Chapter 4

Wearing a brand new ogre costume, young Glangtai stood straight, casually flipping through a book, but his eyes never glanced at Danton, showing a look of utter disdain.

A few young boys, led by him, followed behind, looking at Danton provocatively.

As the son of the first merchant in Morning Fog Town, seventeen-year-old Glangtai felt superior to others. Except for the mayor's son, all the other boys his age should fawn over him like the Siberian bear-hunting dog they kept, wagging their tails. But there were always a few who didn't know their place.

"Fox of the Western Border? Why not me?" Glangtai knew that the nickname was a playful term used by the postmen for Danton, but he was jealous. He felt that only he deserved such a powerful nickname!

Woof, woof, the white bear-hunting dog, standing a meter tall and nearly two meters long, sensed its owner's anger, crouched low, and barked fiercely, ready to attack.

A few mercenaries stepped back, their eyes flashing with greed.

This was a large hunting dog known for its ferocity in the Northern Border, with a nature that was wild and bloodthirsty. It would dare to fight a brown bear, and it was worth at least ten thousand gold ducats. If it was purebred, it would be even more valuable.

Danton frowned. This guy was like a piece of chewing gum, always causing trouble whenever he saw Danton. He wanted to leave, but he hadn't seen the book and was reluctant to give it up.

"What's wrong?" Duran and his group, seeing Glangtai appear, were afraid Danton would be at a disadvantage and came over.

"Hey, the bodyguards are here!" Glangtai mocked Duran, "I heard you were fired from the post office. How about working in my family's shop? Don't worry, as long as my dog 'Bones' has food, you won't go hungry!"

The boys burst into laughter. 'Bones' was the bear-hunting dog, and Glangtai's sarcasm was obvious!

"Let's go, ignore them!" Justin pulled Danton.

The postmen were unhappy, but what could they do? If a fight broke out, they would be the ones to suffer.

"Let's go!" Danton wouldn't fall for the trick. He knew Glangtai was trying to provoke a conflict so he could have an excuse to beat everyone up.

"Hey, the Fox of the Western Border is a coward without a single testicle!" Glangtai's followers mocked Danton, even quickening their steps to pull and tug at the postmen's clothes.

"Hey, aren't you a bookworm? Don't you want this book?" Glangtai, considering Danton a rival, had naturally investigated him, especially since he had a sister who made others drool.

Danton seemed not to hear, not even turning his head. Of course, he wanted it, but if he showed any interest, Glangtai, with his nasty character, would surely buy it to spite him.

"Ha, aren't you the Fox of the Western Border? If you have the guts, take this book from me! I'll give you double the gold ducats!" Glangtai took out a money bag and threw it on the blanket, knocking over a pendant of animal teeth. He was deliberately provoking Danton, knowing that if he could beat him up in the tavern, it would be a great humiliation.

"Hmph, in less than three seconds, you'll have to put the book down!" Danton muttered, not stopping, but counting the time in his mind.

The postmen glanced at Danton, not understanding why he was so sure.

"You wasteful brat, what kind of broken book are you buying? Trying to kill me?" Glangtai, in a hurry, snatched back the money bag, jumped up like a ball, and slapped Glangtai's head.

"Father!" Glangtai's tone was dejected, feeling embarrassed. In front of so many mercenaries, he didn't want to talk to his father.

Compared to Glangtai's extravagantly decorated leather armor, his father wore a linen robe that cost no more than fifty copper coins, with the seat worn white, looking extremely shabby.

Just by his appearance, who would guess he was the richest man in Morning Fog Town? This guy's stinginess was the best in the Western Border.

"This has no magic at all, it's definitely not magical equipment, not even worth a copper coin." Glangtai slapped his son's wrist, spittle flying, "Put it down and go back to meditating. If you don't reach the third stage of the Soul in half a month, I'll break your legs."

"Father!" Glangtai tried to say more but was kicked in the thigh, scaring him into silence and quickly leaving.

"Hey, thirty silver ducats, if you don't say anything, I'll take it as your agreement!" Glangtai threw down thirty silver coins, not waiting for the traveling merchant's response, and ran off like a rabbit hit by an arrow, grabbing the totem wooden carving.

As for the commoner Danton, in Glangtai's eyes, he was just an ant, not even worth a glance.

Danton turned and quickly walked to the stall, picking up the book.

The yellowed parchment pages were filled with black script, flowing and elegant, like a beautiful sonnet, evoking a sense of poetic beauty, and like a master's chisel, each character seemed to carry a thousand years of classical charm.

"It's probably a legal code from some country." Justin glanced at it, seeing some legal articles, "It's not very useful, the library has plenty of such books."

"What if Glangtai buys it?" The postmen, uninterested in the book, were curious about Danton's judgment.

"Do you think Glangtai's nickname as a miser is for nothing? He's the kind of person who wouldn't even take a carriage to the capital to save a copper coin. Would he allow his son to spend so much in front of him?" Danton explained casually, flipping through the pages, becoming more and more satisfied.

The postmen were enlightened and envied Danton's reasoning ability!

"How much?" Danton didn't show any interest, his expression calm, preparing to haggle.

"A hundred gold coins!" A rough, hoarse voice came from under the hood, like sandpaper rubbing against metal, almost scraping the eardrums.

"Why don't you just rob us? You're not the legendary mysterious traveling merchant, a broken book, and you dare to ask for so much? It's enough for me to live for half a year!" Justin whistled, trying to dissuade Danton, "Why buy this thing, it's not even edible!"

"Ten gold ducats, okay?" Seeing the merchant's worn robe, Danton suddenly lost the mood to haggle and offered his best price!

After spending ten gold ducats, Danton would only be able to eat cheap black bread and drink water. As for the saved gold, it was for his sister's tuition, and he wouldn't touch it no matter what.

"Not worth it!" Duran advised his friend, knowing Danton's sympathy was overflowing.

In the Western Continent, there are five great mysteries, the most famous being the headless knight and the postman Malon, whose stories have countless versions, used by parents to lull children to sleep.

This person was clearly a fraud, using the guise of a traveling merchant to swindle and deceive.

"Ten gold ducats, no more!" Danton offered again, and if the merchant refused, he would give up, as the book's value was around seven gold ducats.

The traveling merchant slightly raised his head, meeting Danton's gaze.

Boom, Danton felt a pain in his head, as if he had been stuffed into a meat grinder, all his memories sucked away, but the next moment, his body felt fine, as if it was just a momentary illusion.

"Am I just too tired lately?" Danton wondered.

"Deal!" The traveling merchant lowered his head again.

Danton ran home, quickly fetched ten gold ducats, and bought the book.

"Alright, let's go drink." Justin pulled Danton, found a seat, and snapped his fingers to call the waiter.

"Duran, what do you think?" A young man sat down at the table, greeting everyone.

The postmen were a bit nervous. This man, named Robinson, was a celebrity in town, starting as an apprentice at six, debuting at twelve, and earning a fortune of two hundred thousand in eight years, starting with just three silver ducats.

"Fifty gold ducats, I'm in!" Duran took a swig of ale, clearly finding the decision difficult.

"Deal!" Robinson, watching the dancing girls on the stage, sipped his red wine, showing his generosity without hesitation.

"Brother, if there's a chance to make money, give me a shot?" Justin's eyes lit up, his tone slightly fawning, "I'm a first-stage Soul Mage!"

"I'm hiring them to pick magic herbs in the Crow Ridge cemetery, are you sure you want to go?" Robinson asked.

"No way!" Justin refused outright, "I heard there are ghouls there, I don't want to be eaten!"

Robinson pretended to be disappointed, shrugging his shoulders, but he didn't want to hire too many people. This expedition should be known by as few people as possible.

"Danton, are you going?" Duran was still worried, thinking that with Danton, the safety factor would be higher.

"He? No way!" Robinson, seeing Danton's interest, firmly rejected.

"Why?"

The postmen were stunned. To them, Danton seemed more reliable than Duran.

"I can't sense any magic energy from you, you haven't even formed a soul seed or activated your talent, right?" Robinson, with his considerable strength, found an excuse that couldn't be refuted.

"Danton's sister Elaine is a student at St. George's Magic Academy. If he had used the money saved for her tuition and living expenses to buy magic stones and potions to train his body, he would have advanced to the Soul stage and become a Mage a year ago." Duran tried to argue for his friend.

In the magical Western Continent, various forms of magic energy exist, such as arcane energy, elemental energy, natural energy, and holy energy, collectively known as magic energy.

Their existence allows any life's potential to be enhanced to varying degrees through cultivation, and true powerhouses can even move mountains and fill seas, pluck stars and embrace the moon with a wave of their hand.

The path of cultivation starts with physical training and willpower. As the body becomes stronger and the will more resilient, through meditation, one can gradually sense the magic energy in the air. Then, by absorbing magic energy, it accumulates to a certain level, leading to a qualitative change, where the magic energy condenses into a soul seed in the body, and the talent is activated.

Talent is a divine gift to the people, a magical ability.

Only after advancing to the Soul stage can one be called a Mage, as only with a soul seed can one choose an appropriate magic profession based on their talent and aptitude for further training.

After the Soul stage comes the War stage, where the soul seed sprouts and grows into a towering soul tree. Then comes the Judgment stage, where the soul tree blooms.

At this stage, any Mage can recruit a magic servant, and the talent evolves for the first time, making the Judgment stage a critical point for power differentiation.

Beyond that is the Dragon Slayer stage, but in the entire Western Border, such powerhouses are few and far between. Of course, there are even higher realms, but for ordinary people, they have never even heard of them, let alone seen them.

"Alright, thirty gold ducats, get ready, meet at the south town gate at dawn!" Robinson changed his mind, sensing that this boy had potential. As a merchant, he naturally wanted to observe and see if he was worth keeping.

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