Vol. 1 - Chapter 20 - Sapphire turned into a gold

Moving from the central square, finding some answers to his questions along the way from this 'Red' guy who was level 25 among the first top 10 players of this beta stage.

While walking on the streets that welcomed the brightness of the day, moving back toward Fayrene's shop, he was pondering on the information he got.

"So, the devs set the level limit for the beta stage to 25. This is why even after one week of playtime, those top guys all got stuck at level 25. They even foresee a shutdown of the server after one month, to do the last checks and in the summer release the live version."

The citizens of Titan looked at Mathias a bit weird when he moved past them while talking to himself, but he didn't care and kept moving alone.

"This means I shouldn't get so petty to fight my way to that bear who killed me and just relax a bit, learn to sew, maybe continue drilling the spear movements in my reflexes, and when the live version turns online, I can storm my way toward that bear."

"Sounds good, theoretically, but practically? What if I don't get the same quests, starting area and so on? That 'Red' guy told me that every player gets a random location of Saharan, meaning I could spawn in Typhon, Zievra, Chiritinas, Toulmont and other duchies of the empire or counties, heck even a small village couldn't be excluded from the spawning list. This is all random, not like how I thought at first."

"Sigh, if I really get unlucky in the live version to get into a far location of the empire, I will probably never have the chance to encounter Fayrene or the others, Gabrils, Corvus, Reids and especially the blacksmith boy."

Mathias' expression seemed saddened while thinking about how all the relations he built with these fascinating personalities would all turn to ash, yet he also understood that it wasn't the developers' fault.

They were only doing their job to test the game before releasing it to the greater masses, acquiring the help of beta players like him. However, there was still the lingering feeling that things wouldn't so bad for him after the beta stage ends.

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This state kept only for a bit more, breaking when he reached Fayrene's house, turning calmer and collected. He looked at the time and could see it was already 8:16 AM.

Entering inside the shop without using the key, since he knew Fayrene was awake at this time, he indeed saw her start spreading out her work materials on the tailoring table.

"You went outside again? Are you fine?" asked Fayrene, turning her head a bit to check on Mathias's face.

"I am fine. I went to the forest to hunt some wild beasts." mentioned Mathias, walking toward her with slow steps since his Stamina still had to recover, being only at [26/100].

Fayrene stopped all she was doing and asked him softly. "Did everything go according to plan? Didn't you rush going now for those dangerous beasts lurking at night? You should learn the basic arcane spells at least."

"I can't say that everything went according to plan since I got killed by a powerful beast. So for now, this should have calmed my desire to go outside and check the wilderness."

He then proceeded to tell her how he moved toward the forest, after almost bumping into dangerous thieves, which hand her react all of a sudden.

Mathias waited for her to calm down before he started to narrate to her how he got to the forest, the impressive scenery of the forest entrance illuminated by the moonlight, soothing her mind a bit before he began mentioning his encounters with the beats.

From the 'Divebeak Owl' that attacked him from the air, and the brutal manner he had the predator bird defeated, then going to the 'Bristling Boars' who had spikes of bones all over them and with some suspense telling her about his last encounter in the forest, the 'Dire Wolf' and the boars. (A/N: Roll the drums for the tension)

Not getting too lost in details, he told her he defeated the wolf, but when he was about to try to get out from the forest, the black bear ended him, sending him back to Titan.

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Fayrene's hands trembled a bit when hearing Mathias mention he died again, but she kept it to herself, and with a calm tone, she inquired, feeling Mathias changed a bit.

"You are sure everything is fine?"

Gazing at Fayrene's violet eyes, Mathias just gives her a wide smile, saying with an excited tone.

"Obviously, come let me show you what I got from my hunt. I even managed to get some money in the process."

Grabbing her hand, he walked to the counter and began spreading out all the items he gained from killing the beasts.

Slowly, he started revealing to Fayrene the giant black owl feathers, the [Pristine Owl Feathers], the [5 pieces of Sharp Talons], the [Ragged Boar Tusk], all the pieces of [Boar Hide] that began flooding the counter, numbering at 40 pieces, perfectly cut and treated, the damaged sapphire also made its appearance right in front of Fayrene's eyes.

She trembled next to Mathias while grabbing into his shirt as if she wanted to say something, but he kept putting more items on the counter.

What followed next was the 'Dire Wolf Fangs', the 'Tender Wolf meat', followed by the two gold coins.

Turning his head at her and giving her a large smile, he asked her, wanting to hear her confirmation.

"How is it for my first hunt outside? Everything I put on the counter is yours, Fayrene, especially the gold coin."

"You… Are you sure? Once I put it on my little pouch, they will stay there with me." reminded Fayrene, shocked by the amount of meat, pelts, tusks, and fangs Mathias managed to get.

"It is fine. This is nothing as long as it can help you." replied Mathias, patting on her soft shoulder while continuing by pointing at the meats he got that looked fresh.

"We should start smoking those meats or cure them in salt, so we don't miss on food. While the pelts from the Dire Wolf and Bristling Boars should be stored accurately. For the rest of the fangs and tusks, I have no idea what we could do with them. Any idea?"

Fayrene was still processing all the new things Mathias brought and wasn't focused on what he just mentioned. After being patted again on the shoulder, she shook her head as if waking up and only nodded her head like a little chick.

She took the gold coins rapidly and dashed off to her private room, making Mathias laugh out loud.

"She is so bound to gold that it looks like she is a dragon who found her lost treasure."

Looking at her back, he said to her. "Fayrene, easy, so you don't hit yourself. It is only two gold coins for the Lord's name."

"No, no, even the smallest bronze coin counts." replied Fayrene from her room.

'I think I can craft some ornamental daggers using those fangs, talons and tusks. If it was a rhino tusk, I could scam people, like the Chinese, telling how it can work as an aphrodisiac. Wait, it is worth a try. Still, there remains that sapphire. I have no clue what it is worth.' contemplated Mathias while tapping his fingers on the counter.

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After getting back to the front room, her face turned embarrassed when she got back to Mathias. "Ahem, let's forget that you saw me like that."

With a wide grin, Mathias just did an "OK" sign before he pointed again at the meats, tusks and sapphire.

"That sapphire, I don't know much about jewellery, but it should also have value if we take it to a specialist. Do you know any place where we can check?"

"There are some jewellery places in the trading district and the central district. Argh, I'll rather not walk to the central part of the city. It is full of idiots who view themselves above people on the periphery or outsiders."

"I see. Do you want to check it now?" asked Mathias while taking the sapphire in his hand that was the size of a smaller swallow egg that had a small crack on its left side.

"Sure, let's go. We will work on the dress once we are back."

With an enthusiastic reply, the two began journeying to the trading district, where the 'Grand Market' and many other shops were located.

In about 20 minutes, the two arrived in front of a jewellery shop guarded by a group of 3 guys, all looking tough in appearance.

Those guys stared intensely at Fayrene but didn't act on her, keeping to their guarding job.

Entering inside, Mathias was assaulted by the sight of many pieces of jewellery made from gold, ivory, gemstones and other premium things he only saw on TV. He barely kept his composure in this environment while Fayrene kept her silence, sometimes hearing her gulp her saliva.

"Fayrene, let's not embarrass ourselves. Okay?" said Mathias while whispering to Fayrene, reminding her to stay calm.

"I will try." whispered Fayrene back, timidly walking after him.

Once they began walking closer to the shop counter, they were welcomed by a middle-aged man wearing a monocle on his right eye and wearing stylish clothes for the medieval setting.

"Welcome to my humble shop. How can I help you? Is the gentleman looking for an engagement ring for this beautiful young lady?" ended the middle-aged man saying that with a smile on his clean, shaved face.

Waving his hand to deny such affirmation while Fayrene, who was following him from the back, got her cheeks turning rose, and the jeweller saw her expression change fully, humming a bit interested at this duo.

"Sir, I brought a gemstone for you to check. Maybe you are interested in buying it."

Ending that, he took the sapphire from his inventory and presented it to the specialist, whose expression changed, turning serious at the sight of this swallow egg size gemstone.

Taking a sight amplifying equipment, he began to inspect it with full professionalism. Still, while he was locking with this vision magnifying equipment that confused Fayrene, asking Mathias, who watched calmly what the jeweller was doing.

"What is that thing he put on his right eye?"

"It is something jewellers use to enhance their vision and see the crystalline structure of the gemstone."

"That is correct, young gentleman. This gemstone is called saphirus, or how the commoners call it sapphire. There is a small crack on the gemstone, but if it is polished, we can repair that damage. Royal blue colour sapphire with a 7 carat, quite the rare beauty, also of decent size." commented the jeweller as he took his amplifier off his eye, putting the monocle back on his nose.

Continuing to admire the gemstone, he then turned to gaze at Mathias, who looked calmly at him, not nervous at all, as if he was indifferent if he rejected him.

"So, you are looking to sell this?"

"Yes, how much can you offer me. Also, can you tell me the price of the sapphires?" inquired Mathias while placing more intonation on the 'price' word.

Getting a book from the corner of the counter, he opened it and showed it to Mathias, where many gemstones were listened to, with their prices depending on quality and color and a detailed description of them, which Mathias found intriguing.

Fayrene took a peek while those two were starting a showdown on how much money to get for the sapphire, but when she started to read in her clumsy manner out loud.

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Colour 'Royal Blue' -> Natural Formed -> Impeccable crystal formation -> 10.000 gold>

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"How much is that gold? Ten thousand?" she started to ask herself while counting using her fingers the amount of gold one of the gemstones in the description matching a bit the one Mathias found.

Then when she realized how much money it was, she turned scared out of nowhere but kept her quiet, watching Mathias back.

"I see, so my gemstone value is about 1.700 gold from what your encyclopedia describes." mentioned Mathias after studying the book carefully on the sapphire section.

"About that amount, however, this is without taking into account the amount of work required to turn the sapphire into a presentable shape. I will offer you 1150 gold for this gemstone." placed the jeweller his offer on the table.

Mathias, hearing that, remained quiet for a while, looking sharply at the jeweller. He started to negotiate, climbing the price a bit. "Sir, 1400 gold, and we shake hands."

The jeweller tapped his finger on the counter, thinking of the proposal, and after one minute, he opened his mouth and said. "Let's go with 1200 gold kid. Remember, I have to do the most work to turn this sapphire around."

"Because of that, I wasn't a fool to raise my price too much. How does 1350 gold sound?"

Subsequently, waiting for the jeweller's response, who fiddled with the gemstone in his hand, it even fits well in his hand because of the egg shape. He nodded at last his head and gave Mathias his hand for the shake.

"We got a deal, young man." shook the middle-aged man Mathias's hand with a wide smile on his face.

Then after that, he turned his eyes on Fayrene, studying her for some seconds, and then turned to Mathias, saying to him with a merchant offer.

"Young gentleman, if you are interested in buying something for your lover, I can offer you jewels quite nice for the range of 400-1000 gold."