Ten percent wasn’t a small fee.
However, it was also not easy to invite the right people or collectors who would want to purchase the sealed artifact he had...
He might be able to find a mage willing to buy it, but without proper protection or a reliable middleman, he could just as easily get robbed in the process.
With that in mind, Rayven wanted to accept the offer immediately.
Still, he had to be frugal — every gold coin saved meant more chances to use his spells.
"Isn’t ten percent a bit too high?" Rayven finally said after a pause. "I’m planning to do more transactions in this auction hall if you can give me a better deal."
Darius considered it for a moment. Bargaining was nothing new to him; everyone tried, even nobles, just to squeeze more money from them.
That was the reason they set the fee at ten percent in the first place — it gave room to make certain "concessions." VIPs, regular customers, relatives, or friends might be given discounts depending on their status.
"You drive a hard bargain for someone so young, Master Rayven. Ten percent is our standard... and we don’t make exceptions lightly." He replied.
"I’m not asking for an exception," Rayven replied. "I’m offering you a future client. If I’m satisfied with this sale, there will be others. Artifacts, rare items — things you won’t see from ordinary sellers."
With his Appraisal Skill, he was quite confident in finding such hidden treasures.
Darius studied him for a moment before he finally smiled.
"You sound confident. I like that. Nine percent." The source of thɪs content is NoveI★Fire.net
"Seven," Rayven said without hesitation.
The manager chuckled softly. "Seven? You realize that’s what we offer to royal retainers and the largest merchant families."
Rayven met his gaze and nodded. "Then you’ll know I’m not wasting your time."
For a brief moment, Darius seemed to weigh the offer. Finally, he gave a small nod. The lowest he could offer with his authority was 5% anyway.
"Seven percent it is. But remember — you’ve set the bar high for yourself. I’ll be expecting more items worth the trouble."
"You’ll get them," Rayven said without missing a beat.
The matter was soon settled by signing a few papers and his getting a copy of the receipt...
As Darius collected the papers to file them later, he couldn’t help but feel curious why Rayven was so confident he’d become a regular customer...
Then, as he reached this thought, he finally realized something.
"Tell me... do you plan on visiting that dungeon they found recently? No--were you part of the first explorers?"
Rayven blinked, slightly caught off guard. "Dungeon?"
"You haven’t heard? I thought that’s the reason why you promised you’d be a repeat customer." Darius raised a brow.
Anyway, he just decided to continue explaining.
"Four kilometers north of here, in the foothills past the old mining road. The seventeenth dungeon was discovered within the Kingdom of Velmoria."
Rayven was a bit surprised about this.
"That’s incredible... If I remember correctly, there were only 16 Dungeons for the last 10 years... I didn’t expect a new one to have popped out." Rayve said as he learned this from Thyruz as they traveled together for several days.
"Yes... I heard it’s a magical place," Darius continued. "But well, they always are. Filled with treasures and rare resources... but also magic beasts and traps that have ended more than a few adventurers’ lives. In the kingdom’s entire recorded history, only two dungeons have ever been fully explored..."
There was a brief pause as Darius shook his head.
"Still, for those who return alive, the rewards are unlike anything else. Some noble houses made their fortunes from a single successful dungeon raid. But... that’s not my area. I won’t bore you with speculation." Darius explained.
"Interesting... Do you think I can join the exploration, dungeon raid, or something?"
Darius helplessly smiled after hearing this.
"Not easy... You have to either be part of the Adventurers Guild or the Mage Association. If not that, you should consider attending an academy or any school to get certification with your skills as a Third-Rate Swordsman or maybe an Initiate Mage..." Darius said even though Rayven should already be aware of it.
"Academy, huh..." Rayven repeated. He heard about the existence of the adventurers’ guild and the mage association.
He also knew about this concept since the book he had read before his death, ’The Overpowered Alchemist King’s Dungeon Harem,’ had dungeons, mages, and adventurers...
’Wait... Is this world--’ As Rayven reached this thought, Darius realized that the young master in front of him was truly unaware of this matter.
Since he felt like he was seeing his own son from Rayven, he continued to explain.
"You’re right... They have the archives, the training, and the people who’ve studied dungeons for decades. You’d learn a lot attending one."
Rayven finally felt satisfied as he ended their small talk.
Their business concluded, so Darius rose from his seat and extended a hand. "Then I look forward to seeing you in three days, young master Holt. I suspect this will be... entertaining."
Rayven shook his hand and nodded. "Entertaining is fine. Profitable is better."