Chapter 4

The town of Libao is called so because there was originally an ancient castle named Libao here. As more and more people came, houses were built around the castle, gradually forming the current town of Libao. The current mayor, Baron Rex, lives in the ancient castle.

When they arrived at Libao Town, it was already close to noon. After a brief discussion, Abel and Norman first went to the church and spent ten silver coins to have a priest use "Cure Light Wounds" to heal Norman's leg injury.

Leaving the church, Abel couldn't help but shake his head as he looked at the grand and solemn building. The church was indeed profitable; just a low-level divine spell cost ten silver coins. Ten silver coins were enough for an ordinary family to live on for a month, but for a priest, it was just a wave of the hand.

Following Norman's guidance, they went to a shop in the eastern part of town that bought furs. When the shop owner saw the shadow leopard, he was quite surprised. Apart from a wound on its back, the shadow leopard was otherwise intact, and being a highly valuable shadow leopard, the owner readily offered 10 gold coins to buy it.

Norman was very satisfied with the price, and Abel, who wasn't familiar with the market, agreed to the transaction after seeing Norman nod.

With these 10 gold coins, plus the one gold coin from Zak and the five gold coins he had saved, Abel now had 16 gold coins. The purchasing power of gold coins here was quite strong, making Abel feel that he had some money.

This trip to Libao Town had a purpose. Abel asked Norman to go and buy supplies on his own, as he didn't want anyone to know what he was going to buy next.

He went to the center of town to the Libao Trading Company. The sign of the company was a silhouette of the ancient Libao Castle, and the storefront was large. It was almost noon, and there weren't many people inside.

Abel came to the counter and looked at the items inside, which included various daily necessities, jewelry, clothes, and more, like a large general store.

"Are you Master Abel?" A plump middle-aged man with a broad smile came out from behind the counter and gave Abel a noble salute.

Although the noble salute was not very standard and using a floral salute here was inappropriate, Abel still politely returned the salute. It was difficult for ordinary people to learn noble etiquette, and the fact that this plump middle-aged man could use a noble salute was already quite good.

"Yes, do you know me?"

"I am Tim, the owner of this shop. Your clothing has the thorn shield emblem of the Bennett Knight's fief, and I also know your brother, Master Zak, so I took the liberty of addressing you as such." Tim gave another strange salute.

The thorn shield was the coat of arms of the Bennett family. To become a qualified noble, remembering as many noble coats of arms as possible was a necessary step. In Abel's memory, he had been taught literature, music, noble etiquette, and heraldry from a young age, with heraldry being a very important part of the curriculum.

"Mr. Tim, do you have any individual gems here?"

Abel's polite address as "Mr." made Tim very happy. Although the young second son of a knight was not a noble, his status was still very high. The respect shown by a noble person made Tim feel very good, and he quickly replied, "Yes, the Libao Trading Company can provide you with various gems, Master Abel."

Tim then ordered someone to open a large box behind the counter. Inside were several rows of gems, all quite small. In such a small place, few people could afford gems, and larger gems had other uses and would not appear in such a store.

Abel picked out six red gems of the same color and size from the box and asked, "Mr. Tim, how much for these?"

"Six gold coins will do, Master Abel."

Without much haggling, Abel knew that a local merchant would not overcharge a local, especially not a member of a knight's family. He took out six gold coins from his pocket and handed them to Tim.

Tim took the gold coins with both hands, found a cloth bag, and put the six red gems into it for Abel, then respectfully escorted him out of the shop.

Leaving the Libao Trading Company, Abel found a deserted alley and took out three red gems from the bag. He tapped them and stored them in the Horadric Cube, silently reciting the synthesis formula again: three identical gems would synthesize into one higher-grade gem. If everything went as planned, the three gems should disappear after he pressed the synthesis button, and he would get a larger red gem.

Suppressing his excitement, he lightly tapped the synthesis button below the 12 slots in front of him. The three red gems emitted a white light and disappeared, and in the top slot of the Horadric Cube, a red gem appeared, one size larger. Taking the red gem out of the Horadric Cube and examining it in the sunlight, it was truly a beautiful gem. Each facet perfectly reflected the sunlight, emitting a pure and clear light, a translucent red that sparkled in the sun.

This red gem, whether in size or quality, was one grade higher than the three red gems he had used. Although he didn't know its value, Abel believed it was worth far more than three gold coins.

He then synthesized the second red gem, put the two red gems in the cloth bag, and thought about where to sell them. He definitely couldn't go back to the Libao Trading Company. It would be obvious if he bought six red gems and then sold two better ones shortly after.

Walking down the main street of the town, he saw an auction house ahead. This was the Edmund Auction House. Looking at the sign, Abel recalled its information from his memory. The Edmund Auction House was the largest auction house in the duchy, with branches in almost every town in the Duchy of Camay. Its 500-year history was a guarantee of its credibility, and the annual auctions in the capital attracted the attention of nobles and wealthy people from the entire Duchy of Camay and the surrounding duchies.

"Welcome to the Edmund Auction House. Can I help you with anything?" A beautiful woman with a standard oval face, dressed in a luxurious dress made of silk from the East, with long golden hair, bright and clear eyes, and flawless, smooth skin, greeted Abel with a gentle and pleasant voice, giving him a midday greeting.

"Beautiful lady, I would like to have someone appraise a gem." Abel returned the midday greeting.

From this etiquette, one could see the strength of the Edmund Auction House. Using the correct etiquette at the right time was a standard for nobles, and those who could use this etiquette proficiently had at least studied noble etiquette courses, which were not easy to learn without the corresponding status.

"You can call me Ivette. Young and handsome sir, I am the manager here. Let's talk upstairs." Ivette knew that Abel was a person of status when she saw him enter, so she did not let anyone else handle the reception but did it herself.

In the reception room on the second floor, after they sat down, a servant brought two cups of coffee. Abel, who had been walking for a while, couldn't help but pick up the coffee and take a light sip. It was very good coffee. Although he couldn't say where it was from, he knew the quality of coffee. His family's finances were not good, and he hadn't had such good coffee in a long time.

Ivette looked at the young man in front of her, who could be called a boy. Respect for a person of high status did not depend on age, a phrase often on the lips of nobles, which was the service principle of the auction house.

Abel took out a cloth bag from his pocket, took out a red gem, and handed it to Ivette, asking, "Ms. Ivette, please appraise the value of this gem."

Taking the gem, Ivette carefully examined it in the light. After a few minutes, she looked up, somewhat excited, and said, "Perfect cut, perfect structure, no flaws, and completely transparent. Are you selling this red gem? I will offer you the highest price of 300 gold coins."