by Cobyboy
"So, nothing more Your Highness? We'll start as soon as possible. Tomorrow or the next day I guess? You could lag out for a day or so with the people you would send to cease the kingdom entirely, but I'd highly recommend you not meddling while I attack Wolfenstein, got it? That would be all Your Majesty."
After finishing what he had to say, Feihren immediately left the castle. He did not need to prepare for anything anymore, but staying in the castle hall was just giving him a headache.
...
"Should we actually do what he requested, My king?"
General Rey curiously asked if the king would actually heed Feihren's absurd request.
"Naturally."
Without a second thought, King Samson gave his answer. The other people just went silent and nodded in approval. As for the thrashed officer, he was still laying down unconscious. As the rest of the people glanced at his sorry state, they were reminded that 10 people together with that man is actually feasible. Heck, he could do it alone and no one would bat an eye.
"Now, on to the next question." The king added. "Who are we gonna send with him?"
...
The next day was nothing special for Feihren. He estimated that it would take around 2 days for the matter of his request to sink in, so he did not mind strolling around the streets of the Ranustin Kingdom for today. He also had a vague sense of curiosity of the actual quality of magic weapons and equipment that were available for commoners, and the gap between what can and cannot be bought with the currency of the kingdom.
Speaking of currency, Feihren had no idea on how much the ruby "gem" he tossed to the innkeeper yesterday was worth. The kingdom has gold coins with vague but uniform imprints on them. The size of each coin only varies by the slightest margin. But they would be of roughly the same value. If Feihren's estimate was correct on how valuable the rare rocks and minerals were, the value of the ruby he gave would be around 100 gold coins, enough for 3 nights to stay in this inn.
As Feihren went downstairs, he was immediately greeted by the innkeeper together with four beautiful looking maids.
"Eh? Good morning, Mister Wang, what seems to be the occasion today? You seem really happy."
Naturally, when Feihren returned last night, Mr. Wang was not present. This was the only time they met after Feihren gave the ruby to him.
"S-sir Feihren! How can we be of your service today?!"
"Huh? I'm fine on my own… What's with all these people Mr. Wang? I didn't see these ladies yesterday. And why are you letting out such a panicky voice? Is there something wrong? Wait, was my payment yesterday still lacking? I do apologize for I don't have the gold currency this kingdom is using."
"Lacking?! How could it be lacking sir Feihren, it was too much, too much I say!"
Mr. Wang was replying with great astonishment. In all honesty, Mr. Wang was a clever man. He has been a businessman for a long 40 years. But never in his life had he thought that a person would pay something so excessive in one go! A palm-size Ancient Ruby would cost at least a 100 thousand gold coins within the kingdom! It was as rare as it was useful, so the gap in its supply and demand is ridiculously high.
'Eh? It's that valuable huh, I shouldn't just casually pull out these things then' Feihren thought, as he considered what to do with the remaining 30 gems in his bag. Feihren thought up something as he continued speaking with Mr. Wang.
"Ah, it's no worries Mr. Wang. Just treat the excess as something I will be paying, as I have a few requests and questions to ask."
"That would be no problem Sir Feihren, ask away!"
"First is, I would like to know where's the location of the stores that sells magic equipment, both the cheapest and the most expensive stores. Second, I would like to hire a guide. One that knows every nook and cranny of this kingdom… And lastly, I would like to kindly change these into the kingdom's currency."
Feihren then drew three differently colored gems similar in size to the ruby from yesterday. It was a set of one ancient sapphire, one ancient emerald, and one ancient ruby. 'This trio was iconic on Earth …'
Mr. Wang's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as he saw Feihren casually grabbing 3 more of those precious gems from his bag. Two of them were different from yesterdays, but they were still equally precious!
"N-Naturally!"
Mr. Wang did not hesitate as he immediately asked one of his retainers to change the gems. Soon enough, three large bags were given to Feihren. Naturally, they contained the gold coins he had asked for. Casually picking up the bags, Feihren was guided by one of the maids that were with Mr. Wang. She would be Feihren's guide for today as she was the one who was most familiar with the kingdom.
A few suspicious looking people that were at the bar on the first floor of the inn saw the commotion, and followed Feihren as he left…
...
Cheap magic equipment stores were located in the southern part of the kingdom. Only a few blocks away from the inn, Feihren sensed that a few people were tailing them. With his scanning ability, he confirmed 5 hostile people were following them.
Feihren casually turned around. It was still early in the morning but these people were already up to no good…
"What do you guys want?"
Feihren actually smiled, showing no signs of hostility towards these people. One of them kind of looks like one of those people from nobility he remembered from the banquet. The only reason he could tell was because he was wearing somewhat decent clothes. The other 4 however, were obviously underlings, as they looked like classic thugs.
'This doesn't look like some cheap robbery then'.
"We saw that you have some "goods" with you, and we want a "share" of it. What do you say? Hand them over and nobody gets hurt. As if nothing ever happened."
The nobleman had an effeminate voice that would make one doubt if he really was a man. He had long flowing hair and a slender body. The only thing that was missing was a chest, and the fact that his face had a good manly shape.
'Ah! This is just actually cheap robbery done by a shameless noble'.
Feihren shook his head as he grabbed a thumb size ruby from his belt.
"You mean these kinds of goods? Well, you can have it."
*Whiz!
Feihren flicked Samael's ruby using his thumb and pointer finger towards one of the thugs.
Blood splattered as the rock pierced through the thug's head, cutting him down instantly. The maid beside Feihren could not help but vomit at the sudden gory scene that appeared.
"You might actually want to cover your eyes and ears for a bit."
Feihren said as he was assisting the still vomiting maid. The maid went towards a corner and hid there for the meantime.
"You!"
The effeminate noble was enraged by the sudden and ruthless attack.
"Eh? You're mad at me now? I thought you were the one being hostile here? I just gave you what you want."
In the next instant, the thumb-sized gem suddenly turned into a gigantic red golem! Feihren casually glanced at Samael before nodding.
*Boom! Splat!
*Boom! Splat!
*Boom! Splat!
Almost instantly the road was covered with a mixture of blood, bones, and other organs that were hardly distinguishable anymore.
'Luckily, it seems that no one was passing by this area at the moment… but this was supposed to be a busy road, as it leads to the commoner's area. Hmm... Ah, a scene like this would make anyone want to avoid it. Makes sense'. Feihren thought as he was walking towards Samael and the remaining noble who was in the middle of the gore pile.
"Ahhh! No sir, spare me!"
The noble started begging as the figure of Feihren was approaching, and Samael was still standing beside him. He could not even move a single inch because he was still within arm's reach of this gigantic thing.
"Oh? I'm not planning to kill you. I just want some compensation for the hassle you caused."
Feihren didn't really mind all these cliché t
hings that were happening to him, but he does need to gain something from all this.
"Then, remove all your clothes. You seem to be wearing decent equipment on you." Feihren continued.
The noble started to blush hard, but he did not hesitate any further as he removed everything, dropping it in front of Feihren.
"Ah…" Feihren was caught off guard with what he saw the moment this 'man' removed his clothes. He did indeed have nothing in the chest area, but there was also nothing "down there" either…
"On second thought, keep your clothes… wear them now!"
Returning Samael to its gem state, Feihren hurriedly left the scene as he looked for the maid that was hiding nearby and proceeded with what he was planning to do for the day.
'This morning is just too much… That scene was too distasteful. A woman with such a manly face…'
Feihren walked at a faster pace towards the southern area of the kingdom.
Chapter 27: You'd be of Great Help
Feihren arrived at an ordinary-looking store in the area between where commoners reside and the marketplace where merchants settle.
He was looking at a building made from red bricks with a wooden sign "Wizard Shaznay's Magic Item Store." According to the maid, this was the best place to buy standard magic items and equipment. As for a wider variety of equipment and standard magic weapons, "Regogu Blacksmith" was the place to go.
A frail old woman greeted Feihren joyfully as he entered the store. 'What a kind lady'. Feihren thought as he returned a friendly smile.
"What can I do for you, young man? Are you looking for some magic items to aid you on your adventures? You seem to be somewhat well off as I can see with your elegant looking armor."
"You seem to have good eyes, ma'am"
Feihren was impressed. None of the people he met were ever astonished by the assault rogue armor he was wearing. If only they knew that this was something that belongs in the [Deity-grade] equipment class, then people would start trying to rip it off of Feihren in his sleep!
"Ah anyways, I am going to buy everything in your store, how much would it all be?" Feihren continued.
"... It's still early in the morning young man, don't prank an old woman like that."
Wizard Shaznay laughed heartily as he heard this young man's request, but soon stopped as she saw the seriousness in Feihren's eyes, as he was still inspecting the items on the glass shelves.
"You're… being serious?"
"Of course I am," Feihren replied with a smile as he placed a bag on the counter. "So, how much would it all be?"
...
Feihren left the store with a pleasant smile etched on his face.
300 Common-grade magic items with basic attributes for commoners.
250 Uncommon-grade items with a myriad of effects
120 Rare-grade items
30 Epic-grade items.
A total of 700 items that cost around 75,000 gold coins.
Feihren's cheerful mood was not really because of the items he got. He was in a good mood because he realized that in comparison to the way of acquiring items back in Gaia's Paradox, this was just way too easy, and was way cheaper too.
Feihren was not planning to use these items, or even equip them, but he was planning to use them as [Refining Materials] for his [Custom Grade] weapons. The durability of these weapons would definitely run out way before he drained his stock of ammunition.
With the abundance of these items right now, he was also planning to experiment with forging something out of these "trash" items. Unfortunately, that would have to wait until he could return to the dwarven village.
Feihren then proceeded to the "Regogu Blacksmith" shop that specializes in swords and magic weapons. He was politely greeted by that storekeeper as well. Feihren also bought every single thing he could buy at the shop.
40 Common-grade weapons, most of which contained no magic enhancements. They were basically used by guards or beginner adventurers.
20 Uncommon-grade weapons, with small magic incantations imbued on them. Usually used by elite guards and higher ranking adventurers.
Around 10 Rare and Epic-Grade weapons. These shouldn't be commonly seen and bought in ordinary shops like these. But this was everything that they had in their inventory.
A single Legendary-grade sword, the [Snow Wolf Longsword]. It has a tiny damage amplification and a movement slow effect.
That last sword would be amazing by this world's standards, but if this was used against Feihren it would pose little to no threat at all. Feihren still bought it even though it cost 40,000 gold coins. He was planning to make it a base weapon if he ever ended up experimenting with forging one. Or he could just smelt it and make bullets out of the alloy, although metals and different minerals would never be a problem for Feihren as he knows the location of the dwarven village.
"781 items in total, after spending around 160,000 gold coins."
Aside from the [Snow Wolf Longsword], Feihren wasn't planning to place all these items in his game inventory. Setting aside the huge mess it would make of his storage, Feihren only has a maximum inventory space of 1,500 items, consumables and quest items included. This was one of Feihren's main concerns. The fact that quest items occupy a space in the inventory was kind of stupid in his opinion.
He currently has around 300 inventory spaces left, which isn't that bad. The problem is that he obtained too many items. For now, all he could do was carry some of these things manually. He asked the maid to buy some sort of carriage so he could temporarily store these items.
Without purchasing any horses, Feihren manually pulled the carriage as he thought of a way to fix this problem. "Storage Rings." He read in many fantasy novels back then that these things were invaluable and would definitely be useful, Feihren couldn't agree more right now.
Heading north, Feihren avoided the road he took in the morning as he eventually reached the noble district. According to the maid, storage rings do exist, but only wealthy people could afford one. A store that only serves the rich is located within this district.
"Goldshire Boutique, what a fancy name huh?"
Feihren stood outside the exquisitely looking marbled building as he instructed the maid to return to the inn. He would be going straight to the castle after he was done in here and would not need further assistance.
A cold breeze blew on Feihren's face as he entered the fancy looking shop, but unlike the warm welcome he had in the other stores, he was met with weird gazes. There were a few customers in here due to it being the only store in the noble district, but with its size, it wouldn't fall short against multiple small time stores.
'Ah, right, this is the place for rich people. Brown and black colored clothes and armor wouldn't be appreciated in a place where the people are basically fanatics of the colors white and gold'. Feihren thought as he proceeded to walk to the counter anyway.
The teller did not seem to be very friendly to Feihren. The prejudice in this place is too much in all honesty. The middle-aged teller with a thin white beard and mustache glared at Feihren. "What do you want?"
"I'd like to purchase a storage ring please?"
"A storage ring? Kid, do you know what you're actually looking for? Don't play jokes in here. Just get out if you don't have anything else to do."
'Eh? Do I really look that young to be calling me a kid? I look like I am at least 30 you know. Damn, these people need to calm down and just do business properly…"
"Yes, I am looking for a storage ring."
"Fine, the cheapest we have is 20,000 gold coins."
"How much for the best one?"
"There is no point in asking that question." The teller inspected Feihren head to toe as he was speaking. Certainly sizing up Feihren's worth.
"Oh? I could certainly pay for it though." Feihren replied as he placed the bags with the remaining 100,000 gold coins in it.
Shock appeared on the tellers face as he inspected the insides of the bag. Then he slowly muttered wor
ds that shocked even Feihren.
"You're… I can't believe it… Thief!!!"
'The f*ck? How did you even arrive at that conclusion? Can't it be that I'm just secretly rich? The hell is up with these people?'
A few guards arrived at the store as Feihren was dragged out. Feihren was so dumbfounded by the overreaction of the teller that he didn't even mind being carried out.
Before the shutting the door, the teller yelled: "We will report this to the authorities, you damnable thief!"
