A Day In Town

 The next morning, Ian dumped splashed some water on Kell's face.

-x-

 "Do you have to do that?" Kell glared at his best friend. 

 "Are you going to wake up when I shake you like crazy?" Ian asked back, staring at the bigger boy, who looked elsewhere. 

 "Okay, you are right," Kell conceded. "But do you have to splash me?" he asked.

 "Be grateful I don't just use the bucket," was the reply he got, making him nod fearfully.

 After all, he knew Ian was correct. He is a heavy sleeper, at least in a room. While camping, or on a hunting trip, he is easy to wake up.

 "Alright, alright. Let's have breakfast first, then,"

-x-

 After a light breakfast of bread and soup, the two friends headed to the shopping district. From there, they could see many shops, from grocers that sold daily and fresh produce, to butchers selling meat. 

 He could also see a carcass of a Horned Rabbit being hanged. Likely from yesterday's commissions or some other adventurers' handiwork. After all, butchers often commission the Adventurer Guild to hunt down wild games, from Horned Rabbits to even Stripped Boar.

 The reason he knew this is because the commissions often have the commissioners' names signed. Considering the commission boards were placed so the staff could place the commission papers, it is no surprise that the names of the commissioners would be on them.

 Ian decided to shove the thought for the time being. For now, he should see that they bought what they came here for instead of Kell spending their money on trinkets.

 Considering it had happened before in their previous world, he is not taking any chances, the reason why he holds their money.

-x-

 "This seemed to be in a good shape. It looks like it has great holding capacity. How much is this?" Ian pointed at the rucksack he had just examined.

 "For that. That will be 50 copper coins," the shopkeeper told him. Ian wordlessly gave the money to the man, who nodded before handing out the rucksack.

-x-

 "This seemed like a good knife. How durable is it?" Ian asked, his fingers tracing the knife he was holding.

 "It good enough that you can strike a log and it would not be broken, just maybe slightly dulled,"

 "And the sharpness?"

 The shopkeeper took the knife from his hand before taking a sponge. Wordlessly, he cut the sponge with no effort whatsoever.

 "How much?"

 "60 copper coins,"

 "For a knife?"

 "That is a quality item. If you want cheaper stuff, those will be around 20 to 30 copper coins but don't expect them to hold a sliver of this beauty,"

 "Okay, that knife along with one of the cheaper stuff,"

 "That will be 90 copper coins,"

 "Here you go," Ian handed out the exact amount. Counting it, the shopkeeper hummed before giving the knife. Thankfully, it comes with a sheath already.

-x-

 "How much for a wooden shield?" Kell asked, looking around at the smithy.

 "That will be 100 copper coins," the smith told him.

 "For a wooden shield, and not an iron one?" Kell exclaimed in shock.

 "This wood is not your regular wood. This is from the Thrine Forest. So, it had some more durability than your old wood. 

 While it would not hold a candle to a regular iron shield, it is much better than a regular wooden shield," the smith explained.

 "Okay, but is there any normal wooden shield?" Kell asked again.

 "Sorry lad. We only have wooden shields made from the wood from Thrine Forest,"

 "Unfortunately, our budget could barely afford them, so we have to pass for now. Maybe after we took more commissions," 

 "What a pity. See you when you want to buy more stuff lad," the smith said as Kell exited the shop.

 "No dice, huh," Ian exclaimed, seeing how the oaf did not return with a shield.

 "It's just too expansive for now. Maybe after tomorrow's commissions or when I come back with some more Horned Rabbits or Slimes if I am lucky," Kell told him.

 "Go hunting after lunch first,"

 "Okay,"

-x-

 "Well, I am full and surrounded by books. What could I ask more in life?" Ian said to himself as he carried a stack of books.

 Unfortunately, his strength is the same as the average person so he cannot carry a lot of stuff like Kell could.

 However, his strength is still enough to carry the books in his arms to the table. His current goal is to finish the Flora and Fauna of Thrine Forest and History of Thrine City. He also took the Monster Encyclopedia, a book detailing the different monsters that roamed the world, or at least it what in its description.

 He proceeded to read the Flora and Fauna of Thrine Forest, as learning more about the forest ecosystem along with its inhabitants would make it easier to complete the commissions related to gathering and hunting.

 The book in question is 200 pages in length. It would be a challenge to finish it, in an hour but he was not deterred. After finishing the book, he will read the History of Thrine City and if he has the time, he will read the Monster Encyclopedia, which is about 500 or more pages in length.

 As he flipped the page, he wondered how Kell was doing.

-x-

 "Is this all you got?" Kell screamed. Currently, he is surrounded by a pod of slimes, about 20 in strength. Without Ian's support, he would have trouble dealing with them. Before, that is.

 While he did not have a shield, it was not a problem for him to find a woodcutter, and bought a small log as a temporary shield. It did not have a handle to make it easier to hold but it would work for now.

 Not to mention he could swing it like a mace. He dodged an incoming attack before blocking a slime with the log and swinging the log, sending the slime to a nearby tree where it exploded.

 He winced, hoping the magic core would not be destroyed. After all, he did not take any commissions. The receptionist had told him most commissions, aside from some subjugation of goblin remains. And he is not confident to handle those buggers alone at his current level.

 However, the receptionist had told him that magic cores could be sold to the guild for the regular price, depending on the types of monsters they came from. The guild also bought beasts and herbs that the adventurers gathered.

 From what the receptionist said, it is a way for adventurers to earn money if there are no commissions for the day. While it did not have a bonus like a commission did, it was still a way to get money for their stay and buy more equipment.

 He growled, ready to earn at least 10 slimes magic cores.

-x-

 "I am sure he is fine,"