Mastery Is Earned

In his haste to find Henk, Raymond had left the scale in his hand instead of putting it away. He had not expected the monster to appear to recognize it.

Without betraying any reaction, he quietly slipped the scale into his pack. He had only just put it away when the young seller returned from the shop, leading a richly dressed old man.

The young man discreetly pointed to Henk, who stood silently nearby. The old man merely glanced at him and said nothing.

Raymond guessed that the old man had been doing business here for a long time and had probably encountered plenty of similar incidents. The monster that kept barking at Raymond seemed to surprise the old man instead.

The old man looked at Raymond. “It seems this kobold has taken quite a liking to you.”

“A kobold? This is a kobold?” Raymond was surprised. He had not expected the monster to be one. It actually looked rather imposing, like a young dragon curled in on itself, yet its doglike barking sounded comically out of place.

“Yes, this is a kobold. Look at its scales and horns, and that tail. Doesn't it make you feel like you're raising a dragon of your own?” Noticing Raymond's apparent interest, the old man continued his sales pitch. “For only eight silver coins, you can take it home.”

“Eight silver coins?” Raymond shook his head. The kobold did appear to know something about the scale, but he could not possibly spend that much to buy one. The old man had obviously inflated the price after noticing his interest.

“Even if you don't want it as a pet, you can put it to work in a mine. Kobolds are born miners. They can squeeze through narrow cracks no human could enter, see perfectly well without a lamp, and eat less than half as much as an ordinary child. You won't find a better bargain.” The old man continued trying to persuade him.

“Forget it. I'm not interested.” Raymond turned and walked away, though he silently marked the stall's location. This kobold was the only one so far to recognize the scale's origin. Naturally, Raymond had no intention of truly giving up on it. He simply did not want the merchant to see how determined he was to acquire it.

Raymond's departure made the kobold bark even louder. Already in a foul mood, the old man kicked the cage and muttered a curse. “Useless thing. Still can't get rid of you!”

After they had walked some distance, Raymond looked back at Henk. “Are you all right?”

Henk shook his head and forced a faint smile. “Just someone down on her luck.”

Raymond sighed as well. The shop had not been selling only half-orcs and other monsters. Women and children were merchandise too. He was still powerless to change any of it. But with the extraordinary ability of the proficiency system, Raymond believed that one day he would no longer be forced to stand aside and watch.

The black market undeniably contained a great many strange and unusual things. One impoverished vendor was selling a large crimson gemstone engraved with ancient-looking runes. He claimed it was a family heirloom and that only his family's decline had forced him to part with it.

According to the vendor, the gem had once been nothing more than an attractive ornament. Recently, however, it had begun to change for some unknown reason. Whenever anyone approached, it automatically emitted enough heat to keep them warm.

Raymond was intrigued by the strange trinket and thought it might be an ancient magical item, but the price of ten gold coins immediately put an end to any notion of buying it for study.

Another merchant offered a secret manual titled *Breathing Technique*, claiming it had come from a great family with an ancient lineage. Supposedly, any ordinary person who practiced it could easily gain enough power to kill ten people in a single breath.

Raymond was even more certain that this one was an outright fraud. If the technique were truly so powerful, how could the family have declined so far that it needed to sell its own secret teachings?

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There were many other utterly unexpected wares besides. Some people forged travel permits and false identities. Others sold information such as the locations of warehouse keys, guard patrol schedules, and lists of who would be on duty. Even a contract on a specific person's life could be arranged for a clearly stated price. The place truly opened Raymond's eyes.

All these strange offerings were a mixture of truth and fraud. There was no telling whether anything bought here was genuine, but the money spent on it certainly was.

Only when he reached the end of the passage did Raymond reluctantly stop exploring. Looking up, he saw a huge shop occupying the entire far end. Its interior was brightly lit, yet there were very few people inside. After exchanging a glance, Raymond and Henk entered the large shop together.

There was almost no one inside apart from several attendants hurrying back and forth. No goods were displayed along either side, making the place look more like an ordinary residence than a shop.

The attendants neither acknowledged Raymond and Henk nor came forward to greet them. They simply continued with their own tasks.

Raymond found this rather strange. He quickly approached one of the busy attendants and asked, “What is this place?”

Displeasure crossed the attendant's face at being stopped. He frowned slightly, glanced at Raymond and Henk, and asked with a hint of arrogance, “Your first time here?”

“It is,” Raymond replied honestly, paying no attention to the man's attitude.

“You can buy anything you want here, and we'll take anything you want to sell—provided you don't bring us some worthless rubbish and try to pass it off as something else,” the attendant said flatly.

Raymond's heart gave a jolt. It seemed he had truly come to the right place. He took the black ore from its small cloth pouch and held it out. “Would you buy this kind of ore?”

The attendant neither answered nor accepted it. He simply walked deeper into the shop, leaving Raymond standing there alone.

Before long, a voluptuous woman emerged from the back. She wore a vivid red dress, and her hair was just as red. Her beautiful features made her exceptionally alluring.

“Are you the one looking to sell some ore?” The red-haired woman walked toward Raymond. After examining him and Henk with mild curiosity, she smiled as she spoke.

“Yes. Take a look.” Raymond handed her the piece of black ore.

As the woman took it from him, her fingertips brushed lightly across his palm, whether by accident or design. The touch sent a faint, strange sensation through him. Noticing the mixed look in his eyes, the red-haired woman gave him a flirtatious wink, as though pleased with herself.

In truth, she was remarkably beautiful. Her makeup was vivid and heavy, and her openly seductive manner genuinely stirred Raymond. He might have had experience with women in his previous life, but in this one, he was still a virgin. His teenage body simply could not handle teasing like this.

Swaying her hips, the red-haired woman sauntered back to the counter and placed the ore on the table for a careful examination. Every so often, she glanced up and winked at Raymond.

Raymond glanced awkwardly at Henk beside him. The half-orc did not seem to be faring any better. When their eyes met, Henk rubbed his nose in embarrassment and made a visible effort to look away.

Raymond could not help laughing inwardly. Henk showed no fear even before the most vicious bandits, yet a woman flaunting her charms had made him this uncomfortable.

As the red-haired woman studied the ore, her expression soon darkened. The change lasted only a moment before she concealed it. When she looked up at Raymond again, the same seductive smile remained on her face. “This is good ore. Where did you get it?”

“I thought this place didn't ask where its goods came from,” Raymond said.

The woman smiled and walked over to his side. “That's true, but I was curious, so I thought I'd ask.”

Raymond appeared utterly captivated by her. With a proud expression, he said, “I took this as loot after defeating a Greater Goblin in its lair. Do you know what a Greater Goblin is? It was a truly terrifying creature. If I hadn't been so exceptionally brave—and if Henk, ah, the big fellow over there, hadn't been there to support me—I might never have managed to kill it!”

“Oh my, a Greater Goblin!” the red-haired woman exclaimed, covering her mouth with one fair hand. “Thank goodness you weren't hurt. I can't imagine how worried I would have been if anything had happened to you.”

“As you can see, my lady, I escaped entirely unharmed, returned safely, and brought back these spoils.” Raymond smiled, his gaze growing increasingly ardent. “But I still don't know your name, my lady.”

“Tessa Mercer. Just call me Tessa,” the red-haired woman replied with a smile.

“Raymond. At your service.” Raymond gave her a slight bow.

The gesture made Tessa cover her mouth and giggle. She seemed thoroughly amused, and it took her quite some time to compose herself. “Then tell me—how much of this ore do you have, and how does its quality compare with the piece in your hand?”

“About two wagonloads, roughly two thousand pounds. I don't know much about the quality. This is simply a piece I picked at random,” Raymond said.

Tessa's expression became noticeably more serious once they began discussing business. After considering the matter for a moment, she said, “I won't know the exact price until I send someone to inspect the shipment.”

Raymond naturally had no objection. After giving Tessa the name of the warehouse, the two agreed to inspect the shipment there the following morning.