8 Making a bit of money

Running through a progressively darkening forest, Kameron was almost convinced he would have to camp out tonight. The only thing he hadn't done yet was climb a tree and look around from a higher elevation.

"Wait a second... what if I try..."

As he stopped and stood in a small clearing, Kameron decided to use one of the abilities he hadn't been able to use yet.

"Eyes of the spirits!" Speaking with his thoughts, he was able to activate his abilities. So while he didn't need to say it out loud all the time, he would need to say it at this point in time until using the skill becomes second nature to him.

Kameron had activated the skill contained within his eyes gained a purple color as green flames danced around the irises. The world around him had gained color and he saw dark blue transparent streams running along the ground and between the top of trees

"That's most likely the mana in the area. It seems to be flowing behind me, I wonder if that means I'm going out of the forest. I assume the deeper in you go, the more dangerous it becomes since stronger animals enjoy a high mana environment."

Looking around at the world that had gained a few new colors, he saw his first few elementals running along the ground. They were easily identified by the green, yellow, and red colors elements wind, earth, and fire.

The elementals themselves looked like a flaming wolf cub, a baby deer surrounded by light currents of green wind, and a yellow bear cub. The three chased each other around the tree while Kameron watched. It was when the fire elemental stopped and looked at him that he was noticed.

As it tilted its head to the side confused as to why the person was looking straight at it, the tiny fire wolf walked up to him. Albeit with an adorable style to it that would melt the hearts of any girl.

Finally reaching its goal the tiny fire wolf tilted its head to the side since Kameron was still looking at it with a smile on his face. The other elementals had taken notice of the wolf and watched the tree.

"Inspect"

[Lesser Fire Elemental]

Age: 3 months old

Rank: 0

Level: 14

Health: 2,350

.....

Created from the flames of blacksmith's forge, this elemental has higher intelligence than most elementals of the same rank. Bathing in flames increases its level.

_____________________

"So you aren't rank 1 yet? I wonder if you will get bigger at higher ranks. It's probable... Wait a minute. You were made from a blacksmith's forge?"

Seemingly understanding what Kameron asked the tiny wolf jumped around in a circle before trying to jump onto his leg before falling through it.

"I don't have the spirit body so this little guy or girl can't touch me and vice versa. At least it can understand me though. With its help, I should be able to find civilization!"

Turning his head to look at the tiny wolf that was walking around his leg while reaching out with its paw to tough it.

"Sorry little guy, you won't be able to touch me even though I can see you and you can understand me"

Crouching down to look closer at the little wolf as the flames comprising its body burned gently, Kameron felt the air around him getting warmer.

"Little wolf, can you show me where you were born?"

Tilting its head to the side, the wolf looked straight into Kameron's eyes.

"You know, the town you left from to get here? Could you take me where?"

Taking a full minute to process the request, the tiny wolf nodded its head before running to the other elementals that stayed around the tree. After communicating with the other ones through light pats of the paw and nudges of the head the other elementals started following the tiny wolf as it dashed off to the right, going straight through a gap between some bushes.

Seconds later the head of the wolf poked through the bushes while looking at Kameron as he was running over.

"Lead the way please," he said as he put away his sword.

Following the tiny elementals, as they ran through the forest, Kameron was soon greeted by a large dirt road as the elementals started following it. It was getting extremely dark out but with the tiny fire wolf lighting up the way Kameron noticed lights in the distance as a stone wall came into view.

Behind the wall were buildings lit up by lights.

It took a few more minutes to reach the town's gate. The gate had standing torches burning on each side of the pathway as two guards in dark blue armor holding swords at their waists stood in front of the torches.

"Halt! Why are you trying to enter the town so late?"

One of the guards stood in Kameron's path and questioned him.

"Well... you see I was in the forest looking for herbs to sell and I got lost..."

"Tch! You know there are stage 3 beasts in there right? You should be more careful before you wind up as their food."

Stepping back to the side the guard said a few more words to Kameron before falling silent.

"You should join a group so that even if you have to camp out at night it won't be as dangerous."

With a nod of his head, Kameron started walking through the gate as his stomach started to growl again. "Damn, I really need some food..."

Walking through the gate Kameron was greeted by a somewhat bustling city. There were lanterns against buildings, keeping the streets bright through the night. People were talking to vendors on the street while most were walking into taverns and inns.

Looking around for the tiny wolf, he noticed it was next to him along with the other elementals. "You guys can come with me if you want. I'll try finding a place for us to rest."

[Quest Complete: Reach a village or town]

[You have been rewarded 10 common gacha tickets]

"Alright, now.... let's find somewhere to get food...

Walking down the main street leading from the gate Kameron saw a few people looking at him and whispering to their friends as they laughed. Others simply gazed at him in disgust while some with sympathy.

Ignoring the looks he was receiving he saw an old man sitting behind a deserted stall in an alleyway. Figuring it would be bad to pull out his goods in the middle of a crowded street he walked into the dim alleyway.

"Hello young lad, are you looking to buy some of my wares? I have a f-"

"I actually want to sell some things if you don't mind," Kameron said completely cutting off the old man.

"Well... I can help you with that if you'd like, show me what you want to sell." The old man said as he sat up from his seat and looked at Kameron. "Wait a minute, do you not have a bag or anything? What do you plan to sell?" He said squinting his eyes while examining Kameron to see if the darkness was fooling him.

"Look closely please," Kameron replied while stretching out his hand to above the table. Instantly a rabbit corpse fell on the table, startling the old man enough to jump out of his seat.

"Y-You! H-How did this get here?" He said looking completely shocked.

"It's just my ability gramps, relax a little or you'll have a heart attack."

"O-Ohh just an ability... I see... well if this is the only thing you want to sell I ca-"

"This isn't it, I have a lot to sell," Kameron said once again interrupting the old man before dropping nine more rabbits onto the table.

"I have even more but I don't want you to get robbed when I leave. I can come back and sell the rest tomorrow morning." He said while smiling at the stunned old man. "How much do you think I could get for these?"

Taking a few seconds to calm himself, the old man slowly examined all of the rabbits before thinking to himself for a few minutes. Kameron took this time to really observe the man as he was more focused on coming up with a buying offer.

The old man looked to be in his mid 50's. His hair was white and his clothes a little worn down. He looked skinny in his clothing but his eyes were sharp as he focused on his work. It was clear he wouldn't let an opportunity like this slip away.

"I can give you 50 silver for these rabbits." The old man finally said after looking at the condition of the rabbits. "Most of the hide was untouched and though it was cut a little for some of them, the others were clean with only the neck cut. This is the best offer I can give you kid."

Kameron was surprised when he heard the number. He figured the rabbits would only sell for around 20 silver but when he thought about it if given time to flee the rabbits were extremely fast. They were also small so with their tiny frame they would escape most hunters.

"I see, I'll take that offer." Kameron said while looking down at the elementals that were play fighting with each other in front of the table.

"Great! What is your name kid? You can come to me when you want to sell things." The old man said as he reached into pocket and pulled out a pouch the size of a sandwich bag. Pouring out 50 silver coins into a small pile on the table.

"My name is Kameron, what is your name gramps?"

"Me? You can call me Marcus." The old man said as he tied the rabbits together before putting them in a large bag.

"I see, Can I ask you a question? Could you tell me a place where I can get some food and a bed for the night?"

"Looking for a place to for the night huh? Alright then, listen closely. Keep going down the street here and after 2 intersections go to the right and you will see a building called The Rosemary Inn."

He gave him the directions to the inn before looking around at his stall. "You know what? I'll show you the way personally. Just give me a second to pack up this stuff."

"Ohh, alright then." Kameron replied and waited a few minutes until the Marcus had packed up his stall into a few bags and carried the now folded table, connected to some straps, on his back like a backpack.

"Such an kind old man..." he said as he followed behind Marcus as he stepped into the busy street followed by the three tiny elementals.