Volume 8: Chapter 8 – Magic Crystal
After leaving the inn, I wandered around without any destination. I thought, ‘I really have lost my standing in Aixia. I also don’t know how the teachers are faring, and that adorable Hai Shui too, I don’t know if I will be able to meet them again someday.’
As I walked on, I suddenly heard someone shout, “This is the opening day of my shop. I welcome everyone to come forward to peruse and purchase some of my items.”
I raised my head and found it was a jewellery shop. I was moved as now I was traveling with 100 people. ‘The expenditure is not little. The Diamond coins on me are also running out. I shall go and sell some of my jewels.’
Thinking of this, I walked over. This jewel shop was obviously renovated quite recently; it looked really grand. Just as I walked to the entrance, a servant welcomed me and asked, “Mister, please come in, and have a look. We have just opened our businesses so there will be discounts.”
I nodded and followed him in.
There was a lot of people in the jewel shop who were selecting things that caught their eyes.
I asked the servant, “Do you accept gemstones here?”
The servant was briefly stunned before replying, “Yes, we do accept them. Do you have gemstones that you want to sell?”
I nodded.
The servant replied, “Please wait for a moment, and I will bring someone over.” After he said that, he turned around and entered a building.
Shortly after, the servant walked out with a middle aged person that seemed to be a merchant. He said, “This is our boss. You should talk to him instead.”
The boss said, “My greetings to you. Let’s have a chat inside.” This boss really knew how to do a business. He knew that valuables shouldn’t be revealed inadvertently.
He let me into his office and closed the door before he asked, “Mister, what are you planning to sell?”
I took a fist-sized purple crystal from my space pocket and gave it to him. The boss exclaimed, “A purple crystal, and a large one at that!” He took it carefully, fondling it with admiration as he looked at it.
I asked, “Will you accept it?”
The boss nodded, then shook his head before he replied, “This crystal is too precious. It is flawless, and can withhold a great amount of magic power. It is a high-grade purple crystal that can support an aerial magic artillery that could shoot at least 1000 times. I’m afraid that we won’t be able to afford it.” (It is extremely difficult to move the Magic Cannon. Even though it’s very powerful, it can only used for the protection of the city. Every time it fired, it’s equivalent to an Advanced Grade magic attack. It also needs a long time to gather it’s power for every shot. The main source of it’s power is the magic crystal. Since magic crystals are precious, except for a minority of important towns, the Ström Fortress had prepared 200 aerial magic artilleries. This was also one of the main reasons why the Ström Fortress was so firm.)
Such a big jewel shop couldn’t afford to buy a purple jewel? I frowned, “Please give me an estimation of its price.”
The boss replied unhesitantly, “The minimum price is 20,000 diamond coins.”
It was worth that much? 20,000 diamond coins was an astronomical value to me. I smiled and replied, “Even though this price is rather low, I’m in need of money. If you want, I will sell it to you for 20,000 diamond coins.”
The boss eyes lit up. It was obvious that the crystal was worth far more than the price offered. He clenched his teeth and replied, “How about this, please wait for a moment. I will gather some friends to see if we have enough money. Initially, we could afford the crystal, however I have just started business, so some of the funds were spent on purchasing goods, and I do not have enough money that I can readily give you. ”
The boss hastily went out,while I played with the crystal in my hand. Although I could feel that it contained strong magic power, there wasn’t anything special about it, and it unexpectedly was worth so much. If he knew what I had wrapped up behind me was Sukrad’s staff, I wonder what he would think.
That boss ran back a little while later, his face and clothes filled with perspiration. He looked at me, and clearly heaved a sigh of relief. I said smilingly, “What, were you afraid that I was going to run away?”
The boss smiled awkwardly before replying, “I have gathered the money. Let’s go to the Magic Union to do the exchange.” (For large transactions, the Magic Union would have to settle it.)
I followed him to the Magic Union. There was also an notification for my arrest here. Luckily, I was wearing my conical bamboo hat. After I passed the amethyst card to the boss, he was astonished and exclaimed, “You have an amethyst card. You must be a famous magician.”
I said coldly, “Don’t ask any more questions and just quickly do the exchange.”
Under my surveillance, the boss transferred 20,000 diamond coins into my account. Haha! I had become rich!
After returning to the jewel shop, I gave him the purple crystal. As I looked at him, he looked at it as if it was his baby; I wanted to laugh.
The boss humbly said, “Lord Mage, if you have such high-grade magic gemstones in the future, can you sell them to my shop? We will definitely give you a reasonable price.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think I will. This place is so far away, and I don’t know when I will be coming back to this town.”
The boss smiled and replied, “Our Auspicious Jewel Shop is a chain store. One of our branches can be found in every single city on the eastern continent.”
Oh! It was a chain jewelry store.
The boss took out a card and passed it to me. “This is our jewel shops’ VIP card. If you take it to any of our stores, you will receive preferential treatment.”
I took the yellow card and replied, “The cards are graded?”
The boss replied, “Of course, the VIP card has five grades, and this card is of the highest grade. We will only give it out to important guests.”
I chuckled. “I feel really honoured, and look forward to working with you in the future.” After I said that, I kept the VIP card.
The boss had personally walked me out of the jewel store. Judging from his joyful face, I knew that he had greatly profited in this transaction. This chain of jewel stores had become the biggest jewel store in the future due to my frequent visits. Of course, I also acquired from them what I needed for all my expenditures.
I took out 100 diamond coins to buy some necessities that filled up two big cars before returning to the inn. I had to really thank the generous Dragon people. I wouldn’t have to worry about my finances in the future.
I gave out the necessities to the villagers the next day before we continued to move towards Xiuda.
We were treated as a mercenaries, and therefore did not encounter too many troubles. We arrived at Pulima City without a hitch. It was at this place where I first learnt about being a mercenary army, and this place was also very near the valley that Big Brother Zhan Hu occupied.