HC:Pacifist | Ch. 45 - Old Red

"Hello! Is there anybody there?" Roth's call broke the peaceful rustle of leaves. "Hello?"

Roth kept walking toward the center of the deserted clearing.

"Oh, human! You're back?" The hulking axe-carrying prince appeared as if he'd been teleported in from somewhere. Did this prince have some sort of camouflage skill?

"Hello, prince. It's good to see you."

"Ahaha. Likewise, likewise. Uuuuh. What do we have here?"

86.000 gold has been taken away from your inventory.

[Boar Trade] quest completed

Completion Rate: A

Rewards: 20.000(+2000)XP; 20.000(+2000) Broker XP; [Boar Trade Agreement]

Bonus Rewards: 15.000(+1500)XP; 15.000(+1500) Broker XP; [Power Truffle]; +100 reputation with all boars

[Broker Ledger] updated.

Level up!

Broker Profession Level up!

New broker skill unlocked!

Congratulations on completing a trade between [Prince Piglet] and [Greensburg]

+Broker 3000XP; 1% of the profit. (90 gold), +89 reputation with all boars.

Roth took the truffle off his inventory and held it in his trembling hand. This was incredible! He owned a [Power Truffle].

On the one hand, this was a priceless item. He had sold these for more than 17k gold. If he sold one of these and kept the whole profit, he was set for the next levels in the game. He was rich.

On the other hand, if the item was this expensive, it had to be because it was highly beneficial to a character to eat it. He took a deep breath. He closed his eyes tightly and put the truffle in his mouth. As he chewed on the spongy mushroom, he felt the gamy, earthy flavors flood his mouth. He swallowed it.

The vitality of the rare truffle flows into your blood and strengthens your vessels and organs. +10 strength.

What a refreshing day. After so much time having these unfinished quests on his window, everything looked tidy and complete. First, Roth went to check his new broker skill. He had already reached level 10 as a broker, and this would be his third broker skill!

Suppliers' Fortune (Broker)

Skill description: NPCs treasure the business relationship you have cultivated with them.

Skill effects: Passive. NPCs pay you 1%+(REP.CHA.INT) more when purchasing goods from you.

It was a skill that increased his gains from trading with NPCs. He had made his first fortune from selling his items to players. However, it seemed that the more he cozied up to NPCs, the more profitable it would be to trade with them.

This meant that Roth would have to not only cultivate supply channels but also find customers to sell these goods to. The advantage of doing so would only grow more significant as he deepened the relationship with the factions he was trading with. He would have to find an NPC willing to buy all his merchandise at a reasonable price.

He opened his ledger to check the new trade agreement.

Boar Trade Agreement {Exclusive}

You have earned the right to represent Prince Piglet as his broker.

Specialty products:

[Power Truffle] - 0.3 per day

[Boar King's Tusk] - 0.5 per day

[Bucket of Mud] - 5 per day

[Raspberries] - 20 per day

Procured goods:

[Empty]

Rate:

You keep 1% of all profits generated

You need to perform one sale every week, or you will lose broking exclusivity.

Now that Roth had all trade agreements lined up, he could put in motion the next step of his plan. After seeing the baroness earlier, he discovered a handy feature of the ledger. It was a new section that had been unlocked after gaining his second trade agreement. It neatly outlined all the products he had for sale.

Sales Catalog

Fruits & Vegetables

[Pine cones] - 30 per day

[Raspberries] - 20 per day

[Wild Onion] - 15 per day

[Glowshrooms] - 10 per day

[Wild Garlic] - 10 per day

[Acorn] - 10 per day

[Elder Berries] - 10 per day

[Morelshroom] - 5 per day

[Fox Ginseng] - 3 per day

[Power Truffle] - 0.3 per day

Equipment

[Crown Feather Earring] - 2 per day

[Crow Feather Tiara] - 1 per day

[Crown Feather Necklace] - 1 per day

Artifacts

[Badger Great Claw] - 1 per day

[Boar King's Tusk] - 0.5 per day

Miscellanea

[Raven Feathers] - 20 per day

[Bucket of Mud] - 5 per day

[Badger Claw] - 2 per day

[Miniaturizing Potion] - 2 per day

He opened the ledger in the catalog section and handed it over to Prince Piglet.

"Your majesty, since we last met, I have been entrusted with representing many other races here in the woods. I was wondering if there was anything your subjects lack these days that you would like to trade with your neighbors?"

"Oh? It's been a while since I last went shopping. Let me check. Oh. [Fox Ginseng]? This would be good for my injuries. They are powerful medicine, you know. When I was a small piglet and fell ill, my mom made medicine out of it. Oh? And you also have [Morelshrooms]? And [Wild Garlic]? We can't get those here."

[Fox Ginseng] was added to the boars' procured item list.

[Wild Garlic] was added to the boars' procured item list.

[Morelshrooms] were added to the boars' procured item list.

"Perfect, my prince. And rest assured, this is just the first edition of my catalog. Soon, many other specialty products will be coming your way, adding to the comfort of your people."

"That's fantastic. Please, keep an eye out for any items with medicinal properties. If there is anything I can do to speed up my recovery, I would appreciate it."

"I will, your majesty. I will be on my way now!"

Roth turned around and hurried away. The boar let out a happy snort. His presence faded into invisibility, and the clearing was again silent.

Roth's nose had smelled an opportunity, and he was glad he had taken it! He didn't have to keep coming back and forth between the city and the woods to maintain the exclusivity of the trade agreement! He could do one sales itinerary right here, inside these woods! His catalog already had many things, but there was still room for improvement. There was still one place he hadn't gone to.

Roth went first to see Oscar. After getting his blessing for the plan's next step, he looked up the map. Greenfield village was closest to him, but there was no way on earth he would be going back there. He opted to travel to Traverse Town instead.

Leaving the woods, it felt good to be hit with the sun's full power and get a broader view of the world. Today was a sunny clear day, as always, inside the beginner zone. Roth had been spending so much time inside the woods that he hadn't taken the time to go back and visit the beginner villages that had gotten him started on his path to becoming a broker. After all, he had a friendly relationship with them, which had to count for something.

As Roth entered the dusty road of the village, he slowed down to let all the newly arrived players get a good look at how cool he looked. Everyone's jaw gaped, and they stopped to look at his accessories. It felt good to be admired by players. As he disappeared into the shop and heard the bell jingling, he heard a distant laughter somewhere but dismissed it.

"Hello, again!"

"Martyr, it's been a long time since we last met! Oscar told us the other day that you've been doing well for yourself. We're so happy to see you here!"

"What can I say? If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to have these lucky breaks. I came here to share some of my luck with you. Where could we talk privately?" said Roth, as he saw a nearby player staring at him in shock. He didn't want to draw too much attention.

"Please, come here behind the counter. We have a small office. Let's talk over there." The NPC raised a movable part of the counter, letting Roth come through. The office was small but spotless. A few ledgers stood to one side, and a heavy metal coffer stood at the corner. A simple polished mahogany table reflected some of the light coming in through the window. As Roth took his seat and looked at Margaret, he saw that she had transformed into a different person. They were no longer seller and client, but merchant and broker. Roth gulped. Margaret waited patiently for Roth to go first. He had hoped she would make his life easier, but it wouldn't be that simple. Clearing his throat, Roth threw his pitch.

"I've recently signed trade agreements with some of the races in the woods. As you know, Oscar has been growing older, and he wants to pass some of his business to me. Could you share a list of items your association could sell to the races? I'll share the catalog with them, and we can negotiate a fair fee for everyone."

The merchant stood still, waiting for Roth to signal he was done talking. Roth was. He wouldn't sell any of the specialty products of the woods here to a beginner zone merchant association. He could fetch a much better price if he took it to the city instead.

"Very well. Oscar already had a list of procured items by the races of the woods. We can stick with it if you like. Although, since you're getting started and haven't yet proven your value, it would be appropriate to lower your cut until we have established a deeper relationship."

"Fine by me." He only had a friendly relationship with Greenleaf Inc. He would have to deepen their bonds before he could get a better cut. "Anyway, if you wouldn't mind, I would like to gain access to your full catalog instead of just the items that have previously been negotiated. If I come into contact with other races... I mean new customers; I will know if any other items interest them."

Margaret smiled. "Spoken like a true merchant, kid. Well done! Here, take a look for yourself."

[Broker's Ledger] updated.

Greenleaf Inc. Trade Agreement (common)

Specialty products:

[Low-Quality Wheat]: 20 a day

[Stinky Cheese]: 20 a day

[Stale Bread]: 10 a day

[Berry Juice]: 10 a day

Rate:

You keep 0.5% of all profits generated

Although he could buy as much of it as his purse allowed, the amount he could buy at the resale price was limited to the numbers he had in front of him. The friendly relationship with the association only gave him 0.5% profit. It wasn't much. It was also the first time that he got a trade agreement that was not exclusive. If anyone else came, they could empty their stocks before he got to it. He hoped that there weren't many players actively trading here.

"Pleasure doing business with you!" said Roth.

"I look forward to your first order."

Before leaving the office, Roth had an idea that he hadn't considered. Wasn't the shop across the street run by dwarves?

"Excuse me, Margaret, can you tell me the deal with the gentleman that runs the armor and equipment shop?"

"Oh? Old Red? He's very difficult to deal with, but he's honest and fills in a desperate need in the village. We have to give it to those dwarves. They sure know their way around metal."

"What kind of things does he like?"

"Other than crafting? I don't know."

"What's the deal with dwarves?" tried Roth. He wanted to know if, inside the game, they were considered a different race or not.

"Well, there have always been dwarves among men, but after the Rain of Fire, something in their genetics reacted differently. Whereas some humans became stronger and faster, the event somehow made dwarves better at crafting. I don't know how it works. It's all a big mystery to me."

"Don't you talk to him? He is your neighbor, after all."

"Talking to the dwarf? Oh no," she said, laughing and waving off the thought. Roth felt blood rushing to his head and his breathing quickening but forced himself to calm down. He had to give it to the developers. They had programmed prejudice very accurately.

"Oh well, thank you. I'll be on my way."

Roth went across the dusty road and entered the armor shop. An old dwarf sat behind the counter with both his eyes closed. This had been the dwarf that had sold him his [Errand Cloak]. He had only answered with 'aye,' 'aye,' and 'aye' back then. Two groups of players looked at the different armor and weapons lining the racks. Roth waited for them to leave. At least two of them bought equipment and equipped it on the spot. When the bell rang, and the door closed, he tried approaching the dwarf.

"Excuse me, hello. I'm Roth."

The dwarf slightly opened one of his eyes, looked at Roth from top to bottom, sighed, and closed it again. Roth did not have any metal or anything related to blacksmithing on him. If dwarves in this game were similar in lore to those of fantasy games, they would like anything with fine craftsmanship. He didn't have any of that on him. The fanciest item he had on him was the crow feather bijous. That had not caught the dwarf's interest. Roth tapped his foot while frowning. It was hypocritical of the dwarf to dismiss his excellent equipment that was leagues beyond anything he sold here in this shop. Roth tried to keep calm.

"I just wanted to say hi. I was hoping we could become friends."

The dwarf opened up his eye again. He remained silent and began rocking his chair. Roth let out a deep sigh.

"Well. Have a good day, sir. I'll come again."

The bell rang, and the old dwarf was left alone. Even though his eyes closed, his mouth broke into the tiniest of smiles.