Chapter 77: Four Seas Currency

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Four Seas Currency

It took the entire morning, but he finally managed to sell the Thorny Wild Boar’s Crystal Core.

He took stock of all his assets. The total came to: 13 Golden Shields, 6 Silver Scales, and 52 copper nails.

For him, this was undoubtedly an unprecedented fortune.

Of course, the moment this money was applied to the professional domain of Adventurers, its purchasing power seemed to plummet.

For example, the Longswords he had glimpsed in a weapon shop on Copper Nail Lane were priced in Golden Shields, even for the worst Quality.

And the Magic Wand he’d been longing for would only be more expensive.

In fact, he noticed that there didn’t seem to be a single shop along all of Copper Nail Lane that specialized in selling Magic Wands.

Thinking of Magic Wands reminded him of Annis’s earlier advice—for the Assessment Skill and Labeling Skill scrolls, it was best to buy the official versions from a shop under the Tide Merchants Association.

Coincidentally, he was heading to the Tree Heart Inn to find Zoya next, and the Tide Merchants Association’s largest establishment in Rose Town, "Four Seas Currency," was right nearby.

Four Seas Currency...

’Wait a minute...’

’Annis... the Tide Merchants Association...’

’After all this, don’t tell me she was just drumming up business for her family’s company?’

Although it felt a bit odd, after his "baptism" by the swindlers of Copper Nail Lane, Hesia had little faith in the goods sold at smaller shops.

When it came to things like Magic, it was better to spend a little more for peace of mind.

...

The Four Seas Currency in the town center was magnificent.

It was a tidy, two-story stone building. On its azure sign, an emblem of a great tidal wave embroidered with gold thread glittered in the sunlight, forming a stark contrast with the chaos of Copper Nail Lane.

Inside, the first floor was rather crowded and mainly sold daily necessities. It didn’t look like the kind of place that sold Skill Scrolls.

A female clerk in a standard uniform dress was terribly busy. She was simultaneously dealing with an old woman haggling over the price of cloth and glancing at a shelf that customers had rummaged through, her irritation plain to see.

Seeing this, Hesia walked over and waited patiently to the side.

When the clerk finally saw the old woman off and turned around, she saw someone else approaching, and a trace of impatience instinctively crossed her face.

But when she got a clear look at Hesia’s face, the annoyance quickly faded, and her expression brightened considerably.

However, her gaze then fell on Hesia’s simple clothes and the mutt at his feet, and much of the interest in her eyes diminished.

"Hello," Hesia asked, "do you sell Skill Scrolls for Assessment Skill and Labeling Skill here?"

Hearing those two terms, the clerk’s eyes instantly lit up, and her smile immediately became warm and professional.

"Ah, so you’re an Adventurer."

She made a welcoming gesture toward the nearby stairs. "The items you’re looking for are on the second floor. Please, follow me."

As she spoke, she signaled toward the front counter, and another clerk who had been on break quickly came to take her place.

...

In the display cases of the second-floor hall, various types of Skill Scrolls were neatly stacked.

Among them, the two largest stacks were scrolls labeled as Assessment Skill and Labeling Skill.

Beside them was a small wooden sign deliberately placed there, covered in slogans:

"A masterpiece born from Master Bernhard’s painstaking effort! A great invention that will change your adventuring career!"

"Personally tested by the Iron Fist Arena’s champion, ’Ogre’ Tuffy Smart-Brain! A miraculous Magic that even *he* can learn!"

"Exclusive report from the *Jade Federation Weekly*—The greatest magical innovation in the last decade! (Excerpt)"

The prices were just as Annis had said.

The Assessment Skill scroll cost 3 Golden Shields.

The Labeling Skill scroll cost 2 Golden Shields and 80 Silver Scales.

Although it stung, Hesia quickly paid for both scrolls.

Assessment Skill was self-explanatory; it would allow him to get a basic read on a target’s strength.

As for Labeling Skill, in a world of asymmetrical information, it opened a window for him to gather intelligence.

Especially since he might be buying an expensive Magic Wand next, the money saved from avoiding a single pitfall could be enough to make this investment worthwhile.

’A Magic Wand... I scanned the first and second floors earlier, but I don’t think I saw any, did I?’

’But since I’m here, I might as well ask.’

"Excuse me, do you sell Magic Wands here?"

"Ah, about that..." The clerk’s smile was tinged with apology. "We used to, but we’ve temporarily stopped selling them."

"Why?" Hesia was a little confused.

The clerk asked subconsciously, "Are you buying it for yourself?"

She had only asked casually, but when she saw Hesia nod, her eyes flew wide open as if she had heard something incredible.

Her voice even trembled slightly.

"You... you’re a Ma... a Mage, sir!"

"Does that make a difference?"

For some reason, the clerk became even more eager to talk.

She already found him easy on the eyes, but now she felt that his simple attire actually highlighted a low-key yet noble air befitting a Mage.

Even the mutt at his feet now looked as if it possessed some kind of noble bloodline.

"As you surely know, the Magic Wand is a prestigious weapon..."

"So they’re more expensive?"

"Er, you have a sense of humor. Of course, the price is one thing," the clerk paused and explained, "but more importantly, while you are choosing a Magic Wand, the wand is also choosing you."

Hesia thought, ’I actually didn’t know that.’ But he understood the general idea—different wands made of different materials were suited for people with different Magic Power affinities.

"There aren’t many people in town who buy Magic Wands to begin with. We finally managed to stock a few, but then a customer bought one as a gift, only to return it a few days later, claiming the Magic Wand ’didn’t like’ his friend. As a result, the next customer who genuinely wanted to buy one never even got a glimpse of it."

"Later, we stocked a few more, but this sort of thing kept happening."

"The... the most ridiculous thing," she said, her cheeks flushing slightly as if recalling something, "is that at some point, a lot of people in town started dabbling in this so-called ’Silent Water Magic,’ claiming it was a type of Magic that even ordinary people could master. Then, one of the returned Willow Wands... its Wand Tip... for some reason, the Wand Tip was all sticky..."

"After that, our Steward Ford decided that the store would temporarily stop selling Magic Wands."

Hesia understood. What she meant was that he, as a Mage, could confirm on the spot whether a wand was suitable for him, unlike those who would just buy and return them.

Seeing that it was still early, he decided to look at the other equipment. He probably couldn’t afford any of it, but at least by memorizing the prices, he’d have a better idea of what to expect.

The clerk had been sneaking glances at Hesia from the side. After hesitating for a long time, she finally mustered her courage and spoke up, "Oh! I... my name is Mandy! I haven’t had the honor of asking your name..."

"I’ll just look around on my own. Thank you," Hesia politely declined. He preferred to browse alone when shopping.

Hearing this, the clerk lost the courage to say more and quietly walked away, a hint of disappointment on her face.

Hesia walked over to the equipment section.

A few other customers were there.

One of them looked somewhat familiar to Hesia.

It was the "Iron Tower" in the antique, dark Plate Armor!

Although he had only caught a brief glimpse of him while registering at the Adventurer Guild, the man’s nearly two-meter height and the heavy suit of Plate Armor that completely enveloped him had left a deep impression.

Standing beside him was a middle-aged man in a gray linen robe with a pair of small, round glasses perched on his nose, complaining nonstop.

"Zande, I told you we never should have taken that commission! That idiot Rites completely overestimated his own abilities. We don’t even know who posted that quest! And look what happened, now Lily and he are both trapped in there!"

"And listen to me, we should just drop it! The two of us can’t save them by charging into that godforsaken cave again! Besides, that damn cave doesn’t just have deadly Red Spot Burrowing Spiders, there are also swarms of annoying goblins!"

The "Iron Tower" called Zande completely ignored his companion’s complaints. He simply raised his gauntleted arm and pointed at a Giant Axe hanging on the wall.

It was an incredibly formidable single-bladed battle-axe. The wide blade had a cold, dark silver sheen, and where the head met the long handle, a dark red scale—seemingly the carapace of some Demon—was cleverly inlaid.

He asked in a rumbling voice, "How much?"

The clerk replied respectfully, "Sir, this is the ’Skull Breaker.’ Its blade was forged from Black Iron Ore mixed with powdered carapace from an Earthbound Giant Lizard, making it both sturdy and Sharp. The price is 20 Golden Shields."

Seeing Zande’s determination to buy a new weapon, the middle-aged man sighed and continued, "Fine, fine. If you’re really going, I suggest you go to the Guild and recruit some new teammates. I really can’t go this time. Not only did I get no reward last time, but I also lost everything I had on me."

Hesia silently browsed for a bit, getting a general sense of the prices—as expected, there wasn’t a single item he could easily afford right now.

He clicked his tongue in dismay. Filled with anxiety for his wallet and anticipation for his new Magic, he led Bruce downstairs and left.

However, just as he had one foot out the door, a slightly urgent voice called out to him from behind.

"Please wait! Is that you, Galen Mage? Please, stay a moment!"

Hesia turned at the sound of the voice.

He saw a middle-aged man in a long, silk coat with a wave pattern walking quickly toward him.

’Steward Ford?’