4. Economic Crisis:

"Good afternoon, sir," he greeted politely.

"My name is Gareth Velen, and I am the owner of this inn," he bowed while placing his palm on his heart. "You've already met my daughter Loreta. May I know your name?" he continued with a courteous tone.

He stood up, making the height difference more evident.

"My name is Draken Bloodborn, it's a pleasure to meet you," he also bowed, placing his palm on his heart, "I am a traveler passing through this kingdom for the first time, and that's why I asked for your adorable employee's help."

"I understand, Mr. Blood…."

"Call me Draken, please," he interrupted, still not used to his new last name.

"A pleasure, Mr. Draken. My daughter told me about your problem. Let me tell you, all merchants should know how to measure the gold volume of a coin to avoid being fooled by counterfeit coins. Let me tell you, your coin is very good, it's worth two standard gold coins, a very good proportion," Gareth praised.

"Well, that's a relief," he commented, "If you would be so kind as to change some of my coins for standard coins of your realm, I would be grateful. Also, I'll pay for two weeks' stay in advance."

The man seemed pleasantly surprised and thanked him, also offering a discount which Draken declined since he was already wealthy and didn't need it. Furthermore, he asked Gareth to explain how trade and currency worked in the kingdom. It was quite simple: 1 gold coin was equal to 100 silver coins, and 100 bronze coins equaled one silver coin. The food for a normal person was around 10 or 20 silvers a week, and a normal family could live comfortably for a whole year with just that.

Armed with this knowledge and having received a bag with 150 silver coins in exchange for his game coins, he ordered the best available food, but Gareth interrupted him.

"You should know, Mr. Draken, that the food will cost you more than the room," he said with embarrassment.

"Why is that?" he asked, frowning with a hint of anger in his voice.

Anticipating what he was thinking, Gareth hurriedly added, "We wouldn't dare to cheat you, but the village is currently facing a famine. Any food has tripled its price, and to avoid theft from our pantry, we only store the basics," he explained hastily. "If you want to eat something better, you'll have to wait a bit until we can buy ingredients, and as I said, the food will be really expensive."

Then, with a grimace of anger, he added, "Besides, you have to give 40% as a tribute to the church," he said, almost spitting out the last part of the sentence.

"What?! That's a scam!" he exclaimed astonished. He might have a lot of money, but he wasn't a fool, and he didn't like being robbed in that way.

"I understand your anger, sir, but that's what the priest decreed, and the mayor supports it. If someone doesn't comply, they'll be chained in the square and receive 10 lashes," the man said, dejected.

Draken was astonished, but after thinking for a few seconds, he reluctantly accepted.

"I'll give you the money you need for a good meal every day. Tell me the amount the night before; for now, 50 silvers should be enough," he quickly made the arrangement.

"Don't worry, sir; you'll be satisfied. Please wait, we'll prepare your meal as soon as possible," the man said before rushing off.

He only saw the father and daughter leaving while he sat and waited, taking the opportunity to review useful items in his inventory.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the village, two people met. Behind the church, in a spacious and well-lit room, Donovan and a man with a kind and smiling expression were present.

Father Augustus was a handsome man, approximately 1.75 meters tall, with blond hair that fell to his shoulders and blue eyes. He had a kind demeanor and a gentle smile. Anyone who saw him would think he was a righteous and compassionate man, someone close to God.

The father looked at Donovan as he told the story of his "miraculous" survival.

"Well, despite the inconveniences, it seems like you and your men managed to destroy Marcus's caravan. Advise that poor soul to seek help from the mercenary guild in the capital; it will only bring him misfortune. I wish he had listened to me," the priest had a pained expression, seemingly sorrowful for the fate of an innocent man.

A second later, his expression returned to serenity, and he said, "The provisions are in your team's warehouse; keep your share, but don't forget to give God His rightful portion," Augustus smiled sweetly.

"Don't forget to take care of those poor lost sheep properly. It's imperative that they are well taken care of so they can faithfully serve God and atone for their sins," he wished for the redemption of those poor souls.

Donovan had been a mercenary for ten years before becoming a bandit. He had faced cruel battles, fierce beasts, and even survived injuries that would have been fatal for anyone else. Yet, whenever he saw Augustus talk so calmly about committing heinous acts, it still sent shivers down his spine.

The truth was that Draken didn't save a poor mercenary guarding the caravan; instead, he saved the bandit leader responsible for destroying it, who got injured due to a careless mistake.

The mission given to Donovan by Father Augustus was to kill Marcus, a peasant who, due to the famine, collected money from all his neighbors and walked thousands of kilometers to the capital seeking help from the mercenary guild and bringing provisions.

On his way back, he was ambushed by order of the priest to prevent the people of the village from becoming independent and relying on the church for food.

Moreover, it wasn't his only shady business in the name of the Almighty. Donovan used to kidnap villagers and travelers who didn't follow Augustus's dictates to sell them as slaves. It was a business that the latter had devised in the name of "saving" those poor souls through work in God's name. However, in reality, it was a lucrative business that had made Augustus immensely wealthy, yet he used all that fortune to improve the church and further his goals. He employed innovative ideas like limiting the arrival of merchants, robbing the inhabitants, and demanding exorbitant taxes and offerings to make them dependent on the church for food and supposedly draw them closer to God.

"Tell me about the man who saved you, Donovan. I hope he doesn't bring us any trouble. He performed an act of kindness in saving you, and I wouldn't like to punish him," he raised his arms, pointing to the heavens.

"I barely know him. According to him, he lost his memory. He didn't remember anything about the kingdom or magic," Donovan began to say, "Still, I'm sure he's a skilled warrior, probably almost on par with me," Donovan made his best estimation, not knowing how wrong he was.

"Dear Lord, poor soul! It would be best to bring him to the church's side, don't you think?" the priest said, sorrowful for Dr

aken.

"I don't think so. Despite his memory state, I don't think we can influence him. I saw it in his eyes," Donovan lied, not wanting to reveal how he had advised Draken to stay out of the church's affairs.

"Well, that's easy then, send someone to check his abilities," the priest suggested as if it were something trivial.

Donovan knew that several of his men would probably die, but after years of following Augustus's dreadful plans, little could make him shudder. "It will cost you five times more," he said with a tone that left no room for negotiation. The priest had a tiny spasm on his face before saying:

"Of course, Brother Donovan. Any reward is small when you help carry out God's will," he said, folding his hands as if in prayer.

They discussed their next order of slaves, and after a few hours, Donovan left the church without a word to anyone else. Back at his hideout, he chose the most expendable of his men to go attack Draken, hoping that the ambush would either kill him or leave him wounded enough to finish the job.

The days passed, and Draken had simply come and gone from the village, hunting beasts and monsters to level up, earning the gratitude of the villagers. For four days, he hadn't seen Donovan, but he assumed he was busy. Besides, it wasn't yet the time they agreed to meet, so he didn't give it much thought.

During his time at the inn, the small receptionist named Loreta was surprised that the terrifying giant she had seen when he crossed the door turned out to be kind and generous. Throughout his stay, he was respectful to everyone and kind to her. Whenever he asked for something "beyond" her duties, he always gave her a generous tip.

Her father was very pleased because, thanks to him, finally, his business was making substantial profits. He even joked about giving his daughter's hand in marriage, which made him burst into laughter and made Loreta blush like a tomato every time he looked at her.

Draken proved to be a good man and a great conversationalist. He usually sat with Gareth to talk while having dinner after a long day of hunting. When he brought the heads of the monsters, he received applause from the guests and told a good story. When he brought animals, he got a plate with generous cuts of the animal he hunted, and he sold the rest to the inn at a low price.

Gareth's wife, Lisanna, the cook, was a woman about 1.50 meters tall, with dark hair, and a similar appearance to Loreta. She turned out to be a plump but charming lady. She had grown fond of Draken and always left the best cuts of meat for his meal, which earned him more than one hug from the tired warrior. For him, a good meal at the end of the day and a warm bed were paradise, not to mention that Lisanna was an excellent cook, and every meal was a delight to his taste buds.

With several days of diligent leveling and extra skill points, he proceeded to choose two new passive skills:

[Berserker: Increases damage by 2.65% (17.5%) after each hit, accumulates up to 100 times: +10]

[Stone Skin: Increases armor by 2.5% (16.5%): +10]

In addition, after level 35, he could finally equip a new emblem:

-Name: Assassin Emblem.

-Level: 35

-Special Effects:

+15% attack speed.

+3 life regeneration.

+3 mana regeneration.

His new statistics were as follows:

Name: Draken Bloodborn

Title: [None]

Level: 36

Statistics:

- Strength: 416

- Dexterity: 236

- Intelligence: 236

- Vitality: 286

- Health: 5900

- Mana: 118

- Mana Regeneration: 7.72/m

- Health Regeneration: 74.5/m

- Physical Damage: 208

- Magical Damage: 118

- Total Armor: 437

- Magical Resistance: 118

- Speed: 35.4

- Luck: 108

Equipment:

- Weapon: Fidelity (+180 Strength, +180 Health, +108 Luck)

- Gloves: Chainmail Gloves (+50 Armor)

- Head: Hood (+50 Armor)

- Chest: Plate Armor (+50 Armor)

- Belt: Leather Belt (+50 Armor)

- Boots: Boots (+50 Armor)

- Shield: Beginner's Shield (+50 Armor)

- Ring 1: Empty

- Ring 2: Empty

- Necklace: Empty

Available Gold: 999,999,999,820

Equipped Emblems: [Valor Emblem] [Assassin Emblem]

Active Skills:

- Laceration (+10)

- Shield Strike (+10)

- Eye of Truth (MAX)

- Magic Missile (+10)

- Blink (+10)

Passive Skills:

- Stone Skin (+10)

- Interpretation (MAX)

- Berserker (+10)

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