"Get lost!"
Having his business stolen once again (though he couldn't have made the deal anyway), the blacksmith, nearly red with anger, chased William out an entire street.
Levi had no choice but to helplessly follow.
"Huff... huff... sir, I heard you want gold, right?"
William, who had been chased for an entire street, was breathing heavily but still didn't forget to promote his business.
"Yes, I do want gold. I'm quite curious though... do you squat at people's doorsteps every day waiting to steal business? If I were the blacksmith, I'd want to beat you up too."
"Haha, no no, not every day, just happened to be there today."
His mouth twitched.
Not every day, so just frequently then?
"Alright, tell me about your goods. How do you sell your gold?"
"As an old customer, just give me eighty percent of the market gold price."
"That affordable?"
"We scrap dealers are always affordable." William looked completely earnest.
However, remembering the rotten equipment William had sold him last time, Levi was skeptical of these words.
You're not going to bring me a batch of gold-plated copper, are you?
But he wasn't worried about being cheated. After all, whatever went into his backpack would be labeled with an ID... he could tell what material it was at a glance.
Although maintaining a skeptical attitude, Levi still followed William to his small warehouse.
This remote little street district remained unchanged... dark and quiet.
If anything had changed, it was that some houses seemed dustier, looking like no one had been active for a month or two.
"Here they are, sir."
William rummaged around and pulled out a box from the depths of the warehouse.
Levi opened the box and was immediately dumbfounded.
Inside were jewelry pieces with dull luster, covered in rust and spots.
"Look sir, this is pure gold!" William picked up a bracelet and patted his chest in guarantee.
"No, this..."
His eyelid twitched as he took the bracelet, whose surface was so spotted you could barely see its original color, and put it in his backpack.
[Rust-Stained Gold Bracelet]
Estimated recyclable: 2-3 gold nuggets.
I see.
Levi understood.
The bracelet was indeed made of gold, but perhaps due to poor storage conditions or too much time passing, although gold itself was stable in nature, it couldn't avoid having things adhere to its surface, affecting its appearance.
"Fine, I'll take them all."
Appearance didn't matter to him.
They'd all be the same once thrown into the blast furnace anyway.
Hearing Levi say this, William immediately rubbed his hands together and gestured a number.
He really had no silver coins left, so he had to pull out another pile of antique jewelry. This wave of trading directly emptied half of his inventory.
However, the gold items he got in return were quite substantial.
Most of the antique jewelry Levi had looted from the wight was silver, yet he exchanged it with William for more than double the volume in gold items.
Actually, in Middle-earth, silver items were quite expensive, especially among the elves. It was said that elves loved silver more than gold.
Looking at William's upturned mouth corners, Levi knew he definitely wasn't losing out.
But it didn't matter... his goal was achieved anyway.
It had to be said that William had some skills. Although his warehouse was full of junk, his business might actually be quite good.
As long as something could possibly relate to a customer's needs, he really dared to promote it.
This guy definitely wasn't as poor as he appeared... he must have considerable assets.
With business finished, Levi didn't linger and went straight back to the inn.
On the spot, William watched him leave and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"How did this business go?"
From a nearby dilapidated house, a bearded man in dark clothing suddenly emerged.
"Barely broke even." William's mouth twitched.
"Did he discover anything?"
"Doesn't seem like it, so far."
"My suggestion... what you've been doing, it's better he doesn't find out."
The bearded man said slowly, "That night, I heard thunder-like sounds on the main road. Fire burned in the forest, then was extinguished by rootless water from the sky... I couldn't resist my curiosity and went to check the forest. I found a bunch of craters and orc corpses... not one piece was intact."
William's legs went somewhat weak.
"I did advise those scoundrels not to target him."
"But the weapons in their hands all came from you."
"You've also dealt with those orcs!" William quietly questioned.
"That's all in the past. My advice is to stop and leave this place, or once he discovers us, we might not keep our heads."
"..."
William fell into thought.
...
Levi didn't know what had happened.
But inexplicably, a notification [Bree Regional Reputation +10] appeared above his head.
It seemed like he'd inadvertently done some good deed.
Returning to the inn, in his boredom, he examined his gains from this trip.
These gold items could probably be smelted into two or three gold ingots.
Not much, but enough to make two golden carrots.
The next two days passed peacefully. Besides resting and eating at the inn, Levi went out wandering to experience Bree's local customs.
During his free time, he also bought two chickens from a farmer to take back and raise. As for other animals like pigs, cattle, and sheep... honestly, it was a bit difficult for one person to manage, especially with two horses as well.
He suddenly felt the inconvenience of being alone.
But it wasn't without solutions. The forests and plains near Roadside Fort actually had quite a few wild animals, including wild boars and wild cattle. Previously, not thinking of starting a ranch, he'd just slaughtered them for meat whenever encountered. This time going back, he could try bringing some home to raise.
Speaking of which.
In Bree, humans and hobbits were usually the majority.
But occasionally, other races would pass through, like dwarves.
"Every time a dwarf caravan passes through, my coin purse gets stuffed full, and then they empty my wine cellar."
So said a wine merchant.
His luck was pretty good... he happened to encounter a dwarf caravan.
Curious, he went to take a look. The result was either alcohol or metal tools. Although they looked well-crafted, Levi didn't need them.
But at least he got to see dwarves.
These bearded short fellows were indeed quite interesting. Each one spoke like they were performing comedy... very entertaining.
Also, dwarves had quite strong vitality.
[25/25]
The same health bar as the Dúnedain.
Although the dwarf merchant Levi chatted with asked about buying goods every other sentence, after chatting for a long time, he stubbornly bought nothing.
Finally, he returned to the inn under the dwarf's glaring, beard-blowing gaze.
Upon returning to the inn, the bartender immediately approached.
"Sir, the horses you requested are ready."
"Good, let me take a look."
Coming to the stable, there were indeed two horses that looked quite spirited.
He glanced at them, and relevant information immediately appeared above the horses.
[26/26] Maximum speed: 11m/s.
[24/24] Maximum speed: 10m/s.
"..."
Honestly, both horses were somewhat mediocre.
But as transportation horses, they were acceptable.
Now everything was ready... he could go home.
However, the moment he took the reins, Levi suddenly remembered a problem.
He didn't know how to ride horses.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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