Chương 144: Chapter 139. Lots of gold

As soon as Rayne heard the words blood pact, his first thought was whether the process was going to be painful. Honestly, it sounded ominous. But Taklu quickly explained things further while leaning back in his chair. Apparently, the process itself was actually simple. All Rayne had to do was let the bracelet absorb some of his blood so the artifact would recognize him as its owner. After that, he would be able to use it freely.

"It's nothing complicated," Taklu explained.

"Most artifacts above common grade need some sort of binding process. Otherwise, anyone could just steal them and use them immediately." Rayne slowly nodded while listening, and throughout the explanation, he noticed Taklu's eyes repeatedly flickering back toward the bracelet resting on the table. The man was clearly interested in it. Eventually, after several moments of silence, Taklu finally voiced the thought he had probably been considering since the appraisal finished.

"Do you want to sell it?" Rayne raised an eyebrow slightly.

"You could get a very good price for something like that. A lot of noble brats would kill to get their hands on a defensive artifact." His gaze shifted briefly toward the bracelet again.

"Especially a rare grade one." The bald man clicked his tongue softly afterward.

"And you already know the state of artificers in the kingdom." Rayne actually didn't know anything about artificers in Valeria. Still, despite the tempting offer, he had no intention of selling the bracelet. Compared to pampered nobles sitting in estates, he probably needed the artifact far more. So he simply shook his head.

"No, I don't plan on selling it." Taklu's face visibly fell at the response.

"You sure?" the man asked again.

"That bracelet could easily sell for over a hundred gold coins." That actually made Rayne pause slightly. A hundred gold. That was an enormous amount of money for something he had randomly found inside a dungeon chest. With that much gold, he could probably buy proper enchanted armor, several weapons, potions, and still have enough left over to comfortably survive for years. For a brief second, the temptation genuinely crossed his mind, but only for a second. In the end, Rayne still shook his head in rejection.

"I think it'll serve me better than the money would." Taklu sighed faintly in disappointment, but Rayne quickly added.

"If I ever decide to sell it though, I'll come to you first." That seemed to improve the man's mood slightly.

"Do that," Taklu replied immediately.

"But remember, the price drops if it's already bonded first." Rayne nodded once.

"That's fine, but make sure you don't mention this artifact to anyone else." Taklu scoffed at that.

"If I didn't know how to keep my mouth shut," he muttered, "I wouldn't still be running this place after more than a decade." The man waved a hand dismissively.

"Now leave unless you plan on buying something else." For a moment, Rayne actually considered looking around more. The shop clearly carried quality weapons and equipment. Part of him wanted to ask about swords or enchanted gear while he was already here. But after seeing the prices for appraisal alone, he immediately abandoned the idea. Everything inside this store practically screamed expensive. He would probably find far cheaper alternatives somewhere else in the city.

So instead, Rayne simply thanked Taklu one last time before taking the bracelet carefully and slipping it back inside the pouch hidden beneath his robe. Then he stood up and left the small room. The moment he stepped back into the main area of the shop, he noticed Mona immediately. She still stood behind the counter, and there were still no other customers inside the store. The moment she saw him emerge from the back, her face visibly brightened.

"My uncle didn't give you too much trouble, right?" she asked. Rayne shook his head slightly while walking toward the counter.

"No," he replied.

"He was almost nice once he got the gold." Mona let out a small laugh at that.

"He's always like that. He acts scary around customers first and is friendly once he knows his time isn't being wasted." Then she paused slightly before looking over him again.

"So, are you going to stay in the capital for a while?" Rayne thought about the question briefly.

"I think so," he answered honestly.

"I'll probably get another quest eventually, but until I receive orders, I'm free." The moment he said that, Mona's smile brightened noticeably.

"So that means you actually have time now?" Rayne blinked once.

"I guess?" Mona hesitated very slightly before speaking again.

"Then… Do you want me to show you around the city sometime?" Her voice remained casual, but Rayne wasn't blind at the implication of her words.

"I come to Valers every year for a few weeks," she continued quickly.

"So I know most of the good places." Rayne stared at her quietly for a few seconds. It was painfully obvious what she was actually asking. Mona was basically inviting him out, and strangely enough, the realization left him slightly caught off guard. How long had it even been since a girl showed interest in him like this? A very long time. Back on Earth, most of his time had been swallowed by work, stress, and exhaustion. Relationships had always ended up somewhere at the bottom of his priorities.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Then after transmigrating into this world, survival itself became the only thing occupying his head. Fighting goblins, surviving undead, escaping trolls, dealing with nobles, nearly dying repeatedly. Romance honestly hadn't even crossed his mind for months.

Yet now, standing inside a quiet magic shop in the middle of Valers while a girl looked at him expectantly, Rayne suddenly realized how strangely normal this interaction felt. And honestly? He was a little flattered. Not just because Mona was pretty, though she definitely was. But because she was treating him normally. Not like a forsaken, not like the descendant of traitors, not like a useful soldier. Just… like a normal man. That alone felt surprisingly rare lately.

For a few moments, Rayne genuinely considered simply agreeing immediately. After all, it wasn't like he had many plans besides training and trying not to get himself killed before eventually being sent toward the godless ruins. Still, part of him hesitated too. His life was becoming increasingly dangerous by the day, and dragging normal people into it didn't exactly feel fair. Especially now that royal princes were taking an interest in him.

But while he stood there thinking, Mona's expression slowly became slightly nervous. Almost as though she worried she had overstepped somehow. Seeing that made Rayne realize he had probably stayed silent too long. So, he immediately shook his head slightly.

"No," he said.

"I wouldn't mind that." Mona blinked once.

"Really?" Rayne nodded. Part of him still wondered whether agreeing was actually a good idea. Still, it had simply been too long since he experienced anything resembling a normal life.

"I was looking for someone to show me around the city anyway," he added.

"And if you're free sometime this week, I'll probably still be staying at the army longhouse." Mona immediately nodded.

"I know the area. Which longhouse? There are a lot of them. * Rayne thought for a moment before replying, "Just ask for Captain Edran's warband. Someone will point you toward it." Mona's smile widened slightly after that, but then she glanced around the mostly empty shop.

"I still need to help my uncle organize some inventory today," she said.

"But I'll come find you once I'm a little more free." Rayne nodded once more before glancing toward the entrance of the shop.

"Then I should get going too." For a brief second, Mona looked faintly disappointed, but she still smiled.

"Alright." Rayne gave her one last look before turning and leaving the shop. Honestly, he probably could have stayed longer and talked more. But after seeing how Taklu reacted earlier, Rayne didn't particularly want the bald man walking back out and glaring at him again. So instead, he stepped back onto the crowded street outside with several thoughts moving through his mind. The day had honestly gone better than expected so far.

The bracelet turned out to be far more valuable than he originally assumed, and now he even had a date on his hand. Because of that, Rayne hoped the rest of the day would continue going smoothly too. Unfortunately, that turned out to be overly optimistic. One of the other major reasons he came out into the city today was to check out a few forges. More specifically, he wanted to look into getting a proper sword and shield.

After the campaign and everything that happened in the plains, Rayne understood more than ever how important reliable gear actually was, especially now that he would eventually be sent toward the godless ruins. He needed weapons that would actually last instead of breaking down in the middle of a battle. Yesterday, Rayne had already spoken briefly with Master Lander about the subject. The smith was skilled enough, but he openly admitted that he rarely worked with mana-conductive metals.

And he genuinely needed equipment that could properly channel mana through it without stressing. So, throughout the afternoon, he moved between several blacksmith shops across Valers asking questions and checking prices. And honestly? Prices almost made him want to leave immediately. The cheapest mana-conductive sword he found was around twenty gold coins. The shield alone cost another ten.

That was absurd, especially compared to the standard military equipment issued by the army, which barely cost a few silver pieces altogether. Rayne genuinely had no idea mana-conductive materials were this expensive. Some blacksmiths even quoted a hundred gold coins for a custom sword and shield order. Others immediately assumed he was some poor soldier wasting their time the moment they looked at his clothes.

Still, despite the frustrating prices, Rayne kept walking through the city, feeling like an entirely different world was slowly opening itself before him. A world that made him feel poorer every hour. Actually, if Rayne gathered together every single gold coin he currently possessed, he probably could afford the sword and shield he wanted. But that would leave him with almost nothing afterward. No money for potions, no emergency supplies, and no room for mistakes.

And the more he thought about it, the more he realized he couldn't just focus on himself either. Part of the reason he had gone around checking blacksmith shops today was because he had also been considering equipment for Bran. Ever since the plains campaign, several ideas regarding the man's fighting style had started forming in his head. Bran was the closest to a class advancement in his party, and being an archer, he believed he could be far more deadly if utilised in the right way.

Still, after hearing the prices around Valers, Rayne slowly realized that idea would probably have to wait. At least for now. In the end, none of it even mattered if the rest of the party didn't follow him toward the godless ruins in the first place. Rayne still hadn't properly spoken to them about the punishment. As far as most of the warband knew, he had simply survived the trial and been given some strange assignment involving treasure hunting. None of them actually understood he was being sent to Sage City.

Rayne himself still didn't know whether Captain Edran would even allow the warband to accompany him there once the deployment orders finally arrived. That conversation would come later. For now, the real issue was far simpler. Gold—He needed more of it. A lot more. As Rayne continued walking through the busy streets of Valers, his thoughts slowly drifted toward possible solutions. Should he visit the Adventurer's Guild?

The capital would definitely have more quests available, and with his current strength, he could probably clear lower quests quickly enough to earn decent money. But then again, Valers was the capital. The guild here was probably overflowing with adventurers competing for the same work. Good quests were likely taken quickly. And even if he found something worthwhile, he would have to do it alone to keep all the gold. Maybe there was another way to make money instead.

Just as he thought that, a strange feeling suddenly crawled across the back of his neck. His steps slowed for only half a second before returning to normal. At first, he thought he was imagining things. But the sensation didn't disappear. A cold awareness settled at the edge of his instincts, but he continued walking calmly while pretending not to notice anything unusual. He also changed directions, slipping through two narrower alleys before entering another street crowded with merchants and travelers.

Still, the feeling persisted. At that point, Rayne no longer believed it was his imagination. Months of surviving monsters, ambushes, undead, and battlefields had sharpened his instincts too much for him to ignore something like this. Hence, he knew one thing. Someone was following him.

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