Flower Field Town

The town was much larger than Sweet Meadow, enclosed by a sturdy wooden wall. Kit noticed turrets stationed at the corners of the fortification, rising above the walls by at least another story. "This place seems quite well-fortified. Do you think it's because there are more powerful monsters nearby?" Kit inquired, turning to Kai for any knowledge he may have on the subject.

"Not all towns are like Sweet Meadow, a small village surrounded by low level areas where the residents don't have to worry about monster attacks. The creatures in that area can be easily defeated by the town folk. Those low-level monsters usually avoid initiating attacks and would rather flee from danger."

"On the other hand, towns like Flower Field have fortifications surrounding them to protect their inhabitants from potential monster invasions. Though these events are rare, they can be devastating if the town is not properly prepared. Smaller towns have even been wiped out due to lack of proper protection." Kai motioned towards the walls as he spoke.

"Military presence is also common in towns, with a town guard responsible for defending against monster attacks and maintaining order among citizens. As the population size increases, so does the need for more defence and guards in a town." informed Kai.

As they neared the town, Kit could make out the open wooden gate, allowing people and vehicles to pass through. On one side of the road stood a small guard house, responsible for monitoring entry through the gates.

"We'll have to pay a small fee to enter the town. We can take care of it at the guard's station," Kai explained.

Kit made his way to the guard station, where a disinterested voice greeted him with gravelly tones. "To enter Flower Field town, it'll cost ya 5 bronze crowns," drawled the bored-looking guard, extending his hand for payment.

His grey uniform was sloppily put together, and a red flower emblem adorned the chest. However, two buttons were missing at the top, leaving behind a gap that exposed his dirty white undershirt beneath.

Kit considered the possibility that if monsters were to attack this village, the people would have no chance of survival if this was the standard of protection they had in place. After paying his fee, Kit approached the gate.

Ding!

[CAL]

[Map Found: Flower Field Town.]

Rewards: 50 EXP, 1 Flower Field Town reputation point.

As Kit walked through the gates, the first thing that caught his attention was the size of the roads inside the town. Unlike anything he had seen in Sweet Meadow, these roads were wide enough for two carts to pass through with ease.

They were similar to earth's roads, a raised path for pedestrians on one side and sporadic storm drains along the way. The ground also changed from compressed dirt to smooth cobblestones.

The buildings shared a similar design to those in Sweet Meadow, resembling medieval European structures. There were two distinct styles: timber-framed walls made of twigs and mud, and more upscale stone structures with thatched roofs. However, it was clear that Flower Field town was more advanced than Sweet Meadow at first glance.

Not only was it three times larger, with buildings closer together, practically touching in the centre, but it also had a noticeably cleaner scent. Kit assumed this was due to a developed sewer system that improved the overall sanitation of the town.

"Now that you are safely in town, I will take my leave." Kai bid them farewell with a nod before departing.

"Bye, Kai." Kit and Mars said at the same time as they watched him walk away without looking back.

"It seems like cutting off goodbyes quickly is a custom here. Kai is even faster at it than Iris," Kit said amused at Kai's actions.

Mars chuckled at Kit's remark. "Now that he's gone, what do you want to do in town first?"

"Let's find somewhere to leave Pint. We can't take him with us all day." Kit figured this must be a common issue and assumed there would be stables or a place to board Pint for the day.

Instead of searching around for the stables, Mars approached a young girl walking by. "Excuse me, do you know where the stables are?"

The girl blushed as Mars spoke to her and gestured towards the gate they had just entered through. A large stable was visible off to the side. How on Earth did we miss that? Thought Kit.

"It's right over there," the girl stuttered out.

Mars bowed and replied, "Thank you, miss." The girl blushed even deeper and scurried away.

Kit chuckled at the retreating figure, it looked like Mars was quite the charmer with the ladies. Kit did have to admit, Mars was quite handsome.

Mars guided Pint towards the stables. It was simple in design, with a pen encircling the stalls. Kit counted twenty stalls in total, each stocked with fresh straw and a water trough for the horses.

Despite its worn appearance, it seemed well-maintained and clean. Kit could tell by the smell that the stalls were regularly cleaned; there was a faint odour of manure, but it wasn't overpowering.

As they approached, Kit noticed a middle-aged man brushing a dusty brown horse. He wore old and well-worn clothing, with multiple patches on his shirt. When he smiled, his teeth were yellow-brown in colour. He greeted them warmly and asked, "Need a stall for the night? 10 bronze crowns, please."

"This is Pint," Mars introduced with a brief pause. "He can be a bit difficult, so I wouldn't recommend interacting with him too much."

The stable master gave Mars a knowing look and reassured, "Don't worry, I'm used to handling feisty ones. You can leave him here and I'll take care of him."

Mars hesitated before asking, "Would it be alright if I bring him into the stall? He's quite a handful."

The stable master nodded, gesturing towards the sixth stall on the right. Mars led Pint into the stall and poured a bowl of beer for him. "Be good and we'll come pick you up tomorrow," he said before handing over some bronze crowns and returning to Kit.

"Now that we've got that settled, what's our next move?" Mars turned to Kit for a response.

"I think we should sell off some of our items first, and then go search for the library," replied Kit.

"What ingredients do you need? I'll give them to you now, so I don't accidentally sell them." Mars' gaze shifted from meeting Kit's eyes to gazing off into the distance. Kit still found it odd to see someone accessing their menu interface.

It had become a routine on their journey to Flower Field. Mars would hand over any ingredients he thought Kit could use for cooking, this made Kit feel guilty because they didn't have much to sell. "I think you gave me the ingredients last night," Kit said, as he organised the items Mars had collected.

He realised they would need better storage options if this continued. Although Kit's bag had a large storage space, Mars did not. Plus, he wanted to get a large stockpile of ingredients for future use. Maybe a storage shed behind the restaurant he planned to build would save them money on buying new storage bags.

After putting that idea aside for later, Kit returned to thinking about making money by selling their items. "We have the stones we gathered after defeating the King of the Apelops. Maybe we could find a jeweller to sell them to? But I'm not sure how much we should ask for."

"I don't know the exact price, but it shouldn't be hard to find out," Mars replied with a glint in his eye, similar to when he was ready to fight.

Kit couldn't help but feel apprehensive when he saw that look in Mars' eyes. It always seemed to lead them into dangerous situations. "How are we supposed to find out?" Kit asked, immediately regretting the question.

The last thing he wanted was to die inside a town - that would be too humiliating. Mars had a tendency to become unpredictable and manic whenever that look appeared in his eyes. Lost in thought about the potential consequences, Kit waited for Mars' response.

"We just need to check the selling price of the stone at a jewel shop and then subtract 40%. That's usually the set price that shopkeepers pay adventurers for their items. If you're good at negotiating, you can increase your cut from 40% to 60%. Unfortunately, I haven't unlocked my negotiating skill yet, so it'll be a while before I can reach that percentage," Mars explained, still wearing a manic look.

"On Earth, I would consider myself a pro at bargaining. My mother taught me everything she knows; my father used to say she turned into a demon in front of salespeople," Mars remarked, Kit was slightly intrigued by Mars' abilities.

Opening his inventory, Kit retrieved the Red Jasper and Silver Leaf Jasper loot he received from killing Swift Feet. He also noticed some other stones he had forgotten about - the extra Red Jasper Snowball had given him and seven more stones from their initial exchange when they first met.

Curious about these unidentified stones, Kit attempted to identify them once again. The first one was a large dull red stone roughly the size of his palms. It felt warm to the touch as if it had been sitting next to his skin. Upon closer inspection, Kit noticed it was actually more of a cloudy transparent dull red colour with thousands of tiny sparkling white glimmers inside.

Deciding to use his identification skill on the warm red stone, Kit waited anxiously for the results.

[unable to identify]

He couldn't figure out what this particular stone was, so he set it aside and focused on the others. In his hand, Kit held six stones and used his identify skill once again.

[Pure Moonstone, fine]

[Blue moonstone, fine]

[Green moonstone, fine]

[Red moonstone, superior]

[Rose moonstone, flawless]

[Sparkling moonstone, good quality]

Semi-Precious gemstones

Can be used by various specialty sub classes as crafting material.

There were six stones, all different shapes and not much bigger than a watch face. Each had a cloudy appearance, swirling colours emitting a faint glow. Every hue was as dazzling as the one next to it, and Kit couldn't help but be drawn to the beautiful rainbow of colours.

Hopefully, the price tag is as stunning as these stones. Kit carefully passed the gems over to Mars, who eagerly examined them with an almost manic intensity. His excitement seemed to intensify when he reached the large, unidentified dull red stone in particular.