“Uh...I only need Crescent Moon Grass, Misty Grass, and Cloud Grass.”
Cater was making Arias feel mildly uncomfortable. He was a bit taken aback by the man’s overly-friendliness.
“Hm? Are you perhaps raising herbivorous beasts? If you want some tonics for the beasts, I have those too, you know? If you’re interested I could sell them to you at a low price. These tonics aren’t really popular anyway... Uh! I mean these tonics are precious drugs that are valued by few. It doesn’t mean that nobody wants them. Come! I’ll explain the properties.”
Cater was still talking non-stop, seemingly tireless as he tried to sell these products. At that point, Arias began to understand why no one seemed to frequent this place. They probably found Cater annoying.
The herbs he mentioned were commonly used to feed herbivorous beasts and did not really have any effect on human beings. Although it was quite uneconomical to use them as fodders, the herbs could help beasts grow stronger if consumed regularly. Other than that, the herbs also had other properties that people did not know of. Arias, however, could already think of several other ways to use them and he was starting to think that the people of Bernier City were really uneducated.
“No, I’ll just take what I ordered. Also, get me one cauldron and a low-level dimension ring.”
“Hm...are you a potion-brewer? No, you must be a brewer’s apprentice, right?”
Upon hearing the word cauldron, Cater narrowed his eyes at Arias. Nobody used cauldrons except for potion-brewers. However, Arias was only a fifth-level neophyte, so Cater did not think he could have been a brewer. An apprentice seemed more likely. After using the hood to cover himself Arias did not bother to use the Cloud-Shrouded Dragon technique to conceal his magical power anymore, or else he would have attracted more attention.
Potion-brewers were mages who devoted themselves to the arts of making different potions. Although their strength may pale in comparison to mages who focused on the arts of combat, they were still admired by a lot of people. Those who were the experts of their crafts especially had a lot of people trying to make their acquaintances. Even the great clans would welcome a potion-brewer with open arms. As such, a brewer’s influence was not something to be underestimated.
“That’s right. I have received an order from my master to buy these items.”
Arias who did not want to explain further decided to just play along. Giving Cater a piece of false information like this might even be better.
“Alright then, since you’re a brewer’s apprentice I’ll give you a special discount for all kinds of herbs, plus any other items you may want.”
Hearing such an offer from Cater, Arias could not help but silently admire this man. ‘A sharp sense of business this man has. Knowing I was a brewer’s apprentice, he immediately came up with an offer so that I would come back later. Although it’s only a misunderstanding.’ Seeing that he suddenly got lucky, Arias inwardly laughed.
“And how much will they cost?”
“The Crescent Grass, Misty Grass, and the Cloud Grass are equally sold at the price of one hundred and fifty Crystal Coins. But may I ask how much you want? As for the low-level dimensional ring, that would be a thousand Crystal Coins. The cauldron, that’s five hundred. This is a special price just for you, sir.”
“I would like ten of each herb. For the dimensional ring and the cauldron, I would take one of each as we have agreed.”
“I must apologize, sir. But these herbs can’t be sold in such a small portion. Even though you’re a potion-brewer’s apprentice, you have to buy at least a kilogram of each. If I sell you just a few of them, it wouldn’t be worth it...a waste of my time! If you have enough to buy a thousand-Crystal-Coin ring, won’t you also have enough to buy the herbs that only cost a hundred and fifty Crystal Coins per kilogram?!”
Trying his best to remain polite, Cater could not help the irritation in his voice. He did not think that someone would have the nerve to ask for such a small number of herbs. These low-level herbs were priced by kilogram since it was too troublesome to sell in small portions. For Arias to ask for a tiny amount like this was a little upsetting.
“My mistake, I meant to say ten kilograms for each kind.”
Although he still looked calm and even managed to twist his words to avoid any unpleasantry, internally, Arias was quite baffled. He could not believe that these herbs were this cheap. ‘What is going on here? These herbs only cost a hundred and fifty Crystal coins, much cheaper than I thought. I’m really getting rich hahaha.’
“Hahahaha so that’s what you meant. No worries, people make mistakes all the time. I do it too. Sorry for my bad manner earlier. Please wait here, good sir. I will be back real soon.”
While still a bit skeptical, Cater did not ask any further after hearing what Arias said. He just smiled and hurried to the back of the store. Arias was indeed a valuable customer, spending thousands of Crystal Coins in the span of a few minutes. It seemed like Cater had been blessed today. After a few minutes passed the merchant rushed back in as if afraid that Arias would disappear. In his hand, he held a silver ring engraved with a magical circuit. This was the dimensional ring, a type of magical gadget used to store items. The dimensional rings were made of a meteorite that was believed to have fallen onto the world millions of years ago. The higher the ring’s level, the bigger the dimensional space. The low-level one that Arias had purchased only had a square meter of space but that was already enough for him.
“Everything is already in this ring. You’ve almost cleared my entire stock of herbs, so your beasts will certainly become strong soon. As for the price, I’ll charge you six thousand Crystal Coins. Is there anything else you’d like?”
Cater leaned over with a big smile on his face, hands clasped together in front, eyes sparkling. This business with Arias had given him quite a lot of profit. Normally, these herbs were rarely sold. He still thought that Arias would feed them to the beasts.
“Uh...can you give me some space? My master only asked for these items. But If I ever need something else, you will be the first person I think of, alright?”
Arias was startled by the face that was suddenly too close for comfort. It was an unfamiliar feeling. He quickly grabbed all the money and gave it to Cater before taking the dimensional ring, immediately leaving after he was done inspecting it. From behind him, he could still hear Cater's ‘thank yous’ and could not help but feel that this man was much too friendly.
“Now, all that’s left is some brewing.”