Chapter 17: No Sales in Nosales 2

"Fresh fish, fresh meat, everything is fresh!"

"Beautiful baubles, buy now while supplies last!"

"Dear customers, c'mon and buy!"

Allen Stryka listened as various vendors called out. He was currently at the marketplace of the city of Nosales.

This city was totally different from Kinshin in many ways. Aside from having a larger size in area and population, the structures were taller and more compact. They had probably continued their construction projects even during the lockdown. Or maybe it had already been this modernized.

Well to be honest, Allen had not actually paid attention to this previous town before the apocalypse. For him, this was just another town that the bus had to pass through. Just like the other towns on the road towards the Capital.

But now that he was on foot, he was able to appreciate the place better. The facilities and establishments here could even compete to what the advanced cities of the country could offer. That comparison was from three years ago though.

"I guess now it makes sense why those people are willing to pay for an entrance."

Allen commented. He was observing the people doing their business. There were vendors who were entertaining their potential buyers. There were those who were browsing through the available wares. There were some who continued on walking without any care.

In other words, there was a crowd of people here! And they all looked like they were not bothered by the apocalypse one bit. This was probably because they felt safe inside the city.

A sense of security.

In a world filled by dangers and suffering, who would not pay to ease their mind of such troubles?

Allen began calculating in his mind the possible revenue which the city was collecting from their willing customers. He then nodded knowingly. Offering respite for weary travelers was a ludicrous enterprise.

He remembered what his father told him before. That Kinshin was considering the possibility of opening the town to welcome travelers as well in the future. This was the reason why the mayor was focused on rebuilding the town first. Perhaps this kind of development would be something to look forward to someday.

The young man then snapped out from his thoughts. He had to consider the present for now. He then started browsing through the wares being sold.

The first item on his agenda was to gather information. He had to gain knowledge on anything that could help him on his journey. However, the people he interacted so far had taught him that such commodity had a price on it.

That was why he jumped to the second item in his agenda. That was to figure out how to earn those so-called 'spirit crystals'. He did understand that the simplest way to obtain the currency was to sell products to the buyers.

The hard part here was to determine what kind of 'product' he could sell. The young man once observed the bandit group lead by a bald guy. They were extracting parts of the mutated beasts. They were most likely going to sell those off.

Allen was now capable of acquiring beast corpses. The harsh training of Boss Mo and the others had made him into a proficient hunter. But the problem here was he had to know which corpses were on demand.

He could not just go out in the wild and hunt beasts indiscriminately. He might end up gathering parts that was worth nothing. Or worse he might sell something that was too expensive.

That would either be a waste of effort or a magnet for attention. His aim was to sell parts that would give him enough crystals without wasting too much time. In addition, he must do so while avoiding any unwanted eyes on him.

Speaking of unwanted eyes…

Allen found an empty bench where he could sit on. He remained seated as people walk past him. He was waiting for someone to stop hiding and just reveal himself already.

"Sitting on that bench costs two grams per hour."

"Seriously?"

Allen raised an eyebrow. He could not believe that even a bench located in the market place had a price on it. Why place such a construct in a public area anyway? This was capitalism at its finest.

Well at least the person that was following him had decided to come forward. He was around 170 centimeters tall. He was wearing a plain shirt and pants. He had a ruffled hair with a shade of green. He was probably around his twenties as well.

The young man sitting on the bench was expecting a person wearing a black suit with matching sunglasses. Just like what he had seen on movies before. Alas, the person in front of him was far from that image. Nonetheless he was definitely the person who had been following the young man since he entered the city.

The green-haired person smiled. He then took a seat beside Allen. He said,

"Of course. Everything here is worth something."

"Especially information, right?"

"Haha, guess so. Does that mean you want to avail my services?"

That sounded explicit – was what Allen would have wanted to say. But he needed to be serious in this situation. He managed to hold himself off. He instead said,

"I will not be sitting on this expensive bench waiting for you if that was not the case."

Allen admitted. He did glance over the items on display. And to be honest, he had no idea what were being sold exactly. That was why he decided to 'consult' a person that was more adept to this kind of transactions.

However the green-haired person shook his head. He then looked away. He stared at the people walking as they passed by. Perhaps he wanted the conversation to be discreet or something. He claimed,

"You misunderstood. I was just concerned of you spending on something unnecessary."

"Please. Let's cut through the chase. We should just go straight to business."

"Haha, guess you're not dumb as you look."

What was that supposed to mean?

Was what Allen had wanted to say. But once again, he opted not to. The transaction had already begun. He must always maintain a business-like attitude during these times. He looked away from the green haired person. He was trying to make the conversation discreet as well.

He sighed. He then casually asked,

"I want to know how to gather those spirit crystals that everyone is so fixated on."

"That will be five grams."

"Seriously? Can't you give that info away? Something like an on-the-house freebie."

Allen was unable to hold himself this time. He snapped and blurted out the first thing that occurred to his mind. He was a human after all. He could not possibly be good at conducting transactions in an instant. He was new to this kind of experience.

Nonetheless he tried to regain his composure as fast as he could. He tried to salvage the situation. He then added,

"We're about to conduct a bigger business venture here you know."

"There is nothing for free in this city."

The green-haired person refused. He seemed to be smiling wider this time. It was probably because he was now the one who had the upper hand in their conversation. Well, it was the case from the very beginning anyway.

Allen sighed. He should probably stop pretending that he was good at haggling in the first place. He lowered his shoulders. He then admitted,

"Yes, I figured that one out already."

"Haha, but you keep on forgetting about it."

The green-haired person laughed once again. He was probably finding the conversation amusing. But then his tone became serious. Perhaps he was now done playing games with a newbie. He then went straight to the point. He asked,

"What can you offer anyway?"

"I can hunt mutated beasts for you."

Allen answered earnestly. Since he could no longer haggle with the person, he would rather go straight to the point as well.

What he was proposing here was that he could take on any mutated beasts that the customers would request upon. The green-haired person would then handle the processing and selling of whichever part the young man would be able to obtain. They would then split the earnings. Although the young man's share would be lower now since he lost in their conversation.

The green-haired person nodded upon hearing the reply. He then commented,

"Oh, hunting, huh? Is this going to be a long-term venture or a one-time deal?"

"Short-time for now. I do need a place to stay for today though."

Allen answered readily. This was the third item on his agenda. He needed a safe place where he could rest for a while. It was about to reach noontime. He must take his sleep for now and consider the other issues once he woke up.

He could probably sleep outside the city if push comes to shove. But that would be going against the other items on his agenda. That was why he insisted on this matter. He was even willing to not receive any further compensation as long as he had a place to stay for a while.

The green-haired person shook his head though. He then complained,

"Accommodations and acquisition of a suitable job. I'm beginning to think that you're more of a hassle."

"Please. We're both ability-users. You should be able to gauge my capabilities to a certain extent."

"How did you know?"

Allen grinned when he saw the surprised expression of the person beside him. The soul energy of an ability-user was different to those who were not.  The young man might still not be that adept at figuring out all the differences with the use of his second skill. But he could still single out an ability-user if he put his mind onto it.

But there was no way he would reveal such information to a person he just met. That was why he chose to tempt the person instead. He offered,

"Will you take that out of my debt if I answer the question?"

"Haha, nice try. But nevermind."

And as he thought, the green-haired person would refuse. The people of this city were stingy after all. Nonetheless he chose not to dwell on the matter anymore. He instead offered his right hand. He then asked for a confirmation,

"So, do we have a deal?"

"Gurim. That's my name."

The green-haired person grabbed the hand. He shook it and introduced himself.

The young man smiled. He then introduced himself in return.

"Allen. Allen Stryka at your service."