Leather

While it was still dark, Will made it to the village where his trading will start. There were still guards and sorcerers there, which is why Will was not wearing his armor. The cloth of teleportation did an amazing job at making clothes for Will.

He was wearing plain clothing that did not stand out, he looked like a friendly commoner.

"Why are you here?" Asked a guard who was guarding the entrance. They were tasked to protect this village in case they found evidence about the Taker.

"I'm here to trade. I put up a poster on the board there."

"Do you have some form of I.D.?"

Will handed him his papers, and his apprentice blacksmith badge. Will remembered to carry his papers with him this time.

"Okay, Apprentice Will." The guards got out of his path.

While it was still somewhat dark, barely lit from the torches, Will made a tiny wooden stand with a sign that read 'trading' one would think he was selling lemonade.

After a few minutes the sun was rising. Some early risers were already getting out of bed, some later than others.

As they got up, Will made more signs that let them know the prices of the trades he's willing to make. He only accepted leather and wood. Will had over 100 gold coins in his pocket alone.

It wouldn't make sense to carry only gold coins, but he was messing around with his system a month ago, and he found something interesting.

Will could make 100 copper coins from a silver coin, the same applies to gold, he could make 100 silver coins out of thin air from a single gold coin. This way he wouldn't have to carry a bunch of silver or copper coins at all times, and not have change on him.

"First gold coin." Will took out a gold coin, converted it into 100 silver coins, and placed those coins inside the pouch.

Minutes later, people were walking around the street. Will waited patiently for the villagers to come to make trades with him. But no one came, even after waiting several hours.

"Is no one interested? Maybe I studied it wrong and got the prices wrong." Asked Will. He needed this trade to make more exclusive crafts which is essential to him.

Will saw a guard passing by.

"Excuse me, guard!"

"Yes, commoner!"

"Is there something wrong with my sign?" Will pointed up.

The soldier looked at it and was confused.

"What do you mean? Like it's broken?"

"No, are the prices for leather and wood too low?"

"No, they're actually too good to be true."

"Then, why is no one interested?"

"Because this is a small village. This village in particular doesn't have many lumberjacks, or leather workers."

"So, I just picked a poor village to trade in?"

"Pretty much. Just because you are buying these at a good price, doesn't mean people have them. There isn't even a blacksmith here."

"Damn. I am stupid." Will hit the stand. He should've known as it was so obvious.

"There are two ways if you want to buy leather. One is to go to a butcher shop. Or go to the villages on the east that are more resourceful. I suggest you trade there." The soldier added after he saw Will's behaviour.

"Why east?"

"Because the east is there the Empire is. Most of the villages there have people with so many resources it's unreal."

"How?"

"Because of the Fat Empress. Although she treats the villages more like workshops than actual villages. It's richer but those people don't have much freedom."

"So, what you're saying is that I need to go to the east?"

"Yeah. Compared to the villagers on the west side, which is where the Reyes Kingdom rules, they aren't as resourceful."

"Why doesn't the King use the same method as the Fat Empress if she's that rich?"

"Oh, he did, but people revolted because they didn't want their freedom to be limited. So he gave up the idea shortly after."

"Ah…"

The North is governed by the Fat Empress.

The South is ruled by the King of the Reyes kingdom.

The West is home to the most powerful monsters, also known as the black mountains.

The East is desolate where the ones without any choice go.

The middle live the elves and are safe under the protection of their Goddess Lea.

"Thanks. Do you know anywhere where I can find a butcher shop?"

"The Kingdom of Reyes has a few. Other than that I don't know."

"Darn. How about wood? Where can I get that?"

"Lumber mills I believe. The Kingdom of Reyes also has a few of them."

"Well I better leave then. Here, for your troubles." Will gave the soldier one silver coin for his advice.

"Well, thanks." The soldier accepted it and placed it in his pocket.

Will left the stand there and left the village soon after. He put on his exotic armor and sat with Adaline in thought. He took out a map that was bought from the village before he left.

"The east is richer. I know that now. But, that's too far. Even if I want to go there with Adaline and with her new speed, that's a 3 day trip and it will take another 3 days to come back. Not to mention all the monsters we'd face on the way. Is it worth it?" Will was thinking.

Leaving his base unattended for a week was not a smart option. He had too many valuables there, gold, wood, exotic items, rare gems. He could afford to leave it for a day at most but any more than that didn't feel safe.

His plan to have people work for him did not seem to work.

"No, I refuse to believe that this won't work. Come, Adaline, let's go to the kingdom of Reyes. They probably won't know me if I am sneaky enough."

Then, his pocket started glowing. Jasmine was messaging him from his communication stone.

Will saw how Jasmine was telling Jack how happy and excited she was to meet the great sage.

Will shook his head. It's like an ordinary teenage girl fangirling about a popular singer.

{And also, Will, thank you for this. If it weren't for you I'd never been able to talk to him.}

Jasmine remembered that they all shared the same communication stone.

{Well at least you didn't tell them about me.} Will responded.

{About that, the Great Sage read my mind and he already knows about you.}

{Aw, come on!} Will was angry. So much time he spent trying to hide his identity, and now the Great Sage knows about him.

"He still doesn't know about my hero identity. But the fact that he even knows me a little bit is troubling. So going to the Reyes Kingdom is never gonna be an option again." Will said.

{Sorry about that, there wasn't anything I could've done. But he did say that he will take off your wanted posters and you won't be a known criminal anymore.}

{It's… fine, whatever. But now you owe me 2 times. One because I gave you the evidence, and two because now the Great Sage knows me because of you. Does anyone else know about me?}

{No one else. I didn't say anything about you. And sure, if you need a favor, ask me. It's the least I can do for you.}

{Good. Jack, you there?}

{Hey, Will.} Jack messaged him.

{I need help. is there a lumber mill or butcher shop in your village?}

{We know a guy who's a butcher who sells us leather. Blacksmiths use them to make armor.}

{You do? How come I've never seen you use leather in your shop?}

{People don't use leather much for hunting monsters, but for hunting animals for food or sport. It doesn't sell well, so we barely make leather armor.}

{Where do I find this person who sells leather?}

{It's near my village. With Adaline you can arrive there in half an hour or so. You'll recognize the shop because it's the only shop there that sells meat. As for the lumber mill, I have no idea.}

Will smiled. It might not have been his plan to trade with villagers but this works too.

{Thanks, Jack.}

Will rode on Adaline and made their way to Jack's village once more.

Meanwhile…

Grace had just finished absorbing the exotic flower. The flower beside her had turned completely black and died.

For a moment, Grace was glowing just like an exotic flower, but that glow soon faded.

"I think I'm done." She said while still covering herself with towels.

"Has the exotic flower withered?" Silvas asked.

"Yes."

"Okay. Go on the back and change. But don't go near the exotic seed, the exotic trees will attack you if you do."

Grace did what he asked and changed into her clothes first, but dried off her wet body.

"Done." Grace still felt like she was naked so she was a bit embarrassed.

"How do you feel?" Asked Arbor.

"Not that different. But I do feel refreshed."

"That's good. It means it worked. Now you have a longer lifespan." Silvas clapped for his granddaughter's success.

Grace smiled, but she remembered that her parents haven't absorbed a single flower yet.

"But, my mom and dad."

"It's okay, Grace. Your mother can wait 100 years until the next exotic flower appears." Arbor said. He wanted his wife to have the exotic flower before him.

They exited the forbidden forest, not before Silvas thanked the exotic trees for their help. It didn't do anything, but he was still grateful for them.

"So, what are you two gonna do now?" Asked Silvas.

"I need to go back to check on Adaline. I trust Will with her, but it's not safe if they continue living in the deserted lands. I plan on convincing them to move a little closer to the elven kingdom." Arbor said.

"I also need to go back to Will, he did trade us that flower and I still need to keep our end of the bargain." Grace said.

"Seems you two have plans. Grace, let me change your appearance." Silvas used his staff and changed the appearances of the two elves by making their ears look like a human's.

Grace now looked like her true self, the only difference was the ears.

"Um, why the ears only?" Grace asked.

"Because you're now a wanted criminal. If you walked into a village and someone recognized you, they'd attack you on the spot." Silvas pointed out.

"Couldn't you change my appearance into something different."

"..."

"You didn't think of that?" Grace asked.

"I didn't think of that."

"Then change my appearance to something different."

"Can't. I cannot change the appearance of the same person consecutively. You'd have to wait at most a week."

"But… great." Grace said.

"Sorry."

They headed back to the village, to their surprise, a few elves were waiting for them.

"Why are you helping the heroes?" Radix asked. He'd been waiting for them.

"What?" Asked Silvas.

"We know that you found the 100th hero. And we know that you plan to give them these." Radix showed them bags full of seeds, gems, everything that Will asked.

"Mom?" Grace looked at her mother.

"I promise I didn't say anything." Grace's mother, Joyce, said.

"The trees told us. Why were you trying to keep him a secret? And why are you helping him?" Radix asked very seriously.

"We owe it to him." Arbor said.

"You can always back out on whatever agreement… wait, is this the one who tamed the Adalis? Is he holding it captive?"

"No! He's a… I guess he's a friend." Grace said.

"Friend? We cannot be friends with heroes. It's already a huge stretch that the Great Sage is a friend of you, Silvas, but this hero? We can't trust him." Radix said.

"You're right. I don't know him, you don't know him. But Grace and Arbor know him. The Adalis you speak of is also fond of him. If this hero is not our enemy, then there's no reason why we shouldn't ally with him."

"Ally? We should kill them all when we have the chance."

"He saved me from the soldiers, and also helped 2 more elves escape before we were enslaved by the humans. He had a chance to run away by himself but he protected us." Grace stood up for Will.

"Wait, I have an idea." Rias added herself to the conversation.

"Yes, Rias?" Asked Silvas.

"According to what the trees told us, this 100th hero is unique right? I really want to know why he hasn't teleported like the other heroes."

"Why would you want to know that?" Arbor asked.

"Because, if we could mess with the heroes summoning circle, we could trick them into teleporting them here the next time there's a hero summoning. If we know why this happened to him, we could make it happen to the next batch of heroes."

Rias thought about it. Will was not summoned like the other heroes, which meant there has to be a flaw in the summoning circle. If they could exploit the flaw and use it for their own personal gain, they could make the heroes allies of the elves instead of making enemies out of them.

"Oh! That's not a bad idea, Rias." SIlvas commented on Rias' idea.

Radix didn't say anything at all.

"Then we should go back. But I'll also take this with me." Arbor took the bags and placed them inside a ring.

"When did you get a magical ring?" Asked Radix.

"A group of humans once wanted to kill our hero friend and Adaline, but we managed killed them all. The leader of the group had this so I took it." Arbor was referring to Jim.

"Adaline?"

"Oh, that's the Adalis' name."

"Oh."

"Can I come as well?" Asked Rias.

"Why?"

"Because this was my idea to exploit the summoning circle's flaws. And it would give me insight on what this hero is capable of. As far as we know we're probably the only ones who know about his true identity."

"You could come. But there isn't enough space for 3 elves to ride Sten." Grace said.

"Use my mount." Silvas whistled. Moments later a large, flying organic creature gently landed beside them. It looked like a hybrid dragon, but with 8 wings and two tails. It was very tall, strong, and big, and could easily carry over 10 elves.

"Drake!" Grace petted the flying organic creature. She was familiar with him ever since she was a kid.

"He'll take you to wherever this hero's base is." Silvas patted his mount.

The elves mounted the organic creature. Even Radix joined.

"Why are you here?" Arbor asked.

"I also care about the Adalis. And I also want to see if this hero is trustworthy or not."

"Hmm…" Arbor was a little skeptical but he let him join the ride anyway.

"Be safe." Grace's mother said.

"We will."

The mount flew off with the elves on his back.

"Will they be okay?" Joyce asked.

"I hope so. Although I worry about Radix, hopefully he doesn't do anything that will screw this up. If he doesn't and learns from this, he'll become stronger." Silvas went back to being a king and also practiced his bowmanship.

Joyce sighed. She too wished she could be with her husband and daughter.

Meanwhile…

Will arrived at the village Jack told him about. After asking for directions, he made it.

The village was a little different compared to the other ones. This village was just as big, but was almost covered in trees. There was a row of trees in the middle of the village. The ground was always covered in leaves.

Will liked it, it looked nice. He put on his exotic armor and mask. Hopefully no one would know about him. If he's going to buy a large amount of leather, people would label him as a fat sheep. It's better to hide his face.

"Woah, that's some cool armor you have." A teenage boy said.

"Thanks. Do you know where the butcher shop is?" Will asked after giving the boy a silver coin. The boy's eyes shined like stars. It's free money. Who doesn't like money?

"Oh, right over there. Across the village you'll find a butchery filled with cows, horses, basically a lot of animals."

"Thanks." Will headed straight for the butcher's shop.

When he entered the place smelled like raw meat. It was to be expected. There were animals, blood, dead animals, skinned animals, animal insides.

"What can I do for you?" Asked a buffed man. He was not only over 6ft tall, but was tanned and looked serious. He had blood on his apron and carried a butcher's knife.

"I'd like to buy all your leather."

"Leather? Are you a blacksmith?"

"Actually, I am."

"I don't recommend using leather for armor. It's not as good as-"

Will placed a few gold coins on the counter.

"But, if you insist. You said you wanted to buy all the leather I have?" He asked to be sure.

"All of it."

"Good thing I never throw it away. Ever since people started using synthetic fiber, selling leather just isn't as popular anymore. Come to the back. I have your leather."

Will followed him but was still wary. He kept his gun and armor on at all times. There was also the energy shield that protected him.

There was a storage full of leather from all kinds of animals.

"Are you sure you can afford off of this?" He asked.

"How much is it?"

"Let me count." It took him a while to count all of the leather, not missing a single one.

"This is a lot of leather. I estimate about 17 gold coins. I rounded it down to 16 for you."

Will handed the man the money.

"Thank you, sir. Shall I have someone send it to you to your home?"

"Nah. I'll take it with me." Will placed all the leather inside a chest. The butcher was surprised.

"A magical item?" He asked.

"Something like that. How much leather can you produce for me in a week?" Will did not think that this amount of leather was enough. He also needed a stable source of leather, and a butcher shop seemed like the perfect idea.

"Um… no more than 20. But I know some people who are also butchers, they also have a ton of leather. If you can come back here in a week, I'll have more leather ready for you."

The butcher cannot let this opportunity go. Almost no one was willing to buy leather anymore. He could attack WIll to get his money, but he didn't want to lose the people's trust, his job, and go to prison.

His plan was to buy the leather from other butchers at a cheap price, and sell them to Will at a normal price. He'd make a killing if his plan goes smoothly.

"Sounds good. I'll be back." Will proceeded to walk out of the store.

"Can I know your name?"

"No."

Will teleported from the side of the building and went towards where Adaline was.

"Let's go home." Adaline rode back to the base with Will.