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Path to Prosperity - B1 Chapter 6
🕑 Added 2024-06-29 11:58:12 +0000 UTCIt was odd. Percy knew that he should feel worse now that he ended two more lives, but the opposite was the case. He was relieved to be alive. His breath was heavy from the short yet intense exchange with the three ferocious rabbits, but he was not dead.
I am hungry, and I need the money to stay alive. It shouldn’t matter that they attacked me first since I planned to go hunt monsters, either way, but still… They charged me with the intent to kill.
There were trails of blood from the overgrown bushes, and blood had trickled down their teeth even before they attacked him. Percy didn’t have to be a genius to tell that the three ferocious rabbits had been hunting other monsters before locating him.
Seeing the rabbits’ victim eased his mind, and his grumbling stomach did the same.
Percy smiled grimly and stared at the rabbits intently.
It didn’t matter who attacked first. Percy killed them to survive. But even that wasn’t what shocked him so much.
Life is so fragile… I didn’t have to do much to kill the rabbits. Is that all it needs to take a life…or multiple?
Percy looked at his left arm. He was still bleeding, but it could have been worse. He had been worse before.
A bandage would be helpful, though.
He didn’t have any ointments or clean bandages to tend to his wound, but he wore a somewhat clean shirt. Percy removed his shirt and retrieved his dagger to sever the sleeves. He eyed the shirt and shook his head lightly after imagining what would happen when he put pressure on his arm with the shirt. It was not that dirty, but it wasn’t clean enough to cover a fresh flesh wound.
The insides are only a bit sweaty. Still, not great, but it’s better than nothing. Maybe I can clean the wound later and bandage it properly.
His knowledge about medical care was not extensive, and it wasn’t like Percy had the means to treat himself properly either way.
Percy shrugged lightly at the lack of choices and cut the sleeves open. He inspected the inside and pressed the cleanest portion of the cloth tightly against his wound. Percy proceeded with the makeshift bandage. It wasn’t great, but Percy was satisfied.
Better than nothing.
Percy moved his arm and grimaced at the pain. The pain was a bit annoying, but he had gotten worse.
Now that this is done let’s check these beautiful boxes!
His attention pulled to the three monster corpses and the interfaces hovering above them.
[Berserk Rabbit – Mature – 7 Prosperity.]
[Berserk Rabbit – Mature – 7 Prosperity.]
[Berserk Rabbit – Mature – 6 Prosperity.]
I can use [Consume] on them. Doesn’t that mean my Ego considers the corpses as my belonging?
The urge to use Consume and see what he could do with adding 20 Prosperity overcame Percy, but his intrusively growling stomach won the bout of urges. Percy picked the Berserk Rabbits by their ears and walked back to Raewood, where safety and a filling meal were hopefully waiting for him.
**
It felt much longer, but only an hour had passed since he left Raewood when he returned with his hunting trophies. He walked to the entrance and nodded toward the town guard before showing the token of recognition. Since the crowds entering and leaving the town was usually low, the guards remembered him, but Percy didn’t want to get stopped.
The guards stared at Percy before their eyes trailed to the rabbits dangling down their ears in his grasp. Percy waited for a second, but they didn’t say anything, so he entered Raewood silently.
That was simpler than expected. Still, being prepared never hurts.
He nodded in satisfaction and proceeded while the guards rubbed their eyes.
“Am I drunk, or are those Berserk Rabbits?” One of them asked while the other chuckled.
“I wish I were drunk. Everything would make so much more sense if I were drunk.”
Percy walked happily through the city. A few bustling citizens stared at him and the monster corpses in shock and disgust, but they mostly ignored him. He heard some shouting, “Keep the street clean,” and “Put those carcasses away, or I will call the guards!” but Percy ignored them.
It would be great to turn Prosperity into copper coins, but it doesn’t look like I can create anything from thin air with [Consume]. That means I need to find a merchant. Someone who can give me a reasonable price.
His stomach grumbled again.
When I get my first money, I will fill my stomach to the brim. This hunger is getting on my nerves. Since when has my stomach been so talkative in the first place?
He grumbled, but the smile on his face didn’t disappear from his face. He searched for the closest building that looked like a merchant shop and entered.
The interior was exactly what Percy had expected when he saw the exterior design. The shop was well-kept, with several wooden shelves placed neatly inside the expansive room. Percy had never seen most items displayed, but he could tell what weapons, armor, and potions were. His eyes trailed through the shop until they landed on a display of metal similarly sized and shaped like playing Cards.
The Cards displayed highly detailed images of monsters. One card even displayed a white Berserk Rabbit.
This guy must be good at his job. If he has enough money to display Monster Cards like thi–...
“Get out of my shop before I beat the shit out of you, kiddo!” A dark voice reverberated through the shop. Percy flinched and spun around, discovering a middle-aged man with short brown hair, a ferocious face filled with anger, and a well-kept beer belly.
“I apologize if I did something I wasn’t supposed to do, but I wanted to sell–...” Percy couldn’t finish his sentence before the man smashed his fist into the wooden counter. “I told you to– Wait a moment. Are those Berserk Rabbits?”
Percy nodded slowly, not sure what to expect now. The merchant didn’t even allow him to finish his question, but the rage in the man’s eyes had dimmed.
That guy is scary… But he is interested in the Berserk Rabbits. That’s good. You better buy them!!
“I…hunted them this morning. Probably not even an hour ago,” Percy added.
The merchant’s expression changed again. It switched from rage to understanding, only to flip back to rage. The problem with that was that he was even angrier than before.
“Why in the seven hells are you not preserving them properly? Come here quickly!” The man’s tone didn’t allow any objections.
Percy approached the wooden counter, awaiting a small bag with intertwined azure lines.
“Put them inside the bag.”
Percy followed the order, but his attention drifted to the cooling sensation spreading through the surroundings. It wasn’t intense, but the difference was noticeable enough. It was the most apparent when the Berserk Rabbits disappeared in the bag. A weak gust of cold air oozed out of the bag.
The bag’s inside is cold.
Percy sensed something odd when he pinpointed the source of the cold. It was the same mythical force he’d perceived this morning when he awakened as a Gifted One.
“That’s a Bag of Preservation. Have you never seen one before?” The merchant asked, his voice much calmer than before.
It was only now that he scrutinized Percy from head to toe.
“This makes a lot more sense,” He murmured in a matter-of-fact tone, “The floor is dirty now, and there is blood as well. Urgh, this will be annoying to clean.”
The merchant glared at Percy for a second but shook his head after a second, “No, forget it. I told you to bring Berserk Rabbits. That is on me.”
He studied Percy again and noticed his bloody bandage.
“So, you managed to kill three Berserk Rabbits,” The man said, his eyes landing on Percy’s dagger at last, “With that kind of dagger, it makes sense how you survived. It's good you weren’t desperate enough to hunt something with bare hands. We wouldn’t be talking if that were the case.”
He chuckled lightly at his joke and clicked his tongue when he noticed Percy’s deadpan expression.
“Kids these days don’t understand good humor.” He sighed and pointed at the Bag of Preservation, “This is an Artifact with an enchantment used to preserve corpses in the wild. They’re often used by Adventurers who like camping out in the wilderness. Bags like this of higher quality have more space inside than you might think, but I don’t think you’re interested. You look like you’re about to hit me if I continue talking about Artifacts.”
You might as well tell me more. Percy was about to say, but the merchant didn’t allow him to interrupt him.
“In that case, let’s get to business,” The merchant cleared his throat and retrieved one of the Berserk Rabbit bodies, “Usually, I don’t trade with corpses like this. They haven’t been prepared accordingly.”
Percy raised his eyebrow, but the merchant continued.
“The nearby butcher could do that for you for a small price, but it looks like you had a rough day,” He chuckled, “I will make an exception for you today. The next time you return to Raewood – or any other town or settlement, to be precise – you store the monster corpses in a bag. If you annoy the guards too much by running around with the bodies of dead monsters, they will throw you out of town or put you in prison for a day or two. They call it ‘reflection time’ or something along those lines. Keep in mind that you don’t want to annoy the guards. You never know when you might need their help.”
“Either way, you can sell monster corpses at any Guildhall quite easily. The process is simple. Their butchers are great, and you can sell the whole corpse. Meanwhile, merchants like me don’t trade with whole corpses. My business revolves around rare items.”
The merchant’s hand blurred before Percy. All he could see were the man’s fingers digging into the Berserk Rabbit’s eye socket. He pulled the Berserk Rabbit’s eyeball out of the corpse.
“Treasures like this little beauty.”
Percy had to gather his willpower to avoid gagging at the sudden sight of the crimson eyeball’s loose end.
This guy is crazy. How did he become a successful merchant? Something is wrong with him!
Despite the thoughts flashing through Percy’s mind, he was curious.
“What can you do with their eyeballs?”
The merchant smirked, “You can do a lot with well-preserved eyeballs of a Berserk Rabbit, but concocting potions like the Minor Rage Potion and Lesser Madness Potion is probably the most widely known use.”
Percy nodded slowly, but his attention was drawn to something else.
[Berserk Rabbit – Mature – 6 Prosperity.]
[Berserk Rabbit’s Eyeball – Good Quality – 1 Prosperity.]
The value of Prosperity changed. If I wanted to, I could sell the eyeballs and transform the rest into Prosperity. But I would have to earn enough from the eyeballs then.
“Do you want to purchase the whole corpses of the Berserk Rabbits, or are their eyeballs all you want?”
The merchant lifted his hand momentarily, gesturing to him to stop. He retrieved the remaining bodies from the Bag of Preservation and inspected them all while plucking their eyeballs. He grunted when he noted that one of the eyeballs was pierced and didn’t even bother plucking it.
Once done, he put the eyeballs in a small satchel with similar azure lines intertwined all over its surface. Meanwhile, the rest of the three corpses were pushed back to Percy.
“Their fur is smooth and sought after, just like their paws, but it would be too much work for me to remove them. I cannot be bothered. I won’t waste my time with that stuff. I will give you five copper for the eyeballs. Take the rest of the carcasses and bring them to a butcher, or sell it to the Guild.”
The merchant smiled, “I recommend bringing them to the nearest butcher to ensure their freshness. You will get a bit more money. Furthermore, registering at the Guild will take a while, and I doubt your stomach is willing to wait a second longer.”
Percy pressed his lips together but nodded. It wasn’t difficult to tell that he was not yet an Adventurer registered at the Guild. If he had been, Percy would have had more common knowledge about monsters, the value of their body parts, and so on.
Everything was new to him, and the merchant had given him valuable information. He reached out and accepted the five copper coins without a second thought.
“Let me give you a good-meant advice as a former Adventurer,” The merchant said, his eyes drilling in the deepest parts of Percy’s eyes, “I was probably as adventurous when I was your age, but I was also naive and shy. I didn’t know how the world worked. That is why I used my failures to improve. Failing is normal, but getting up and learning from your mistakes is what it takes to improve and become stronger.”
Why is he telling me that? I mean, it makes sense, but is there a reason for him to tell me that?
As if the merchant could read his mind, he burst into a smile, “You should start learning how to negotiate if you’re putting your life on the line to procure valuable body parts like a Berserk Rabbit’s eyeballs. Five copper coins should be more than enough to fill your stomach, and the money you can earn from the rest of the Berserk Rabbits should give you enough to rent a clean room in a nice Inn. Buying new clothes and maybe an ointment for your wound would be best. You won’t be able to fight anymore if your wound worsens.”
Percy didn’t like the merchant’s smile but understood what was happening.
“If you manage to hunt more Berserk Rabbits, I will give you two copper for each eyeball.”
A deep frown plastered Percy’s face. He felt like he had been slapped in the face and wanted to ask for more money, knowing that the crimson eyeballs were worth more. However, the merchant shook his head, understanding what Percy was thinking.
“A deal is a deal. Heed my advice and learn from your mistake.”
Percy sighed, but he accepted his loss. Although it angered him a bit, he understood the sentiment.
“Next time, then.”
At least he had some money now.
He could find something to fill his rumbling stomach to the brim!
