章節 10: Weekend 1

For the rest of the week, Will repeated his pattern. He woke up, ate breakfast with his friends, went to the library, trained his rock armor in the garden, then did his four hours of physical training.

Will was diligent in his studies and training. His dedication and effort reminded him of his college days. In college, Will joined the fencing club and competed amongst the other Ivy League universities.

Will was a graduate of Columbia University and spent a year as a Rhodes Scholar at Cambridge University, before returning to Columbia and getting his MBA. His time at the Knight's Academy made him reminisce fondly on his years at Yale.

"Finally," Will thought after waking up on the first day of the weekend. "I finally get to start on my dream of opening up my own business and become an economic powerhouse like in my last life." No matter what life or what world, Will knew money was the key to success and security.

At breakfast, Will sat with his friends to eat and discuss their weekend plans.

"So, Will want are your plans this weekend?" asked Mark. "Evan, Anne, and I are off to the commissary to get a quest, you want to come?" Mark offered.

"No, I'm heading into town to join the Merchant Guild. It was my dream before my parents convinced me to come here," Will answered. "I'm heading into town as well, Will. Do you want to walk with me? I need to buy some new clothes and armor," Chloe asked.

"Heading on a date, are we?" Vincent said smugly. It was no secret that Vincent had a crush on Chloe. And Will could tell that Chloe's offer had upset Vincent.

"Chloe, if you want new armor or weapons, here is the address to my father's forge. If you walk into the crafter's district, my father's forge is the first one on the left. Tell him you're my classmate and he will give you a discount" Evan announced proudly.

Chloe thanked Evan for the information and told him that she would certainly visit his store.

"Anyone else interested in checking out some quest," Mark enthusiastically asked the rest of our cadets. Since this was our first weekend, there was even a split of students who wanted to look for a quest and those that wanted to explore Guidon for the first time. seven students followed Mark, Evan, and Anne to the commissary, and seven followed Chloe, and Vincent to the city.

As the cadets were about to leave the academy grounds, Marshall Rolf shouted at them to stop. "So, you all want to explore the city as opposed to taking on a quest.

Remember, a knight's job is to protect the kingdom. Don't make a habit of visiting the city more than completing quests. The number of the completed quest will factor into your end-of-term grades."

"Marshall Rolf since today is our first-weekend pass, we planned to visit the blacksmiths to update our equipment before we accept the quest," Chloe convincingly replied.

"Ha-ha, if that's your reason, then it's a good one" Marshall Rolf laughed. Then he walked away to leave the cadets in peace.

Even though Will had recently entered the Knight Academy, walking outside the gates felt liberating. The first week dragged on for what felt like an eternity.

Outside the academy's gates. Will was finally able to pursue the plans he had for his life. As Will walked into the Merchant Guild, people walking by looked at him like he was a troublemaking adolescent.

As an adolescent, Will body's and mind sometimes felt out of sync. The memories of his former life as an old man, and the pubescent body of an adolescent teen felt out of whack. More than once, Will felt emotions or physical reactions he did not want or expect.

Will separated from his classmates after saying goodbye and agreeing to meet them in the Crafter District. After separating from his friends he walked north to the market district.

The city of Guidon was the second-largest city in the Kingdom of Fermion. From a hill, you'd see that Guidon was shaped like a four-point star.

The poor lived to abject poverty in the Southern District, near the southern entrance to Guidon where Will first arrived. As you walked towards the center of the star, the houses would grow taller and more ornate.

Inside the star was an encircled wall that separated the administration buildings, city lord's manor, academies, and churches from the Southern, Northern, Eastern, and Western Districts.

The Northern District housed the merchant district and noble estates. The Eastern District was also known as the Crafters District because that was where the crafters worked and lived.

The Western District was the residential area for the working class. Finally, the Southern District was the slums where the poor and demihumans lived.

Demihumans were categorized as humanoid beings that were not fully human, such as Dwarves, Beastmen, and Elves. The Dwarves lived in the Dan Koldur Mountains north of the Fermion's capital, in the cold tundra.

The Elves had not been seen in millennia and their whereabouts were unknown. Beastmen were the most common demihumans in Fermion. They lived in proximity to Fermion and were often caught and sold into slavery.

Will walked north from the city center where the academies were located to the Northern District. Once Will crossed into the Northern District he saw tradesmen loading and unloading goods from their wagons.

The tradesmen were making deliveries to various shops. Will saw jewelry shops, bookstores, runemasters, bakeries, cobblers, general stores, and more. The Northern District was Guidon's commercial district.

Will stood soaking in the ambiance of commerce, he was home. This district felt more like home than the barony or academy. These were his people, businessmen, and women.

Hearing people barter, and trade made his heart warm. Watching money exchanging hands made him feel jealous and crave a mountain of gold for himself.

'Soon,' Will thought. Soon his coffers would flow like the Yangtze River in China.

Soon his enemies would come to fear and respect him.

Soon he would own an economic empire that would equal the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of kingdoms.

Will laughed maniacally to himself, soon he'd be a business mogul once again.

At the north of the market district stood a four-story mansion looking over the market district. The mansion stood out, emphasizing its prominence in the city and dominance. The Merchant's Guild mansion commanded respect.

Will admired the ornate ostentatious building. Walking into the guild, Will was stunned by the building's opulence. If someone told Will this place was a palace, he would believe them.

Two gold mosaics, one on each wall, displayed the glory of mercantilism. Inlaid on the floor were gold and mithril patterns in the tile.

The entrance to the building radiate power and wealth. The entrance was meant to make people feel uneasy and unimportant.

About 3.5 meters from the door stood a desk with an old stern woman with dark skin and gray hair sitting high up on a chair like a judge looking to condemn.

"Excuse me, madam receptionist, I would like to join the guild," Will bowed and said respectfully.

The woman stared at Will as if he was a vagrant begging for money on the corner. Then she turned headway and spoke like she could care less about peon.

"That will be 200 gold and a letter of recommendation," she said disinterestedly.

She simply stuck out her hand out her left hand to receive the payment and letter and kept writing with her right hand.

Will immediately handed her the required money and recommendation letter.

She examined the letter with as much interest as dead fish and, looked quizzically at Will.

"One moment, please. Someone shall be with you shortly," she said.

She pointed to a few chairs along the wall, where some sad men were sitting. These men looked both depressed and scared like they would soon be swallowed whole.

After pointing to the chairs, the receptionist left with his recommendation letter, coins, and a document.

Will grabbed an open chair. Will's instincts were telling me to sit as far away from these men. He wanted to sit as far away as possible because the men looked depressed.

He found a seat three seats away from a man that was on verge of crying. Will did not want to be forced to listen to their sad story.

After almost 30 minutes, Will heard a fat man call his name, "I'm looking for William vont Ballard."

Bowing respectfully greeted the man with a noble etiquette. Will's mother, Baroness Helen vont Ballard, had instilled the 'noble art' of etiquette in her children at an early age.

"Oh, you are a young man. How interesting. Please follow me. My name is Harold Murphy and I'll be your clerk," he replied returning Will's bow.

In the kingdom of Fermion there were landed nobles, and minor nobles. Landed nobles, held a higher status, even a landed baronet was held more status than a minor noble.

In Fermion, it was easy to tell the difference. Landed nobles used 'vont' in their surname. Vont stood for venerable, but over time venerable was shorted to 'vont'. All children born to landed noble families could keep vont status in their names.

Mr. Murphy led Will around a corridor until they arrived at his office. His office was filled with bookshelves and files. But, his desk was clean and orderly.

Will could tell Mr. Murphy, took great pride in his work. Next to his desk were two chairs, who felt even more uncomfortable than they looked.

This was a power play, Will was familiar with this negotiation tactic. The uncomfortable short chairs were meant to put the other party off balance and make them feel disadvantaged.

"Sir vont Ballard, since you provided the necessary payment and recommendation letter. Please fill out this form and I will provide information about the guild. Please refrain from asking questions until the end," he said sternly.

"The Merchant's Guild has operatives or traders in every city. Once you receive your guild membership card, please keep it with you.

The card entitles you to a 20% discount on transactions with the Merchants Guild. If you lose your card, it will cost 50 gold coins to replace it, more than the average tradesman makes in a year.

When you arrive in a new city, be sure to check in with the local Merchants Guild. Failure to do so will jeopardize your business and you may be subject to a fine. Also, as a member of the guild, you are required to pay an annual fee of 5 gold coins to remain a member in good standing.

Those tradesmen outside you set next too, did not pay their annual fee and are eligible for expulsion for the guild. Please know that there are options, we'll happily loan you the 5 gold with interest" he said with greed showing in his eyes and grin.

He continued, "Now in the guild, there are two types of members: tradesmen and merchants. Tradesmen, like your friend Karl, pay for a route to travel and haul goods from one location to another.

Tradesmen are paid a percentage of the goods they drop off at the guild. Different routes cost different amounts, and payment is required upfront," again greed present in his voice.

The second type of member is merchants. Merchants own storefronts and work with tradesmen to pick up goods they wish to sell.

Being a merchant requires, buying a store from the city lord's Land Office; as well as paying an annual fee of 45 gold to the Merchant's Guild to stay in good standing.

Merchants are also known to be competitive and it's not usual for new businesses to close in the first year. Even if you close in the first year, you'll still need to pay the 45 gold.

However, as a student with the Knight's Academy, I'll make a tax exemption for this year," Mr. Murphy finished.

"Thank you, Mr. Murphy, for your explanation. I found it quite informative, but I do have a couple of questions. First, as I am a first-year cadet at the Knight's Academy if I choose the merchant path do I have to open my business right away?" Will asked.

"Oh, first-year cadet, and here I thought you were a fifth-year. And, you want to be a merchant how interesting.

We don't have a lot of Knight Academy graduates in our ranks. Hmm, very interesting…no you are not required to open a shop if you choose the merchant option, but you'll still need to pay the 50 gold at the end of the year," Mr. Murphy replied.

"Thank you. Second, can you tell me the number of merchant shops in Guidon and the market saturation for the different shops?" Will asked.

Being a former businessman, Will knew the importance of market research and analysis. Finding out which shops already have control of a market and where growth is possible is important research, otherwise, bankruptcy may be the outcome.

"You are quite intelligent I see," Mr. Murphy said rubbing his chin.

"Fine, I'll tell you for free, because you piqued my interest. Jewelers, booksellers, and general store shops have reached saturation.

To be honest, unless you are an already established shop or have a new product there is not much need for new merchants in this city.

Come to think of it, you might be the first person in a decade to be interested in becoming a merchant. Sir vont Ballard, most people who register are interested in being a tradesman because of the high turnover," Harold Murphy explained.

Will thanked Mr. Murphy for his helpfulness and honesty. Mr. Murphy finished filling out Will's registration which required Will's name, merchant class (Will chose merchant), and company name.

Will named his company Silver Phoenix, after my family's coat of arms, a silver phoenix.

Will left the Merchant's Guild with his new guild card. Walking back outside, Will felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.

Even better, after leaving the Merchant Guild, Will saw his screen blink.

Name: William vont Ballard

Race: Human

Rank: 0

Class: Merchant

Sub Class:

Attributes:

Constitution—21

Strength—25

Dexterity—19

Intellect—32

Charisma—12

Ranks Skills: Management (23), Diplomacy (23), Accounting (43)

Class Skills: Appraisal (1, 100)

Abilities: Apprentice Swordsmanship (1, 25), Novice Terramancer (4,10)

In addition to my new class, it looks like Will gained the merchant class skill [Appraisal]. An appraisal enables him to quickly assess the value of goods. This skill can be ranked up to level max. This was another exciting upskill.

Will quickly headed over to crafter's guild and joined up with my classmates. Unlike the rest of his classmates, Will was not interested in new equipment.

Will had the sword, his father gave him for a birthday present. Since he was used to practicing at home with that sword he'd figured as long as that sword lasted, he would be okay.

After examining the wares, they left to eat dinner at Anne's family's bakery. Vincent sat by Chloe, clearly irritating her the whole dinner.

After dinner, the first-year class arrived at the gate before dusk. At dusk, the gates to the Knight's Academy would close. Anyone left outside, not on a quest, would have to spend the night at an inn and would penalize the next day.

Falling to sleep, Will finally felt like he was on the right path. Tomorrow, he told himself, he would visit the commissary to check out a quest.