Capítulo 23: Buying a Horse
The next morning, Wayne's first action upon waking was to access the mission system to verify the completion status of the previous assignment. The outcome was satisfactory; the system exhibited a degree of humanity in this regard.
Even though he delegated the task's follow-up to Geralt, the mission of locating the individuals entrusted by Misha had been successfully accomplished.
He got 45 experience points and an expert chest.
The rewards for expert-level tasks are substantial, nearly equivalent to the experience rewards from completing fifteen ordinary-level tasks. It is estimated that upon finishing the exploration of the ruins this time, Wayne's witcher level will ascend to level six, resulting in a slight improvement in his strength.
Of course, expert-level tasks are quite difficult.
For example, in this mission of finding people, if Wayne and Geralt had insisted on pursuing their own course and opted for forceful methods to take the two young individuals away, they would have clashed with races, inevitably leading to a significant battle.
Rather than resolving the matter for the elves as it stands now, this attempt also sparked an interesting idea in Wayne's mind.
Does his quest system only concentrate on the results of the quest, or does he have to actively participate and complete it himself?
Can he recruit a few adventurers and delegate tasks to them, allowing them to work on his behalf to complete the quests while he supervises?
Of course, Wayne is currently a fledgling novice witcher with no significant connections or wealth. It is too early to discuss such matters at this stage.
When he possesses enough influence and strength in the future, Wayne is determined to explore this aspect, enhancing the system's convenience and accelerating its growth.
After getting dressed again, Wayne divided the money bag containing more than 500 ducats obtained last night. He put a portion of them into another money bag and hung it on his belt.
However, the purse was still too heavy, making it quite conspicuous. It pulled his belt crookedly, giving him a somewhat awkward appearance.
Wayne put on his coat, concealed the money bag within the large coat, and bent over to push open the curtain of the tent, peering outside. In the dim underground ruins, the residents in the opposite camp were already bustling with activity. The slender Toruviel sat by the campfire, holding a square whetstone and polishing a beautiful one-handed sword.
After last night's conversation, the relationship between the two was no longer as unfamiliar as before. Wayne was not socially awkward; he had always been quite popular during his student days. While he might not be the life of the party, he had no trouble with regular communication.
With a smile on his face, he took the initiative to sit opposite Toruviel, looked at the female elf, and said directly, "Toruviel, I have a small favor to ask. Can you help me?"
The female elf's hand, which was sharpening the blade, paused for a moment. She looked up into Wayne's eyes and said, "I might be able to help you, Wayne, but I need more details. Without a clear understanding, I can't promise anything without authorization."
Wayne was not polite either and asked directly, "Just a small thing. Do you have any spare horses here? I'd like to buy one."
Toruviel thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "Indeed, we have a few good horses that we took from the Kaedwen soldiers. They are being kept in the forest outside the cave. I can give you one if you really want it."
"But now, we are being hunted by Kaedwen's soldiers, and coins are not of much use to us. Consider it as part of the reward for exploring the ruins this time, and consider it credited to you."
Wayne was a little surprised when he heard that. According to what he learned from Geralt, a good horse for traveling is probably worth around 1500 ducats. In this era, it is considered a relatively precious thing.
It seems that Toruviel attaches great importance to this commission to clean up the relics and is willing to pay much more generously than those villagers.
However, he is not a man who likes to take advantage of others in terms of material things. Instead of obtaining a horse for nothing, he prefers to earn it through the spoils in the elf ruins.
Wayne reached out, took down the huge money bag hanging from his belt, and placed it in front of Toruviel, saying in a persuasive tone,
"No, Toruviel, you need money more than you think. There are a total of 1000 ducats here, which should be the market price of horses in human towns. As for the role of money, Toruviel, you underestimate the power of money."
"Didn't you find it? In human society, money is almost omnipotent. It allows you to buy the supplies you need to survive in the city, it allows you to buy weapons and equipment needed for combat, it allows you to bribe those city guards, and rescue the non-human race compatriots in the prison."
"As long as you have enough wealth, you can even hire a mercenary army to help you defeat the armies of other kingdoms on the frontal battlefield. Just like the Kovir Kingdom back then, it was precisely because they possessed huge wealth that many kingdoms that wanted to conquer it failed."
"Do you mean that with enough money, we can improve our current situation and better resist the persecution of Kaedwen and other human forces?"
"But those human merchants, city guards, or mercenary legions cannot be trusted at all. They may not only defraud us of our coins but may even betray our whereabouts to the nobles. Many of our compatriots of non-human races here were betrayed by their neighbors and friends."
"Human beings are not to be trusted."
Regarding this question, Wayne thinks that Toruwell's perspective was somewhat limited or her thinking was not broad enough. He extended his hand, took the whetstone from the elf, and drew the steel sword from his back. With careful precision, he polished the blade by the campfire, all the while expressing his thoughts.
"In such situations, there are actually numerous options available. Whether it involves transporting goods from a nation that harbors no animosity towards non-human races, seeking out a reliable merchant to procure supplies, or even exerting influence through coercion and enticement by manipulating a pawn, there are several effective methods."
"Furthermore, don't elves possess magic? You could commission them to create a magical item capable of concealing elven features, allowing you to disguise yourselves as humans and engage in commerce within the towns."
"There are numerous ways to accomplish a goal; it simply depends on whether you think of them or not".
As Toruviel's eyes brightened, Wayne smiled and added, "I'll be around during the cleanup of these ruins. If you have any matters or questions to be discussed, feel free to consult me."
The elf leader heard the words, smiled back at Wayne, stood up, pointed to the exit of the cave, and said, "Thank you, Wayne. During this time, I will ask you a lot. I've also accepted your money. Let's go outside and look at those horses. You can pick anyone you want."
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