“A good deal is a state of mind.”

Lee Iacocca

“500!” I had eventually counted up to 500 and the back and forth between us had eventually reached the middle.

“500.” Mercurio sighed, disappointed that I had unbelievably been able to count all the way there.

“500, ha!” Laughed Granpa Smit. “I told you he could do it, o ye of little faith.”

“Right, right. Colour me impressed. A tall tale indeed but not one worth the cost or one I will be bragging about. A fool and his money are easily parted, no need to give anyone any more ideas or evidence on that front.” He grumbled as he closed the lid on the box of pearls, pulling out a title deed to the land and filling in the relevant changes for the land being bought before creating two copies one which went into the box with the pearls and the other he paused looking at me once more before he finally handed it to me.

“Congratulations on your purchase.” He said with a false smile as I took hold of the piece of paper.

Ding! Trading (Lv 1)

Ding! Haggle (Lv 1)

Ding! Bargain (Lv 1)

We both paused as we noted our new notifications, his smile turning genuine as he turned to Grandfather to say, “It qualified as a complete transaction. I have my experience for selling the land and it will double when I return to hand over the deed and pearls to the prince. A better trade than I expected although you still have me at a loss.” He qualified.

“A pleasure doing business with you for once,” Grandpa responded.

“Hold on now, we have done a lot of business over the years and I have facilitated the purchase of this island for your family over the years, no questions asked. You have to help me out here otherwise I am going to make a loss on this trip.” He argued.

“Not sure why that is our problem.” Grandpa shrugged before taking the title out of my hands, pocketing it before he picked me up and turned to leave.

“Well, it might be if I choose not to make this run as often as I have been. I mean margins are tight especially if I make a loss on the land trade that I have to explain to the prince. How will the islanders feel about your leadership then? A fairly independent lot, they might not take it too well, if I can’t come as often as I have been and you’re the reason? Besides I have one more item that you would be interested in.”

“What are you proposing and what are you offering?” Grandpa asked as he paused at the door.

“Something I procured for you to support your ambitions in building a legacy. But, with this morning’s success, it might be better used with a younger customer. You would have the first brick in your house and if the rumours are true, Kai might gain even more than both of us.”

“You have it?” Grandpa raised an eyebrow, from looking at his face he seemed calm and reassured but held close to his chest I could feel his fingers tighten and heard his heart begin to beat a little faster.

“Yes, I have. It was not easy, but after years of loyal and dedicated service selling the majority of this island to you and your family I was able to get it directly from the Prince's Seneschal on the understanding and condition that you would continue to purchase the remainder of the land from the Prince, there are currently some border disputes and he needs a little more cash to outfit a few more soldiers to stand guard on the border.” Mercurio proudly told Grandpa. Intrigued I continued to listen in, what was he after? What else did he need seeing as he seemingly owned and ran the majority of the island we lived on already.

“How much?” Grandpa attempted to appear nonchalant and delivered it with a calm, devil may care, attitude but after having spent what appeared to be years waiting for this, whatever it was, he wasn’t fooling anyone.

“Approximately 735 deepwater pearls, non-negotiable.” He answered with a big smile.

“Isn’t that interesting, that price is precisely the amount I have left in my satchel.” Grandpa frowned as he looked at the pearls he had left in the satchel at his side.

“Well,” shrugged the merchant. “We aren’t engaged in a battle of wills for a bet. So, all skills are back on the table and one of mine is telling me what you can afford today. Besides I need to recoup my losses on the last trade.” He pointed out explaining that all was fair in love and war and for any merchant trade was their battleground.

“Very well, if that is what it’s going cost me.” Grandpa sounded resigned to paying the full amount regardless of the cost and its seeming rarity appeared to make its true value impossible to judge.

“I’m glad we can agree on the cost but . . . before you buy . . . I would like you to consider an alternative to you purchasing it.” He hesitated as he placed another piece of paper on the table between us.

As Grandpa returned to the table and took a seat I was unable from my position in his lap to read the paper on the table. Mercurio leaned over the table as if to tell us his deepest darkest secrets and whispered. “There is a rumour that there is another stat available for nobles and that this is how they give it to their children. Not all Lords and Ladies are born Masters and Mistresses, they don’t always have magic when they are born, and their elegance is not necessarily a naturally grown trait of their parents or a matter of education but actually might be a product of applying their points to a hidden stat, Charisma. A stat that the majority of us mere commoners don’t have and never will.”

“Why don’t you use it yourself then?” Grandpa asked doubting the merchant’s generosity in the matter.

“As I said we can’t get it, at least not as we are now, we are simply put too old.” Mercurio continued to explain.

“Too old?” quizzed grandpa.

“Aye, the rumour is that by gaining a title of property, a title of nobility, a subject or two of the estate, along with some of the accoutrements of nobility is all that is required. It is believed that this is how their children gain access to the hidden stat and the benefits it provides but it has to happen in their childhood before their 5th birthday. If we were to attempt it we would surely fail to gain it, but perhaps Kai could, he certainly isn’t too old at least. This is also possibly the difference between old blood and new blood nobles, those who have grown up within the fold and those like you, who are attempting to buy their way in.” he speculated.

Grandpa paused before he replied, “Say we did, what would we need to do and what is in it for you?”

“Well for starters you would have to allow your grandson to buy the title instead of yourself. Then we would need to get him a nicer set of clothes, possibly a servant or slave or two at the minimum to be part of his household.” Mecurio began to list a few more of what he considered the basic necessities of a scion of a noble house.

“This is getting increasingly expensive, Mercurio. I don’t have the resources to pay for half of these things and slavery is outlawed on our island.” Grandpa raised his hands to stop him from expounding any further on what appeared to be an impossible proposition.

. . .

Again Mercurio paused before continuing, “I would provide or loan all of the items I believe are required.”

“Your generosity is suspiciously unfamiliar. You have never in all my years of dealing with you done anything that did not profit you in some way. What’s in this for you?” demanded Grandpa.

“Other than proving the rumour true which on its own would be worth finding out. Indeed selling that information to any new or burgeoning noble houses would be worth significant remuneration in favours if not funds.”

“And?” Prompted Grandpa, his long dealings with the merchant leaving him sure there was something else that he was after.

“Indeed, there are a few other small concessions that I would require on top of the initial price of the title, which I will not forfeit.” He said leaning back in his chair.

“And they are?” Grandpa repeated his question nearly rolling his eyes in frustration. I was once more ignored by both parties believing that this conversation was passing literally and figuratively above my head as I sat there quietly on my grandpa’s lap.

“I would like to relocate my ships port of registration to the new estate of Kai’s house and to give my yearly tithe to Kai on the understanding that it would remain a child’s allowance enough to fulfill the law that all merchants must tithe to a house of their ship’s port rather than a full 10 percent of my income that my current lord expects from me.” He clarified in detail.

“That’s all? This is a jetty not a harbour and hardly safe for a ship to stay in longer than you normally do due to the weather and sea.” Confused by the seeming disparity in cost versus value received.

“I wouldn’t stay any longer than I normally do but a shift in my allegiance, registration and tithing would be well worth any expense required now. Besides, I will be loaning the extra items required not gifting them. That’s my offer. What do you think? Will you be buying the title of nobility for yourself or will your grandson be buying it? Either way, it is the opportunity of a lifetime.” Mercurio continued to sell the idea as an opportunity.

As I listened to them discuss my future and its possibilities I could not help but think that the truth of the rumour was certainly a possibility. I had found some hidden traits already and it appeared that Magic was a stat that only certain children unlocked although I had awoken with it in the womb. Who was to say there weren’t other stats available through fulfilling hidden prerequisites. Where was the game manual for this world when you needed it? Although if there was a manual to life maybe I would not have lost my last one.

Distracted by my thoughts I looked at my status while they continued to discuss the practicalities of creating a noble house from scratch and what they might need to ensure I fully qualified.

There I found a significant shock.

Level: 11 Name: Kai

Experience: 14,750/ 409,600

Age: 14 months, 0 weeks, 2 days, 10 hours

Health: 1140/1140 Stamina: 546/546 Mana: 1140/1140 Psi: 1160/1160

Trait: Long Lived, Fast Learner, Super Senses, Source of Mana,

Vitality: 114

Endurance: 25

Strength: 25

Dexterity: 29

Senses: 117

Mind: 116

Clarity: 49

Magic: 116

Free Points: 30

Skills:

Tier 1: Time sense (LV 26) Listening (LV 26) Meditation (LV 35) Swimming (LV 27)

Humming (Lv 22) Sneak (Lv 22) Whistling (Lv 22) Singing (Lv 22) Drumming (Lv 22)

Running (Lv 17) Acting (19) English (Lv 15) Spanish (Lv 15) Japanese (Lv 15),

German (Lv 10) French (Lv 7) Dodge (Lv 11) Breath Control (Lv 7) Sight (Lv 15)

Scent (Lv 15) Detect (Lv 15) Taste (Lv 15) Bulosa (Lv 7) Draw (Lv 4) Climb (Lv 7) Calligraphy (Lv 5) Mathematics (Lv 5) Decoding (Lv 6) Lie (Lv 5) Knife Skills (Lv 5) Trading (Lv 1)

Tier 2: Sense Mana (LV 35) Eavesdrop (LV 25) Memorisation (LV 22) Composition (Lv 22)

Recall (Lv22) Pain tolerance (Lv 13) Piano (Lv 20) Violin (Lv 20), Trombone (Lv 20),

Saxophone (Lv 20) Linguistics (Lv 16) Translation (Lv 16) Stealth (Lv 11) Quick reflexes (Lv 11)

Haggling (Lv 1)

Tier 3: Echolocation (LV 25) Expel Mana (Lv 31) Absorb Mana (Lv 31)

Mana Manipulation (Lv 15) Ignite (Lv 15) Freeze (Lv 10) Boil (Lv 11) Bargain (Lv 1)

Tier 4: Mana Drain (Lv 20) Parallel Processing (Lv 15)

Tier 5: Mind fortress (Lv 17)

Skill experience: 4500

Origin experience: 0

Combat experience: 0

Crafting experience: 0

Trading experience: 100,000

I had a new type of experience Trading Experience. Furthermore, that was an insane amount of experience gained from a single trade. How much was each pearl worth in terms of money and experience? How much was the island worth in terms of money and experience? How was a single trade worth nearly all the experience I had gained so far?

If a child could gain that amount of experience through a single trade it also meant something else.

My level was not special.

I was not special.

. . .

I remembered being so proud of my progress. I had gained 100 experience to get to Level 1, another 200 experience to get to Level 2, 400 to get to level 3, 800 to get to Level 4 and so on. Pride cometh before a fall and with this new knowledge of how much experience you could gain through a single trade.

Well . . .

Then any noble-born child would have his first 10 levels easily bought for him by his parents.

100,000 experience would take anyone all the way from Level 1 to Level 9!

I was no different than anyone born with a silver spoon.

Money made my old world go round and here on a new one money made experience flow and levels grow.

At this rate, my false status and my real status were growing closer and closer together in terms of Levels. Which meant that I would have to be more and more honest about what was included on it. The only things I could keep hidden would be my unusual and eclectic mix of skills, the experience gained from them and the extra level or two they had afforded me.

The power of money was obvious and the devil was in the details. What was more important to me? Skill progress, base stats, mental or physical or simply financial wealth? Could I buy my way to security and if so what was the easiest or safest way to do that?

Grandpa and Mercurio continued to discuss what I would need in order to buy my nobility and hopefully a hidden stat. Intrigued but uninvolved in the conversation I crawled to the fruit bowl to help myself to some sliced fruit.

Wow, were these Mangoes?