Chương 8: Rich Overnight?

When Arthur reached the residential area of Outer Sector B, the sun was already halfway to its peak. He felt tired and devoid of energy. Since he had not taken a nap for even a single second the previous night, and had been running around a lot, this exhaustion was expected. However, he did not care. All he had to do now was sell the item and pay his debt. Once he completed that, he could relax. Until then, he would not sleep for even a minute. The warmth of the heart was gone now.

He did not know if keeping it outside instead of preserving it as new would affect its value over time. Hence, he strode towards Inner Sector B. He planned to sell the heart to a large material shop on the merchant street of Inner Sector B. He possessed very low knowledge regarding materials, so he was afraid he would get scammed if he tried to sell it to local shops. As he walked towards the merchant street, the shops had just started to open, and business was being conducted.

After entering Inner Sector B, Arthur took a taxi, paying his remaining 5 Credits. His heart was in a great clamor, fearing that every second the heart was kept in his pocket, its value would reduce. After ten minutes of travel, he finally reached his targeted shop. It was a shop owned by a large family that did business in dungeon materials. Because they maintained the integrity of being honest, he believed he would not get scammed; doing so would wrongly tarnish their name.

The shop was already open, and a lot of customers and Awakeners entered and exited through the main gate. Without delay, Arthur directly walked into the shop. Immediately, his presence attracted attention.

'Maybe it is my clothes and unkempt hair,' Arthur thought, looking at his own attire.

"Hello young man, welcome to the [Mawman Materials Shop]. How can I help you?" Suddenly, an old man intercepted Arthur and greeted him. The old man looked neat and fresh in a blazer attire. With an energetic voice, he acted as a professional salesman. Similar to this old man, Arthur could see a lot of staff members discussing and helping other customers.

"Hello, I am here to sell a material," Arthur said, looking around.

"Very good. Follow me." The old man walked towards an empty cabinet, sat on the other side of the desk, and pressed a button. Suddenly, a dome like energy shield engulfed both of them at that desk. It was visible to the naked eye, the energy slowly flowing like mist around them.

"Please take your seat, and bring out the material. Then, we will start the appraisal." The old man gestured for him to sit in the opposite chair. Arthur sat at the table and took out the squishy heart. It was now at room temperature, no longer warm like before. He directly placed the heart onto an elevated section of the desk. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The old man's eyes moved in a curious manner as he quickly put on his monocle and started his appraisal.

Arthur closely watched the old man's reaction to see if he would show any disappointment or surprise. However, the man was too good at his job; he showed no emotion or reaction. He must have been a very experienced appraiser and salesman. The old man appraised it for 30 seconds without touching it, and spent another 30 seconds poking the heart with a glass stick. After more than a minute of appraisal, he lifted his head.

"It is a very good material, and it is fresh as well. Did you hunt the monster yourself?" the old man asked. Arthur felt very happy about the first compliment regarding the heart, relieved that it did not get spoiled from a lack of preservation. But for the second part of the question, he was somewhat reluctant to answer. If he were to say he hunted it, they would definitely not believe it. If he denied it, that would also raise a lot of questions about its origin.

"It is okay if you do not wish to reveal the details, it is perfectly fine. I only asked because, if you were to hunt the monster, the Mawman Materials Shop would like to buy the whole monster." The old man removed his monocle and spoke as he noticed the hesitation on Arthur's face.

"I do not have the whole monster. This is all I have," Arthur said.

"Very well. How would you like to get paid, by Credits or Card?" Arthur felt a little confused since he expected the old man to reveal how much the heart was worth. However, at the bottom of his heart, he felt the heart would sell for more than 10, 000 Credits, since only high amounts of Credits were carried by cards.

"Half Card and half Credits," Arthur said softly. Since he had to pay his fee in Credits and also wanted to buy one ounce of unrefined iron ore, he needed cash in hand.

"Very well, young man. I will arrange the payment as you wish." With that, the old man exited the enclosed energy shield and went inside a private room. Arthur could not control his curiosity regarding how much the old man appraised the heart's worth. He wanted to ask for the exact amount, but doing so would seem very immature, even though that was the truth. This was the first transaction he had ever done regarding materials.

However, he felt that keeping his curiosity restrained would present a good impression of himself. If he were to come here to sell any other materials in the future, it would greatly help him. After waiting for a moment, the old man walked out of the private room. Trailing behind him was a young man holding a big bag. Arthur's heartbeat quickened after seeing the big bag.

'Is that bag of Credits for me?' a thought arose in his mind. What would it be like if it were true? Just imagining a bag full of Credits made Arthur feel like he was flying on cloud nine. While his heart was beating desperately, the old man walked back into the dome of the energy shield. He took the bag from the young man and placed it on the desk in front of Arthur.

"As you requested, young man, half the cash as Credits. And here is a Bronze Card which holds the other half of the money. You can withdraw the cash from the main Merchant Bank at any time with this card." The old man placed a small card the size of a palm on the desk. Arthur sat on the chair in a daze, as the things he had just imagined were happening right in front of him.

"The Mawman Materials Shop wishes to do business with you very frequently. To honor that, here is the VIP Card of our shop. You can buy any materials in the shop with a 10% discount, and we expect you will do business with us as your first priority." The old man placed another white card of a similar size to the bank card. Arthur came out of his daze and looked at the card. A 10% discount was an unexpected reward.

"Thank you for your kindness. I will definitely visit your shop if I have any materials to sell," Arthur said, controlling his frantic joy.

"That is good to hear. I will be expecting your next visit," the old man finally said before removing the energy shield. Suddenly, the outside noise reached Arthur. Only then did he realize the energy shield had been blocking the outside noise. With that, Arthur picked up both cards and lifted the bag. It was heavy. His heart never stopped beating like a drum. With a quick nod and courteous thanks, Arthur left the shop, entering into the busy street.

Though Arthur had an urge to open the bag and see the Credits inside, he restricted himself from doing so. If he were to open the bag out in the open, he would get robbed. He had already exited the material shop holding a big bag, which would naturally be noticed. If he were to open it, it would be a huge mistake. Without any delay, he hailed a taxi and decided to directly go to his home.