that the eye would be ready in a week.
"Nice, now that we are done, you can explore the city however you want. Except for the shops with red lights, of course." Adam said, pleased to see his plan progressed smoothly.
"Yay, thanks, big bro," Julius exclaimed happily. Then, he headed to various weaponry and armor shops.
His eyes gleamed with excitement as he examined the expensive items and inquired about them.
In one of the most luxurious shops, he even found a tier four enchanted sword. The merchant assured him that the weapon\'s quality was rated as rare.
"Humph, what\'s so great about rare weapons? My spear is an epic weapon. I even have two mythical materials!" Adam said in disdain, shocking Julius.
After a moment of thought, the boy looked at his big brother with a knowing smile.
After all, he was aware of how much his brother liked to boast, so he heavily doubted his words.
Based on what he had learned, epic weapons were typically regarded as family heirlooms within large noble families and were subjected to strict regulation.
As for mythical items, they were things of legend. Even most royal families didn\'t possess one. Not mentioning one, how could his big brother have two in his possession?
Noticing Julius\' gaze, Adam said with a frown. "It\'s true, I really have them! When did I ever lie?"
However, Julius still didn\'t believe him. "Sure, sure," he chuckled.
Adam looked at the boy in frustration. \'Shit. I really have them!\' He screamed inwardly.
After browsing through several shops, Julius suddenly commented. "I should start looking for a job to pay the enrollment fees. Two hundred gold isn\'t a small amount."
He remembered how hard he had worked to gather four gold coins in the past and shivered at the amount.
"We could try working in an alchemist\'s shop," Adam suggested. He remembered how Lucius always said that alchemist was the most profitable business in this world.
He wasn\'t familiar with this world money\'s value. He only knew that Theodore paid them fifty bronze coins a month for their help.
It may seem like breadcrumbs. However, Alina and Julius could eat meat daily back in the village. Moreover, they still had enough money at the end of the month to save it.
"That\'s true! I\'m sure we can gather quite a sum with your help." Julius\' eyes lit up, convinced by his big brother\'s idea.