The raven danced round and round me in high spirits, like a little bird that cheers with joy: though she is a bird, of course. She wasn't very smart, but she knew that the treasure she had found had been recognized, so she was very happy.
I examined the silver-white metal plate in my hand. Little Crow had found it in the 'garbage dump' in the corner of the courtyard. That place was filled with unknown items that Sona and Sona had found in the ancient ruins. Since they couldn't figure out the purpose of these items, and no one could identify their value, but they didn't want to throw them away, so they were piled in the corner. This silver-white metal was only the size of a palm, and it was as light as a feather in my hand. It had a low density and high strength that didn't match the material it was made of. I had tested it earlier, and if I didn't use extra strength, I wouldn't be able to make any deformation on this metal plate that was only a few millimeters thick. Its outer edge was irregular, but there were no signs of tearing. It seemed that it was originally made this way. One side was smooth, but the other side had many neat and regular dents. The dents were inlaid with unknown crystals. At the lower edge of the metal plate, there was a neat row of small characters that looked like some kind of serial number.
With such an appearance, it was hard not to associate it with a high-tech mechanical device. Although I couldn't see its purpose, I guessed that it was some kind of spare part from a device that was beyond the technological level of this world.
In fact, even if it wasn't a spare part, it definitely shouldn't have appeared in this world. This metal was processed with high skill, and its composition was strange. It wasn't easy to process such a strong and light thing.
"Where did you get this?" I raised the metal plate and asked Sona.
"Er, let me think," Sona frowned. There were a lot of things piled up in the courtyard, and they would explore the ruins every few days. It wasn't easy to remember where this inconspicuous metal plate came from. Sure enough, after recalling for a long time, Sona could only shake her head apologetically, "It's been a long time. I forgot where I found it."
Sona saw my disappointed expression and immediately added, "But I have a slight impression. At that time, we brought this to the market and wanted to sell it because it looked lighter and stronger than any other metal. An alchemist might be interested in it, but the alchemist who bought it returned it a few days later. He said that this metal couldn't be processed. It couldn't conduct magic, couldn't be melted, and wouldn't react with any alchemy materials. Besides being very hard, there was nothing good about it. Moreover, it couldn't be imitated. I think it's useless, but if you're interested, you can take it. We don't have any use here. "
Sandora took the metal plate and looked at it for a while. then, she shook her head, "We're not interested in this metal. We're interested in its origin. This thing … shouldn't appear in this world. "
"I'm sorry, I can't help you," Sona smiled awkwardly and clapped her hands, "Oh yeah, there's someone who might know!"
Sandora squinted her eyes, "Who? Can you find him now? "
"I'm afraid not now. He should have gone to the market." Sona shook her head, "This is the time when the explorers go to the market to sell things. We should have gone there too. If you're not in a hurry, you can come with us. That person is also an adventurer, and he's very experienced. The areas he usually explores are similar to the places we've explored. Perhaps, he has seen something similar. "
Sona nodded, "Oh yeah, Sona, let's go to the market. It's still early today. Perhaps, we can buy something. The stall we rented isn't too far from the elder's stall. Let's go together."
She said the second half of her sentence to us with a hopeful look on her face. Of course, we had no reason to refuse, so we nodded and agreed.
Sona and Sona went back to their room to pack up their things. Then, they carried two huge backpacks out. It seemed that the 'goods' they were going to sell at the market were these two big bags. Sona smiled proudly at me, "Although we can't say much about other things, we're confident in our strength. Let's go. That's all we have to deal with today. They're all from the last expedition. We haven't finished sorting out the harvest from this expedition. "
Tell me, two girls are carrying two big bags in front of me. How can I feel good about it? Of course not. I patted Lin's shoulder and said, "Go and help them." I didn't know why, but I didn't feel guilty when I entrusted this kind of work to Lin.
"Ah, don't bother. These are heavy …" When Lin went to take the bags, Sona exclaimed in surprise. However, she didn't move in the next second. Lin casually grabbed the two huge bags as if they were two feathers. Then, she skipped to the front of the team. Sayana watched from behind, dumbfounded. Suddenly, she cried, "The only strength I'm proud of …"
Icetis patted her shoulder and said, "It's okay. The only thing that silly girl is proud of is her strength. You won't lose anything."
The explorer's market gave me the feeling that it was similar to an open-air market where people rented stalls. There weren't many good facilities, and there weren't many rules. A large area was divided, and the government of Sentu would arrange the stalls neatly. Each stall was separated by iron poles and wooden planks, and there was a simple wooden counter to display the goods. These stalls were rented to explorers at a very low price. According to Sona, it was almost free. From this, it could be seen that this market was more inclined towards public facilities or welfare facilities. Sentu was one of the largest transit stations of the lost world. Not only did it gather a large number of explorers, but it also attracted a large number of scholars and magic professionals. Therefore, the Secret Spell Association here was also quite large. To the government of Sentu, the Secret Spell Association and other high-end academic facilities were the main economic pillars. Therefore, they wouldn't charge a high fee in this market for explorers.
However, this didn't mean that explorers could gain much practical benefits from this system. As a weak group in society and a loose class without the slightest organization, explorers would always be at a disadvantage. They were doing business with the ruling intellectual class. No matter in terms of knowledge, status, or power, explorers were in a position where they had no choice but to be slaughtered. They also had to face the market managers and other miscellaneous departments with serious prejudice. These were the main reasons why explorers' lives were the most difficult.
"If there is a conflict with the scholars, no matter what the reason is, we will be at a disadvantage. When the city guards come, they will put most of the blame on us." Sona was very angry when she said this. "After all, many people think that explorers are a group of ignorant and incompetent vagrants, and all of them have violent tendencies. If there is a conflict, we will definitely be in the wrong. As for the scholars, they are a well-educated class. Who will suspect them? Sona and I have been arrested by the city guards several times, and every time it was because of a dispute … "
"Isn't it because you are too stubborn?" Sona glanced at Sona with dissatisfaction. "And you are very impulsive."
I suddenly felt the same way. Sona was indeed a person who didn't know how to suppress her emotions. She wrote all her thoughts on her face, so it was normal for her to easily have conflicts with others.
As we spoke, we arrived at our destination. Sona found the stall that she rented. I realized that the only difference between this place and the market was that every stall was very large. It could even be used as a shop if the walls were built. After looking around, I understood why there was such a large space reserved here. There was an explorer group selling animal bones a few dozen meters away. It was an ancestor elephant's bone.
"There are some experienced explorers who will form a large team. They are much more powerful than the two of us," Sona noticed my gaze and said casually. "Other than exploring the ruins, they sometimes even go to the wilderness of the lost world to hunt beasts. Those beasts are full of treasures, but they can't adapt to the environment of the mother continent. Thus, they are still a specialty of the lost world and are often sold at a very high price. Of course, the two of us won't think about that. The two of us are quite inconspicuous here. "
In the market, other than the adventurers who were dressed in clothing of various races, the only other people in the market were the "customers" who were wearing high-end clothing. They were here to purchase alchemy materials or research materials. Shakina probably realized that we didn't know anything about adventurers, so she took the initiative to explain to me. Only then did I realize that apart from a small portion of the adventurers themselves, the rest were basically their acolytes and assistants. The adventurers didn't run errands by themselves, and they didn't like such a messy environment.
"Many of the alchemy materials produced in the lost world are fixed. After instructing the apprentices what they need to buy, the scholars don't need to run errands by themselves," Sona said as she placed her things on the table. "Only when the masters are interested and want to find new materials will they personally come over. After all, there are many lost worlds that haven't been fully explored. The explorers often have new things that no one has ever seen before. Oh, for example, the metal piece that you found. No one knows what this rare thing is, but the scholars will be interested in it. They call this activity of searching for new materials in the market 'Taobao' (I really want to interrupt: If the customers are satisfied, will they give you a good review? But after holding it in for a long time, I still held it in. Under normal circumstances, this is the biggest opportunity for explorers to make a fortune. However, it also depends on luck. Sometimes, the things that you think are valuable may be worthless in the eyes of the scholars. The price is very low, but it can't be helped. "
The corner of Lin Xue's eyes twitched slightly. She curled her lips and said, "Actually, they were scammed. Although the thing was found by you, other than those technical otakus, who knows how much that thing is worth. They must have been scammed."
Sona smiled. It was obvious that she knew about this situation, but what could she do? Explorers basically didn't have much knowledge. If they had more skills besides courage and strength, they wouldn't do such a dangerous job, especially for a race like the half-dragon. They were born without the ability to learn magic. In this era where magic knowledge ruled the world, never being able to learn magic was equivalent to being destined to be illiterate forever. They couldn't understand anything valuable in the world. Was there anything worse than this?
"Actually, we're still considered lucky." Sona smiled bitterly and spread her hands. "We were once used as a test subject by that master mage, and it's also a blessing in disguise. Although we can't learn magic, Sayana and I have learned a lot about pharmaceutics and material science. These are all things that we secretly memorized back then. Although we can't be compared to real scholars, we can often use this knowledge to judge ordinary strange materials. When we first started 'working,' this knowledge also helped a lot. We won't be fooled so easily. "
"Hey, where's the old explorer you guys were talking about?" Qian Qian had gone out for a stroll, and now she came back.
"Oh, wait a moment. Sona, take care of the things. I'll lead the way." Sona hurriedly put away the things in her hands and led us to a stall more than a hundred meters away. The stall was in the corner, and there was only a sleepy old man looking after it. There were only a few things on display. It was very inconspicuous. I suddenly thought of something. According to the usual pattern, an old man who was daydreaming in a bustling market, sleeping in a corner when he should be attracting customers, and only a few tattered items in his stall when there was a dazzling array of goods everywhere, was definitely a hidden master. Their sleepy eyes hid their lifetime's wisdom, and the shabby stalls hid rare treasures. Under normal circumstances, their families would also prepare one or two daughters to be married. Could it be that after walking the non-mainstream route for so many years, I'm finally going to have a mainstream plot?
Just as my imagination was running wild, a muscular man with bare arms pushed a cart suddenly appeared from the side. The muscular man rushed to the old man's stall and carried a large bag of goods from the cart. He started pouring the goods out. The sleepy old man heard the voice and immediately became spirited. He jumped over to help pack up the goods and muttered, "I was wondering why you only came now! It only took us half a pack of cigarettes to get here, and you were gone for almost an hour! How many things have you delayed? You … when I woke up in the morning, I already told you to push the cart up, but you didn't listen. You just came over and bought everything. Now I have to watch an empty stall and watch others sell their goods. Aren't you a prodigal?! "
The muscular man lowered his head and hurriedly worked. He apologized, "Dad, don't be angry. It's still early today, and there are still more to sell in the afternoon …"
I said, "… Hehe, the old man is quite spirited … Hehe …"
It was impossible for us to not attract attention when we stood next to the stall. The old man had just packed up a few things when he saw us. He immediately put down what he was doing and patted the shoulder of the muscular man. "Hey, what did you say? Business is coming. You are all dressed like scholars or nobles. You must be here to find treasures, right? We just got a few treasures from our family. Two of them were found in a cave in the Gray Forest a few days ago. I swear they have never been seen in the market … "
The old man's enthusiasm for doing business was probably greater than the adventurer's end. In the blink of an eye, he started to talk about his collection. I could tell that he was a semi-retired adventurer. Now, his son and a few teammates had inherited his legacy. However, we weren't here to listen to him sell things. However, Lin Xue opened her mouth several times but couldn't interrupt the old man. In the end, Sona couldn't help but shout, "Uncle Wayne! Please listen to what he has to say first! "
The old man was stunned. He seemed to have just noticed Sona. "Oh, it's Sona. When did you get here?"
"I've been standing here since a while ago!" Sona looked unhappy. No one would be happy to be ignored like this. "Uncle, have you completely become a businessman now? It seems like you only know how to do business."
"Of course, I have a stubborn son. How can I not think of ways to support my family!" The old man shouted loudly, his white beard trembling, while the "stubborn son" stood at the side, not daring to breathe. This contrast was really eye-catching. On one side, there was a burly man with muscles that could easily win more than a dozen Mr. Bodybuilder awards on the stage, with his head lowered and a shy look. On the other side, there was a grey-haired old man with a hunchback, his voice like a great bell, and his aura was overwhelming.
Sandora didn't beat around the bush. She took out the metal plate and said, "Sona said that you might know the origin of this item. Take a look and see if you recognize it."
The old man mumbled, "I stopped working last year. But since Sona said so, it might be something that happened before that …" As he said that, he took the metal plate and examined it. Then, he said firmly, "Two hundred sols."
I was stunned. "What?"
"Two hundred sols." The old man raised his eyes. "Such an inconspicuous thing. I'm sure no one has seen it before. The information fee of two hundred sols is already very cheap. Do you think you would care about such a small amount of money?"
Sona looked at us awkwardly and said to the old man, "They are my and Sona's friends!"
This time, it was the old man's turn to be stunned. He looked at the group of "noble travelers" and suddenly pulled Sona's arm. "Did you eat something wrong? You are just … You should understand. "
"It's true. They are traveling scholars. We met them in the ancient city." Of course, Sona knew why the old man was surprised. She explained, "In short, don't talk about money, okay?"
The old man looked at us in disbelief. In the end, he gritted his teeth and stomped his feet. He seemed to have come up with a good idea. "How about this? Just pretend that I don't know about this and give me the money first."
I was speechless. Ling Meng, I might have found your long-lost father!
Seeing that even someone as calm as Sona was about to explode, the old man finally gave up and waved his hand at us. "Let's go to the Sky Tower. I remember there's a floor with a bunch of strange metals. I don't know anything else. So, are you sure you don't want to buy anything? Even if you don't need any alchemy materials, it would be nice to find a few beautiful stones to make some jewelry … "
In the end, we still lost money. Fortunately, Liliana had brought the currency of this world with her. We bought a bunch of strange stones. Well, I thought of it as a snack for Sandora.
Just as we turned around, we suddenly heard a commotion not far away. We could hear Sona's sharp voice.
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