Chapter 36

Following Reishi to the cargo hold, Kai immediately noticed the higher mana density on board, like at Virya’s estate. Activating Mana Sense, he tried to take a peek at the Fortuna. Maybe get a glimpse of the enchantments.

The boards of the ship lit up like a Christmas tree. Intricate runes and mana channels all around him. Astonished by the elaborate design, Kai tried to take a closer look, yet no matter how much he focused, his mana senses only showed him a blurry image.

“You know, it’s considered rude to try and decipher the runework of someone else’s property without permission,” Reishi said, glancing over his shoulder.

Even Moui was looking at him with reproachful eyes as if saying here we go again.

Kai turned off the skill, blushing. “Sorry, I didn’t know.”

“It’s fine, it must not be something you are… familiar with. The array of the ship is cloaked anyway.” Reishi didn’t say it with contempt or malice, but Kai was again reminded of his own ignorance of the wider world.

I always took for granted the existence of schools on Earth. Who would have thought I would long for that?

The archipelago didn’t have a formal education system. Sometimes the elder of a town organized basic classes. Elder Ruan used to put those together in Whiteshore. In Greenside, children were left free to scurry around, and expected to learn the skills they needed by observing adults working.

No wonder his home remained so backward. Kai promised he would do something about this if he had the chance one day. For now, he had to focus on getting stronger, without power and resources he could only silently complain.

After a short walk through the ship, the group arrived in front of a door guarded by another merfolk. Contrary to the two merchants, this one didn’t have a scholarly and cunning aura, his talents clearly lay in a different area. He was lazily leaning on a spear, but his movements were too calculated, as if his body was ready to jump into action at any moment.

Looking beyond his hunched posture, the merman’s arms had well-defined muscles. He might look as impressive as Moui if he stood up straight.

Reishi greeted the fellow merman with a cheerful tone. “How’s it going, old Yun? I’m going to show these two some of our goods.”

Old Yun—which didn’t look old at all in Kai’s eyes—briefly scanned them and responded with a lazy wave, opening the door for them to go in.

A quick peek from Kai revealed Yun had a similar level to Sehn, which was to say, higher than he could understand. The difference between the old merchant and the guard could be huge or small, he had no way of knowing.

Even if Yun didn’t look intimidating, the message was clear, neither he nor the hunter stood any chance against him. They better behave.

Stepping inside, Kai eagerly looked around to find… well, a bunch of wooden crates. How else would people store their goods? He had certainly not imagined finding rows of rare treasures sitting on display on marble altars. Not at all!

Admittedly it was disappointing after all the hype. But Reishi lost no time to tickle his interest again.

“Just give me a moment, I’ll bring some items you’ll find interesting for sure.”

With a sly smile and surprising agility, the merfolk dragged an unassuming table in front of them, then moved between the crates like he was dancing. One object after the other was put on display.

Beautifully crafted knives and swords. A bow with a collection of different arrows. Several pieces of leather armor. A few colorful vials with a powerful mana presence, and more blades of curious shapes.

As Kai’s excitement started rising, he noticed most of the items seemed targeted for a specific job: hunting.

Uncle Moui is the one with the big money. I’m just his plus one.

Trying not to pout, Kai examined the weapons. Under his skills, they all revealed runes and clear traces of mana. A day earlier, he could count on his hands all the enchanted items he had seen in his life, now they appeared everywhere.

The potions were in neatly labeled vials, all pretty and colorful. The opposite of the brown sludges Dora fed him. He was very interested in those, but he didn’t want to start analyzing them without permission after the earlier blunder.

Standing on the other side of the table and making wide grandiose gestures, Reishi began to explain why he chose these items and why it was in Moui’s best interest to buy them.

“So, here I have a selection of tier-one and two weapons, armors and potions. I think you’ll find them very interesting. This bonesaw knife, for example. You may ask: why would I need that? Well, this is not an ordinary bonesaw knife…”

The merman seemed to have a lot of fun. Kai couldn’t stop himself from interrupting with a question that had been bugging him for a while.

“Ehm… could you explain how items are classified to be first or second-tier?”

Reishi stopped mid-sentence glaring at him, before noticing that Moui didn’t seem to mind the interruption and switched to a grin. “Of course. It’s simple really. At least if you don’t go into the nitty gritty and exceptions.

“You know that humans divide race and professions using a color scale. Any sapient species does that, but different species and kingdoms use different names.

“Merfolk don’t use colors but Layers. There are various reasons for this, but I won’t bore you with the minutia. The point is that, while the names change, they always define the same thing. The same stages, tiers or grades. To make things clear, in multi-specie interactions, the standard is to use numbers, even if they are a bit bland. Red is one, Orange is two and so on.

“Going back to your question. When you appraise raw materials the mana density and complexity are the only defining factors for the tier. For crafted items, things get more complicated. You have to consider the tier of the materials used, the tier of the craftsman’s profession and the complexity of the specific craft.

“An average tier-one knife is the creation of an average tier-one blacksmith using average tier-one metals. But it’s not always so simple. In the case of a tier-two blacksmith using tier-one metals, the product will still be a tier-one knife, but of a much higher quality.

“That is how it works for most crafts, though there are exceptions. In alchemy the tier is often linked to the specific recipe. Some tier-one potions are so difficult that few at the same profession tier can brew them. But because of the grade of the ingredients, they are still considered first-tier.

“Things can get a bit convoluted. There are many exceptions and kingdoms that just decide to do things differently for reasons. But that is the general accepted standard,” Reishi concluded.

Kai nodded along, the overall picture was clear, even if he didn’t understand everything. He lacked some basic knowledge that the merman took for granted.

For the next half hour, Kai listened as the merchant showcased his goods and Moui tested the weapons.

After a long negotiation, Moui ended up buying a set of tier-one butchering knives, enchanted to stay sharp. A tier-two bow that could make use of his full strength and a couple potions, a generic healing one and an antivenom.

All of that for the low, low price of 4 silvers and forty coppers. That was a great discount according to Reishi, who showed deep suffering as he accepted the deal, before switching to a smile a moment later.

Thinking they were done, Kai was ready to go back. With his pitiful wallet, there wasn’t anything he could afford, and he didn’t feel like spending all his money on a single item.

The merman stopped him. “I think I have something perfect for you.”

Rummaging through the crates, Reishi came back with three books. Putting them in front of him, Kai read the names: Common Herbs and Their Uses - Volume 2, Plants from the Deep - a Complete Guide to the Treasures of the Sea, and Fundamentals of Alchemy - Volume 1.

As the titles suggested, the first contained an assortment of common tier-one and two plants and their uses, while the second focused on aquatic plants. Reishi only let him see a few pages, but they looked interesting, with beautiful hand drawings of each herb. The exact type of books he would love to possess.

The third was a common manual for all apprentice alchemists written by the illustrious Xolovert De’savot. Kai had never heard of him, but according to Reishi, it was one of the pillars of modern alchemy. And no alchemist could do without it.

Can I really afford these books? Reishi should know my price range.

“Respectively they are 40 coppers, 35 coppers and 1 silver. Alchemy is a very requested subject,” the merchant said, smiling.

“You know I can’t afford that.”

Did he expect him to ask Moui for money? He really wanted those books to round out his knowledge, but they weren’t essential.

The merchant looked deep in thought. “What about a trade? Since you’ve been such wonderful clients, I can give you all three for the green pearl on your wrist. Deal?”

“No.” Kai didn’t even have to think about it. He would not sell his sisters’ gift for a gold mesar, let alone a couple common books.

“Don’t be hasty. This is a great deal. I woul⁠—”

“No.”

“You may not find anything similar in the whole archipelago. Fundamentals of Alchemy - Volume 1 is a must-have.”

“Still no.” Kai was sure Dora would have plenty of books on the subject. He trusted his teacher more than some Xolovert De’ who cares. He wasn’t going to get fooled by FOMO.

The young merchant finally accepted the trade wasn’t going to happen and stopped insisting.

It sucked leaving with nothing to show. But it wasn’t like he saw something he desperately needed. Still… He counted the coins in his satchel, all his savings amounted to exactly 31 mesars and 40 chips. Not a lot after the numbers he heard today, but still a considerable sum.

“When do you sail?” Kai asked.

Reishi stopped his distraught act. “We are going to stay for a couple days if you change your mind. Then we set sail for the next island. We need to wait for the next high tide to not risk damaging the keel of the ship.”

Kai smiled. “What about low-level herbs? What do you have in stock? Level one and below.”

Kai could see the wheels start turning in the merchant’s brain.

“We bought a few low-grade materials in the villages before yours. Let me see what we have. What kind of materials are you looking for?”

Instead of answering, Kai replied with a question. “What kind of potions would you be most interested in buying?”

The merman perfectly understood what he was getting at. Kai planned on spending all his money to buy ingredients, go on a mad brewing spree and sell his creations to him before they set sail.

Now they only needed to iron out the details. Kai reassured the merchant of his ability to craft low tier-one potions. Those were the ones that sold the most in the archipelago anyway.

To be honest, the only true tier-one potion he had ever brewed was the energizing tonic, but that was more for lack of tier-one ingredients than skill. He was confident he could do it.

They were in the middle of discussing which potion had the highest price compared to ingredient cost when Reishi said he had an idea and disappeared amidst the crates.

Rummaging around, the merfolk surprised him by bringing out a new leather-bound volume. This book contained actual alchemy recipes, but the merchant did not let him peek inside. After browsing through the pages, Reishi proposed to him six recipes he could provide the ingredients for and would be interested in acquiring.

The merman only gave him a few seconds to skim through the chosen pages. The potions all seemed quite basic. Since he would have little more than two days, Kai chose three of them. A simple, easy-to-craft healing potion. An energizing one, that instead of a short burst like his tonic, provided smaller long-lasting benefits.

The final one—and the hardest to brew—was a poison. A nifty concoction called bait poison. Its main boon was that it was harmless to humans. People could use it freely while hunting to get rid of critters, without the risk of poisoning themselves.

Reishi would provide the ingredients, full recipes and the promise of buying them for a set price. They decided the exact terms through fierce haggling, agreeing on a price range based on the quality of the potions. Depending on how many he could make, and how well, Kai would make a nifty sum.

Naturally, the young merchant wanted to be paid upfront. He graciously offered him a loan for a small adjustment in the prices they agreed on. Truly shameless.

Kai had a different idea. He turned to his dear uncle with a smile and a silent question.

“Are you sure you can do this?” Moui asked, his gaze serious.

Kai met him with determination. “Yes.”

The hunter kept his gaze. “Fine. But if you fail to pay me back, I’ll come for you,” the burly man said in a menacing tone.

Kai was half sure he was joking, but the other half was enough to make him swear not to screw this up.

Just like that, Kai found himself back on shore with a huge backpack full of herbs and jiggling glass containers for the finished products. Kai had made sure to include the bag and the vials in the deal.

He tried to lift the backpack with a theatrical effort, downplaying his strength and looking at his uncle with pleading eyes. The hunter watched him struggle, then he sighed and easily picked it up.

Now I just have to learn how to brew those potions. And then brew a fuckton of them—all high quality.