Leo smiled. He knew that Trevor would be able to recognize that the horn belonged to a 1st Circle Magical Beast. He knew that it would give away his strength, but he wanted to sell it in return for money. He could use the money for a better sword for Daphne.
"I found a corpse. It had this horn that seemed intriguing, so I cut it out. Was it a 1st Circle Magical Beast?!" He acted shocked, but his acting was deliberately poor. Even though he knew that Trevor knew the truth, he couldn't give it away. He still had to feign ignorance.
"Forget it. You don't need to come to me anymore. With your abilities, you can start looking for real herbs and hunt Magical Beasts very quickly. You will want to go to the Thousand Treasures Tower." Trevor said.
This got him intrigued. "Thousand Treasure Tower? What is that?" He asked Trevor.
"It is a powerful force that has multiple towers in cities all over the empire. They have treasures and can buy Beast Cores and Magical Beast corpses as well as any herbs you have. All the adventurers sell their loot to them if they are worth anything." Trevor explained.
"Really? Where do they get the money?" Leo asked.
"They are incredibly rich. They have more money than you can ever imagine. The auctions that they hold in the Capital every year deal with more money than this city has seen in the entire decade."
He took a second to take it in. The amount of money he had saved up until then was already beyond his imagination. Now, he was finding out that there was a power that had so much money they could buy him a million times over.
"Where is this Tower?" He asked Trevor.
"If you go into the Commoner's District and walk to where it meets the Noble's District, you will see a big tower that is in the middle of the wall. The side that faces the Commoner's District is the entrance we can access. But be careful. Everyone there is someone you cannot afford to offend." Trevor said solemnly.
He nodded. "One last question. How much is a fair deal for this?" He lifted the horn. He put it back in his satchel since Trevor wasn't buying it off him.
"I would say upwards of 15000 Star coins. That is the horn of a Mid-Stage 1st Circle Magical Beast." Trevor said.
"Mid-Stage?" Leo was confused.
Trevor smiled. "I think it will be a long time till we meet again after this. Let me give you one last suggestion for a while. Buy the book "Magical Beasts in Valkyr's Forest" from the Thousand Treasure Tower. It should be about 5000 Star coins. It is completely worth it."
"Thank you so much for all your help. I will never forget it." He bowed to Trevor and gave his gratitude.
He had only come this far because Trevor had given him work for the first time. That was how he had come across the cave and how he had chanced upon the tome. Coming into contact with Trevor changed his life completely.
After giving his gratitude, he went back to his cottage. He was very tired from going to the forest and he didn't have the energy to walk all the way to the Noble's District and also make sure he doesn't bump into someone. He decided to wait till the next day.
The next day, he woke up and got ready to go to the Thousand Treasure Tower. He wore the best clothes he had. Before going, he first took out the Beast Core from his satchel and left it in his room. After that, he went to a nice clothing store near his home.
There, he bought a nice cloak that he could use to hide his face. He felt that he would be treated differently if they saw that he was a kid. He also didn't want anyone to recognize him in case he got into any trouble.
After buying the cloak, he went to the edge of the wall where the Noble's District and Commoner's District met. He saw a tower as Trevor had described in the distance. He started walking toward it.
As he was walking, the tower became clearer and clearer. The tower seemed like it had only three floors. But each floor was massive. The windows of the tower were huge arches. The entire tower was made of marble, and when he got to the entrance, the name plaque was carved in gold. The whole tower screamed extravagance.
He entered the tower through the entrance on the commoners' side. As he entered, he saw that the first floor was decently populated. He saw a lot of people walking around, looking at the displays.
He walked up to one of the glass displays and saw a red-colored herb. It was a Blood Lily. But unlike the one that he had found, this was a lot larger and the red was more crimson, like blood.
He looked around to look for where he could see someone to sell his horn. He finally saw a corner where the plaque said [Appraisal Counter]. He walked up to it, hoping they would look at his horn.
As he walked, he noticed that on the other side, there were a lot fewer people, and everyone was going up a set of stairs. The stairs were decorated with a red carpet and the people walking up them were dressed incredibly well.
He was too busy looking at them that he almost bumped into someone.
"I'm sorry." He apologized. He looked back and walked steadily to the Appraisal Room.
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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.
He reached the appraisal room. There was a desk right beside it where a young beautiful woman was sitting. She saw Leo walk to the appraisal room.
"Hello. Are you here to sell any of your Magical Herbs or Beast Cores?" She asked him.
He was happy that he was in the right place. "Yes. I am here to sell a horn from a 1st Circle Magical Beast."
He didn't take it out yet.
"Of course. The appraisal expert is inside." She gestured at him to go into the room.
He entered the room. Inside the room, an old man was sitting in a chair. There was a table in front of him.
"Put your items on the table." He said in a low voice. Leo complied with his instructions. He put the horn on the table.
The man looked at the horn for a few seconds. He didn't even touch the horn or look closer. He looked back at Leo.
"17000."
He only said a number. He took out a ticket and handed it to Leo. Leo took the ticket, trying to process the interaction. The person only looked at the horn for a few seconds. How did he know how much it was worth that quickly?
It didn't matter though. The number was in the same ballpark that Trevor gave him so he trusted it. He took the ticket.
"What do I do with the horn? Where do I give it?" He asked.
The man looked at Leo like he was looking at an idiot. "Leave it here. Take the slip to the counter." He said.
Leo took the slip and left the room. He went to the woman at the desk.
"The person inside gave me this slip." He told her. "Also, why does he seem like he doesn't like me?"
"Master Clame is like that. He is a man of few words." She took the slip. "You can get the money from here with the slip. It's to give us a number to deposit into your account. Is this your first time here?" She asked him.
He nodded.
"Then I assume that you don't have an account with us." She said.
"Account?" He asked.
"You can open a bank account with us. We can just deposit the money there so that you can buy items at the Thousand Treasure Tower using that account. You won't need to carry the money with you. You can also use this money at any of our branches and withdraw money at any time." She explained what an account was to him.
He gave it a thought and nodded.
"Yes. How long will it take?"
She smiled. "It will only take a minute. Can I have your name?" She asked him.
Leo didn't speak for a second. He thought a little and said, "Orion."
She looked at the slip and disappeared to the back. She came back after five minutes with a card in her hand.
"Here is your card. It contains 16000 Star coins. It takes 1000 Star coins to open the account." She said.
Leo took the card. He was okay with the initiation costs. He needed to buy some items from the tower anyway.
"Do you know where I can find the books that the Tower sells?" He asked her.
"Of course. They are in that corner. You just have to browse through and pick a few books. If you go to the sale counter, you just need to give the titles of the books you need and they will give new copies there." She explained to him.
"Thank you." He said to her.
He turned away and walked to the books. When he got there, he saw a shelf full of books. All of them were general knowledge related. He walked around to browse through them. He knew one of the books he wanted, but he was also planning on buying others. He needed to know more about the world, and his position before didn't help him do that.
He found a couple of interesting books. He went to the counter. There wasn't anyone in line. The place was adequately staffed so there was no waiting time for anything.
"Hello. Can I purchase a few books?" He asked the person behind the counter. She was also a young woman like before. He realized that many of the people serving the customers were female. He didn't think too much about it though.
"Yes, of course. What do you require?" She said.
Leo started listing out the titles.
"Could I get [Everything about Magic], [Magical Beasts in Valkyr's Forest], [The Complete History of Solaria], and [Mages against Aura Knights]?"
She nodded. "Of course, sir. Can I have your card, please?" She asked him for his card. He handed her the card that the person had given him a few minutes ago.
She inserted the card into a slit in a box on the table. She handed the card back.
"You have 3000 Star coins left, sir. Is there anything else I can do for you?" She asked.
"No. Just the books today, thank you." He said. She nodded.
"I will be back with the books." She said.
She left to the back. When she left, Leo looked at the box. Somehow, the box just took his card and she was able to tell how much money he had in his account. He was trying to understand how it worked. He tried to peer at the other side of the box by leaning forward, but he saw the person coming back.
She handed him the books.
"Please come again."
Leo nodded. "Yes. Thank you."
He took the books and left the store. He needed to understand more about the world than he thought.
_______________________
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.
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