Chapter 30: The Iron Market

  After seeing off Balin and Bolgar, Lan Chi took a tour around the upstairs and downstairs. He felt that renting at five Phosphorus Crystals per day was a great deal, considering that the inns in the Dwarf Steel City charged at least three times that amount.

  Bolgar's house was on the edge of the city. It was spacious, two stories high. The first floor had a hall, kitchen, storage room, and a forging practice room. The second floor had three bedrooms. Outside the house, there was also a simple stable.

  By the time they had organized all their belongings, it was already evening. The three had a simple dinner and then retired to their respective rooms for the night.

  The next morning, Nightshade woke up early, said a quick goodbye to Lan Chi, and went out to attend to business.

  After breakfast, Lan Chi felt bored and decided to take Kaelen out for a stroll. Just as they were about to leave, the hut, in its Flame Hoof form, tugged at him. "I want to go out and play too."

  "Not today. You're too conspicuous. It wouldn't be convenient to shop with you along. Let me scout out the area first, then I'll take you out another time." Lan Chi refused.

  The Flame Hoof released him. "Alright. Come back soon."

  "I know, I know." Lan Chi waved and left with Kaelen.

  The market was located in the western part of the city, the liveliest area of Steel City.

  Lan Chi and Kaelen crossed several stone-paved roads and walked for about ten minutes until they reached an open-air plaza. This was a flat area carved out by the Dwarves themselves, situated between the mountain foot and the city. The ground was paved with rough stone slabs, the gaps filled with compacted ore slag. Hundreds of stalls were scattered around haphazardly, and along the extending streets on the outskirts stood various shops.

  Lan Chi stood still for a moment, unsure which way to go. Everything around him felt novel and exciting.

  To his left, a bald Dwarf was swinging a hammer, striking a red-hot iron bar. His stall was filled with finished products: axes, hoes, horseshoes, and several ruggedly styled short knives—items Lan Chi couldn't buy on the system trading platform.

  To his right, a goblin crouched behind his stall. In front of him were three or four palm-sized metal mechanisms shaped like spiders. He inserted a thumb-sized Phosphorus Crystal into the abdomen of one mechanical spider. The little thing immediately sprang to life, its six thin legs crawling across the stall table. When it reached the edge, it automatically turned around.

  Lan Chi's eyes lit up at the sight. If he could attach explosives to these, they would be perfect spider bombs.

  The goblin noticed his gaze, grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth: "Magic Energy Crawler. Used for ore prospecting. Thirty Phosphorus Crystals each. Want one?"

  "No, thanks." Lan Chi waved his hand, rolling his eyes inwardly. Thirty Phosphorus Crystals for this thing? What a rip-off. He looked away and continued walking further in.

  Further ahead was the ore trading area. There were even more people here, and the stalls were noticeably larger than those on the outskirts, some even equipped with simple wooden shelters. Various ores were piled everywhere. Buyers crouched in front of stalls, holding ore samples up to the sunlight to examine the cross-section, some even licking them with their tongues before bargaining with the stall owners.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Lan Chi held Kaelen's hand and slowly wandered with the flow of the crowd. After walking for a while, he stopped in front of an ore stall.

  The stall owner was an elderly Dwarf, with ore residue caught in his beard. He was sitting on a low stool, sharpening an iron pickaxe. Seeing Lan Chi stop, he paused his work. "Young man, buying ore? Freshly mined."

  "I'll take a look first." Lan Chi smiled, crouched down, and casually picked up a piece of ore with a dark red tint, turning it over to examine it.

  "How much is this one?"

  "Eight Phosphorus Crystals for this type."

  Lan Chi was momentarily stunned. He had seen similar iron ore at the Racial Alliance market, and its quality wasn't as good as this piece, yet it was priced at twelve Phosphorus Crystals.

  He put that piece down and picked up another with greenish spots.

  "And this one?"

  "Eleven Phosphorus Crystals."

  "Copper ore?"

  "Mixed ore." The Dwarf looked at him with an expression reserved for amateurs. "New to this? This ore contains copper and tin. Smelt it yourself and you get bronze. Sell it to a smelting plant, and they'll give you thirteen Phosphorus Crystals. You could resell it and still make a profit of two."

  Lan Chi nodded, put down the ore, and glanced at the tools. "How much are your tools?"

  "Twenty each. No bargaining. I forged these myself." The old Dwarf smiled proudly.

  "Not a bad price." Lan Chi smiled. "I'll take this pickaxe and this iron axe."

  "Alright, forty Phosphorus Crystals." The old Dwarf happily accepted the money. "Thanks for your business."

  Lan Chi handed the tools to Kaelen, who was behind him. Looking at the array of tools on the ground, he asked curiously, "Old-timer, why don't you sell your tools on the light screen?"

  The old Dwarf looked at Lan Chi as if he were a joke. "Oh? You wouldn't happen to be a trial participant, would you?"

  Lan Chi broke out in a cold sweat and quickly said, "Huh? No, I'm not. I'm a traveling merchant, here with my uncle to see the world. I only heard some lords' subordinates complaining that there's nothing to buy on the light screen's trading system during the journey."

  The old Dwarf's gaze scrutinized him for a long moment before he spoke. "I figured you couldn't be a trial participant, otherwise you wouldn't ask such a question. First of all, trial participants themselves are few and far between. Second, the weapons we forge, of course we sell them to our own people. Selling them on the light screen would be supplying the enemy. You should learn properly from your family, otherwise you won't make money and you'll easily get cheated."

  "Yes, yes, you're absolutely right, elder." Lan Chi quickly said his goodbyes and hurried away with Kaelen.

  Once they finally made it through the ore district, the crowd grew even larger.

  Lan Chi let himself be carried along by the flow of people until he was squeezed in front of a drink stall. Several large wooden barrels were set up on the stall, with no markings on them. The stall owner, a stout middle-aged Dwarf, was scooping something from a large barrel into earthenware bowls and handing them to the people in line.

  The smell of alcohol wafted through the air.

  It was a liquor stall.

  Lan Chi didn't pay much attention at first and was about to bypass it when he noticed the long line. It wasn't just Dwarves; there were also several humans in leather armor, an Elf carrying a large bow, and even a goblin standing on tiptoes trying to push forward.

  Watching the number of people in line and the speed at which they were handing over money, Lan Chi grew curious about the taste of the liquor. He casually patted a person nearby who was tilting his head back to drink. "How much for a bowl?"

  The man lowered his bowl, smacked his lips, and said, "Five Phosphorus Crystals."

  Lan Chi thought he had misheard.

  Five Phosphorus Crystals. The fist-sized piece of iron ore he had asked about earlier was only eight. This one bowl of liquor was worth half that ore.

  "Is it good?" Lan Chi suddenly became interested.

  "This place is decent. There's one to the east that's more expensive, seven Phosphorus Crystals, and it barely tastes like liquor." The man smacked his lips again, reminiscing.

  "Oh? Then I'll queue up and give it a try." Lan Chi eagerly joined the line. With so many people waiting, he had to taste it for himself.