July 10th, early morning.
Slave market.
When Lear arrived, the sun had not yet risen,
the light morning mist and high humidity suppressed the stench in the air.
This put him in a somewhat better mood.
Having been here once before, he was much more familiar today.
He quickly arrived at the Fifth District and found the Gray Mist Trading Company.
This was a trading company much smaller in scale than the Dragon Fang Trading Company, with a storefront no more than 50 meters wide.
Inside, there were no iron cages holding slaves, but rather a variety of strange items.
A whole string of shackles of varying thickness and size, with dozens of types of chains.
There were also neck collars, mouth gags, spiked whips...
The Gray Mist Trading Company didn't sell slaves, but everything was related to them.
On one shelf, there were piles of dried dung, looking like cow pats.
Earth Dragons are herbivorous magic beasts, similar to cows, whose dung doesn't have a strong smell. After processing, it has no odor at all.
Upon seeing Lear, a man in a luxurious robe inlaid with gems, with a sharp beak-like face and a thin, dry body, approached to greet him.
"What can I do for you, sir?"
The voice was sharp, with a tone of pretentiousness.
This tone made Lear frown slightly.
His gaze swept across and landed immediately on the conspicuously placed Earth Dragon dung.
It looked freshly dried, clearly different from the intelligence he had gathered.
Just as he was about to speak, his eyes fell on a small, unremarkable area at the bottom of the shelf.
The dried Earth Dragon dung was distinctly more desiccated, with dust still clinging to its surface, clearly it has been there for some time.
With a slight pulse of his senses, he could detect subtle differences from regular Earth Dragon dung, and his mind was stirred.
An interface appeared in his mind.
Giant Dragon Dung (Dried)
[Level]: 2 Stars
[Traits]: When soaked in blood, it can reactivate the latent Dragon's Might within the dung, intimidating ordinary creatures who sense it, making them dare not approach.
Good heavens, even dried dung is a 2-Star treasure!
Giant Dragons, truly the hallmark of this world's might.
"What's the price for these?"
The shop owner, who was about to boast, froze as he saw Lear's indication.
This was the garbage mixed in with the batch, and he got badly ripped off. He was considering tossing it away, but he held on to it by chance, hoping to sell it.
Who knows, maybe some ignorant buyer would want it?
His eyes twinkled, and he immediately shouted loudly.
"Earth Dragons are typically Level 10 creatures, but this is dung from Level 12 Earth Dragons!"
"We initially wanted to keep it for future sale... but we forgot about it due to long preservation, only remembering it today."
"Though it's far more valuable than ordinary dung, we sell it at the same price as regular Earth Dragon dung!"
"If you need it, I can even give you a 10% discount!"
Lear's mouth twitched, treating buyers like fools, able to say anything.
This guy was incomparable to the fat boss of the Dragon Fang Trading Company.
"No need to fake it, no one else wants this stuff, just give me a real price. I'm not going far into the wilderness, as long as it has some effect..."
The sharp-beaked shop owner felt no embarrassment, grinning as he said,
"I knew I couldn't fool a knowledgeable person like you."
"Regular Earth Dragon dung sells at 1 gold coin per pound, I'll give you a 50% cut on these... if you take them all, just 10 gold coins!"
Looking at the heap, there's at least ten to twenty pounds.
Buying a heap of Giant Dragon dung at this price is a stroke of genius.
This is a 2-Star treasure after all... even if it's not a good story to tell, it's still from a Giant Dragon.
"20 silver coins, take it all... don't bother bargaining, if I weren't staying close, I wouldn't take it even for free since it doesn't have much effect."
"If you don't sell it to me today, who knows what the price will be next time... and can you guarantee its effects won't continue to fade?"
This slash hit the main artery directly.
But his few words made the shop owner, who was about to speak, shut his mouth.
He had a point...
This thing's been here for three months, and no one has asked about it, its faint Dragon's Might is off-putting.
Going into the wilderness means risking one's life, buying this isn't wise.
"You said it, what else can I say? Alright, let's be friends, they're all yours!"
He waved to the side as he spoke.
A staff member quickly ran over, deftly bagging the Giant Dragon dung and tying several secure knots.
Lear counted out 20 silver coins and handed them over, picking up the bag and leaving.
From entering to leaving the store, the process took no more than two minutes, smooth as silk.
This 2-Star Giant Dragon dung was bought for just 20 silver coins...
Blood profit!
The sharp-beaked owner, once Lear's figure disappeared, proudly raised his head, looking at his staff.
"See that? Doing business requires skill!"
"I sold such inferior goods for 20 silver coins! You said we should toss them earlier, but I'll tell you, even trash can be sold at high prices!"
"You should learn more!"
"Yes, yes, you're absolutely right! When it comes to business, no one is better than you, president!!"
The man kept flattering.
...
The next day, July 11th, at the entrance of the Ninth District Black Market.
An old man in a black robe with one arm sat in front of dozens of pieces of ore.
He slowly rubbed the black ore in his hand, ignoring the people walking back and forth.
With his years of experience in setting up stalls, acting like an expert with a nonchalant attitude made it easier to conduct business in the black market.
He's out to deceive those who don't know better.
Those in the know wouldn't even spare him a glance... These ores were all bought from the dwarf forge's garbage heap for a single silver coin.
They're just worthless junk, with little metal left in them.
What ore could escape a dwarf's eyes?
Unfortunately, if he hadn't been injured in a scam before, losing an arm, he could have been more dexterous. Now, in his old age, he could only wait for his prey to come to him.
After a long while, he felt a bit tired from fiddling with the ore, so he stretched lazily and caught sight of a young figure approaching, his eyes lighting up.
Isn't this the sucker who spent over twenty gold coins on a tomb raider's stuff at the stall next to his a few days ago?
He's back again!!
That day, this guy stopped at his stall first!!
He spent so long at his stall and then went and bought stuff from the tomb raider; how rich could this guy be?!
As the person came closer, he cleared his throat.
"Sir, it's been a few days. I've collected some great stuff... Would you like to take another look?"
With strangers, acting like an expert is fine, but when encountering a fat sheep, one must make a move.
Lear looked at the one-armed old man's greeting, his expression somewhat nuanced.
Is this... coming to my door?
"What kind of ore do you have? Let me see it."
The one-armed old man smiled proudly.
"These are all new goods, bought at a high price. The last batch was all sold out; I heard one had a thumb-sized piece of Dragon Blood Refined Gold inside..."
The last batch was indeed sold, but it was bought for only 5 silver coins.
Because inside there was half a piece, with traces of rare metals, which might make a profit of two or three silver coins after being fully smelted.
He knew but was powerless, lacking the skill.
The black market isn't just about big deals. People surviving on trifles like this also make up a significant portion of it.
Dragon Blood Refined Gold?
Lear chuckled; the exaggeration was sky-high.
Seeing but not exposing, he quietly searched through.
After going over everything, his eyes seemed to find something, looking at the one-armed old man.
"What is this piece in your hand? Can I take a look?"
The one-armed old man was taken aback, sincerely admiring.
"Sir, your eyesight is impressive! This ore is extraordinary!"
Among so many ores, only this one was picked up by himself by the riverside outside the city last month, kept because it felt nice in hand, something to fiddle with while showing off.
The fact the other picked it out, such insight, truly remarkable!
Such a fine fat sheep, why let him get away last time... Going forward, a change in strategy is needed, can't just keep pretending to be aloof.
Clearing his throat, he introduced.
"It's a treasure I acquired at a high price from a dwarf artisan, containing traces of Mithril!"
Just a thumb-sized piece of Mithril could buy an estate in the Lorand City Center!
"So precious, then maybe it's not for me... I can't afford it."
The one-armed old man squinted slightly upon hearing this.
"An expensive price naturally has its rationale. The ore below is cheap; sir, surely you would appreciate it?"
"That's true, but I'm out of money... I spent it all these past few days."
Hell, moving too late.
Others might lie about this, but he personally watched this man spend over twenty gold coins on junk a few days ago, as happy as could be.
For a spendthrift like this to hold onto money would be the strange part.
Feeling a bit restless, he directly looked at the other.
"Sir, you've been here twice already. If you like it, even if the price is a bit high, isn't that okay?"
"Value for money, sir, surely you understand that principle."
"You can't expect to get gold quality for copper coin prices!"
"Hmm... then you say, how much are you willing to offer? If it's too expensive, then forget it."
After some thought, the one-armed old man slowly raised five fingers.
"50 gold coins!"
Then he saw his fat sheep drop the ore and turn to leave without even a glance.
He quickly stopped him.
"That was my previous price... Today, seeing how much sir loves it, you can take it for 30, no, 20 gold coins."
The other party remained silent, slowly pulling out 10 silver coins...
The one-armed old man looked at the openly displayed palm, took a deep breath.
"Sir, you are killing me..."
Before he could finish, whoosh~ all the silver coins were in his hand, then Lear only felt a stone being placed in his hand.
"In that case, let's be friends, sir!"
A casually picked stone sold for 10 silver coins, where else could one find such business, he'd better pick a few more by the river next time.
What a perfectly sheared lamb.
The one-armed old man felt utterly delighted inside.