Diether remembered his battle against the Three-Eyed Viper after picking up its core...
It was a scary but exciting experience for him...
The battle wasn't easy and there were many occasions that he almost died if he failed to dodge the attacks coming from the viper.
Luckily, his master gave him a harsh training.
'No... It wasn't luck. Master was already aware of my capabilities. He knows that I already learned the things he wanted me to learn before he allowed me to take the examinations. He must've calculated everything...'
Diether corrected his thoughts. He was sure that his master had plans that he wasn't telling him. The foundation training that he had was definitely not a simple training method.
It totally made sense since he remembers how calm his master was during the whole battle and was even giving him some casual pointers during the battle.
His master didn't use or offer his Take Over maybe because he fully trusted him!
The pointers he was giving during the battle were only on how to effectively fight against that type of evil beast a while ago.
Well, it was mainly because the viper has a different physical body. Reiji surmised that Diether may not be aware of its weaknesses since the boy was only around ten years old. He hadn't exposed himself to a number of beasts yet so he was lacking knowledge about them.
"I'm alright... Are you going to sell it today?"
"Yes, master... I heard from Grandpa Orga that the merchants from the city were already here and they will stay for a night before they would continue their journey. I may be able to sell the core at a very good price."
"Good... Be sure not to get swindled."
"Hehe... Of course, I plan to visit their stalls together with sister Yasmin. She said that she'll help me find the trusted merchant that their family was acquainted with..."
"Is that so? Then, go ahead... You can stop your training now and continue tomorrow..."
Diether happily complied and immediately cleaned himself in a nearby river and changed his clothes.
Apparently, after passing the license examination, he still has to wait for his License Card for at least five days to arrive.
It was said that it would still come from a regional office or some sort. In the meantime, Diether was given a total of 21 silver coins for the body of the Evil Beast he killed. Honestly, that amount was nothing for the Hunters and it was normal for them to just leave or bury the body of the evil beasts they were killing.
After all, the cores of the Evil Beast has an average price of 15 gold coins! If not for the maintenance cost of the Magic Weapons used by the hunters, they can easily become rich people.
Anyway, the amount that Diether received was considered to be high already as it was purchased by the association to extract some venoms from it, probably for research purposes. Aside from that, there was nothing else they could do to the body.
All the Evil Beasts were not edible! That was why the previous group that Diether saw who wanted the Phantom Wolf's body instead of its core was considered as a fool by the other group.
They couldn't understand their intentions as the Evil Beasts were still covered by mysteries to the two. They weren't even capable of determining their grades yet. Unlike Brian and Kyle who can somehow gauge the evil beast whether they possess low-grade, mid-grade, or top-grade strength just by looking at it briefly.
Reiji only had a hunch on how to grade them but he wasn't sure yet until he had a larger sample.
"I'm ready!"
Diether's new clothes and boots made him look even better. He no longer looks like someone who works on collecting garbage.
He bought a jacket that has a wide, round neckline which reveals part of the relatively simple shirt worn underneath it.
His pants were also simple and narrow and reach down to his leather boots. The boots are made from an uncommon leather only found in this village.
Well, he just looks like a common villager here.
All of this had amounted to 17 silver coins but he didn't worry about it since he learned that the core can be sold for many gold coins.
He also believes that his presentable look will open more opportunities for him.
Diether placed the shinai on his back using a cloth to tie it on him and started to head to the village.
The sun could not be seen in the sky due to the dark clouds above. It seems that a storm was coming so he hurried.
"Sister Yasmin!"
The young man noticed that his friend was also about to head out of the village.
"Oh! I thought that you forgot..."
Yasmin was about to pick up Diether as she thought that he was too engrossed in his training and forgot that he still had to sell his core.
"I found Mr. Mapan and I already told him about you... He was willing to appraise and purchase the core with the highest price he can possibly give."
"He was so kind?! Great!"
Diether and Reiji had no idea about the price of the core. The latter even asked the guide for help about its pricing but he was only ignored.
"Right, can you tell me about these merchants? Why would they only stay for a day here?"
Diether curiously asked while the two were walking.
Yasmin happily described the situation of the caravan. The people that have arrived were part of the Merchants Association and they would normally visit 20 villages and 8 large cities on their journey. This would normally take them 6 months to complete.
Right now, the group they were meeting was actually on their return trip already, and all their original goods have been sold long ago. They were about to return to Carreon City which they had all came from.
The merchant they were about to meet was someone that saved Aunt Jaz and her husband from food poisoning a few years back.
"We're here..."
Yasmin said after stopping in front of a stall filled with pots of plants. There were about 20 to 25 stalls that Diether can see and only this one stall doesn't have any customer...
"Don't mind it... Mr. Mapan doesn't like to show all his goods... Read this..."
The young girl pointed at the signs in front of the stall.
"Selling Black Rouge's Rapeseed! Multiflora Plane Arrowwood! and Gloriosa Felonwood!"
Diether didn't know these plants. There was another sign on the other side so he read it as well.
"Buying and Selling Evil Beast Cores and Magic Weapons!"