I tossed the head of the dog beast into my bag along with its fangs and headed out towards the food market. We planned on grabbing more of the stew there as it was the cheapest food around. As we walked through the area with the dungeon to get there, I noticed something unusual about the shops all around. There were a lot less of the places selling ores and there seemed to be a shortage of ores. The few shops still selling them wouldn't part with them unless I paid a silver for a single ore.

Meanwhile, the queue for the dungeon extended out into the street and around the corner out of sight behind some buildings and then peeked out the other side of the buildings back into this area. If we wanted to enter the dungeon, it would take far more than a few minutes, possibly even an hour or two. It wasn't hard the guess the reason why; demand for these ores had skyrocketed and dungeon exploring was suddenly more popular.

There was that merchant yesterday who bought my staff for a good price and had a cartful of ores and weapons made from that ore. If a few merchants came through like that, they could buy out pretty much all the ore in the city. Knowing this, I came to regret my decision to sell off all the ores as soon as they got in my hands. It was a far more effective plan to hold onto it then sell it to a merchant coming through or to the shops devoid of stock after a merchant came through if I miss that chance. Heck, with Stephen out of commission we could even have him run a stand until he recovered with all the ores we'd gather from the dungeon.

Nonetheless, we did need money to enter the dungeon and to rent the room so we couldn't afford to not sell the ores. That and these flags seemed to be markers for different spots as there were places with no stand set up and a flag over it. Which was even more prominent with a lot of these places gone from having no stock. If we wanted our own spot, we'd have to set up a flag in an empty location where it's allowed and for all we knew, we'd have to pay for it as well. No doubt there would be some sort of tax on it.

"Should I save us a spot in the line? It seems awfully long and you guys could just bring a portion to me," said Matt while pointing towards the line.

"No need. That line will die down on its own," said Jerry while continuing to walk towards the food market.

"And if it gets longer?" I asked. If it got this long, what was stopping it from getting even longer. There were tons of adventurers and knights in this town and there was the distinct smell of profitable ventures in the air.

"If we don't go now, we'll miss out on this opportunity. Just look at the prices on these ores. I reckon we could get a silver for two or three pieces. I alone could grind up a week's worth of rent if I get lucky," said Matt.

"Look at all the bags and such they're carrying. Everyone and their mother has the same idea as you. By the time we get to the front of the line, tons of them would pile out with huge bags, selling tons of ore everywhere. By the time we got out, I wouldn't be surprised if there was so much of a surplus that we'd have to give them twenty ores for a single silver," said Jerry. Which was quite the reasonable prediction.

We noticed this situation too late to take advantage of it. Or rather, I noticed the beginning of it but didn't think of the consequences. Next time would be different. An opportunity lost this time due to ignorance guaranteed that I would pay more attention the next. I could make it big in the city and intended to do so. But first, we had to eat and let this line die down.

"Is there even a point to going into the dungeon today if prices will drop so low? It's not like there is room at the inn for us to store ores unless we rent the room to just store ores and sleep outside or on top of them," said Matt, bringing up a good point. A lot of these ores were needed to make a profit and prices would definitely be low for a bit.

"No, we can't afford a rest day. If anything we'll just get so many ores that we still turn a profit even with the lowered price. Then keep whatever's leftover until prices get back to normal or become favorable again. As tight a fit as the room is now, we could still put some ores in the corners of the room," said Jerry.

It wasn't as if we couldn't afford a rest day, but that it would put extra pressure on us the next day. Better to just get things done today than push it off until tomorrow. I had already gone into the dungeon once today and was unsuccessful. That is, unless this dog beast is of value. I thought about trying to sell it now since we were in the area with all the ores, but decided it would be best to have a blacksmith look at it and identify what it was made of.

Since there was a huge line that we decided not to hold a place in and that we would let it die down, we took our time choosing our food. I didn't immediately go up to the stands with the cheap stew, but actually looked around the food stands, hoping to find cheap and good food. I'd rather have fresh fruit and veggies over the stew with close to rotten ingredients in it if the price was right. Jerry had brought along the bucket I had gotten from the dungeon and soon enough it was piled with fruits, veggies, and a few strips of dried meat.

Unfortunately, we did end up paying around double the amount than we would for four portions of the stew. However, the bucket was pretty much overflowing with food. Plenty of stands were willing to throw on extras when we bought more than one ingredient. Half the bucket alone were cheap and common things like tomatoes and potatoes. It would be even better if we could cook or stew these ingredients together but to do that we needed pot a cook it in and a place where we could set a fire. Which more than likely required leaving the city limits as I doubted any stands or restaurants would let us cook our own food using their facilities.

I parted ways with Jerry and Matt as they headed back towards the inn. I stayed behind with a tomato in one hand and the bag with the dog corpse in the other. The smithies were just beyond this market where I could assess it and hopefully dispose of it for coin. As for the tomato, I was hungry. Normally I'd eat a tomato with something else but they were fine to eat on their own, especially the large and sweet ones.

By the time I polished off the tomato and wiped my face and hands off on my shirt, I was back in the district filled with smiths. While I could have just gone to the same place as before, this time I walked into a different building. Restricting myself to one blacksmith before checking them all out wasn't a good plan and I had all the time I needed today. That line from before would take at least an hour or two to die down if no one else joined it, which inevitably a few would.

The building I walked into this time gave off a cleaner and more luxurious feel. All of the products were set upon individual pedestals or encased in glass while the room itself was colder than outside and well lit by a chandelier of candles augmented by a few scattered candles on the walls close to the corners, eliminating any dark spots or shadows. There wasn't even the sound of hammering in the back. It was if this wasn't a smithy at all but a normal, if not high end, shop.

There was a worker there, an older man with graying hair, wearing a white shirt with a black vest and pants. He even wore glasses; a luxury few could afford nor would they buy it even if they could afford it and had eye problems. The more I looked around, the less welcome I felt here with my raggedy clothes and the worker even grimaced at me. A silent message of "get out" was transmitted to me from his facial expression of disgust with his nose turned up and eyebrows folded down.

I would have walked out myself after seeing what sort of place this was if not for that expression pissing me off. Why couldn't I shop or sell here? While my clothes were ragged, pretty much everything else on my body was of some value, from enchanted and divine items to even my worn down spear. Just to show off a bit and change the way he looked at me, I drew my sword slowly, starting with just a tiny bit that glowed and then flames began to roll about, licking the freshly exposed metal. Oddly enough, the fire also touched my hand but I didn't feel any pain. It, of course, was still hot and heated up the air around me, but not to an uncomfortable degree. Whatever made the air cool in this place interacted with the heat and created a breeze, pushing around my hair.

Of course, with such a display, the worker erased his previous expression and transitioned to a friendly smile without a bit of shock. How professional of him. After putting an act up like that, I couldn't just leave. I decided it'd be best to show the dog corpse and have him assess it before he starts getting any funny ideas like trying to buy the sword. Which was probably unavoidable now that I showed it off as if it was the thing I was trying to sell.

"Could you run an assessment on this?" I asked while sheathing my sword and bringing up my bag.

"Certainly. Just give me one second to lay out a proper work surface," said the worker while bringing out a slightly dirty towel and laying it over one of the display cases. Obviously, they were used to people like me occasionally trudging in with dirty items, trying to sell them.

I laid out the pieces of the dog beast's corpse on the table, trying to keep it as close to the original as possible with the head resting near where its neck was and the teeth lying next to it. The worker pulled out some tools, a hammer, and a pick, laying them on the towel. Then he picked up the head of the dog beast and moved it around, inspecting it for any damages. He even took the time to put the teeth back into its mouth and managed to make them stick.

"This head alone could sell as a decorational piece while the rest of the body is too damaged and would need to be disposed of as the scrap metal it is. Unfortunately, it's not even steel. It's that alum stuff sold all over the streets that comes from the public dungeon. However, there is one promising part," he said while running his hand down the red streak on the side of the dog beast.

At this point, he used the tools he had brought out to hammer the pick into the chest of the dog beast and pry it apart. Piece by piece, the main body of the beast fell apart and revealed its red tinted interior, with a gem in the center of its body. Before touching it, the worker pulled out some gloves from the back and carefully broke the pieces of ore around it. Once it was freed, the worker lifted the gem up into the air and adjusted his glasses with his offhand.

"A fire gem. What a novelty. In the hands of a wizard, they could use this to fuel one minor fire magic before it would crumble into dust. As there aren't any fire mages in this country or the surrounding ones, it's basically a shiny stone that resembles a gem. Not even a noble would buy it unless it larger and able to fuel stronger magics. Hold onto it for good luck I'd say," said the worker while passing it over to me. I was reluctant to take it as he wore gloves while handling it, but then he grabbed my hand and forced it into my palm.

Apparently, it was just fine to hold it with my bare hands. Why was he wearing gloves then? Was he just a clean freak that wanted to avoid directly touching these materials or was there some sort of danger that the gem could pose if it were a different type or still attached to the dog beast's corpse. I ended up pushing everything back into the bag other than the gem and the head of the dog piece as the worker went into the back to grab some money to pay for it.

"Here's two silvers as an advance on the head. I'll get you the rest after I sell it. We guarantee you at least two-thirds of the price we sell it off. Come back after a day or two, preferably with proper clothes in case a customer comes. Also, if you ever want to sell that necklace, let me know," said the worker while placing two silvers on the counter.

I took the coins and walked out while wondering how he knew about the necklace. Reaching up towards my hair, I found most of it blown off to one side, giving a full view of it. When I had shown off with my sword, the air must've blown around my hair. So, it wasn't my sword that changed his attitude but my enchanted necklace.

By the time I was back in the food markets, I realized that I had just trusted the worker to pay me more later on when I came back, giving him the head without any sort of haggling. Then again, where else would I sell it? Directly to a noble or rich merchant was a no go and other shops in that area might not be interested in decorational items. And if I tried to sell it as a material, it was just the same ore as before and wouldn't be even worth a single silver on its own.

It would be a pain in the ass to go back and argue with him over the dog beast's head so I'd just check in tomorrow or the day after and figure things out. Hopefully, I'd just get more money to the point where I'd be satisfied and more than happy with the transaction. Worst comes to worst, I got two silvers out of it and lost a monster head made of alum, I think it was called. There was nothing else I could do until then but try to sell the rest of this off while prices were high, grab some more food back at the inn with some beer to wash it down, then do another dungeon run.