"That glowing sword is a Relic-Rank Soul-Slicer,"
Jaune said, his voice surprisingly steady.
"It requires silver coins, which I believe you do not possess. This shop uses a different currency. We don't use Lien. But we will think about it later. And for you, Mr. Crimson Dog, I have something more fitting."
He pointed to a display shelf holding a single, unassuming red vial.
"This is a consumable good,"
Jaune explained.
"It's not expensive, but it's highly useful in your line of work."
Name—Red Potion
Rank—Copper
Origin—Ragnarok
Price—1 mcc
"Just 1 lien? Are you sure it does not expire or something?"
Even the thug felt a shock of suspicion and disbelief seeing the price displayed as '1 mcc,' mistaking the abbreviation for the local currency.
"Not a Lien, but a copper coin like this."
Jaune retrieved a simple, dull copper disc from a box beneath the counter, holding it up for the thug to inspect.
"You can exchange the coin with Lien, but it might be too expensive. One copper coin equals one thousand Lien!"
"One thousand! Are you fucking serious!"
Dog Leader roared, his disbelief instantly warping into rage.
He slammed his chipped axe onto the counter.
A whole full meal for a family in the slums cost only ten Lien, but this tiny potion, priced at one thousand Lien, could feed a whole family for a hundred meals!
The difference in perceived value was obscene.
Jaune felt a bead of sweat trace a line down his temple, seeing the thug become explosively angry.
However, as Ciel had told him, he could not show himself as a coward.
He forced himself to stand firm.
"Wait, I have something to tell you first before you are going to do something you regret later,"
Jaune pressed on, his voice tight but controlled.
"Yes, if you want to exchange with Lien it would be expensive. But if you do a job for the shop, you can get copper coins!"
Jaune thought about it on the spot.
He didn't need to actually spend money; he just needed to establish the economy.
He could hire them to do something for him, pay them in copper coins (or the equivalent item), and the coin would effectively come back to him later. It was a win-win.
"Do the job for the shop? What job?"
The job sounded foreign to the thug. He had never done anything except for correcting protection fees.
He seemed genuinely interested in the item's potential and, in his confusion, momentarily forgot he could simply take this place for himself.
He was, Jaune realized, somewhat stupid.
"Like, help the shop by weeding the weeds and clearing the trash around the shop's immediate perimeter and get that potion for free."
Jaune sent a quick, silent query to Ciel.
[Host is the keeper of the shop. You can manage something of this level without getting a penalty. Giving a job in exchange for items is fine but the Host cannot give out items for free without serious reasons. Or given out items that value more than the job itself.]
Jaune noted the confirmation. The barter was sound.
The thug leader spoke quickly to his two lackeys, his greed winning out over his suspicion.
"You heard the kid. Let's make this place shine!"
The three men, grumbling but motivated by the promise of the magical 'sauce,' grabbed scrap metal and spent the next few hours working the ground around the store's new foundation, clearing the debris and weeds that had accumulated over years.
After a few hours, the three thugs came back, sweating and irritable, but the perimeter was noticeably cleaner.
"Job done! Give me that potion!"
Dog Leader announced, slamming his hands on the counter.
Jaune nodded and calmly retrieved the potion.
He didn't wait for the thug to hesitate.
He knew the thug wouldn't drink it himself first.
"You,"
Dog Leader barked, pointing to a lackey whose arm was crudely bandaged from a knife fight.
"Drink it. Test it."
The lackey, his face pale with pain, quickly unscrewed the top and gulped the fluid down.
It tasted awful, like metallic sugar, but a moment later, his eyes went wide.
He gasped and instinctively tore the soiled bandage off his arm.
Where a deep, festering gash had been, there was now only smooth, unblemished skin.
The thugs were left speechless. All of his painful injuries were simply gone, as if they had never existed.
The Red Potion wasn't just real; it was utterly, definitively superior to anything in their known world.