Chapter 22: Teaching Seria to Swindle, Step One

"I hear Tauric the Tauren King has been quite restless lately; we should avoid him if we can."

Led by Krahn, the group of five prepared to cross Gragol to find Pinos, who was currently busy setting fires everywhere, and teach her a lesson about the consequences of arson.

Tana approached and, while no one was paying attention, slipped a piece of soft fabric into his pocket, whispering, "For you. Keep it hidden..."

Yelin stiffened, then nonchalantly shoved his hands into his pockets. The fabric felt soft and comfortable, and it didn't seem very large.

Tana made a gesture for secrecy, her eyes full of triumph and playfulness, as if it were truly a lady's intimate garment.

"Actually, it's just a piece of fabric..."

He pulled it out, and as expected, it was just a plain, ordinary piece of white cloth with some thin string—the craftsmanship was quite crude.

"Tch! Did you see through it? I wanted to see the disappointment on your face when you hid in your room full of anticipation, only to find it was just ordinary cloth..."

With her little prank exposed, Tana couldn't help but feel a bit let down.

"Come one, come all! Exchange your gold for a chance!"

"There are absolutely no empty ones!"

Just as they were about to head toward Grand Flores, they suddenly noticed a very strange person appearing on the roadside leading from Elvengard to the forest.

He was wrapped from head to toe in a wide gray robe, his arms covered in cyan wooden armor. Most notably, he wore a yellowish clay jar over his head, with only holes for his eyes and mouth, which looked particularly comical.

Dragging a jar in his hand, he was excitedly introducing something, attracting a large crowd of adventurers—even Linus was there, joining in on the fun.

"I am Pothead, an enthusiast of ancient relics. These are all things I dug up from a ruin—legendary ancient pots!"

"Do you know about ancient pots? They contain wonderful things! Rare equipment, even artifacts and heirlooms are hidden inside these tiny jars."

"One thousand gold coins each! Feel free to pick any jar from the wagon behind me. Once sold, no refunds. I treat everyone fairly!"

"But I’ll say this first: these are original products. What's inside depends on your own skill and luck!"

With that, Pothead began a demonstration. He used a wooden stick to smash the pot in his hand, and after a clattering sound of shards, a staff radiating a rich purple glow appeared among the debris.

"Oh, my luck is pretty good! A rare piece of equipment, the [Silver Jade Staff]. Made a little profit, hahahaha."

The onlookers were stirred by the sight. Several bold ones tossed a thousand gold coins to Pothead and went straight to his wagon to pick out their own jars.

They weren't fools. After selecting their jars, they examined the exterior and the magical seals, and combined with the spatial magic they had just witnessed, they were fairly certain these were indeed products of ancient ruins.

What did everyone come to Grand Flores for? To farm materials for money?

No, they came for the legendary elven heritage!

Now that products of ancient ruins were right before their eyes, how could they not be tempted?

A swordsman felt the seal with his ghost hand for a moment and nodded: "It’s real. The seal is very ancient, which is why it shatters with a single blow from a wooden stick."

Upon getting this confirmation, the crowd grew completely excited. Even Linus couldn't resist spending money to buy one.

A wagon full of pots was sold out in minutes.

*Bang!*

*Clatter!*

Continuous breaking sounds echoed as piece after piece of equipment appeared. But surprisingly, out of the forty or so pots in the wagon, only two people smashed out rare equipment; everyone else got nothing but junk.

"A high-grade heavy armor top?"

Linus was speechless as he held his gear. With his keen blacksmith's eye, he could tell this piece would sell for at most two or three hundred gold coins.

He had lost seven hundred gold coins with one strike—that could have bought a lot of ale!

"Again! Do you have more?"

A male fighter was quite envious of his companion, who was holding a decent rare ring, the [Heart-Piercing Ring], worth more than ten times the price of the pot!

"I do. Good luck to you."

Pothead chuckled and brought out another wagon of pots, which quickly sold out again.

But the results were still unsatisfactory. Except for two or three lucky ones, most people suffered heavy losses. In just ten minutes, they had thrown away over a thousand gold coins.

Yet, those lucky ones had made a genuine, handsome profit, which only made others more envious.

Seria was also envious. The principle of the pots was clearly the same type as Yelin's "Seria's Luck"—it was all about making money through luck!

Regardless of whether the adventurers lost or gained, Pothead definitely wasn't losing!

In just over ten minutes, Pothead had made nearly a hundred thousand gold coins!

What is robbery? What is running an inn? Making people voluntarily hand over their money while still feeling like they didn't lose—that is the true way!

At this moment, the desire for profit in Seria's heart, that ambition to control gold, surged higher than the sky!

She had awakened! At least in the aspect of money!

"Yelin, how many 'Lucky Boxes' do you have?"

"Uh... a lot. A whole lot."

Seeing Seria clench her small hands, her emotions stirred and flames of excitement burning in her eyes, he knew exactly what was happening.

Seria, who had only relied on running a "dark inn" to make money, had finally returned to her true calling under Pothead's unintentional guidance... selling boxes!

"After we finish our business, let's go to Hendon Myre, to Underfoot, to West Coast, to the Celestial Realm, and to the Pandemonium! Let's earn gold! All the gold!"

"How about it?"

Seria grabbed his sleeve, her expression shifting to a pitiful look that tugged at the heartstrings.

"Alright... I suppose."

*Sigh.*

An inaudible sigh filled with sympathy, signifying that the adventurers' wallets were about to face a carpet-bombing.

"Since we're doing this, let's do it on a larger scale. I have many unique outfits here. Not only are they beautifully styled, but they can also provide attribute boosts. How about we open a clothing store?"

"Is that the kind of thing you gave us called the [Sky Set]? Wouldn't that be too flashy? It doesn't help much in battle for adventurers!"

"Don't worry, there are also casual, nimble-type normal outfits and holiday sets. We'll hang the Sky Set in the most prominent place in the store to catch the eyes of nobles and the wealthy—they love that sort of thing most."

"But the Sky Set won't be sold directly. I have something called an [Avatar Synthesizer] here. They'll have to buy my outfits to synthesize them for a chance to get it. It'll be luxurious and prestigious. And there are so many colors for the Sky Set..."

"Mm-hmm! I'll sell the Lucky Boxes, Tana will sell the outfits, and Shiat will act as a shill. First step: Hendon Myre!"

Seeing the two of them whispering and plotting to scam people, Tana had to interrupt their train of thought. "Let's go, it takes time to cross Gragol."

"No rush!"

Seria shook her fair, delicate finger and tugged at Shiat, who was watching from the side. She hummed with dissatisfaction. "He actually dared to use the foot traffic of my inn to make money. 'Lucky One', go give him a lesson!"