Ironsmiths, tailors, and herbalists were the most common professions in the game, and they also earned the greatest amount of money. As of then, ironsmiths and tailors had already begun to make their mark in the game using middle-grade equipment and weapons.
For example, middle-grade armor, such as Heaven Crushing Armor and chainmail, had defenses that leather armor could never hope to compare to. Not only did they increase the user's defense, they also provided a certain percentage to completely ignore damage from particular light weapons. Their defensive properties were very clear.
It was the same for weapons. Even though they were not masterpieces by master blacksmiths, they were much better than iron and bronze swords sold in shops, both in durability and attack. All of their properties, in truth, had increased by quite a large margin.
However, some degree of effort was still required to mold and refine the various materials. Smiths needed to buy or extract metal ingredients from mines, bring them to be processed in shops, then personally smelt them. A lot of time had to be spent on it, and they could also fail in the process. Hence, the fees for the equipment and weapons were naturally very costly. They were just slightly cheaper than lowest-grade masterpieces.
In the past, when Happy had the slightest bit of extra money in his hands, he would not be able to help himself and buy a few of those items.
However, he did not need any of them right then. For weapons, Happy already had four masterpieces in his hands: Snow Axe, Green Jade Shrouded in Heavenly Silks, two Silver-spiked Staffs, and one Hundred-battle Saber that was equal to the level of a masterpiece. He had no need for weapons.
As for equipment, he needed it even less.
It would only hinder him when he practiced his martial arts. For the longest period of time in the future, his main goal would be to practice martial arts, so he did not need any equipment.
However, Happy did stop in front of a stall that was filled with bottles and did not have a lot of people around it.
An herbalist!
He remembered that there were very few players who would choose to be an herbalist in the early stages of the game and even fewer who would persist in practicing their skills. They would find it hard to make any progression. Only when the players' wallets began to fill up and the prices for their wares increased that more herbalists appeared and became stronger. Their skills even surpassed those of ironsmits and tailors in usefulness!
The stall owner was a man covered in stubble who looked rather dejected and disappointed. It made it seem like he had not been very successful in his life. He was dressed in handwoven clothes and sat on the floor. His gaze made him appear a little lost, and he had a self-deprecating look on his face. He did not pay any attention to the players passing by and would occasionally sigh quietly.
It seemed like he knew that no one would be willing to visit his stall. He was clearly thinking about closing shop and leaving, but he had to continue staying around for some reason.
Compared to the merchants who sold weapons, armor, and martial art manuals by his side, this stall owner did indeed appear very gloomy.
Happy walked over and swept his gaze over the stall. Then, he picked up one of the bottles, opened it, and poured a pill out. He looked at it.
[Small Round Pill:
[Grade: 8, Quality: 9. Restores 36 qi in thirty seconds.
[Selling price: 500 taels of silver crumbs per pill.]
'The quality is pretty good."
Happy quirked an eyebrow slightly, and he cast another glance at the stall owner. Without saying anything, he continued to look through the stall owner's other medicinal pills.
Aside from Superior Jinchuang Ointment, which could heal wounds even more quickly, there were also Vigor Pills, which could restore a person's stamina. They were not sold in shops, however.
There was also poison that could increase the lethality of weapons when applied on the blades, along with poison that was fatal when consumed.
His eyes moved away from the bottles that exuded a strange and dark-green smoke and landed on the final few bottles. He picked one up and poured out a medicinal pill that was slightly black and gave off a delicate scent. Happy's spirits were immediately lifted, and a smile appeared on his face.
[Dew Pill:
[Grade: 7. Quality: 9. Recovers wounds, stamina, and all injuries in thirty seconds, and also restores 36 qi.
[Selling price: 2,500 taels of silver crumbs each.]
'That's it! Found it!'
Happy smiled in his heart and turned to the stall owner. "Can we talk a little?"
By then, the stall owner had also noticed the young man who had carefully sized up all the medicine on his stall. Even though he felt that this young man did not appear to be very wealthy because of his handwoven clothes, his temperament and bearing made the man naturally choose to regard his question carefully.
He hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"As of now, the price is indeed a little expensive, but the materials for Dew Pills are very hard to find, and the cost to create each is not low. If I sell it too cheap, it will not be worth it."
When he heard the man's answer, Happy immediately knew that the man had misunderstood him, so he quickly explained. "Haha, the price for your Dew Pills is rather fair. What I mean is, how many Dew Pills do you have, and what level are you as an herbalist?"
"Huh?"
The man was stunned for a moment.
Someone had actually said that the price he set for his medicine was not expensive.
This was the first time he heard those words.
A normal, consumable medicinal pill sold in shops required two hundred taels of silver crumbs, and many players could not afford it, but here was someone who said that a Dew Pill that cost two thousand five hundred taels of silver crumbs was not expensive!
For a moment, he thought that he had misheard.
Happy repeated himself, and the man finally snapped out of his daze.
"I'm a level six herbalist, but my success rate for making grade six medicinal pills is still very low. I can only bring out a handful of them right now, and the effects are very low. The price for them is much more expensive than Dew Pills too. But if it's Dew Pills, I still have some bottles of them with me."
"A few bottles?"
Dew Pills were very popular in the later stages of the game. Many guilds had even monopolized the ingredients necessary to create them. After all, they were the most important consumables during large-scale battles and quests.
An herbalist who could produce two bottles of Dew Pills in a month was already considered a very good herbalist, but the herbalist before Happy had actually managed to increase his level as an herbalist to level six in just a few short months. He had also gathered so many ingredients to create Dew Pills… Yes, he was definitely not a simple herbalist!
Chapter 160 - Herbalist Pomelo
Herbalists were different from ironsmiths and tailors in the sense that most of the ingredients ironsmiths and tailors required were from wild beasts, while the higher grade weapons would need all sorts of metals dug out from mines. They could hire people to do this sort of thing. In fact, they could just buy pelts and metals from the market. Once they processed them, they could cover the cost they spent to buy them.
Herbalists were different. They could only enter dense forests to collect their ingredients themselves. Usually, they would need to spend a lot of time and energy to search for just a few herbs.
And when they collected herbs, they also had to be very careful and professional. Not all people could collect the herbs as they pleased. If their skills were not outstanding, they could not ensure that the gathered herb was still in perfect condition, and the medicine they refined would suffer terribly in quality!
Also, the higher grade the herbs were, the rarer they were, and it was much more difficult to discover them.
It was precisely because collecting the herbs that required a lot of time and a high degree of skill. Because o
f limited resources, many players during the early stages of the game gave up on becoming herbalists!
There was also another problem.
There was a certain risk in collecting herbs.
Even though the herbs that grew on their own were very easy to collect in forests, wild beasts would often roam the area. Some places where the herbs grew densely would also attract a lot of snakes, wild creatures, and some strange plants.
The Bloods.u.c.k.i.n.g Grass was one of them.
This plant loved growing in areas with a lot of herbs, and it kept itself very well hidden. It would quietly extend their leaves when wild beasts and humans approached it and attach itself to them.
Even though the Bloods.u.c.k.i.n.g Grass would only suck blood and rip tears, if too much blood loss occurred, lives would still be lost!
One Bloods.u.c.k.i.n.g Grass might not be terrifying, and a normal player could just get rid of it through gritted teeth, but there would be lots of them in areas with a lot of herbs.
Blooduscking Grass could affect people's movements when it wrapped itself around them. Soon, they would be covered in wounds, and they would lose their ability to fight back. Players who were below Blessed Realm could not handle a large number of Bloods.u.c.k.i.n.g Grass. In other words, it was very difficult for herbalists to find herbs that grew alone, but if they searched for areas with a lot of herbs, they would find it very troubling and dangerous to collect them!
Grade seven medicinal pills, such as Dew Pills could already be considered as middle-grade medicinal pills. Refining one pill would require a large number of middle-grade herbs, and the chances of a herbalist coming into contact with Bloods.u.c.k.i.n.g Grass would increase. Hence, when Happy heard that the man before him had a few bottles of Dew Pills, he was very astonished.
He wanted to ask why Happy had asked him that question. The cost of the herbs required to create a grade seven medicinal pill, such as Dew Pill, was around one thousand eight hundred taels of silver crumbs.
A successful pill cost two thousand and five hundred taels of silver crumbs, and even famous and large guilds could only stare at it and sigh. Very few of them would dare to buy them. The herbalist had been trying to sell them for many days, and only a handful of people had bought them. Every single time they did, they would only buy one, saying that they could use it to protect their lives when in danger. Because of it, he no longer had the confidence to bring out all the medicinal pills he had to sell.
Over the past few days, the money he had had dwindled, and it could no longer support him when going into Herb Mountain. If this was not the case, he would not be simply sitting around for half a day.
His only hope was that someone would buy more of his medicine so that he could continue being an herbalist.
When Happy asked him how many bottles he had, he did not think of anything else.
"I only have four bottles that are of presentable quality. They make a total of thirty-six pills. If you buy in bulk, I can give you a discount."
When the stall owner saw that Happy was not trying to make him happy and then turning him into a joke, he answered. Since he was bored, he might as well tell the truth.
The next words he heard shocked him so much that he felt as if he was in a dream.
"Based on the price you set, thirty-six pills would mean ninety thousand taels of silver crumbs. How about this? Herbalists have a tough life, and I don't want to take advantage of you either. I'll buy all of your pills with ninety thousand taels of silver crumbs. In exchange, when you create more Dew Pills in the future, could you save all of them for me? How does that sound?"
"Ah! You want all of them? Alright!"
The man was delighted!
He had just earned ninety thousand taels of silver crumbs. Even though it was not much, the money would be enough for him to maintain his life as an herbalist for another month. This was money that saved his life!
The trade for four bottles of Dew Pills was over, and the man suddenly wondered why Happy needed to buy so many Dew Pills. Was he someone important in some guild?
Happy smiled and put away the medicinal bottles into his Universe Bag.
"Let's add each other as friends so that it'll be easy for us to contact each other in the future."
"Alright!"
Once the man received the silver notes, he was very much at ease. He was beside himself with joy and asked, "My name is Pomelo. What about you, brother?"
Happy did not answer him. He only sent a friend request.
Pomelo was a little surprised before he accepted the request with a grin. Then, his expression changed. He recited Happy's name a few times in his heart as his gaze turned dazed. He pointed at Happy, and shock was reflected on his face.
Happy's name was listed on the Famous People Rank and Rich Rank in the World of Martial Arts Secret News Log. By then, there were few people who did not know about him, and the people in the market definitely did, since the flow of information was incredibly quick there.
The Blue-robed Noble Sword User who came from Gusu City was discussed everywhere in the market.
Happy did not say anything. He only brought up one finger, and without batting an eyelid, made a shushing motion.
Pomelo understood what he meant. He nodded vigorously, and the excitement as well as joy in his eyes grew.
"Next time, when you create Dew Pills, just send them to me. I'll buy at the price that you've set."
Happy did not linger in the area. Once he finished speaking, he squeezed his way into the crowd and vanished from Herbalist Pomelo's eyes, leaving him to clench his fists in excitement while his heart remained filled with enthusiasm for a long time. In the end, he closed shop and left as well.
Soon, Pomelo left the city and headed to Herb Mountain, where no one was willing to go.
*****
Once Happy bought a batch of Dew Pills, the one million and three hundred thousand taels of silver crumbs fell to one million and two hundred thousand. However, he was still on the Rich Rank, and he did not even drop. In fact, his rank had increased.
Happy had ample time, so he continued to browse through the streets of Luoyang in search of resources that he could use.
Soon, he stopped in front of a stall that sold martial art manuals.
It was surrounded by people without a single gap to squeeze through. It was filled with activity!
However, this was naturally not a problem for Happy. He adjusted his field of vision, and soon, he saw the items sold in the stall while looking down from above.
There were around a dozen martial art manuals on sale. There were low-tier martial art manuals and high-tier martial art manuals among them.
Happy did not behave like the others. He skipped the low-tier martial art manuals straight away and cast a glance at the three high-tier martial art manuals that were praised by the players and highly sought after. Then, he looked at the dozen low-tier martial arts.
He skimmed through them one by one. Upon noticing one of them, his eyes lit up.
There was something good there!
Even though the price for one of the three high-tier martial art manuals was very high—two hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver crumbs, and it was a price people could hardly afford—the prices of the low-tier martial art manuals were still rather fair. Each of them was five hundred taels of silver crumbs, but only few people showed any interest in them.
But the main point was that there was actually a set of martial arts in there.
The low-tier martial art Shadowless Kick and the high-tier martial art Stormy Shadowless Kick were both sold at the stall.
More importantly, that set of martial arts was just the high-speed martial art that Happy needed the most right then!
Chapter 161 - Getting Down from the Ranking Board
There were plenty of people who sold martial art manuals on the market, but few of them sold high-tier martial art manuals. They were, in fact, as rare as a thousand-year-old ginseng.
Wh
en a high-tier martial art appeared in the world, it was bound to attract countless skilled players.
It was the case for the stall Happy had noticed too. The stall owner had put up three high-tier martial art manuals in one go, so it was only natural that he became the center of attention!
However, the high price of two hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver still shot over the purchase limit for many people.
Not everyone could have tens of thousands of taels of silver crumbs in their account; it was difficult enough for it to be five digits. Only a few people lived such a good life that they had one hundred thousand taels of silver crumbs in their savings account. Only guilds that were rather powerful could gather up the money from their members or use other methods to come in possession of a large number of silver crumbs.
However, based on the fluctuating exchange rate, two hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver crumbs were equivalent to around ten thousand three hundred RMB. Even guilds of average standard would not be able to get that sort of money without blinking an eye.
But if the sellers increased the price as they pleased, it was up to the buyers to cut the price down!
This was a law that existed since ancient times.
Many people had surrounded the stall and began to engage in a violent verbal war. Their arguments were all centered around the weaknesses of the high-tier martial arts!
Some of them said that staff techniques were not easy to learn, some said that axe techniques were not in great demand, and some even claimed that the damage of Stormy Shadowless Kick was quite low, that at Grandmaster Realm it was only as powerful as a normal high-tier saber technique at the third realm. It simply did not fit into the category of a high-tier martial art. They would still be able to accept it, however, if the price was lowered to one hundred thousand taels of silver.
Happy felt his heart race when he listened to it from outside the group and had to suppress his amus.e.m.e.nt.
Sword Among Us c1-1268 Page 85