White was almost certain that the man had recognized the dead adventurer when he called out in such an agitated tone. After all, this chest armor didn't belong to him initially. It wasn't impossible for a close friend to notice a special mark of sorts on the rugged piece of equipment. But White had a more urgent problem to deal with now.
"W-Wait...!" He was being pushed against a wall from the man's reckless advance. Is this what people call, a kabe-don? No, but he's a guy. White felt goosebumps on his skin.
"The way this shirt is made... aah, and this pair of rough... indigo... no black? What dye is this, what in heavens! This is amazing!" He heard the man mutter to himself, as if unaware of what he was currently doing.
It seems that the man had instead taken interest in the clothes he had brought from Earth, but he had taken his curiosity to a very... passionate degree. It took a few seconds for the man to realize how inappropriate he was, and after coughing dryly, he took a few steps back and bowed.
"I am sorry for my rudeness. My name is Richard Brownfield, the tailor of this shop. Nice to meet you."
"A-Ah... my na---"
"---But really I need to ask, how did you get these clothes? I've never seen a cut like them. That stitch is so perfect I can barely believe it!" Richard immediately interrupted the young man with glittering eyes.
It was just a t-shirt and jeans, nothing to get too excited about. White adjusted himself after regaining some space, and responded wryly to the man who went by the name Richard. "...Well, I'm glad you like them."
"Can I buy them?"
"...Eh? Buy... them?" The unexpected request had threw off his guard once again.
"Yes, your clothing! I want to buy it! I'd like to examine it, see how it's made!" Richard exclaimed as his eyes continued to wander around his clothes, as if he couldn't wait to lay his hands on them.
White had an epiphany shortly after. He realized that the tailoring techniques and technology were most likely far behind from modern Earth. Seeing clothes like these would probably make someone shocked. Just like how someone back in the stone age would see a skyscraper, Richard was similarly awe-struck by how the garments were created. But still, he couldn't trade them so easily.
"I... don't have anything else to wear." He explained.
"In fact, I came here hoping to buy more clothing."
White pointed at the rucksack near the entrance.
"I heard that enchanted clothing can allow someone to... reduce the load of baggage? It would be nice to buy more clothing too, since this is uhm... my only set."
"That's easy." Richard immediately made a proposal.
"I will make you three full sets of clothing in exchange, one of them with a lightweight enchantment."
If it wasn't obvious yet, Richard was the tailor of the shop.
Looking at the intricately-woven clothes hung around the store, the young man knew that he was pretty capable with his hands. Although not to the extent of how good a modern tailor was, Richard was probably still considered an above-average artisan in this world.
White pondered over the deal for a moment, and nodded. It seemed like a fair exchange. He didn't really have any special use for the isekai clothing. He could save quite a bit of money through this transaction.
Although he didn't know how exactly the lightweight enchantment was implemented, White didn't bother asking about the technicalities. As long as it could lessen the weight of the things he carries, he didn't need to know about how it worked.
"It's a deal then."
"Alright it should be done in two days, you can pick them up then."
"What about the measurements?"
Richard sniffed. "I can memorize a person's three sizes in an instant no matter who they are, don't worry. It will fit perfectly, now give me those clothes!"
The young man ended up walking out of the shop feeling like he was mugged. He was now wearing a slightly baggy tunic and plain pants. Richard assured him the stuff he'd make would be much higher quality and in the meantime he would have to settle with these. At least it was free.
〚 Plain Outfit ❙❙❙❙❙ ♦ Common Grade ✠ Equipment - Top / Bottom ♦ 1 Defense 〛
Shortly after making the trade, the trinket around White's neck started to shine faintly. He turned it back into a Guild Card and saw text appearing under the titles available:
[You have sold something! You have unlocked the title: Merchant.]
White equipped to see what stats it gave. He was surprised to see that it had given him an ability instead: ｢Merchant's Deal｣. Unlike the Status Window, the title system of the card didn't provide him with any information. He wouldn't know what it was until he tried it out, and he was pretty close to the streets right now. The tantalizing smell of street food quickly drifted into his nose. He walked up to a popular vendor selling skewered rabbit meat.
"Irashaiii! Here for one, boy?"
"Yes, just one... please."
"Alright, here you go!" He received the stick of rabbit meat and felt his stomach growl from its appetizing aroma, but he couldn't get distracted.
How should he activate it? Should he say the name of the ability here? In the end, White tried to picture using ｢Merchant's Deal｣ in his mind. Nothing seemed to happen as the guy stared at him. White handed the street vendor 3 coppers thinking that his experiment had been a failure.
But a few seconds after leaving the vendor with the food, he felt something in his palm.
"Eh?"
There were 3 coppers back in his hand.
(...It worked?)
He wasn't sure why, but the money paid for the rabbit meat had returned to him. Perhaps gaining some insight on the ｢Merchant's Deal｣ ability, White returned to the guy again.
"Uhm... another one please."
The guy simply smiled and handed him another stick. After paying the 3 copper coins he had received from ｢Merchant's Deal｣, White walked away and pretended as if nothing suspicious was going on. He was fully expecting the money to return to him again but after waiting for a full minute, the skill did not activate this time.
(Is it on a cooldown? Or is it simply based on luck?)
It seems like he had to experiment with this amazing ability at another time because he didn't have any money left. He would also have to withhold buying another weapon for now. Since his dagger was still usable, he just had to make do.
He chewed on the two sticks of rabbit meat with a satisfied expression. It was very fulfilling, and so much better than the ramen he used to eat. This wasn't such a bad life after all, he thought.
White returned to the guild and visited Heinesia. She seemed to be working today as well.
"Hello, White-sama. You've come today again. What happened to your clothes?"
"Ah, that... I traded them... haha..."
Heinesia gave a look of surprise, but didn't say anything about it after that.
"So what brings you here?"
"Uhm... I'm actually wondering..." He said awkwardly. "Where I could earn some money?"
"Ah... right. The quests on the guild board are for Iron-rank and above, so the most common way is to hunt [Horned Rabbits]."
"Horned Rabbits?"
Heinesia nodded. "There is a small field outside of the city walls, the rabbits gather there. You can defeat one as long as you're careful of the horns on their forehead. Because they are small and agile, they like to take approaching aggressors by surprise. The monster drops you get are [Rabbit's Meat] and [Rabbit's Horn].
The guild will buy the horns for 1 copper coin a piece, but you'll have better luck selling them somewhere else. Since you're still a beginner, I suggest that you look for the store owners in the streets for a direct deal rather than trade them on the first floor."
White recalled that the first floor was used for trading between adventurers. He also thought that it made sense for raw meat to be dealed with butchers instead of in a guild lobby.
"Thank you for the information."
"It is my job, like I said. White-sama, are you heading out now?"
"Y-Yeah, I need to start earning some money... actually."
"In that case, I wish you luck in your hunt today. Because Horned Rabbits are E-ranked, if you retrieve twenty of its monster drops collectively, you will be able to advance to Iron-rank and start taking quests."
White nodded in agreement. He had heard about it from Heinesia yesterday. The difficulty of monsters ranged from E to A, with S - SS as the upper equivalent to calamities.
✦ E-ranked - Have to be cleared out to maintain the safety of human settlements.
✦ D-ranked - Threatens overpopulation if not cleared out on a regular basis.
✦ C-ranked - Environmental monsters. They are aggressive towards invaders in their territory, slowing down the conquest for human borders. Although dangerous, they are territorial and are usually unwilling or unable to leave their marked regions.
✦ B-ranked - Tactical-class monsters, able to attack humans without having fixed habitats. Due to their wandering nature, some of them evolve and become stronger with the use of skills or magic.
✦ A-ranked - Strategic-class monsters able to disrupt warfare at a high level. Some include the [Frost Giants], or an [Elder Lich] that commands an army of undead, although the last time one appeared was over a decade ago.
★ S-ranked - National threat. Usually belonging to that of the party of heroes, or the commanders of the Demon King's army.
★ SS-ranked - Continental threat. The Demon King is the only one ever recorded to reach this rank.
The ranking examination for Bronze-ranks were to defeat 20 E-ranked monsters and return with proof of them through the monster drops. Incidentally, he also could not sell them until they were collected together.
... ... ... ... ...
White thanked Heinesia again before leaving.
He had already prepared for it, but still he couldn't help but feel his hands shaking as he left the city.
It was time for his real test. A second confrontation with a monster. Whether he had what it takes or not, White was determined to find out.