Chapter 338: Precious Goods

"Do you see it?" Muria asked the non-human beings around him, pointing at the green-skinned goblin still shouting loudly under the knight statue.

"See what?" The small cat on Muria's shoulder asked, puzzled, looking in the direction of Muria's pointing. It only saw the well-crafted knight statue and didn't think Muria would point out something so mundane.

"A goblin." Muria's eyes shimmered with a golden light, certain he was not under any illusion or mental influence. To him, the goblin was definitely there.

"What goblin? I don't see anything," the youth transformed from Auston said, looking bewildered in the direction Muria was pointing. Besides countless contemptible humans and other inferior humanoid species, he saw no goblin.

"It seems none of you can see it," Muria noted, looking back at the confused dragons, a smile of interest spreading across his face.

"Bronya was not wrong; this world indeed has many interesting people and things. This is only the third city I've visited, and yet I've encountered such a fascinating being."

With these thoughts, Muria walked toward the shouting goblin, driven by his curiosity and ample strength.

As Muria approached, the sleazy goblin noticed him. Its loud shouts halted abruptly, and it bent over in a deep bow, a grin of excitement on its face.

"Honored guest, what might you need?"

Muria stood before the goblin, looking around. He seemed to have entered a special zone where, like the goblin, he was ignored by passersby as if he didn't exist.

After observing for a moment, Muria finally examined the goblin. It looked no different from any common goblin found in the wilderness with its dwarf-like stature, disproportionally large ears, and pointed nose. But Muria was sure this was no ordinary goblin.

Without noticing anything particularly special about the goblin, Muria carefully looked at the items laid out on a rag in front of it. His expression showed uncontrollable surprise, then turned serious as he faced the obsequious goblin.

"What are you?" Muria asked gravely, looking at the goblin. Under its feet, on the rag, were treasures that could incite greed even in legends.

Dozens of pieces of legendary metals, exactly the types Muria could use, lay there along with dazzlingly bright weapons and armor, several books emitting a faint aura of power, and parts of powerful creatures like limbs, hearts, and blood...

Yet, these immensely valuable treasures had been overlooked by Muria until he intentionally focused on them, as if they were mere pebbles on the roadside.

These treasures, which could provoke fierce battles or cause one to spend a fortune, seemed to be made less conspicuous by some method the goblin used, easily ignored unless deliberately observed.

"Just a goblin merchant doing some business," the goblin humbly replied to Muria's question.

"Small business?" Muria glanced at the treasures at his feet, which even he found tempting, and his lips twitched. He felt a sudden urge to turn robber. If it weren't for his high moral standards and his inability to fully grasp this goblin's nature, he might have indeed taken action.

"Honored guest, among the goods I sell, is there anything you desire?"

"Yes, I want a good half of what you're selling," Muria squinted slightly, "I just don't know what I need to pay to acquire them."

"Honored guest, you are like a god to me," the goblin merchant's eyes sparkled with a blue light, looking very excited. "You only need to pay with elemental crystals."

"Elemental crystals?" This time, Muria smiled, knowing that at the level of legendary metals, trades were usually bartered rather than sold for elemental crystalline bodies.

Despite this, Muria decided to probe the price. If a piece of mythril the size of a human thumb was priced at ten thousand elemental crystals, Muria would choose not to pay.

"How much for this piece?" Muria leaned down to pick up a fist-sized piece of mythril.

"One thousand elemental crystals, esteemed guest," the goblin merchant replied respectfully.

"That price is actually quite reasonable." Hearing such an affordable price, Muria's interest was piqued. He pointed to all the legendary metals on the stall. "I'll take all these metals. Calculate the price for me."

"Generous and kind guest, I will tally it up right away," the goblin beamed, an extremely unsightly smile forming on its face.

"Forty-eight thousand seven hundred in total, honored guest," the goblin grinned obsequiously. "I'll round it up to an even fifty thousand elemental crystals for you."

Muria stared at the goblin, now showcasing its shameless nature. It spoke as if Muria was getting a huge bargain and

 it was at a loss, with a thick-skinned tone that left Muria in awe.

"I've never heard of rounding up like that; shouldn't you be wiping off those seven hundred elemental crystals instead?"

"Guest, this is for trading legendary metals. It can only be more, not less," the goblin said, its face taking on a pitiful look. "Besides, I have over a hundred delicate wives and three hundred children to support. Life is tough. Please take pity on me and be generous."

"A hundred wives?" Muria looked at the frail goblin, his lips twitching. "Are you sure it's your life that's pressured, not your body?"

"Of course, I am very strong." The goblin with over a hundred "delicate wives" thumped his chest, accidentally revealing his gaunt torso under the rag, undermining any persuasive power his words might have had.

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