Naldo returns to Sybilla

Naldo's group show their guild cards to the guard at Sybilla's gate to waive the entry fee. They had decided to split off in the city for efficiency and meet up at the adventurers guild the day after. He was to find a buyer for the bear meat, while they escorted the caravan back to the merchant's shop and collected the rewards for the completed quests. They had combined the bear quest with an escort quest for a caravan to and from Farsille. His pay would depend largely on what he was able to get for the bear meat, since that was his main contribution. The bear they hunted, was of a species that is commonly called the "red bear", even though it is more brown than red. The bear's skin had been bloody and butchered, so they only got one silver for the hide. None of which went to him. A pristine hide could be sold to nobles as a rug and would go for a multiple of that, but killing it like that does require some skill. He would be getting some coppers for cooking for the caravan, but it wasn't much. Naldo looks at his XP bar that only moved a little while cooking for the caravan. I really should get that cooking job in Farsille.

He moves closer to the city center, because that is where the more affluent live and the more high class restaurants will be. On the way, he passes a restaurant and feels his stomach growl. Can't hurt to grab a bite to eat first, right? Maybe the cook can tell me where to best sell the bear meat. He opens the door and is greeted by a small dining hall with only a couple of tables and a long bar with some stools in front of it. The apparent owner is standing behind the bar with his back towards him.

Naldo goes up to the bar to order food.

Naldo: Excuse me!

Firat: Ah, welcome! I didn't hear you come in.

Naldo: Do you have some bread and soup?

Firat: Sure thing!

The cook turns on the stove to reheat a soup pan, grabs a plate and puts some bread on it. Naldo looks around for a bit and when his eyes fall on the cook again, he sees the cook with a small flame in his hand.

Naldo: I didn't know cooks can do that?

Firat: They can't.

Naldo: It looks like the flame spell

Firat: It is, it's useless though, it's not hot enough to warm food.

Naldo: Wait... You're a fire mage?

Firat: Yes

Naldo: That's awesome, congrats!

Firat: Ah? ... Uhm, yeah thanks.

Naldo: How did you get the fire mage class?

Firat: Ask the system.

Naldo: You didn't want to be a fire mage?

Firat: I really didn't

Naldo: That's sad... I have been training at the Red Dragons for years and seen many a mage leave frustrated when getting the wrong class. I myself was heartbroken when I got the cook class...

Firat: *annoyed* That's the class that I wanted to have! With this fire mage class, the best I can ever be is an average cook."

{ Come on Naldo, I am counting on you to tell him about all the adventures he can go on as a fire mage! }

Naldo: But fire mage is such a powerful class!

{ Keep going! }

Firat: Do fire mages open restaurants?

Naldo: Not normally no.

Firat: And this flame spell isn't hot enough to prepare food.

Naldo: If you level the spell a few times, it should get hot enough and you will also be able to keep food warm with the "warm" spell once you get it, but this is a waste of your class! You can do so much more!

{ Now we're talking! }

Firat: That's actually quite useful! They should have more fire mages work in restaurants.

Naldo: Fire mages wouldn't be willing to work in a restaurant for shitty pay, when they have far better prospects.

Firat: You realize I'm a fire mage, right?

Naldo: ...

Firat: I've spent my entire life dreaming to become a cook. I am not going to change that now.

Naldo: ... well at least you can get the sear spell.

Firat: Sear?

Naldo: Yeah, it's a spell for fire mages that can be used to sear meat without a stove.

Firat: Tell me more.

{ Hold on, this is not what I want you to make him enthusiastic about... }

Naldo: *professor mode* The sear spell is a fire spell typically unlocked by apprentice fire mages as one of their five free unlockable spells. The sear spell enables a fire mage to sear a piece of meat in their hands. If held for a longer period of time, the spell can be used to fully prepare the meat. It is one of the more useful lower tiers spells, as adventurers often use it to quickly prepare food in the wilds, although cleaning your hands can be an issue if there is no water mage in the party.

{ Stop it! }

Firat: Ah, I don't think I can use that. I think my customers would be weirded out if I sear the food between my bare hands.

{ Tell him about the adventures! }

Naldo: That's an interesting academic problem to solve.

{ No, it's not! }

Naldo: You will probably have to develop your mana control and mana emission. You might be able to learn or discover a remote searing spell. With enough control, you might even be able to sear multiple peaces of meat at once!

Firat: Oh! Tell me how to practice that!

{ *sigh* this one's a bust }

Firat interrogates Naldo on how to best use the fire mage class for cooking as Naldo is finishing his bread and soup. It's ironic, the food is prepared with much more care than when he prepares soup, but with the missing taste boost from the cooking class, his own food is probably marginally better. After finally exhausting Firat's barrage of questions, Naldo is in a great position to ask Firat about selling bear meat.

Naldo: Would you happen to buy red bear meat?

Firat: That's a little too specialist. I can heat it up and kill the worms, but making something good, is out of the question. A high level cook or chef can check for worms, allowing for far more juicy end result. Also, I don't have an ingredient box. I can't save it for later. You'd have to sell it to one of the restaurants near the city center. Try to find one that focus on wild game or on unusual dishes. They will mostly be interested in the steaks and the loin, since it is quick to prepare. Best to compare prices, because some shops will most certainly try to rip you off... You know what? Let me write a note for Mert. He should be willing to help you. Mert will get you a good deal for sure. I will ask him to keep the commission decent, you helped me a lot.

Naldo went to Mert, who was more than willing to help him after reading Firat's note, for a price of course. They talked a for a bit and Mert wrote him a new note, which he was supposed to take to a restaurant in the city center, as expected. He continues his walk to the inner city, which he can easily identify with the guarded gates and the increased security after the checkpoint.

After passing through the checkpoint, his eyes fall upon the shop of a blacksmith and he realizes that he needs to figure out how much adventurer gear costs. The plan was to slay some monsters after cooking in Farsille, to unlock a second class appropriate for an adventurer. Then again, maybe he should look for a shop further away from the center. It's probably cheaper. His eyes fall on the sign with the store name: "Beggar's Blacksmith". Wait? What?... I guess he is trying to appeal, that his prices are low? Curious, he walks into the store. It doesn't look cheap at all... He eyeballs a longsword to check the label. Orichalcum long sword (very high quality) 50 gold. Why would you call your shop Beggar's Blacksmith!?! Selling one of these is enough to take a beggar off of the street for the rest of their life! He takes a glance at the man behind the counter and sees a balding man with piercing black eyes. The man immediately gives off the impression of a poor excuse of a human being with his unkempt appearance. He saunters around the store a bit more and quickly finds out, that the sword he just checked is by no means the most expensive item here. There were even adamantite weapons for sale! Conversely, no iron weapons to be found. The cheapest he could find were steel weapons, but even those would be out of his price range for a while. I really shouldn't be spending any money in this place. He drops a copper in the donation mug and turns around to leave the store as the person that sprints past him starts screaming all of a sudden.

Beldging's shopkeep wasn't able to start until next week. Unfortunately, this meant he had to tend to the shop. A chore he didn't much like. Today, he was pleasantly surprised though. As he curiously watches a mage in a fiery red robe check out all the swords in the store, another customer comes up to him.

Customer: Sir, I am interested in this spear, but can't you do something about the price? It's priced way above what it's worth.

Belding: Please try to understand, this spear is identifiably of "very high" quality. There aren't a lot of blacksmiths that can create weapons of its worth.

Customer: Ah, yes, it makes sense now. Here you go.

Belding: Thank you for your patronage.

The customer drops a copper coin in the donation mug *cling* and leaves. It is unusual. Normally the kind of customer that complains about the price, is the kind of customer that keeps annoying him to no end. Today these customers had been quickly changing their minds and they would even drop a coin in his donation mug, which made him feel like he had "won". If it's like this, then maybe tending the shop isn't so bad.

Belding: Ah! Of course! I am so stupid! It's the beg skill! I guess asking customers to "please understand", is enough to take them over the edge and make the purchase without problem. That almost makes getting this class worth it. Almost, because I won't be the one tending the shop from next week onwards.

He locks eyes with an angry looking kid that storms up to the counter. Those same dark piercing eyes that he himself has. He smiles. Ah, I haven't seen my son in a long time. He used to say that he wanted to be a blacksmith like dad. With how she left me and how he is looking at me, I can somewhat guess what she has been teaching him about me. Will there be a time where we will be able to get along again? Was I wrong to focus on blacksmithing to this degree? Ah, but I can't see myself going through life any other way. Maybe I am just broken.

kid: *yells* You bastard! It wasn't enough to neglect your family? You had to burn our reputation to the ground! The beggar class? Seriously? And you even name your shop after it? Have you no shame? You know what? You deserve this! For being the horrible person you are! But mom didn't, you know? Mom didn't deserve any of this. She didn't deserve a husband that neglected her! She didn't deserve the shame you gave her!

Belding: *smiles* son...

son: You think this is a joke? Don't you "son" me! You are not my father! You're a stranger to me! I won't have anything to do with you! I hate your guts! You're a piece of shit father you know? I hope you die a horrible death!

Belding's son grabs a gold coin from his purse, tosses it towards the donation mug and storms out of the shop again as suddenly as he came in.

*cling*

"I know", Belding thinks to himself. He's still smiling, happy to have caught another glimpse of his growing son whom he hadn't seen in years. I'm not a good person and maybe you are right. Maybe I deserve this, but know this. No matter how much your opinion of me has changed, no matter how much you come to despise me, it changes nothing about how I feel about you. I will always love you my son. Nonetheless, smithing is an obsession. It's not something I can stop doing, even if I want to.

Of course, none of this matters if it is not spoken out loud. They were just thoughts inside of Belding's head. To be heard by no one and to never reach their recipient.

"Well, that was intense", Naldo thought. He named the store after his beggar class? That takes balls. That's not just I am a beggar and I don't care. That is truly what you'd call, owning being a beggar. By the way, an expert blacksmith getting the beggar class, what the fuck is wrong with this country? That normally only happens to countries destroyed by war. Not to countries just founded, but I have a restaurant to get to.

He leaves the blacksmith and heads over to the expensive looking restaurant Mert referred him to. Both the inside and outside of the restaurant were lavish looking. A striking difference compared to the restaurant, where he ate his soup and bread. The place was spotless too. Do they clean the walls every day? He goes in through the back entrance, as he was instructed and hands over the note to the first person he sees. He is asked to wait for a bit and a little later a round man with a white chef hat and a thin man in suit with a serious expression on his face stroll right up to him and ask to inspect the meat. When he takes it out of his item box, the chef's eyes go wide and he starts whispering in the thin man's ear. Clearly, the chef could tell that the meat was properly butchered with a cook present.

suit: In respect of Mert, I can offer you 10 silver, take it or leave it.

Naldo: Deal!

These were no nonsense people. They exchanged the goods for the money and he was out of the store before he knew it. These people had work to do. They clearly gave him a good deal, he earned 10 times as much on the meat as they did on the hide. Well, Mert would be getting 2 silver as a commission, then there would be 8 silver left. He would be earning 2 silver. It didn't make much sense, splitting the coin any other way between the 4 of them. It's good to have some coin in my pocket. Now, to figure out how to get back to Farsille.