The sun was about to set as Lucio walked out of the castle with a pouch full of silver coins. He walked back to the inn and entered his room before putting the pouch inside his inventory.
He was okay with carrying a small pouch which had about eight silvers and a few bronze coins but carrying a large pouch full of silver was the last thing he would do.
It was still evening and unlike the village, people still roamed with lamps in their hands. There were also gossips about how the markets were livelier during the night with special products, goods and activities.
Lucio sat on the bed as he stared at the long grass on the floor while he thought of his plans for the next three days. After a while he stood up and walked out the room while making a decision.
'I need more exp points so I should do different things that give me a lot of exp points…. I'll decode after looking around at night.'
Lucio was back in the streets and walked around, empty handed while most people carried something similar to an oil lamp. Sensing the oddity, he asked a person nearby about the lamp and where he could buy it.
He soon entered a shop which sold a lot of lighting and fire products like bee wax candles, lamps, firewood, charcoal and different types of oils. The store was very famous in the city for the items that they sold.
Lucio looked at the lady working on something and called "Hello, I'm here to buy a lamp."
"Sure, can you tell me which oil you want with the lamp? We fill in the lamp before selling it to anyone. Consider it as a free offer." The lady said as she smiled at him.
"Uh… can you tell me which oil is better?" Lucio asked awkwardly as he looked around the shop.
"Yea, sure. The cheapest of all the oils is the black oil, but it produces a bad smell and a lot of smoke. We don't sell this type of oil. The next oil is purer and most people use it. It is commonly called the farmer's oil and it's extracted from the oil nuts.
An oil better than the previous one is animal fat oil but we don't sell it as it is quite rare and people would rather use it for making lavish dishes instead of burning it for a little light.
The final one is slime oil. It costs the same as Animal fat oil but it is unfit for cooking. It burns a lot to cover its drawback of being unusable in cooking."
The lady threw all information at Lucio but he only managed to retain a few things in his head before saying "In short, you only sell two kinds of oil."
"Haha, yes." She said seemingly embarrassed.
"Alright, tell me the prices of both."
"One bronze for a cup of farmer's oil and one silver for a cup of slime oil"
Lucio nodded and bought a lamp filled with farmer's oil as the lady didn't give the slime oil for free. He walked out the shop with a lamp and a small sealed container filled with slime oil and a lighter pocket.
The lamp along with the slime oil cost him three silver.
His next destination was a bar as that was the only place which was packed with people at night but on the way, he heard people talking about a game, so he followed them.
In Oscuro, anytime there was a game, there would be betting. It was a chance for Lucio to try his luck.
'Let's see what game it is….' he thought as he reached a large bar. It was also a restaurant that served a lot of dishes along with some high quality beer.
Some people walked to the door behind the counter after paying an entry fee to the man standing beside the door and descended down the stairs and Lucio followed the exact same steps and paid the man three bronze coins.
He walked down the stairs and found himself in a room full of lively people, gambling away in different games.
There were three stages where different animals fought and people put their money on one side. These were one of the most common forms of gambling. Although they weren't as famous as gambling arenas, they apparently still had a charm.
Other than the arenas, there were a few games and stalls where one could either make or lose money. Some of these stalls were for gamblers and some were just stalls that sold different services.
Lucio walked over to the arena where a wild boar and a chimpanzee were tied up and checked their stats while the host declared that the fight would start in a few minutes.
[Inspect] showed that both the animals in the cage were drugged. Lucio shook his head and bet a silver coin on the boar as it had better strength and stamina.
He checked the other cages but they were a bit more unpredictable even after checking the stats, so he stuck with the cage in front and bet two more silvers on the boar.
The host's assistants wrote down his name and betting amount. After the procedures were done, Lucio walked around the huge room searching for some entertainment or ways to make more silvers.
He already had two hundred in his inventory but actively earning money made him excited and he felt more alive. [inspect] was an indispensable skill for him as he used it on everyone and everything that was in his sight.
Lucio even spotted a fortune teller who had no skills whatsoever. He just shook his head and continued his search until he found the owner of the bar.
He walked up to the man with a huge moustache and said "Hey, I'll show you a trick. Would you like to see it?"
The man looked at Lucio and said "Sure, show me what you can do." Night was the only time he had fun while earning his lovely silver so he didn't mind someone showing him a trick. In fact, he appreciated him.
Lucio nodded and took out a bronze coin and tossed it up in the air before catching it with a unique motion that was similar to a clap but one hand was higher than the other, making it harder for the spectators to guess in which hand the coin was.
The man raised his eyebrows when he saw it. He was impressed, but he waited for what the short kid in front of him had to show next.
Lucio extended his closed fists outwards and looked at the man before saying "Pick the hand in which the coin is. If you guess wrong, you have to let me do business here for two nights from tomorrow."
The man smiled and said "So that was what you were after…. You could've just asked me without all this."
Lucio shook his head before speaking up "I could, but that would mean a share of half the profits. Here is my deal, If you win this bet, I'll work under you for no pay but if you lose, I get all the profits."
The man took a deep breath and said "If I lose, you get nine tenths of the earnings. You pay me one tenths of the earnings as a rent."
Lucio simply nodded before saying, "Alright, I agree. Now pick one."
The Bar Owner chose the right hand and Lucio opened it, revealing an empty palm.
"Looks like I won." Lucio said as he grinned.
"Looks like you did, indeed." The man said as he laughed loudly.
"So, can I start now?" Lucio asked as he tossed the coin in his left hand again before catching it.
"Sure, you can take that area. I'll assign you an assistant who will help you with the business." He said as he looked around "Betty, you will help this young man for three nights, starting now."
"Okay uncle." A soft voice replied and a walked out from behind the bar owner. She was skinny and short with average looks and short brown hair.
She then led Lucio to the area that the bar owner had assigned for him and asked what he needed "Could you please tell me what you might need?"
"Let me see…. Bring me a table, a chain and two pots."
While Betty ran to get the required items. Lucio went back to the cage where he had bet some money and saw that the fight had already ended. The cage was being cleaned up and there were no carcasses in sight.
Lucio found the man who noted down everyone's bets and asked him for the results.
"The boar won so…. You will get six silvers in total. Double the amount you bet."
"Alright." Lucio said as he received the six coins and tossed them into his pouch.
He walked back to his stall to see that everything was ready. He sat on the cain and counted the money he had in hand currently.
"Hmm… eight silvers and thirty nine bronze coins…. A decent amount."
He put them back into the pouch and muttered "It's time for business."