Until now, Aion avoided the slums that could be found in the northern part of the capital. It was literally behind the castle in that district, and he avoided it because of the incident with the kidnappers. That part of the city wasn't well-guarded, and it was clear that the low-lives used that part of the capital to hide.
Aion's father told his kids a bit about that part of the city. During the war, many people fled to the capital since it was the most secure city in the kingdom, and since some people lost their homes, they stayed there and began to build new houses above others without any organization. Thus it became like a maze that was impossible to regulate or completely guard.
Aion saw a lot of people living their daily lives but a lot of people idling away. Some looked at him but soon lost interest. Most of the people there couldn't find work in the capital, and starting anywhere was something that they didn't want since they might lose their homes again. Once that problem started, it kept snowballing, and there was no end in sight.
Eventually, Aion found the semblance of a market that had a lot of people. At first glance, Aion didn't find anything suspicious, but he found some suspicious-looking guys guarding the entrance of some houses.
"Where I can find a place where people want to buy meat and pelt from the dungeon?" Aion asked.
"We only deal with fresh merchandise," one of the suspicious-looking guys replied.
Aion sure was hoping that he wasn't talking about monsters living in the city. Come to think of it, Aion had the Tamer class, but until now, he didn't have any chance to test it. It was a pity… it seemed fun to have monsters to do his bidding…
Aion thought that he would be ignored due to his size and voice, but those guys didn't want to lose the chance to make business, so they replied to him. Eventually, Aion found someone that was willing to talk with him and buy his things. It was a man who had some scars on his face, had shaved head, and was wearing clothes like a road bandit that people would find in fantasy games.
"What I am doing with my life involving myself with this kind of person…" Aion thought while he was heading down to the basement of the building. "Wait, I can't judge people by their appearances, even if they have the word bandit written on their forehead."
In any case, when he reached the basement, Aion found a warehouse filled with all types of products. Weapons, armor, accessories, wine, books, and even cages with weird animals and monsters. One of them was a giant cat that had three horns and red eyes. Another one was a giant lizard that had its mouth closed with a weird belt… the others were… Aion felt that he should look at them too much since they looked at him like he was going to be their lunch.
"Show me what you got?" The road bandit asked.
It wasn't a good idea to give and ask names in that kind of situation, so Aion decided to call that guy: road bandit, at least in his head. Regardless, Aion took out from his cloak a pile of pelt and some of the meat. Conveniently enough, the food couldn't go bad in his inventory. Unfortunately, only non-living things could be put there.
"The pelt and the meat were perfectly cut, and their quality is good and can be used right now…" the road bandit said. "Two coins for them."
Aion was pretty sure that he could obtain two silver coins for that since the meat could feed a big family for a week, and the pelt could be used for a lot of things. However, such materials should be common in the capital, and the road bandit was trying to save some coins.
"One silver coin and eighty copper coins," Aion said.
"That is a waste of time. I can't buy such a small quantity," The road bandit said. "I can offer 140 copper coins if you bring a lot of those."
"150," Aion said.
"All right… once you bring that much, I will," The road bandit said and then stopped when Aion made two big boxes appear filled with meat and pelt.
"This should have enough for 240 silver coins," Aion said.
"... I only have 150 right now," the road bandit said while wondering if Aion used magic or a magic relic to do that.
"Then I will grab some items around," Aion said.
Aion couldn't tell which weapons or items were the best, so he thought that he truly needed to learn Appraisal. He also thought of telling him to prepare more money next week, but he learned his lesson from the incident in the guild, and he shouldn't tell strangers where or when he will be.
Hunting around 160 green bears wasn't a bad way to make income, but he wished that leveling up was faster. Regardless, he bought some things and made the system process them. While he could refine the axes with the materials, Aion didn't need the dungeon to become easier than it already was. He should save it in case the tournament becomes more difficult than expected. He still has two years ahead, but he couldn't afford to get careless…
Although Aion did pretty much the same thing over and over again during the next two years, it passed in the blink of an eye… the capital also began to get crowded with people that were planning to win the tournament.