Chapter 11. Golden Illusions

"This dagger's quite a heft," Ash muttered, testing its weight. "Ouch, and super sharp too! Probably around a kilo, but still, no matter what, it is quite cool to hold a real dagger in hand," Excitement bubbling, he mimicked movie heroes, twirling the dagger in clumsy flourishes, left, right, up, down, trying to act like a pro.

After playing with the dagger like a child, Ash calmed down and looked around. Not seeing anyone, he put it in his Inventory and opened the money pouch handed to him by Ronald.

"Holy shit! Gold coins?!"

As soon as Ash opened the pouch, a burst of imaginary yellow light flooded his vision. and what greeted him afterward was ten shiny round gold coins, each measuring 22mm in diameter and 2.15mm thick, lay nestled within.

"Never in my dreams did I think that one day I would hold so many gold coins," Ash spoke with disbelief. He did what he could only dream of in the past and used the trick he had seen on TV to verify whether the gold coins were real or fake. He took a coin and put it between his teeth, biting down hard. "Yep, it is real!" He exclaimed excitedly, putting all the coins carefully in his inventory to prevent anyone from stealing them.

"Now that I have so many gold coins, according to the usual currency hierarchy from my novel-reading experience, it should be a very high-level currency, and below it should be silver and bronze coins. So at least for the next few days, I don't have to worry about money. I didn't expect that Uncle Ronald would be so generous. Anyway, it's getting dark. I think I saw the tavern, about which Hans was talking, five minutes away from here. But first, let's save the file, so I don't get separated from my sweet gold coins," Ash merrily said while rubbing his hands together, before quickly saving the file on his number 2 slot, which he decided to use to save files every once in a while. Number 1 would be saved at the beginning of every day, so even if something unexpected happened and he couldn't save the file in time or saved it at the wrong time, he could just restart the entire day.

[ *Ding:- No.2 File Saved.

Location:- Woodworth Town

Day:- 1

Total Saved:- 3

Death Count:- 1

Coins:- 10 ]

...

"Well, this is probably the biggest building I have seen till now," Ash mumbled as he pushed open the tavern's 2.5-meter-tall oak doors.

The interior was surprisingly simple, lined with tables and four chairs each, arranged in neat rows across the hall. A large bar counter occupied the far end, offering both seating for solo patrons and space for drinks.

Behind the counter stood a burly middle-aged man, with short white and black hair, wearing simple plain clothes, wiping an already clean glass, behind him placed dozens or so big barrels of wine, as well as many kinds of beer and wine bottles. A staircase leading to the upper floor was visible a few meters to the left, and beyond that, a door presumably led to the kitchen.

Most of the tables were empty; only two were occupied by customers drinking with their buddies or possibly playing gambling. Another man in his thirties lay on a table, completely drunk, and seemingly fallen asleep.

"Quite the lively atmosphere," Ash remarked with a smile as he strode towards the counter.

As Ash entered the tavern, he noticed more details. Much of the furniture was crafted from aged local wood, particularly the tables, which seemed as ancient as the tavern itself. A few threadbare red carpets graced the floor, adding a dash of faded grandeur. But despite its apparent age, the tavern was remarkably clean.

"What can I do for you, kid?" Boomed a voice. "We have wines of all stripes, from light and sweet to bitter and heavy. Or perhaps you seek lodging? You won't find a finer place to spend the night than my tavern, we have clean and fully furnished rooms, everything a traveler can expect we provide. We also provide a free tub for bathing and of course heavy meals as well."

As Ash approached the counter, the middle-aged man behind the counter first looked him up and down before starting to advertise the services they offered in the tavern, recognizing that Ash was a new guest.

"I see, but what is the price of your services?" Ash, who had recently become a bit wealthier (only from his point of view), responded, leaning against the counter. His gaze drifted to a beautiful young girl with long messy red hair emerging from the kitchen, wearing a very short and unattractive leather plain skirt with a simple belt that barely covered her lower part, and a rogue bra top attempting to conceal her ample E-cup size breasts. Long leather fingerless gloves are made from the skin of animals worn in her both arms, giving her extra charm.

However, unbeknownst to Ash, the bartender frowned disapprovingly upon catching him staring at his daughter's behind. Still, since it was a request, he didn't say anything and spoke patiently but his voice turned a bit cold.

"If you want a drink, the price for a one-liter bottle/cup is 5 coins. If you want to rent a room, the price is 20 coins. And if you want to have a nice meal made by the beautiful daughter you're staring at with your dirty eyes, it will cost you 10 coins."

"Coins? Do you mean bronze or silver? And sorry about that, your daughter is just too beautiful uncle, I just couldn't stop myself admiring her beauty," Ash politely apologies, although he didn't take the bartender's threatening look seriously, as looking at someone is not a crime, but he still has some manner and knows what he did a bit impolite, before putting a golden coin on the desk.

"Fine, but don't do it next time. And although I don't understand what you mean by bronze and silver, I am talking about this coin. As far as I remember this is the only currency everyone uses," The bartender replied confusedly, showing Ash his own golden coins, which were exactly the same as his.

Ash's jaw dropped. What the-?! Damn, doesn't this mean now I don't even have enough money to rent a room? What kind of nonsense is this? When did the value of gold fall so low... Wait a moment, am I in a different world with a backward time setting, right? Then isn't it normal for gold to have a little value compared to the modern world? He was shocked by the realization that he was now damn poor, and quickly understood that his mindset was still anchored in modern times.

"Huh? Where did I drop my money pouch? It should be with me a moment ago." After realizing his mistake and seeing the bartender staring at him with a poker face, Ash quickly started looking in his pockets with a fake shocked expression. Pretending to search for his so-called lost pouch, he took his golden coin from the table and swiftly left the tavern, scanning every corner in an attempt to find his misplaced pouch, so that acting looked real.

"Tsk, why do I have to deal with all these idiots? Sigh... Alice has already become a beautiful woman, and recently, everyone who comes here stares at her with greedy eyes. I think I need to speed up my search for a wealthy husband for her. Otherwise, if someone fools her and gets her pregnant, my dream of becoming rich will disappear before it even takes shape," The bartender muttered with determination. His eyes then fell on the drunken person sleeping at the table, and he sighed again with a helpless look while rubbing his forehead.

"But first, I have to take this old basted friend of mine back to his home. Poor me, God knows when I will retire happily and live a rich, carefree life..."

...

"Phew! It seems like I fooled that uncle. F*ck, no wonder the blacksmith uncle give me 10 coins, it is not he is too generous but this is the lowest currency. Damn it, however now what should I do? Other than having 10 coins, which weren't enough to rent a room to spend the night, and a half pumpkin that I saved for dinner, I had nothing. Where the hell am I going to sleep tonight? On the side of the road? If I really did that, I don't know about goblins, but I would definitely freeze to death till morning. Damn, why the hell, temperature strangely started falling so much for no reason; it was clearly very warm during the daytime. Sigh, what should I do? Should I trouble that kind-hearted grandma? But I don't like staying with a stranger whom I hardly know..."

"Muttering to yourself in the middle of the road, child? Nightfall's upon us, you see. Everyone else has tucked themselves safely in their homes. You should do the same. Our town doesn't have any walls to protect us; making nighttime wanderings a risky affair. A few days ago, a giant wolf ran out of the forest, killed two dogs, and even tried to invade an unlucky guy's home whose window wasn't closed. If it weren't for the guards noticing it at the right time, that poor family might have already joined their ancestors. I really won't advise you to stay outside. So, unless you have the confidence to defend yourself, I strongly advise seeking shelter indoors before nightfall's grasp tightens."

Ash hesitates whether to go to the kind-hearted grandma for a night stay or negotiate with the tavern owner and beg him to give him a place to stay for 10 coins. His indecision was interrupted by the approach of a 50-year-old guard, who kindly advised him not to wander around the town at night.

"Thank you for your advice, Uncle. I am going home now," Ash politely thanked the old guard, who should be retired by now but still working tirelessly for the greater good. The old guard nodded at him with a satisfied smile and walked away.

"Sigh, it seems like I can only trouble that kind of grandma. Begging someone just to stay a night is not worth it, and it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. If I do that, it will definitely affect my image in the eyes of that bartender's uncle. Then, if I one day ask for his daughter's hand, he will kick me out of his tavern first before asking a few guards to beat me to death. Compared to that, it's better to accept someone's goodwill, and even if that grandma has some ulterior motive, at worst, I will die at her hand, which is not a big deal. Anyway, now if there's anything I care about least after oxygen, then it will definitely be death."

Thinking such, Ash made up his mind and shamelessly quickly ran toward the kind-hearted grandma's house.