Reborn as the First Boss, Chapter 92

Chapter 92 – Merchant and Goblins

Ayen Uriharice was an unusual person, being a Level 32 Merchant / Merchant. Yes, Merchant apparently was both a Class and a Profession, and, yes, apparently you could take both. Most people didn’t do that, though, for obvious reasons, like the lack of any crafting or combat skills. That said, there was some method to the madness, it appeared.

I was sitting next to the elf in his wagon as we traveled the road to Crystalshield. Our wagon was ahead of his, with Linette driving. Off to either side, Rastran and Frostmaw were trotting along, hidden under [Invisibility] spells. A single casting of the spell lasted for a number of minutes equal to my CHA, or until the person hidden under the spell attacked. Including my items, my CHA was 2102, which meant that single cast would last for over a day. Sure, there were spells and skills that could see through a Tier 1 spell, even one cast by a Tier 2 caster, but if someone was able to easily beat my spell, then they were either Tier 2, or had enough stacking bonuses to make them a legitimate threat.

For now, though, my Dire Hellhound and Lesser Dragon were hidden from view, and Zazriel had her wings and halo hidden behind her [Visage] skill. Two wagons in a convoy were more of a threat than a lone wagon, certainly. Especially with one of the wagons being hauled by a team of undead oxen. However, it was still orders of magnitude lower threat than having a dragon visible was. Couldn’t be too threatening, after all. We wanted to draw out the goblins and bandits safely, not convince them to run away.

So, while we waited for the inevitable attack along the road, I entertained myself by talking with our client. Ayen was only too pleased to talk with me about his unusual choice of profession. People in this world were born into their class, but there were ways to change it if they disliked it. The profession was always chosen, when the Voice of the World unlocked their status. Ayen’s choice had been more considered than most people would think.

“It is all about the synergies, you see,” he told me. “The Class and Profession provide bonuses to skills like [Bargaining] and [Appraise], which stack with each other, becoming far more powerful together. Even better, both the Class and Profession give XP for buying and selling, as well as making bargains. Which means I get double the experience from every transaction. Even if the rate is lower, now that I’m at this level, that still adds up. And since most of the Class and Profession skills are the same, I not only have more points for General skills to make up the difference, but I have started gaining access to skills that normally wouldn’t show up for someone in Tier 1. I did pick up General Skills like [Campfire Cooking], [Herb Lore], and [Clubs], so I could feed and defend myself, at least enough that I won’t be a liability. I’m no warrior, but I can at least hold a goblin off long enough for a bodyguard to come to my aid. At the same time, though, I get skills like [Market Prediction], which gives me hints at what materials or items may be in demand where I’m going, and what might be available for cheap.”

“Fascinating,” I said, and I meant it. “So, while most people use their Class and Profession to cover for weaknesses, or allowing them to pick up combat and noncombat roles, you went more along the lines of a Fighter who picked the Soldier or Bodyguard profession, enhancing their strengths. But then why are you a traveling merchant? Surely you could have set up a permanent shop and grown it to a profitable empire by now?”

“By now, she says!” The elf laughed. “I’m only thirty-nine, Miss Alis. That’s very young for an elf, barely a man, more like a teenager to humans like your maid and the two sisters.”

I noticed that he had not included me in the human group, and raised an eyebrow. The man noticed it, and grinned. “Since you’re actually listening to me talk, I’ll let you in on a bit of a secret. At level 30, the Merchant class gains the [True Appraise] skill. Needs you to say the skill name to invoke it, unlike the normal [Appraise], and the range is shorter. But I checked on you while you were busy with casting the [Invisibility] spells on your companions. It got through both your [False Appraisal] spells, but my head felt like it had been run over by both the wagons, after. If I hadn’t gotten the [Poker Face] skill, and you all hadn’t been distracted, you probably would have noticed.”

So, I was right. There were skills out there, even in Tier 1, which could let him pierce my [False Appraisal] spell. But punching through both spells had clearly been harder than he expected. The headache sounded like spell backlash. I would need to look into finding a Tier 2 version of [False Appraisal], then.

“And you’re not concerned about revealing that to me?” I asked.

The elf laughed at that. Actually laughed. “You’re a Tier 2 dual-class caster, and you have an Angel, Hellhound, and Dragon under your command. If you wanted me dead, there isn’t a thing I could do to stop you, even if you waited until we were in Crystalshield and the escort job was complete. But [Market Prediction] tells me that profit is going to follow you. Most of the real Merchants in Bikar are elders who are in Tier 2, almost Tier 3, thanks to making deals all their lives, or are part of those elders’ houses. Me, I’m a nobody from no big merchant family. However, that’s just in Bikar. Merchants in Dascora rarely live long enough to break into Tier 2, unless they go dungeon delving or something similar. Not their fault, since they’re mostly human, and they just don’t have the same lifespan as elves, but it does open an opportunity for me to break into a market I normally wouldn’t be welcome in.”

I had to smile. “So, you know the secret behind my [False Appraisal], and all you want is to be able to go and set up shop in my domain?”

“When you put it like that, it sounds small. And maybe it is, in the short term. But Elves live long lives, you know. Planning for the long term is what we do best, though it does tend to leave most of us less agile against short-term threats. Which is why I want to set up a permanent presence in a human kingdom. I can grab locals to act as advisors on short-term gains, and use them to further long-term plans.”

As the local ruler of Windwater Barony, I technically had the final say about people from other territories, especially other countries, settling down in my domain. Migrants, including merchants and adventurers were generally free to come and go, so long as they weren’t breaking laws, and the clergy of the different churches were exempt, so long as they were being tied to a particular shrine or temple. However, anyone else looking to permanently set up shop in my domain needed my approval, first.

The Inquisitor and his bunch skirted the rules by officially coming as adventurers, rather than representatives of the Church. The farm they’d used as their base had not been purchased, but instead had been leased, with an option to buy later. If the Inquisitor had tried to stay on after a month’s time, he would have needed my permission to remain, as that crossed the line from transient to settler.

“Hm. I can respect that. Very well, I’ll approve you settling down and setting up a business within my domain, but don’t expect any special privileges or the like. If you want to play for the long term, you’ll need to earn the trust of the people, and not just rely on the whims of those in charge.”

“Naturally,” Ayen nodded. “All I wished was a foot in the door. And while I may not be from an established merchant family, I do have some contacts within Bikar and Crystalshield, who might enjoy having a known partner to work with in expanding their trade into Dascora.”

“Mistress, there are goblins in the bushes by the road. Fifteen, waiting in ambush position.”

Frostmaw’s mental voice spoke through the [Mindnet]. I had kept the channel open, but quiet, for just this kind of scenario. Clearly, the Lesser Dragon’s keen nose picked up the goblins’ scent.

“Ten more on this side,” Rastran spoke from his side of the caravan.

“Breathe on them, my pets, and scare the greenskins into the open.”

I glanced over to Ayen as I drew my Spellshooter. “Goblins,” I said, simply.

I’d barely gotten the words from my lips when a gout of hellfire incinerated a clump of bushes on the left side of the road, while a wintery blast froze the ones on the right side. There were shrieks of pain and surprise, and less than twenty goblins stumbled out into the open, well in front of the first wagon, though some of them looked barely alive. Clearly, the twin breath attacks had done a number on them, in addition to spoiling their ambush.

Unfortunately for the remaining goblins, they’d grouped up a little too much. Two taps of the [Magic Missile] spell, upgraded with the [Explosive Shots] spell, sent 11 missiles at each group, each of which exploded with a 5-meter radius, dealing 2,102 damage to every creature in that radius. Or, 23,122 damage to every individual goblin.

Goblins were not known for their incredible CON scores. At level 30, I expected they probably had a CON of somewhere around 150, at best. They were agile, strong, and surprisingly clever bastards, but the only stat they generally had that was worse than CON was CHA. That said, these goblins were ones who had survived regular culling attempts by adventurers and militias, so some of them likely had skills like [Tough] or [Mettle], which would give more HP, or reduce magic damage. Rather, some of them obviously had those skills, because six of them were still standing.

At least, they were standing, before the others got in on things. Throwing knives, arrows, and blood spikes took down the remaining goblins before I could do a proper damage assessment on how badly my spell had hurt them. Not that I was complaining.

Ayen just frowned slightly. “That is odd. Usually, it is later in the day, or even sometime before lunch on the second day, before we see goblins on the attack. Their lairs are closer to the city-state of Crystalshield than Eshiari, after all.”

I understood his concern immediately. Monsters suddenly changing their behaviors could have several reasons, but none of them were especially pleasant to consider. “And this area was not the best for an ambush. Sure, there were bushes on the sides of the road, but the forest we’re supposed to pass through tomorrow would be closer to their lair, and almost certainly would offer better sites for an ambush. Something is going on.”

No answers presented themselves as we checked the corpses of the slain goblins. We claimed their ears, to show proof of the kill, but their wargear was all too small for our use, and their… everything was just too small altogether, even if it didn’t look like the only thing we’d be able to do is have someone break it down for parts and magical essence. The goblins also looked scrawny (well, extra scrawny), as though they’d been on cut rations recently.

“There is one possibility,” I said, softly.

“The bandits forcing the goblins out of the forest, leaving the goblins the foothills and such, for the moment, while they take the trees to aid them, right?” Ayen said, his voice full of concern, and I answered with a nod. He sighed. “But, if that’s the case, then the bandit problem either has significant backing, or they’ve found some other means of gaining far more power than they should be able to. Finding and cleansing the bandit lair might become the more important task overall, rather than completing the escort quest.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” I said. “And, if it comes to that, we have enough people that we could split the group safely, and one side remains with the wagons, while the other goes to track their base, if they can.”

“As you say,” Ayen nodded. “Though I doubt the enemy will give us much time to decide, one way or the other.”

“Yes, enemies are often rude like that,” I chuckled.