After wandering around the market and getting the market price for cores and crystals to make sure I wasn't scammed, I entered an alchemist's shop that had various different colored bottles on display. I could also see the green paste, but for some reason, this one wasn't giving off a strong stench. My guess was that it was due to some special container or a magic was cast on it. Seeing it was a shop in a low-tier city, I found it highly difficult that it would be a magic spell, so it had something to do with the container it was kept in.
After looking around to take everything in, I approached the counter behind which was an old man of middle age, a cunning look by brith on his face, or perhaps it was that pointy mustache. I couldn't tell.
Whatever, I wasn't there for that. I was there to do business.
"I have something to sell," I said.
I simply pulled out a round F rank mana crystal from my pocket. I placed it on the counter, within my reach, and said, "Let's not waste each other's time and give me a final price."
He raised his eyebrow as he looked at me with an inquisitive gaze, but didn't say anything.
He picked up the mana crystal and examined it.
After examining it, he looked at me and said, "I'll give you three silver for it."
The market purchase rate of an F ranked mana crystal was five silver coins everywhere. Even the gold coin we earned yesterday after the hunt was from the E rank goblin, was sold at one gold coin, double the price of an F rank. On the market, the purchase rate of an E rank mana crystal was a gold coin and one silver coin.
Comparing that with an F rank mana crystal, he was buying it from me for three silver coins, almost one-third of the market price.
Let's put it . One copper was one dollar. One silver was a hundred bucks, and one gold coin was a thousand bucks. Also, just for clarity, a hundred copper coins made one silver and ten silver coins made one gold coin.
Considering this mana crystal was sold for 500 bucks on the market and this guy was purchasing it from me for 300, making a margin of 200 bucks was a scam in any way one saw it.
So, I simply extended my hand and said, "Fine then. I'll sell it to the guards."
After examining the market, I learned another fact as well. The city lord was also a merchant, and he monopolized the trade over everything that came from the hunts of people because the guards were sitting right at the gate, and one wouldn't have to wander the market.
In such a case, the merchants in the market were at a loss and strongly desired someone to make a trade with them, but who would be stupid enough to offend the city lord and make a trade with these guys?
The old man quickly tried to grab the mana crystal, but I stopped him from doing so with my superior speed and grabbed the mana crystal. Once it was in my hands, he looked at me with a hateful expression and said, "Fine. I'll buy it for four silver coins. You have to understand. I have to make some margin too."
"Four and a half. And I'll sell three at once." I replied.
The shopkeeper's eyes widened once he heard my words, and after a little thinking, he said, "How about two for four and a half and one at four?"
A gold coin and three silver coins. That was almost the total of what we earned yesterday from the relentless hunt. I nodded and said, "Fine. Give it to me."
I didn't want to argue over fifty bucks when I was already making thirteen hundred from this trade for practically doing nothing. Mana crystals were just a bonus of my sewer hunt. The real purpose was to raise the stats so no matter how one looked at it, I was the one at an advantage.
Once I had my money, I asked, "How about we make this into a partnership?"
"A partnership?" He asked.
"Yeah." I replied, "You don't stab me in the back, I don't stab you in the back."
"Wha-What?" The shopkeeper nervously asked.
I simply flashed him a smile before I said, "The next time I'm in here and you touch that array, I'll take it as a hostile sign and kill you."
A little bit of threat was always important to show the world who you were. If not, people would take advantage of you. As I got my money, I left the store before the people he sent a signal over to arrive. I didn't know what the power scale of this city was, but I wasn't taking a risk until I was at least a three-star warrior, which meant until 150 level, I was going to keep my head down.
Once I was well away from the shop, I checked the authenticity of the coins, and once I was sure they were real, I left for the library.
I needed information. I couldn't just go blindly through this life. That was not a very good experience the first time.
Since the library I went to last time didn't have any advance information to give me, I decided to go to another one, a bigger one. However, I encountered another problem when doing so. You see, a city in olden times was divided into three layers.
Common, merchant, or in this case, wealthy and noble.
Jack and his family, in this case, my family, lived in the outermost area, a.k.a., the commoner district.
So, with that, "You cannot go beyond this point without a pass boy."
A guard dressed much better than those on the city walls rudely pushed me away. His push wasn't much, but I still stumbled back a little, which surprised him a little, as he expected me to fall.
Still, as much as I didn't like his rude behavior, it wasn't like I could just kill him in broad daylight. Not that he had sinned, such a punishment.
"Then how can I go inside?" I had money, so there was no reason to be worried about this. As long as there were alternatives, I was willing to try them.
"Have you awakened?" He asked.
"What is your awakener rank?" The guard asked.
"I haven't received one yet," I replied.
"What do you mean?" He asked with a menacing frown on his face.
"It means I haven't attended the awakening ceremony this year. I awakened naturally." I replied.
"..." He remained silent for a while before exchanging glances with his partner. He looked back at me.
"I still cannot let you inside without knowing your official rank, so return once you have it." He replied, not being so menacing this time. I guess the treatment of a person did depend on their status.
Once he found out I was an awakened, he changed his tone real quick. Still, I decided to let this go because I didn't want to be targeted by someone higher up. That would only make my early life in this beautiful world difficult.
So, turning around, I headed home. Once I arrived home, I saw Rayla knitting something on the floor while the siblings and Julian were still out. Since it was just me and her, I approached her and asked, "Mother, can you bend over so I can slap your behind once?"
"Why, sure, yes." She said with a bright smile and immediately got on all fours, showing her massive skirt covered ass to me.
I raised her skirt to reveal her giant milky ass and prepared myself. Today, I wasn't just going to slap her once and get it over with. Instead of gathering a hundred points of mana in my hands, I gathered ten points to slap her, but also held back on my power.
As my hand collided with the pillowy ass, it rippled all the way to the other cheek and it rippled as well.
"Ow." Rayla winced a little.
Since there was little pleasure due to the lack of mana, she didn't find it as good as the last time. Still, I raised my hand again and began to spank her, the power in my hit a little less than last time.
The idea was to get her used to it, make her feel good through it, so she'd ask for more and more, and since I was the only one who could use mana like that, she wouldn't be able to feel the same from anyone else.
"Ahh~~ Sweetie~~" She called me in between moans while I slapped her.
"Yes?" I asked her as I gently rubbed her slightly red ass cheek.
"It doesn't feel the same as last time." She said.
"Don't worry, mother. This is much better. Instead of all the pleasure at once, this will help you feel better with every hit." I replied, and before she could argue, I began to slap her once again.
"Aahhnn~~~ Ahhh~~~ Hnn~~~"
And all she could do was just moan while I enjoyed myself and this new world.