Leo swam toward the herb. He quickly grabbed it and headed towards the lake shore. He put the lily into the last section of his bag. He then started heading out of the forest. He didn't need to run because the monsters in this area of the forest weren't going to pose a problem to him.
He was walking faster than normal, so he reached the gate of the city very quickly. He was still drenched from coming out of the lake, so people avoided him while he walked toward the market. He was very satisfied with his journey into the forest and his haul.
He walked to Trevor's stall when he got to the market. He slapped the bag onto the stall. He opened it up, showing Trevor the three herbs in the bag.
Trevor looked at him. He was surprised that Leo had gotten back safely with a magical herb. Typically a person would have to be an apprentice Aura Knight to kill monsters on the verge of transforming into magical beasts.
He guessed that Leo had been very lucky, but that thought faded as soon as it arrived. Trevor peeked in and saw three herbs instead of one. He immediately took out a pair of gloves. He gently took out the first herb. It was the orange-colored plant that was dripping with embers.
"This is an Emberflare. It is very common in areas of heat, but it is guarded by Pseudo Magical Beasts. I can give you 1200 Star coins for this," Trevor said while taking out the second herb.
"This is a Glimmer Fruit. Sometimes, a Glimmer Root can grow a fruit. It isn't very common to see one of these either. I can give you 1000 Star coins for this." Trevor listed out the prices he could give for the herbs.
At this point, Leo was very happy. He now had enough money to afford a month's rent inside the commoner's district. He would finally start having a decent life.
Trevor took out the last herb. It was the lily.
"How did you find a Blood Lily?" Trevor asked him.
"It was in a lake. I swam and got it." Leo gave a very simple answer, omitting a great number of details.
Trevor shook his head. "Fine, you don't have to tell me. Blood Lilies are hard to find because they grow in the water. Only 2nd Circle Aura Knights can fight decently well in the water, but Blood Lilies are not very useful for them. So I don't get a lot of Blood Lilies. For this, I can give you 1700 Star coins. That brings the total to 3900 Star -" Trevor saw the stone that he had thrown in the satchel.
He brought the stone out. He then looked at Leo. "This is a partially formed beast core. How did you kill a Pseudo Magical Beast at your age?"
Leo didn't know that the stone was a beast core. Beast Cores only formed in Magical Beasts and were worth a lot to nobles who could use them to train in magic. He slowly reached out and took the stone from Trevor.
"Can we ignore the stone? Let's say I found it on the ground and want to keep it as a souvenir."
Trevor smiled at his response. "Fine. Here are 3900 Star coins. Pleasure doing business with you. You can come again any time with whatever you find and I will accommodate you."
Trevor handed him a wallet. He opened it and saw a few notes in there. His hands were trembling because they have never handled so much money at once.
"Thank you so much. Do you know where I can go to rent a small house?" He asked Trevor.
"That is a smart decision, boy. But before that, do you want to buy the Aura Training Method? You have so much money, you could actually do this for me consistently if you become an Aura Knight. If you become a 1st Circle Aura Knight, you could pursue it and make a ton of money." Trevor suggested the idea again.
He knew that Trevor's merchant side was also activated along with his kind intentions to help him. He shook his head.
"Not yet. Maybe another time. Very soon though." He said.
"Fine. For renting a house, you can just go to a renter's office in the Commoner's District. With your outfit, they will not let you in, or think that you stole the money. Just take this token and go to Adira's Rent Office. She can help you."
"Thank you. You have helped me a lot till now." He showed his gratitude. He then ran in the opposite direction of his shack. His shack was in the slums. The rest of the city was divided into two districts. They were the commoner's district and the noble's district.
The noble's district formed a small circle around the Magistrate's Palace at the center of Solhaven. The commoner's district encircled the noble's district. The commoner's district and the noble's district were divided by a wall that guarded the nobles. There was a distinct difference in wealth between the commoners and nobles. The commoners who got rich enough would buy their way into nobility, but they could never become high-ranking nobles.
Even in the commoner's district, the houses would be worse on the outer side, while the closer they got to the noble's district, the better they would get. The slums were the worst of all. There was no regulation. He was trying to get a house in the outermost part of the commoner's district. There was no wall separating it from the slums, but it had a few guards patrolling the area and gangs weren't brave enough to bother people there.
He walked to the shop that Trevor had suggested. He walked in to make the biggest purchase of his life.
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A/N: I would greatly appreciate comments about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.
If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.
:) Thanks. Have a great day.
Leo walked into the store. He saw a lady at the desk at the end of the store. She saw him walk up to her. She looked at his condition and frowned, but she didn't say anything. He reached the desk.
"Hello. I am Leo." He introduced himself.
"Hello, Leo. I am Adira. How can I help you today?" She responded. Even though she was visibly uninterested in helping Leo, she still treated him like a regular customer.
"I am looking for a small house in the Commoner's District to rent. Do you have any houses that I can rent for around 2000 Star coins?" He asked her.
She was taken aback, but she quickly recovered.
"Y-yes. We have a few houses around that range. You can get small cottages with two rooms and a living room as well as a kitchen for that price. Of course, it will all be cramped up and the rooms will share a bathroom." She gave him some details.
He smiled. "That is exactly what I need. Can I rent one of those?"
Adira looked at him. "You will have to pay the first 2 months of rent in advance or show some proof of income to rent a house."
He was shocked. He did not know this piece of information. But he didn't want to go back and give his money to the Blacktooth Gang. So he requested Adira for some help.
"I am sorry, Adira. I don't have that much money. Currently, I have enough for one month. I came here because Trevor said you can help me." He explained to Adira.
Her face changed when Trevor's name got pulled up.
"Trevor sent you? Do you work for him?" She asked him. She didn't even ask for any proof that he actually knew Trevor.
He nodded. "Yes, occasionally. I can definitely pay the advance for the three months during the first month. If you want, I can pay the first month the minute you give me a house."
Adira thought for a second. She looked at him and asked, "Do you want to see the house? Do I need to arrange a tour?"
He shook his head. "Not at all. I trust you because Trevor said you were trustworthy. Just show me the house, and I can give you the money. As long as you don't cheat me, I will be a good customer."
She went back into thought. She nodded her head and stood up.
"Okay. I can show you the house and give you ownership. Just wait one minute."
Adira went to the back and got some documents. She placed them on the desk and gave a pen to him.
"Sign these and you will have a lease."
He immediately signed the papers. The minute he signed them, she took them back to the back. When she came back, she was ready to take him to his house.
"Come with me."
They left the store and walked toward the commoner's district. It wasn't very far from their current location. It was only 15 minutes to get there. They got there quickly and he saw his new dwelling.
He entered his new house. It had a comfy living room and two snug rooms to sleep in. The kitchen was in the back. This wasn't a lot, but to him it was luxury. He immediately took his wallet out and took out 2000 Star coins in notes. He handed them to Adira.
Adira took them with a small feeling of astonishment. She was surprised that such a young person was handling so much money and renting a house for himself.
"Thank you. Is there any proof of my lease?" He asked her.
"Yes. Here is the token and the key to the lock." She said and handed him a small black token as well as a key.
"Can I go now? Is there anything else to do?" He asked her.
She shook her head. "You are good to live here. Nothing else. You can pay the advance in 30 days to keep staying here."
Leo smiled. He immediately ran toward the slums to his shack. He was gleaming because of the good news. By this time the sun had already set. It was dark outside, but the lamps hung by inns and bars were lighting the way.
He got to the shack and entered it. He saw Daphne waiting for him like the last time he went into the forest. She saw him enter and stood up. Before she could say anything, he stopped her.
"Pack everything up. We are leaving this place." He said to her.
There wasn't much to pack up, and it would take 10 minutes at best to do it. But Daphne didn't do it immediately. She was a little confused.
"Did you fail? We still have two days, I think. Why are we leaving in the night?" She asked him.
He smiled. "Just do as I say. I have it figured out."
Daphne sighed and got up. She folded the blankets and held them up. That was all they had that they could bring with them. The only other possessions were the satchel and whatever was in it.
"Follow me, now." He said to her.
She followed him as he asked. They started walking toward the commoner's district. While they were walking, people gave a few weird glances, but no one said anything. Daphne was still confused.
"Where are we going in the middle of the night? Why are we doing this-"
They got to their destination. They were in front of a small cottage. The cottage was in a line of similar cottages.
"We're here."
Daphne looked at the cottage.
"We can't be here. The owners will call the guards." Daphne was worried.
"You don't have to worry about that. This is our new home." Leo said proudly.
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A/N: Sorry for the slow pace. From now, the story progression will start to become more apparent.
I would greatly appreciate comments about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.
If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.
:) Thanks. Have a great day.
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