An old man sat on a chair that was too huge, almost like a throne. Many men in suits stood in a line to both his left and right side. The old man tapped the armrest a few times, making a dull *Tik* *Tik* sound that rhythmically enveloped the room.
A woman soon walked in and said "Father, I have killed the man who assassinated my brother-in-law." She said as he looked down towards the ground, following the family traditions.
The old man sighed as he looked at his second daughter, the only daughter he had left in his family. "What about my grandson?"
"I managed to fool him and have received reports that he left Korea. He plans on staying in the states." She replied.
The old man contemplated for a while as he continued tapping his armrest. "I want to retire. Your brother will get half the empire I own while you will get the other half."
The woman looked at the man for a few seconds before asking "Moving to the states?"
*Cough* *Cough* The old man coughed when he heard his daughter accurately guess his intentions.
"I know you loved sister a lot but don't you think leaving everything for your grandson is a bit irresponsible?" She said as she looked at him before shaking her head.
"What can I do when two of my three children are too dumb to have an offspring? He is my only blood left after your generation. You will understand when u have your own grandchildren that they are more important than your own children."
"Okay then, I'll come with you. Let brother take-over your so-called empire. I'll come with you. I just want to live a normal life, father."
The old man didn't deny her request as he went into a deep thought before finally saying,
"Sell everything and tell Luke to invest in different companies and a lot of real estate."
The woman smiled as she heard him and nodded before her father's harsh voice interrupted her
"Take off that ugly mask, will you? You look old."
"Hahaha, yes."
*****
Lucio woke up from his sleep and muttered "Got to grind some exp…" before walking out to the streets groggily. He got his mule out from the shed and sold it for twenty silvers to a random merchant.
He had no interest in bargaining and wasting time, so he quickly left. As he walked through the streets, he pondered about what to do for the next three days and two nights.
'My night is packed with scamming people of their money. The main problem is the day time… blacksmiths don't take in disciples so easily and it's the same for carpenters, locksmiths and chefs…'
As he walked, he noticed a few stalls and from the vast options, he had very few choices. He could either work as a candlemaker, do a random job by claiming to be a mercenary or work as a butcher.
He decided to do all of the three as he walked into a nearby meat shop as he thought 'Why take one when you can take all.'
Lucio soon walked out of the shop, scratching his head with a depreciating smile before looking for another shop.
"Why reject me just because I'm skinny?" Lucio didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he spotted another meat store.
Most of the shops rejected him but after a lot of rejections, he finally got accepted. The owner was an old man and his son had been forced to join the infantry of a powerful noble and due to that, the shop lacked labour force.
Lucio happily walked over to the huge chopped tree trunk that came up to his chest. He had to stack up a few planks of wood to get the optimal, comfortable position to cut up the meat.
People used a knife similar to the machete to cut meat instead of a meat cleaver.
Lucio started chopping up the meat fast as he easily found the right spots to cut, which impressed the old man.
He worked at the shop until noon, when he was dismissed as the shop had to be closed for lunch and the old man didn't need help in the afternoon.
Lucio looked at his player interface and smiled as he looked at the exp points increase by eighteen. He then walked over to the only candle making store in the whole town and was rejected pretty fast as they had enough workforce.
He could only shake his head as he walked over to the centre of the market where various people requested for help from the mercenaries who would choose what job they wanted to do.
Lucio waited in the crowded area for a good job to take as he fidgeted with a bronze coin to pass time. After an hour or so, he was extremely bored and left the place, dejected.
"Aaaagh, being jobless is so boring…. I guess I'll have to change plans…." Lucio said to himself as he walked to a nearby store that sold various clay materials and asked the potter.
"Do you sell seasoned pots?"
"Yes sir. We do sell them but they cost a bit more than normal pots that are either dried under the sun or baked in a fire."
"It's alright, I don't have the time for seasoning a pot so I'll buy it directly. Could you give me a large pot, please?" Lucio requested as he looked at the pots sitting in the shelves.
There were pots of different shapes and sizes, with some pots having no patterns and some having a lot of symmetrical designs on the outer surface, clearly indicating the cost of the product.
The rich used and bought things that seemed "Artistic" to them and the usage of patterned goods had become a symbol of wealth in the continent of Axyte.
Unfortunately for the potter, Lucio didn't give two fucks about the patterns and bought a well-seasoned, smooth pot without any patterns. Although it still cost him five silvers, he didn't mind it as he paid fifty bronze and walked out with a pot that was triple the size of his head.
He took the pot back to his room in the inn and headed out to the apothecary that was near the entrance of the city. There were more shops that sold herbs, medicines and potions but Lucio didn't want to waste time roaming anymore.
He walked into the apothecary shop which was slightly crowded. There were medicinal pills, potions and jars filled with different powders placed on the huge shelves.
He didn't find any herbs or plants, so he went over to the counter to ask.
"Hello, could you tell me if you sell raw herbs instead of finished products?"
The young boy behind the counter looked over at Lucio and replied "No we don't. Those herbs just took lot of space and many people didn't even buy them, letting them waste away."
"Alright, can you tell me where I can buy them?" Lucio asked as he hoped to get the things he needed as soon as possible.
"If you only want raw herbs and plants, you should go to Timmy's Herbs. They sell most of the raw materials and sometimes when we run out of ingredients, we buy from them.
The store is near the centre of the town beside a famous smithy called Iron Beard. Most people don't know Timmy's shop but the smithy is quite famous."
The boy said as he looked around at the various customers lazily.
"Thanks a lot!"
Lucio said as he left the store and walked towards the centre of the town. On the way he luckily spotted Timmy's Herbs and walked in to see a counter and a man.
There was nothing else in sight except a door behind the counter. Lucio walked to the counter and asked,
"I need a few herbs but I don't know their names. Can I look at them before buying them?"
The man behind the counter simply looked at him silently for a while before saying,
"What do you need the herbs for? Tell me what problem you have and I'll get you the required herbs. You can select which you want from them."
Lucio thought for a while before asking "I need herbs that can cure loose motions."
The man nodded before walking into a huge room behind the counter and walked back after a few minutes with a huge basket full of various plants and herbs.
"Here you go. Pick whatever and I'll tell you the price."
Lucio nodded and used [inspect] on all of them. There were four huge bundles of different herbs and Lucio decided to buy them all after reading the descriptions.
'Trial and error it is, I guess.' He thought as he asked the man to sell him a little of all the herbs.
"We sell things in bulk and this is the least that we sell. We won't go lower than this, sir."
Lucio sighed before asking "Alright, how much for all these?"
"They're all common plants so each bundle costs five bronze coins. A total of twenty bronze coins."
Lucio walked out of the shop, excited "Time to make some tea, hehe."