“*Whistle* Well, that was a rather quick fight, wasn’t it?” Arthur muttered as he looked down at the dead corpses around him. The scene was quite terrifying and the realistic details made it even more ominous. However, Arthur didn’t feel any of that.
If anything, he liked what he was seeing. It looked like a fine piece of art he just created himself. A very bloody and frankly nightmarish piece of art, but still an art.
“I consider myself quite the artist, that’s for sure.” He muttered with a laugh.
[Ding!]
[You have killed Level 1 Player King98.]
[You have killed Level 1 Player Soul87.]
[You have killed Level 1 Player Darkmoon174.]
[You have gained +75% experience points.]
[You have gained +2 Stamina.]
[You have acquired 3 new items.]
“Oh, I get to receive some of their items too? That’s nice.” Arthur smiled as he opened his inventory.
There, he saw exactly four new things had been added. One of them was the fur of one of these wolves, one halberd, one normal iron sword, and one iron helmet. Checking their stats, Arthur realized that they were all base-level equipment given to each class. In other words, they weren’t that unique or important to him especially since he already has good equipment.
“Oh well, I will sell them in the village for a quick buck.” He muttered before finally focusing on the last notification.
[Ding!]
[Six dead targets have been detected.]
[Would you like to use ‘Blood Eater’ ability on them?]
[Accept.] [Refuse.]
“… Hmm, one single question I need to ask.” He lifted his index finger as he said. “Is it morally ethical for me to absorb the blood of dead humans even if it’s in a game?”
The question would sound very odd to any other person that would hear it. But, for Arthur, he frankly didn’t care much.
“I have no reason not to. Who says no to a free gift?” He muttered.
‘Accept.’
Then, Arthur watched a giant ball of blood form above each and every single dead target before they merged into one singular massive ball. That ball then was swiftly absorbed by Arthur’s hand.
[You have absorbed the target successfully.]
[Absorption efficiency 10%]
[+4 Agility, +2 Health.]
[Ding!]
[‘Blood Eater’ has leveled up!]
Feeling the newfound power, Arthur exhaled a long breath of satisfaction. “This feeling is terrifyingly nice. I don’t think I will grow bored of it.”
With that, Arthur turned around and started walking away from the dead targets. What was essentially a trip to harvest some mushrooms had turned into three brutal fights one after the other. Although Arthur successfully killed every single thing that tried to attack him and gained a lot of power from doing that, he still hadn’t expected this trip to be such a detour.
“I wonder what would happen if I go out with the intent to hunt.” He muttered as he walked through the thick forest, guided by the map.
A few minutes later, he reached the village and headed straight toward Nina’s shop. On the way, he found a shop that seemed to sell a variety of things. The merchant inside was a young man in his twenties.
‘Does he buy things? I would love to sell these cheap equipment and wolf fur.’ Wondering to himself, he walked inside to inquire about it.
There were some players in there seemingly for the same purpose. Luckily, the man seemed to be taking their acquired items and giving them copper and silver coins in return. Some tried to negotiate more money for their items, but the man was surprisingly quite hard to negotiate with.
“Come on man, give me more. These are hard to get!” One player said.
“That’s the final price. Either take it or not.” The man said as he adjusted his glasses.
“… Tsk!” The player cursed and took the money before grumpily leaving the shop. The ones after him had no luck either. Finally, Arthur’s turn came and he stepped forward.
Putting the items on the table, he said. “Price.”
‘Those fools don’t know a single thing about negotiations. Of course, he wouldn’t budge.’ Arthur rolled his eyes as he waited for the man to make a price.
“4 silver coins and 9 copper coins.” The man replied.
“Make them 8 silver coins and no copper coins.” Arthur shook his head.
“No, eithe-”
“Are you really sure about that? I mean, look at this. How many players came with this many items for you to buy? Hm?” Arthur asked.
“…” The merchant squinted his eyes as he examined the things on the table again. “None.”
“Exactly. Listen, how about this, if you take them for 8 silvers, I will be a loyal customer of this establishment. I can say that I can bring you far more interesting things and for a good price too since you were nice to me. How about that?”
“…” The man seemed hesitant after hearing Arthur.
‘I just need one more push.’ Arthur smiled.
“Well, if you’re that hesitant. I guess there is no point in doing this.” Arthur sighed as he picked up the items, ready to return them to his inventory and leave.
“Wait.” At that moment, the man spoke. “I will give you 6 silvers and 5 copper coins. How about that?”
“8 Silvers or no deal, sir,” Arthur said as he turned around to leave the shop. He seemed very unbothered by the entire situation. However, everyone else in the shop looked at him with surprise in their eyes.
“Fine, 8 silvers. You have a deal.” The man seemingly unable to let go of those items, decided to accept.
‘So easy.’ Arthur grinned as he turned around and walked back to the merchant. “Thank you for your cooperation. You have gained yourself a loyal customer, sir.”
***
*CLING*
“Nice, I have gotten 8 silvers. I still don’t know how the currency works in this world. But, at least I have some money now.” As he walked through the street, Arthur played with the 8 silvers casually while also examining the prices of all kinds of goods around him to gouge the economic state of this world.
‘Hmm, most foods like meat, fruits, and vegetables are all in coppers rather than silvers. That’s good. I guess weapons are probably no less than one silver even for the cheapest one.’
As weird as it was, Arthur was starting to understand how it worked. There were some questions on whether this miniature example could be applied to bigger areas like cities but he at least knew that he was on the right path at that moment.
Eventually, he found himself back at Nina’s shop. It was already afternoon when he reached her since the sun was leaning in the sky toward the horizon.
“Nina, are you here?” Walking inside, he called for the lady. But, she wasn’t at her counter. So, he decided to wait.
A few minutes passed with the woman nowhere to be seen. “Nina? Are you here?”
The boy called for her again but got no response. “Where is she? Didn’t she want these mushrooms for her lunch? It’s way past lunchtime.”
As he was contemplating what to do, the door from the other side opened as a head peaked in.
“Oh, you’re back?”
“Yeah.” Turning around, Arthur responded with a smile. “Where hav-”
Then, he went completely silent and stared at the woman in shock. He didn’t expect what he had just seen.