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It seems that it is not hard at all to join the merchant guild. You just need to pay an enormous fee, and also show another merchant what you sell to make it seem like you're an actual merchant. This way no random thugs or adventurers suddenly get a merchant pass.
"I see… It doesn't seem so hard; I got a lot of things inside of my bag. Anyways, I want to first exchange these mana stones for gold coins." I said. I quickly took out a gigantic bag with Mana Stones.
"Oh! I see… T-That's a lot! You see… A hundred copper coins make a silver coin, and hundred silver coins make a gold coin… Get it? So, a single mana stone's price is usually almost around two to three copper coins… These one are of high quality though, so their price might go up to ten… T-There are a lot too…" said the girl. "Let me consult this with a superior…"
She kept her calm and walked away, quickly bringing an old Mountain Giant man who was quite short, perhaps because he was very old, instead of being three meters like they usually are, this guy was two meters and around 60 centimeters, "small" for giant standards.
"Hmmm… T-These are genuine, and there are… how many?" he asked.
"I think there is roughly five hundred thousand there… I counted them." I said.
"I-Incredible… and they exude such rich mana… Okay, I guess the price is way higher…" said the giant. "Come with me to the other room, we'll bring you some drinks to wait while we calculate the price."
"Can my wife and child come?" I asked.
"Yes, sure thing! Please…" the giant man acted very friendly; he was interested in the merchandise I brought.
Although big Kingdoms used a system of copper, silver, and gold coins, they still valued mana stones a lot, as they were like lesser mana potions that everyone could immediately crush and absorb to regain mana, and in this advanced society, mana was everything and it was widely used in almost all things.
Mana stones are the refined product that comes from the raw item of mana cores. Mana cores cannot be properly consumed directly, and although they can be used as batteries, they come with many impurities so very often most magic artifacts run through mana stones, which is the clean crystalized mana that comes from the mana cores.
And it costs some money to refine mana cores into mana stones, which is sometimes an investment that people have to do, as the requirements to make the formations and the artifacts to refine mana cores into mana stones also require money to make and many other resources.
But as I am selling the already refined product, it is very convenient to buy it straight away, especially because my mana stones are refined way better than most conventional ways, and therefore have a greater mana output and quality, and therefore, because rare mana stones with such high quality are not common, they cost more.
"Oh? They invited us to drink tea and- are those orange cookies?" asked Benladann, her eyes shone brightly as she began to grab a few cookies, Benladra quickly began to eat cookies with her mother, while Benladann drank tea as well… mother and daughter are very similar.
"It seems that the merchant guild treats their clients well, that's good." I said with a smile, as the merchant entered the room and sat down in front of me, there was a small table in the middle of four couches. Benladann was to my right side with our daughter in her legs.
"Sir, may I ask your name?"
"Name's Drake."
Wait, should I reveal him my identity as the Emperor of an Empire? No… that would cause too much fuss, but it would explain why I got so many mana stones without making it seem as if I was a thief.
The other option is saying I am a sect master, from a small sect nobody knows… yes, that works better, I think it could mitigate the blow of having so many mana stones of such high quality.
"I am a Sect Master from an independent and small sect that lives in the snow lands. I have decided to come to these lands with my family and friends to exchange resources we produce and make some money, I have thought about expanding my territory and perhaps build a city." I said. "So I need a lot of capital for that, becoming a merchant seemed natural."
"Oooh! I see, so you're a sect master! That makes a lot of sense, you exude such a strong mana aura, you're definitely at least Rank 3, right?" asked the man.
"Yeah… Actually, I am Rank 4." I said. It was important to reveal my strength right away so they could respect me.
I released a small bit of my true mana aura, which emerged from my body like an ocean of endless and freezing winds.
FLAAAASH!
"N-Nggh…! S-Such freezing cold! I-Incredible… Such power…"
The man gasped for air as I contained my aura again.
"Sorry about that. Although I come from rather wild lands where they only teach us about strength being above all else, I am well aware that bigger kingdoms value resources and production-based talents above strength sometimes, so I am not willing to use my strength to attempt to get money or something, if possible, I want to make money peacefully." I said.
"I-I see… you're strong but also an honest man. It is very rare to see a merchant this powerful, this means that your items might never run danger when you travel around the countryside, if you ever find bandits you can just kill them easily… I guess it is a good idea to invest in you." He said.
"Invest?" I asked while raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, sorry for not saying my name before but I am Jarunn Orann, the merchant in charge of this guild in the village of Orange. I have thought about giving you a merchant card immediately and register you as one, because… well, I am not allowed to do such big transactions with you if you're not a member of our guilds."
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