Chapter 18

"Well, young master...This is where I bid farewell."

"Well, thanks for the ride, Gilly! I'll see back at the estate!" I waved back before I made way into the town bustling with activity.

-

Southern Gate, Winqu

'He truly is sharp. I thought I hid it well but he still caught on. He's gonna have a bright future ahead of him.' Coachman Gilly smiled before he rode the coach back.

-

Winqu

After I said my goodbyes to the coachman, I went towards the town square.

-

As a town built within a dead volcano, I was kind of expecting to see dwarves and halflings a bit more. Doesn't this have a magma steel mine? I wonder how do the folks here harvest it? Without the special equipment of a futuristic Ore Collector Ship, magma steel is nearly impossible to harvest. Magma steel is a type of steel chemically infused with a planet's magma. The deeper that shit is harvested from, the higher the toughness and purity of the metal ore would be. No...wait, magma steel has been soaked in the planet's essence for so long that the carbon monoxide of the metal itself had already been burned away. Besides that, only the children of Hephaestus can properly harvest and refine that type of metal since...they are immune to fire.

-

'Ah, I got it! I need to go the town's market! Where is the market tho?' I tried looking around to understand my bearings but then it hit me, I was completely new to this town and yet I managed to wander about without a map nor any actual goal in mind previously. Once I confirmed my next stop, I realized that I was an idiot and I was lost, fuck!

-

2 hours later...

Winqu Market

Well, that took forever. I wiped the sweat off my forehead as I gazed at the large clothed canopy encompassing a street full of carts and people. The screams of bargaining and being pickpocketed could be heard all the way from here. This was no doubt the market.

-

Oh by the way, I came across a new problem when I was searching for the market. The people of Winqu speak with a slang, a slang so profound I could not understand a single word. It also took me a whole hour to understand this fact as well as another hour to find out I've already passed the market several times when I was trying ask for directions.

At least I made it, that's good. I did not want to be the next Zoro. And with that, I entered the market.

-

As I stepped into the market, I noticed the shops were stuffed and street vendors made the street extremely narrow forcing people to walk in a straight file like soldiers going to battle. Shops of all different species stood on either side of the street obediently. None of them had doors for the shopkeepers knew very well that the doors would not last long against the might, impatience, and violence of the customers. Herds of people climbed on top of each other at the counter of each shop yelling wildly like mindless monkeys brawling for a banana.

-

Large tattered wagons decorated with a collage of vegetable were parked beside the street and their owners stood beside them screaming prices like auctioneers, but instead of a hammer, they had a carrot which they would use to wade of the flies pointlessly dancing around the vegetables.

-

Sweaty buyers skillfully wove their way by locating minute gaps between people and squeezing through. Pickpockets felt like rabbits in a carrot field, and munched purses out of many pockets of innocent buyers too busy bargaining. Experienced visitors wore tight pants for the same reason.

-

A helpless woman fumbled through the scores of bags she carried and tried to tick on a list with a small wooden wand clenched between her teeth.

-

The afternoon sun warmed up the stuffy, stinking air which smelled of sweat and rotting fish. No air freshener could have defeated this sour, rancid stink which ruled over the cramped air here.

-

As I maneuvered through the crowd of people, something suddenly sparkled in the corner of my eye. Curious, I turned my head over to check it out but before I could get close, I was suddenly pulled back by someone. Just as I was pulled back, I spotted a pale white hand suddenly extending out towards my previous location but only manage to grab cold air. 'There were kidnappers here?! Or was he trying to pickpocket me?' Either way, this scene made me raise my vigilance as I activated [Spirit Eyes] and released my Spiritual Sense. With the help of [Spirit Eyes], I could encompass the whole market as well as monitor the movements of everyone here. I know it seemed a bit much but you never know, it is always better to be on guard than to have no guard at all. Oh right, who was it that pulled me back just now?

-

I used my Spiritual Sense to look behind me but the person was already gone. Ah, I should have thanked the person first before I released my skill. Oh well, if I have the chance again, I would definitely thank them.

-

After regaining my composure, I walked towards a frail old man at the side of the street. The white mat laid out before him had a variety of rocks and stones of different sizes and colour. These stones were...what were these stones?? My mind was blank? It seems that these stones were a local specialty of this world. They looked just like ordinary painted stones but each one of them resonated with my Spiritual Sense. I was searching through a hundred lifetimes of memory yet I do not recall any stones or rocks of this kind.

-

Seeing my confused look, the frail looking old man smiled slightly before he introduced himself and his little store to me. "Hello young one, you don't seem to be from this town, are you? Well, welcome to Winqu. My name is Winqu Gong, but you can just call me Old Gong. I am the owner of this natural rock stall and mainly sell natural formed colored rocks I've picked up from my travels in my younger days. Did anything catch your eye?"

-

"Huh? You mean these rocks are naturally formed??" I was stunned. I mean, I knew they weren't ordinary rocks but hell, I thought the color was at least painted to attract people. "I thought you painted these rocks yourselves and placed them here to sell to ignorant people, hahaha..."

-

"Ahahaha, nonsense. I'm an upright street vendor that sells rocks to earn a living. Even if the income is meagre, I will not cheat people of their money." Old Gong scoffed. "It seems you truly aren't familiar with my wares, but the look you showed when you walked towards these stones said otherwise. Initially, I thought you were a child who came from a family who was well versed in geology but it seems it was just curiosity of a normal child."

-

"So, what are these rocks and how are they formed?...Well to put it simply, they are called Sky Stones and they are formed when Sky Essence gather up and condense into Sky Stones. They are usually used in the production of Sky Armor or Cloud series weapons. Oh? I've gotten quite a bit off track. Hahaha, I'm must be getting in on my years...Sorry about that. So, do you want to purchase any of these colorful rocks??"

-

"Uhm, this blue pebble...looks good? Yeah, I'll...buy this blue pebble...please." I stammered.

-

"This one right here? Sure, that'll be 10 silver."

-

"10 silver? Old man, it's just a tiny pebble! Why is it 10 silver?!"

-

"Well, even though it is small, it is still a Sky Stone. Since the formation of Sky Stone is somewhat rare, 10 silver is already considered cheap...and seeing how you're only a child, I'll cut the price by 30%, fair?"

-

"It's still...7 silver? Fine! Deal!" I took out exactly 7 silver pieces from my space ring before I handed it to the frail old man. The frail old man picked up the blue pebble sized Sky Stone and was about to hand it to me before something cliché happened.

-

"Hey old man! I want that stone!" Someone suddenly shouted. I looked towards the sound of the voice to find out that a snobby rich kid has appeared, fuck me.