บท 15: Money
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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