Chapter 92: Mysterious Wood Carving

Aiwa's words calmed Xia Duo down. The other party was a middleman; taking a cut was inevitable, it was just a matter of how much. Even if he sought out another middleman, he still wouldn't be able to escape this cut.

And if he were to choose a shop at random to sell them, the price would likely be pressed even lower.

"Boss, we have use for the Alchemy Bottles ourselves, so we won't be selling them. Take a look at that Small Wood Carving and see how much it's worth?"

This was indeed Xia Duo's true thought. He hadn't recognized those bottles and jars before, but now that he knew they were Alchemy Bottles, it was better to keep them for his own use than to sell them at a discount.

This thing was more powerful than the spells he currently had!

And now he was more concerned about the price of that Small Wood Carving. The boss had turned a blind eye to everything else before, but had taken a fancy to this one at a glance; it was clear this was no ordinary trinket.

"The material of this wood carving is somewhat rare. 500 Gold Coins. If you want more, take it away yourselves," the boss said indifferently.

Xia Duo could tell the boss was being insincere; the price of this thing was definitely more than 500 Gold Coins. Just as he was about to refuse, he didn't expect Aiwa to agree immediately, "Fine!"

"Good!" The boss immediately struck the deal, the excitement on his face plain to see. "Along with the previous 315 Gold Coins, I can give you 820 Gold Coins. Do you want a Transaction Bar or an Exchange Voucher?"

This left Xia Duo a bit dumbfounded. It was decided just like that? He hurriedly asked Aiwa, but Aiwa only gave him a reassuring look, signaling Xia Duo to choose the payment method.

Xia Duo temporarily suppressed the doubts in his heart, preparing to complete the transaction first. The boss offered two payment methods—a Transaction Bar and an Exchange Voucher.

The so-called Transaction Bar was actually a gold bar of fixed weight, similar to the "big yellow fish" or "small yellow fish" on Earth.

The Exchange Voucher, on the other hand, was a piece of Parchment endorsed by the lord or the Mage Guild, marked with the amount and an Arcane Mark used for verification.

Xia Duo had never seen a Transaction Bar with his own eyes, but he had seen people use Exchange Vouchers at the Mage Tower. However, things involving Magic like this made Xia Duo feel very uneasy.

Therefore, he still chose the physical Transaction Bar.

Upon receiving Xia Duo's confirmation, the boss immediately squatted down and fished out sixteen gold bars, each two fingers wide and a palm long, from behind the counter, then counted out 20 Gold Coins from his money bag and placed them on the counter.

"Do you want to check them?"

Xia Duo casually grabbed a gold bar; it felt heavy in his hand. Although he hadn't seen the real thing before today, he had come into contact with plenty of Gold Coins, and he judged that this shouldn't be fake.

Taking another look at Aiwa, he also gave an almost imperceptible nod. Only then did Xia Duo collect all the gold bars and Gold Coins, packing them up together with the Alchemy Bottles he wasn't selling.

Following behind Aiwa, he walked out of the leather shop, and the boss's enthusiastic voice came from behind, "You two, come again next time!"

……

After coming out of the leather shop and getting a little further away, Xia Duo couldn't wait to ask, "Aiwa, that Small Wood Carving—"

"The material of that Small Wood Carving is a part of the main trunk of a Yan Tree. It is a fairly rare type of tree. Elves value this kind of tree highly, but humans don't necessarily. That Small Wood Carving itself isn't worth 500 Gold Coins."

"Then why did the leather shop boss spend 500 Gold Coins to buy it?"

"Perhaps that Statue has some special significance." At this moment, Aiwa was also somewhat doubting his own judgment, but that faint, unique silver radiance was indeed the material of a Yan Tree, no mistake!

"If that's really the case, then we should have raised the price just now. Why did you agree so quickly?" There was a hint of complaint in Xia Duo's words.

He had indeed been prepared to raise the price just now, but Aiwa had already agreed at the time. Out of trust for Aiwa, he hadn't continued to demand more. Now, it depended on what Aiwa had to say.

Aiwa said, "I saw his desire for that Small Wood Carving. If we had raised the price, we might not have been able to get out. That's why I agreed immediately. Besides, he overestimated the value of the previous items; if we were anywhere else, they would only be valued at around 200 Gold Coins."

"……"

Xia Duo thought about how there was an Elf silk scarf among those items. He had seen it selling for 200 Gold Coins during the Midsummer Festival. Now, with so many items added together, they were only valued at 200. This gray middleman was too good at making money!

Thinking back to Aiwa saying they wouldn't have been able to walk out of the shop if they raised the price, this could no longer be called gray; it should be called black.

"Aiwa, I have to thank you this time."

Aiwa did not answer, his figure hidden in the darkness. Xia Duo didn't say anything more either, preparing to go and dispose of these dozen or so pounds of Transaction Bars. Compared to those spoils that needed valuation, Transaction Bars were much easier to handle.

In essence, it was a type of currency; he could just go and buy, buy, buy.

……

South District, Xiongying Secret Magic Shop.

The last time Xia Duo came here, he was strapped for cash and only bought one 1st Circle 【Summon Mount】 Scroll before leaving. This time, he brought over 800 Gold Coins, so he was much better off.

"What do you want? Speak quickly, we're closing!"

A middle-aged man who looked like a manager was ordering two servants to count the goods. Seeing Xia Duo's attire, his attitude was quite perfunctory.

"Bang."

Xia Duo placed the Transaction Bars on the counter. Only then did the manager become a bit more serious, telling the servants to continue counting, and asked Xia Duo, "Customer, what do you need?"

"Magic Scrolls."

"Then you've come to the right place, customer. When it comes to which Chamber of Commerce in the Weier Territory has the most and most complete Magic Scrolls, it has to be our Eagle Chamber of Commerce. I wonder what kind of scrolls you want."

Before coming, Xia Duo had already considered it: first choice was survival, second was running away, and only then was offense. "I need 5 copies of 【Mage Armor】, 5 copies of 【Summon Mount】, 1 copy of 【Protection from Arrows】, and 1 copy of 【Resist Energy】."

The manager's eyes lit up, and after a moment of calculation, he said, "700 Gold Coins."

This price was clearly higher than the usual price, but it was a seller's market, and Xia Duo was helpless. If only he were an Official Mage.

"Fine. But you must throw in a Mithril Pen."

"This—" the manager drew out his tone, "A Mithril Pen is at least 50 Gold Coins. You're being too greedy, customer!"

"Heh."

Xia Duo was set on the Mithril Pen. Although it wouldn't provide him any boost for the time being, once he became an Official Mage, he would have to use a Mithril Pen to create Magic Scrolls.

Furthermore, he was still using an ordinary quill, and the feel was very uncomfortable. Now that he had money, of course he had to change to better equipment.

"Boss, the Orc Tide is already over. You're still charging 700 Gold Coins for these few scrolls; that's what's truly greedy!"

"Customer, you can't say it like that. The next batch of caravans coming to the Weier Territory won't arrive until next spring. Our shop's inventory is already low. This price isn't high, not high at all."

"It's true the caravans come next year, but not many people leave the town in winter either. You should know best how much volume there is in winter, Boss!"

The manager looked Xia Duo over again and said seriously, "Does this customer want to join our Eagle Chamber of Commerce? Mage Apprentice wages are doubled, and Official Mage wages are doubled again."

Xia Duo naturally refused righteously. Afterward, the two of them went back and forth like a tug-of-war a few more times before the price was finally settled.