Chapter 31 Little Trickster

Having entered one of the most prosperous stores in Katu, Melvin didn't hesitate to reveal his identity to the secretary.

This caused the secretary to stare at him for a moment before rushing towards the manager who immediately called someone as if something huge was just about to happen.

Perceiving the sudden change in the atmosphere their arrival had caused astonished Nial.

He only knew that Melvin belonged to a rich and somewhat powerful family.

But he had no idea just how influential and wealthy his family actually was until he saw the way everybody in the shop scurried towards Melvin as if he was some sort of elite of the elite.

That was even more evident as a chubby, brightly smiling man arrived in front of them only a few minutes later. He was sweating profusely and greeted Melvin heartily.

Throwing a short glance toward Nial, the chubby man quickly decided to ignore him which didn't bother Nial at all. He was used to being ignored by now.

Instead, he was able to use his mana perception to figure out more about his surroundings.

In the end, they were somewhere in the central district after spending just half an hour riding the shuttle.

Using the shuttle, Nial never actually knew where they would land. A single mistake of the shuttle, and he might end up at the other end of the shelter.

As such, he liked going on foot much better as he could trace back the path he had walked or run along to travel home.

This was not possible with a shuttle, but also not further problematic right now.

Rather than minding this minuscule issue, Nial reverted his attention back to the chubby merchant and Melvin who were already in a heated debate about the price of the [Shockwave Barrage] ability crystal.

Meanwhile, Nial had decided to occupy the vendor and exchange the 52 poorest Common origin crystals with money.

Through this transaction, a total of 1560$ were now transferred to his Originals ID card.

This was a small fortune for their family, but considering that Sabrina's medicine for an entire week cost about 10,000$ it was far from enough.

Going out hunting every two days given the risks they take and receiving such small gains in return, wouldn't even be enough to generate the required money to cover up the expense of his sister's medicine.

That was also the reason why his parents had been going out to hunt every single day, for more than 12 hours a day, if possible.

Considering that he and Melvin went only out a few hours while trying to adapt to each other's fighting style, in addition to familiarizing themselves with the dungeon's interior and specific characteristics.

As such, Nial couldn't complain, but he was still not satisfied.

Because of that, he slowly noticed that he was becoming greedier and for the first time in his life, thinking about money. But it was something that normally occurred with Originals who were making their first huge gain by selling an ability crystal.

However, even after selling an ability crystal, Nial didn't think that they would be able to make a huge fortune.

Little did he know that the [Shockwave Barrage] ability crystal was highly demanded by one particular shelter that had many issues with dungeons inhabiting Bat beasts.

In the end, the [Shockwave Barrage] ability crystal might only be a Low ranked Common ability, but it was one of the strongest sound attack abilities for Origin ranked Originals that had been found by humanity!

Melvin knew this because he had learned a lot from his father, and the numerous tutors he had received knowledge from along with many other influential individuals who imparted lessons to him.

As such, he was able to increase the price of the ability crystal he was holding by manifold.

Yet, Nial noticed something that made him feel uncomfortable about the way both of them were stringently negotiating with each other, which was somehow entirely one-sided.

'Why is the merchant just accepting the high price Melvin quotes without even trying to lower the price in any way? It's almost as if the starting price was way too low to begin with!'

Realizing this, Nial approached his friend and the merchant to understand more but realized that they were already shaking their hands, and had already concluded the deal.

Initially, Nial had wanted Melvin to complete the business transaction because he seemed to be a better businessman than him.

After all, the only business transaction Nial had ever completed in his life was with Arnold Birg which he doubted if it could be even called that.

However, now, when he looked at the two men in front of him, he was not sure of that anymore.

He furrowed his eyebrows to see the chubby merchant walk past Nial with the [Shockwave Barrage] ability crystal in his hand, only to murmur to himself.

"That's a true treasure...perfect for the Bat plague in Titur!"

Hearing the merchant's whisper caused Nial's mood to sour even further, only to grasp Melvin's arm as he quickly said,

"You do know that we could have gotten more. The chubby merchant just said something about a Bat plague in Titur. Isn't the ability we sold perfectly suited to make a huge profit if transferred and sold to Titur? You cannot tell me that you didn't know about this, your dad is a merchant?!"

Nial was confused about Melvin's attitude, and he almost shouted at him for making them receive a far lower profit than possible.

Yet, instead of throwing an angry retort at him, his friend remained calm, and he seemed to be even smiling at that as he tried to reassure Nial.

"I've planned something Nial, just trust me!... And don't be so restless, why wouldn't I know about Titur...and that the biggest Merchant who supplies resources to Titur is in fact, Juan, the chubby merchant, we just sold the ability crystal to!"

Nial's mouth opened and closed several times before he fell silent, calming himself stupid for not trusting his friend, and he apologized quickly.

However, rather than holding a grudge against Nial for not trusting him, Melvin simply pushed him with his shoulder as he added in a hushed whisper.

"By the way, register a platinum membership with your Original ID card. As a new member, who directly purchases a platinum membership, you will get a 30% discount for the first 5 items you purchase!"

Nial was not sure what exactly Melvin was planning, but instead of doubting his best friend like before, he simply did as he was told.

Yet, before he could even purchase it, the vendor apologized after checking his card's limit and stated that Nial didn't have enough money in his bank account.

"I'm sorry sir, but you need to have 10,000$ in your bank account to purchase the platinum membership. It's a monthly subscription that costs 10,000$ after all!"

This caused Nial to feel a little bit off, but no sooner had the chubby merchant disappeared and reappeared in a moment, everything changed.

The chubby merchant seemed to have been busy with his holographic screen a moment earlier, but had heard his words. Thus, he quickly whispered something to the vendor, who nodded his head while holding out his hand for Nial to hand in the card again.

"Sir, please give me your Originals ID card for a moment, I will immediately transfer the entire money for the [Shockwave Barrage] ability crystal to your bank account! After that, I'll deduct 10,000$ and you will be registered as a premium member of our store!"

After hearing that Melvin nodded his head, and Nial just threw him a curious look before proceeding to do as asked without knowing what exactly his friend was planning.

Yet, hearing his friend's voice that was directed toward the merchant, he slowly comprehended something.

"Sir, you told me that If I sell you the [Shockwave Barrage] ability crystal, we will be able to get a 10% discount for all products we purchase this week, right? That doesn't affect the discount Nial receives on his new membership or does it?"

Looking innocently at the chubby merchant, Melvin just wanted to hear him clearly state his affirmation, which happened only a few moments later.

"A merchant...keeps his promises…"

Nial could clearly hear that the chubby merchant was already displeased based on the tone of his voice. But owing to the profit he made from purchasing the [Shockwave Barrage] ability crystal, he reluctantly accepted everything.

However, the moment he saw Melvin's scheming smile, the merchant knew that he had made a mistake. Just a second later, Melvin lifted his hand as an overly familiar emblem around the size of a baby's fist manifested in it.

"Your store has a merchant agreement with the Tyr family, is that correct? In that case, this emblem is proof that I belong to the Tyr family, and I would like to have another 10% discount on all items I purchase!"

Somehow, the chubby merchant felt as if the Tyr family was on a mission to drain him of his wealth.

First, Serl Tyr was laughing when he had tried to ridicule Melvin in front of his father, and now the little Tyr heir was doing exactly what the chubby merchant had been trying to avoid- amassing discounts!

In order to get their hands on more Originals that would prefer shopping at their store over every other competitor outlet, they had implemented some exciting schemes such as handing out memberships, and the profits one can gain by subscribing to them.

Sometimes people tried to make use of them, and find loopholes one could exploit, but this didn't work in most cases.

Unfortunately, Melvin had found one of the flaws his store had yet to figure out.

Thus, he had to reluctantly nod his head, even if he didn't want to.

"That is correct…"

With the merchant's verbal agreement and the vendor and Nial as witnesses, the deal was completed.

Once that was done, Melvin began to search for all kinds of things, leaving behind an utterly dumbfounded Nial, who didn't even realize what was going on.

"What are you doing Nial? Is my almightiness dumbfounding you?" Melvin asked with a scheming smile when he returned to the counter with exactly five items.

Looking at Nial, he instructed him like he was his loyal sidekick.

"Pay for them, you got our entire money, and the membership!"

Handing Nial the emblem of the Tyr family as if it was worthless, the young man turned around and tried to figure out what else they could purchase when they were to return.

Meanwhile, Nial paid for their purchase had a total price of 2,000,000$, which was reduced to 900,000$ after all the discounts.

This shocked Nial extremely, but instead of letting his surprise show, he just handed the vendor his Original ID card once again while trying to keep a straight face.

However, the sweat trickling down his cheeks clearly showed how nervous he was because there was one particular question in his mind.

'Just how much did Melvin earn through the [Shockwave Barrage] ability crystal?? I think I grossly underestimated its price...just how much of a problem is the bat plague for a common ability crystal to be worth at least 1,000,000$?!?'

Yet, Nial didn't notice that Melvin had still been nice to the merchant because influential individuals on Titur would pay up to 3 million dollars for that ability crystal.

Considering that amount, the chubby merchant had made a huge profit, even if one were to deduct the transportation costs, and risks.

As such, nobody should complain about the resulting situation as the Tyr family had no cheap means of transportation like the chubby merchant, who had also the necessary connections to make everything possible.

Unfortunately, Melvin was not yet done, as he dealt the finishing blow, once they had purchased a total of five goods.

"Sir, we would like to cancel the platinum membership after the purchase has been completed! Thank you very much!!"

**

Only a few minutes later, the mentally exhausted merchant slammed his fist on the table in front of him and dialed Serl Tyr's number.

"I take everything I said back, Serl...your son is a little trickster!! He tricked me into paying much more than I wanted to!! The majority of my profits have now disappeared into thin air!!"

While ranting to Melvin's father, the chubby merchant had hoped to hear something reassuring, yet, instead of getting an appeasing answer, the chubby merchant could only hear a loud laugh as Serl Tyr commented,

"You know, there is a reason I teach my children properly so that they won't get scammed by older people who cannot take young lads seriously!"