Obsidian, and its use.

Steve took a few moments to get used to this new tongue. Of course he would need a few hours to attain full control over it, but it felt stable enough for now.

He had time to gain control over his own tongue, as sunlight only broke out just a couple of hours later.

As for the book by his side, he had memorized most of its contents and felt ready to start a proper research soon.

But for now, the thin book took comfort in the inner portions of his black-vest. Steve had to find a bookshop soon, only then would his current book prove itself useful.

However, such a headache could be pushed aside for now. Especially since he was focused on other dilemmas that burdened his soul at the moment.

They were quite numerous, but at least the overall problems right now were under-reactive, as if at a cease fire.

For example, that crazy lady had not found him up here; such a detail was comfortable enough on its own.

Unsurprisingly, Steve felt safe to climb down from the roof and roam this stone-encrusted city.

While he did so the young man sighed, "My butt feels like winter, I need to buy a fur-coat somewhere."

[There should be quite a lot of shops for that,]

Since this idea was encouraged, he briefly planned out. "I'll buy one then... at least after I sell this loot."

As for now it was the best idea to blend in with the crowd. Because if he stayed on top of this roof for too long, another frog would eventually spot him and urge the residents towards a fight!

They had reasons to do so, because the young man behaved quite like a thief. It wasn't a common scene to be on top of someone's roof, especially at the break of dawn.

However, after he got down, it took the young man another hour to fully blend in with the crowd.

It was a bit difficult for him to blend in, specifically since he carried a solid-gold vase around. It was no surprise that he became the centre of attention.

Many others gave him an awkward eye but none dared to approach. At first he figured such fear as quite weird, it seemed irrational.

But eventually he found out that these frogs, were simply intimidated by his clothing.

Only a selected few would be brave enough to attack someone who seemed rich.

He barely looked like a thief thanks to the clothes he was wearing, so Steve had quite a peaceful walk.

And eventually the city became more life-filled, since the population woke up to handle their daily duties.

This proved convenient for the young frog because he could easily disappear in the crowd. At this point even a detective would have it difficult to find him.

And after a bit of effort, he found a good shop where this merchandise could possibly be sold.

It was noticeable that shops became more plentiful now, since many of them opened up to attend to their customers.

He didn't see even a single shop open just an hour ago, but that was no surprise; as no merchant would be motivated to open up shop at the break of dawn.

Steve stepped in the shop right away, as its slightly large size seemed appealing.

He figured that expensive jewels could only be sold, in places where the merchant would have enough gold to give.

And at the moment he felt that this place would be the perfect spot to do so. The room itself was nearly ten-meters wide and long, such a size alone was appealing.

As for what contents this place carried, they were mostly random but still seemed valuable.

There were big weapons on one side of the shop, and crates filled to the brim with merchandise on the other.

He could see some items that were used for interior house decoration, along with various jewels locked in a display case just close by.

So ultimately his best comprehension of this place, was that the shop carried a lot of random items.

Once he reached the other side of the room, he noticed that a tall frog was putting in a bit of work, to light some candles that were trapped in glass.

This place didn't have any windows, since it was a building in between other stone buildings; so unsurprisingly, the shop-owner would need to put effort just to keep this place illuminated.

First things first, Steve decided to heave out a greet. "Good morning sir,"

And then a gravelly tone returned a different greeting, "I was wondering when ye were going to holler. Make some noise when you enter a shop will ye, lad?"

Considering that this frog was nearly seven feet tall, and seemed quite bulky too, it was no surprise that Steve wanted to avoid trouble at all costs.

So he first excused himself, "Sorry about that, your place just looks amazing."

"Fair enough then," That same rough tone followed along in the conversation.

And afterwards he faced the young man, necessarily the large man revealed a lot of features too.

This shop owner had quite a large and puffy green-beard, which only aided him to seem more rugged.

Just now the merchant queried, "What can I help ye with?"

Steve tried to push nervousness away, just to appear less like a thief and get this transaction over with.

So with a light tone he cooperated, "I want to sell all of this stuff. My farm could use more cattle, and these things took too much space anyway."

Considering just how large this city seemed, he guessed that even a merchant wouldn't know every rich frog in the domain.

So the lie he just made up sounded reasonably good. Steve felt confident for a quick second.

But darn this merchant had the firmest poker-face in the city! One would think that he didn't even blink.

Well at least he didn't ask any questions, and just agreed. "Let me look at what ye want to sell boy, we need to know how much everything here is worth."

Considering how well this transaction was going so far, the little frogezoid instantly handed the vase over.

A couple of hours ago, he had taken all of the gold coins out of that little wooden-chest, for safety precautions.

Steve only left jewelry inside, so no one could confuse him with a thief.

The merchant slowly pulled the chest out and set it aside. Afterwards his focus was solely thrown towards the vase, and he even counted the diamonds that were around it.

After more than a minute, the tall-bulky man recited. "I can give ye twelve-thousand gold coins for this vase alone, lad."

"That's better than I expected," Steve shouted out.

But then he noticed the direct stare from the other, so he swiftly had to add. "This old thing has been in my basement for years now, I didn't expect that it would be worth that much."

"There are seven clean and clear diamonds attached to this here fine piece, and the vase is made from pure solid gold." The latter specified.

And afterwards he unapologetically informed, "In the right place ye would get eighteen-thousand for this vase. But those kinda shops will have ye promising on your mother's grave, that ye didn't steal it."

With that considered he also added, "And there's a ship-load of documentation for an expensive vase like this one,"

"I'm a busy man," Steve added after he slightly thought those words over.

And then he assured, "Twelve-thousand is enough for me."

"Good," The seven-foot man spoke out.

And afterwards the same man grabbed the little chest that had been set aside. From the looks of it he recognized most gems, as he didn't bother to thoroughly inspect them.

Unsurprisingly, he gave out a quick deal after a rough couple of minutes.

With a firm face he recited, "I can only give ye three-thousand gold coins for these gems."

Before Steve could speak out, the merchant also added. "These gems aren't so pure, otherwise they could get you twice as much gold."

"Fifteen-thousand gold coins will get me all the cattle I need," The young man spoke out, just to remind the merchant of the total sum.

"We have a deal then," The latter agreed.

And afterwards stated, "I'll give you an obsidian coin. Because I sure as hell won't count up to fifteen-thousand for ye or anyone else."

"Obsidian coins ha..." Steve spoke out as if he was contemplating the deal.

But in actuality he had no idea what values these coins had, and the system was absolutely quiet as well. So he only had to nod to this man.

Right after the bulky shop-owner pulled out a key out of his coat, and opened a small metal-chest that was under his desk.

A moment after he pulled out a little stone that was shaped exactly like a coin. This stone carried a pitch-dark colour, and seemed quite appealing even though there weren't any markings on it.

The merchant handed the black item over to Steve and explained, "This obsidian coin is worth ten-thousand gold coins, as you most likely know."

"Yes yes," The young man pecked his head like a chicken and firmly grasped the coin.

Afterwards the tall man opened yet another chest, but the contents in this one shone with a light-blue colour.

He pulled out five coins from this chest, and handed them over to the young man before he cited. "These diamond coins are worth five-thousand gold all together."

And now it seemed reasonable for the big man to show a hint of gratitude, "Thank you for your business."

Steve wanted to ask a lot of questions right now, but he didn't exactly know how to do so without arousing suspicion.

So he just greeted the other, and then slowly slipped the coins in the inner-pocket of his black, armless vest.

But the system acknowledged all of these mixed emotions, so she had to finally swoop in.

[The merchant has not scammed you, don't worry]

[I'm not sure how the economics are in your past planet, but obsidian is valued a lot here]

"How come?" Steve questioned with a thought.

[Obsidian is rare around here. But also, it's difficult to smelt it into coins because of its rough density]

Such an explanation helped the young man heave out a sigh of relief. The overall deal he made, helped him assure that one of the big burdens had been finally pushed away.

But before he was about to say goodbye, a woman who was as tall as the merchant, walked in the shop and had an offer of her own.

She seemed bulky, but in a far more honed way. Most could predict that she hid many muscles in between the iron-armour she wore.

As for the offer, this fine lady shouted slightly. "Do you need someone to guard your shop, good merchant?"