Greed

After the introductions, the two quickly spoke of pricing. The conversation left Torrin feeling numb.

"So, Mr Wesler... You're saying that for this initial deal, I would get 3,000 gold?!" Torrin's mouth was agape, he swung his feet back and forth from the chair nervously, surprised he wasn't kicking his own jaw off the floor.

"Of course! Haha," Neil replied amiably with a light chuckle, "In the end, we will purchase all of your cores at just below resell value. You must remember, this is much higher than you could get from selling them directly to a shop, as we can use the cores ourselves to furnish new products."

The man was quite open about the business deal, which made Torrin feel more relaxed. He was being taken seriously by the man as well, surprising Torrin thoroughly.

"Let me get this straight, sir," Torrin paused, sorting through the information to collect his thoughts, "You will purchase my E-rank cores for 4 gold each, D for 20, C for 120, and if we come across any B-rank cores you'd buy them at market price? 500 gold each?!"

The man smiled at Torrin's awe-struck face, "Yes, exactly. For the amount you've stated, we will spend 3,000 gold on this initial purchase. If you'd like we can trade that for the gold stated, or 30 low-tier Mana Crystals, or even 6 mid-tier ones."

'Mana Crystals? Where did that come from?' Torrin thought, confusion evident on his face.

"Haha, mana stones--crystals officially-- sell for 100 gold for a low-tier, 500 gold for mid-tier, or 2,500 gold or more for high-tier, as they are more rare and pure. With the amount of gold that transfers between people working with mana materials, mana stones are almost considered a higher form of currency." Neil explained, hairy caterpillar jovially dancing along as his lips moved.

"Great... Great... Okay, well, sure! Yeah, I'll take the deal! Me and my master would love to work with you guys going forward..." Torrin trailed off, worrying where the hell he was going to keep all this gold, or even how he'd get the Beast Cores to the Merchant Guild.

"Oh, that reminds me, Mr Wesler," Torrin tried hiding his nervousness once more, "Does the Merchant Guild sell any storage equipment? My old backpack has seen better days, haha." He ended with a nervous chuckle.

Neil's brows scrunched together hearing this, steepling his hands below his mouth, analyzing Torrin, but his expression soon became relaxed once more.

"I had assumed the potent energy source on your hand was a storage ring... Is it not?" The man asked, a hint of curiosity to the words.

Torrin nearly had to swim back to the table as cold sweat washed over his entire being.

'He can sense my ring?! What use is this damn glove if people can just sense the ring out right?!' Torrin thought, berating himself for his mistake. But the more he thought about it, he decided the glove was still a good purchase, as most people wouldn't have mana sight.

"Ah, no, Mr Wesler, it is a different type of ring..." Torrin trailed off, not sure how much he should say.

Seeing his uncomfortable demeanor, Neil waved away the question.

"I'm sorry, Mr Gram, please excuse my curiosity, it is definitely none of my business!" Neil replied, shaking his head with a smile.

"But as for your question, yes, we do sell dimensional storage equipment. I can set you up with a low-tier storage bag for only 500 gold, this bag contains 100 square feet of space for storage. Our mid-tier storage bag is priced at 1,500 gold and can provide 400sq ft of space," Neil paused here, his eyes straying back to Torrin's gloved hand, "A storage ring from our establishment can be bought at 10,000 gold, sporting over 1,500 sq ft of space."

'No wonder this man took me seriously! He thought I was flaunting over 10,000 gold on my finger!'

Torrin began to process the information, trying to think of the best way to get what he needed.

"Okay, Mr Wesler, as I said, I don't have a storage device currently. So I'll need to retrieve the cores and bring them back to the Guild for you, okay?" Torrin asked nervously.

"That is perfectly fine, Mr Gram! Since we've signed this contract already," Neil said, waving said contract that had glowing ink where the two had signed, "There's no issue with you taking time to deliver the product. With your lack of a storage item, I'm willing to offer to loan you a mid-tier bag to bring back the product, as to avoid making a fuss."

'This guy! What a good businessman!'

"Thank you, sir! That would definitely make my job much easier," Torrin accepted the offer with a smile.

Just as the conversation finished, a runner knocked on the door and entered. A few quick words from Neil sent the runner on their way to retrieve a mid-tier bag.

Seeing Torrin's confused expression at the scene, Neil lifted his hand, displaying a myriad of rings adorning the hand.

Neil took off one of the rings and placed it on the table explaining, "We have a ring that will send a signal to the nearest runners, that way they know they're needed."

"Runners? As in the kids running around constantly, right?" Torrin had seen the kids running about and obviously understood their function, but was curious as to why.

"Exactly, we at the Merchant Guild try to do our part to keep kids off the streets... Bolin Town is a big place, with a large population. While it is wonderful for business, unfortunately, this causes there to be an excess of children who for whatever reason, find themselves on the streets, with no one to look after them..." He trailed off with a sad expression on his face before continuing.

"Instead of kids having to resort to crime, we hire them to run messages," A smile returned to his face as he continued, "We provide them with mage training materials and money as well, in exchange for their work. Once they get old enough, they can even join the Merchant Guild as proper apprentices if they so choose; this system paves a path for the kids who may otherwise be left to starve and fight for survival on the streets."

Torrin had seen homeless kids in big towns or cities in his old world, even smaller villages had problems with this. Either through tragedies or careless parents, kids could end up fighting for their lives on the streets, and not many reached out an open hand to help them. His opinion of the Merchant Guild rose to new heights hearing Neil's explanation. He thought highly of the guild for trying to help those less fortunate.

"That's amazing, Mr Wesler--" Before Torrin could continue, the door opened and a kid approached Torrin with a small pouch in hand. Torrin took the proffered pouch and analyzed it. The inside was completely black, but looking with mage sight, he could see intricate runes woven along the inside of the slightly stretchy material.

"Go ahead and bind it to you with a small drop of blood and your will. This will make it so no one else can access the bag. You can remove the binding once you return by using your will to erase the connection. Also, anything stored inside will stay preserved; hot things will stay hot and cold will stay cold, but nothing living can enter the bag." The man's smile quickly changed to one of shock as Torrin swiftly cut his finger without a moments hesitation with a dash of sword aura.

Torrin watched his blood soak into the bag and added his will to the mix. Once the bag was bound to him, he could feel his consciousness tied to the object, able to picture the empty space within the bag.

"Wonderful, Mr Wesler, please allow me time to go get the items from my inn and I'll quickly return to finish our trade." Moving the pouch from his neck into the bag, he tied the small bag around his neck with his eyebrows drawn down, asking, "Does anyone need to come with me?"

The smile returned to Neil's face, "No need, Mr Gram, if you don't return to fulfill the contract, we can use it to track you down and get our storage bag back."

Torrin didn't like the idea of the guild having a way to track him down at any time, but he also couldn't blame the precaution.

"Okay, then. I shall return soon with the products," Torrin said, bowing respectfully to the man before swiftly taking the stairs back down and making his way through the throng of people to the exit.

The sun had long since risen high into the air and the horizon was drawing it from its perch like a magnet.

'Better hurry, don't want to get stuck out too late.'

Torrin walked at a brisk pace, people shooting him irritated glances as he tore through the streets.

"Hey, watch it!" A disgruntled man shouted as Torrin slid past him on the streets.

"Sorry!" He shouted back, slowing his pace to draw less attention to himself.

It took half an hour to arrive back at The Playful Badger, and a lively crowd greeted him upon entering. People sat eating meals and drinking brews, joking and chatting, laughter ringing out over the lively music played by a bard on a slightly raised platform.

Navigating the crowd was a short affair and he passed by Bell serving customers. She gave him a big grin as she saw him.

As he reached his door, Bell caught up to him, "Hey, Rin! Hope today has been fruitful for you," she said with the same beaming smile on her face, "I can bring you some food if you want. Today we've got a braised lamb, slightly spicy, if you'd like to try it?"

Torrin wanted to immediately return to the Merchant Guild to finish his dealings, but upon hearing her words his stomach growled ferociously as if in answer, causing his face to flush slightly.

Bell's tinkling laugh rang out at the reaction, quickly spinning on her heels and heading to the kitchen to bring him some dinner.

'Their food is far too good to pass up, I'll just quickly eat before heading back out.' He decided.

The lamb nearly melted in his mouth as he sat at the table in his room. A savory sauce covered the dish, it was definitely spicy, but the burn added to the wonderful meal, and was off-set by the sweet fruit juice that Bell provided him to wash it down.

A quick meal turned longer, as he took his time savoring the delicious food, picking through roasted vegetables that were no less wonderful than the lamb. Soon enough, he was unsure if he would rather sleep or head back to the guild as his eye lids began to droop.

'Stupid body! We've got business to take care of!' Torrin chided his young body for always wanting to take a nap, shaking his head rapidly to clear the sleepiness from it.

Getting back on task, he easily loaded up his entire backpack into the pouch. He decided to bring everything and use the 3 B-rank cores as payment to keep the useful tool; having to carry around a single pouch instead of a huge backpack would be infinitely useful to him.

The inn was more lively than ever as he exited the door, buffeted by the cold night air as he headed down the road.

'Woops, looks like the meal took longer than expected. Hopefully Neil is still at the guild at this time!' He thought ruefully as he walked the almost empty streets, moonlight falling from above, covering the town like a blanket. Lamps lit by shining runes adorned the corners of each street, providing additional light. The denizens of Bolin seemed reluctant to traverse the town at night, as hardly anyone was outside.

Having had a little time studying the layout of the town, Torrin decided to cut through the alleyways to get to the Merchant Guild as soon as possible, the less time he spent out at night, the better. And this shortcut should almost half the time necessary to reach his destination.

This decision proved to be a bad idea, as rushing foot steps soon approached from behind him as he traveled through the dark alleyways.

His will was already blanketing the surrounding area, so he'd long ago noticed the three burly men following him as he left the inn.

Torrin turned to the men with a cheerful smile on his face, arms spread wide in greeting, "Hello, good sirs! What a nice night to traverse a dark alleyway, isn't that right, Stix?" he asked as Stix appeared in his hand with but a thought.

The bloodlust was palpable in the air as the three men approached Torrin.

"Just give back the ring you stole, boy, and no one needs to get hurt." The bald headed leader growled. The man was huge with a bald head, his reddened face softly lit by the moon above.

Hearing those words, Torrin's eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the man. He couldn't help but think he'd seen him before.

"A stolen ring, is it? Unfortunately, I don't have any such thing in my possession," Torrin replied genially, shrugging.

"Don't play dumb, kid! We aren't above roughing you up a bit to take back what's ours!" The leader's voice raised, obvious anger leaking out, causing a blanket of pressure to fall on the area from the man's will.

Torrin shrugged off the attempt at intimidation, and replied in kind. He released his aura, his battle-hardened will catching the men off guard. The trio's knees hit the alley floor with a crunch. Shouts of pain wheezed out from tightened lungs.

"I am right in the middle of something, so I don't have time to play tonight. Let's get this over already. You came here to hurt me? Me?!" A manic light shone in Torrin's eyes as he reprimanded the goons, his tiny voice rising in pitch.

The seemingly endless days in the forest flashed before his mind's eye. Beasts constantly hunting him down, thinking that he was prey. These beasts didn't have claws, but they posed a threat all the same. Adrenaline flooded him as he went into fight mode. Something inside snapped. The bottled rage he'd carried since arriving in this world seeped out.

"Now, if you'd like to keep your lives, quickly explain who sent you after me, please. And I do mean quickly." The shrill voice was gone, and a more sinister tone laced the words.

The smallest goon had already wet himself and was shaking like a leaf, so Torrin lessened the pressure on the man and crouched near him. He grabbed the man's greasy hair in a clenched fist to look him in the eyes.

"How about it? Who sent you?" The voice carried a menacing quality to it, scaring the man to his core.

Whether due to a resurgence of courage, or maybe the humiliation of a kid making him piss himself, the man stupid shouted out, "F-f-fuck you!"

The man even went as far as to spit in Torrin's face.

*THUD*

Torrin raised the man's head up and smashed it into the ground, hoping to knock some sense into him. Torrin waited a long moment before realizing the man wouldn't get back up, like so many monsters before him. He clicked his tongue at the sight, not having expected to kill the beast so easily.

Wiping the spit from his face with his sleeve, Torrin turned to the other two.

"Come on. Let's get this over with quickly." Torrin spoke in a monotone. He had begun getting increasingly tired of having to fend off beasts and now was no different. The city---with its walls and guards---was supposed to be safe.

The other two froze in horror at the scene, eyes wide, their crumpling lungs no longer reaching for breath. This was no kid... This was a monster.

Seeing the ruddy complexion on the leader going pale with fear, Torrin spoke once more.

"Now. Tell me. QUICKLY. Who sent you?" Torrin's voice was cold and venomous as he demanded answers, poisoning the men with even greater fear.

Seeing the pair's faces turning from pale to red to blue to purple, he eased the pressure on the two, tossing the first beast between them. The sound of shuddering, heaving, wheezing gasps echoed throughout the alley as they were able to breathe once more.

"I-I-It was Balder! We go to his shop often, and-and-and he hires us to take care of competition and acquire things that he wants!" The other lackey blubbered, tears and snot running down his face.

"Balder... Balder..." Torrin pondered who the fuck Balder was, tapping his chin with his head tilted to the side.

He crouched down and looked back to the leader with a confused look on his face, as if asking, 'who the fuck is balder'. The man's ruddy face paled once more, inching his head back as far as possible.

But looking at the man close up, Torrin finally realized where he'd seen him before! The steps of that Alchemy Shop, Balder's Boosts.

"Oh, right! You're the asshole that was running out of that potion shop, huh? Is that creepy guy behind the counter Balder?" Torrin asked with squinted eyes. Everything was starting to make sense. Balder wanted his ring, so he sent these things after him.

"Y-y-yes, he is..." The leader stumbled out in a low voice.

"Very good. Thank you for your time, gentleman. Please advise Balder to fuck right off!" Torrin announced, mana rushing to his arm as he swung Stix toward the second lackey's face to knock him out.

*CRUNCH*

The goon's head became naught but meat paste and blood on the alley floor as the head exploded from the impact. Torrin sighed, exasperated at Stix's antics. He hadn't wanted to make such a mess.

"And let this serve as a warning to you..." Torrin trailed off, not remembering the guy's name, "Uh... Shitbag. If you come for me again, I won't let you off with just crippled knees."

"C-c-c... Crippled knees...? Sir?" The leader whined in fear, staring at the messy ground in shock, even adding an honorific to his words.

"Well, I can't very well have you walking these streets at night, can I? It's dangerous out here, don't you know?" Torrin spoke as if he were asking the most obvious thing in the world, before pouring a torrent of mana into his legs and kicking the man on his back before slamming Stix across his legs. There was an audible crack.

A blood-curdling scream tore from the leaders throat, but Torrin just stared at the man with a cold gaze.

'Eh... I didn't want them completely shattered, Stix.' He thought, turning his gaze to his friend.

"My knees! My knees! FUCK!" The man roared, curled in on himself, writhing from side to side, surely making the wounds worse. The man continued cursing Balder, himself, and every god above for him being stupid enough to approach this monster.

With fingers dancing, Torrin controlled thin tendrils of mana coated in Restoration, healing the man's shattered knees just enough to stop any internal bleeding. The treatment cost him a good amount of mana from his ring, but he could only blame Stix for taking it so far.

His finesse with mana had improved significantly, though, he thought. The legs were still far beyond usable, but hopefully he wouldn't bleed out now before Torrin's message could be delivered. And if he remembered right, Balder had some healing supplies that should help. He hadn't met a talking beast, but he assumed they'd be rare and the man wouldn't want it staying hurt.

"Now, you be a good boy and tell Balder what I said for me," He said condescendingly, crouching and patting the man's bald head like a puppy. "Someone will surely hear your cries and come for you eventually..."

Wrapping the two dead bodies in mana and will, he shoved the corpses into his storage bag before rising and making his way once more.

'Thank you, Neil! This bag is amazing!' Torrin thought cheerfully, as he skipped along the alleyways toward the Merchant Guild. His rage hadn't lessened in the slightest, but he was glad to have found something that deserved a trickle of it.