《Dungeon Merchant》


 [Chapter 1] The first sale

    In a deep and dark cavern sits an old wise looking man holding a quill and parchment. Surrounding the man looks to be a knight, a priestess, and a thief. Marking something on the parchment the old man begins to speak-


    ¡°Greetings young adventurers. What brings you to this humble shop of mine?¡±


    The knight looks towards the thief and begins to laugh.


    ¡°Ahahaha, Are you hearing this Remmy. Who¡¯s nutters enough to actually run a shop in a C-tier dungeon.¡±


    Ignoring the knight, the young looking thief walked towards the old man while looking him up and down. Stopping a couple steps away, he speaks-


    ¡°Oldtimer, this isn¡¯t the place for jokes, what are you doing down here?¡±


    ¡°I''m here to buy and sell, young lad.¡±


    Squinting in what looked like annoyance, the thief opened his mouth to speak, however before he could do so the priestess blurted out-


    ¡°Dungeon merchant!!!¡±


    A look of surprise crossed the old man''s face.


    ¡°Correct young lady. Not many know about us nowadays. Could I ask who told you about this old merchant?¡±


    The priestess looked surprised before quickly hiding her face in embarrassment. Lifting her head she spoke-


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Some of the older sisters in the monastery were talking about your... occupation.¡±


    ¡°Oh from the monastery are you? Should be the one in Jothrent right?¡±


    ¡°That''s right. Still standing thanks to the will of Jolth, blessed be his name.¡±


    Placing her palms together while bowing her head, she looked back up to see the old man returned the gesture.


    ¡°This chit chat is great and all, but are you a merchant or not?¡±


    The knight asked with a look of interest on his face.


    ¡°Yes, and any who ask, may browse my wares, have a look.¡±


    The old man reached into his coat pocket and grabbed a medium sized scroll before handing it to the knight.


    The knight quickly looked over the scroll before giving a face of surprise followed by one of distaste. Throwing the scroll onto the ground the knight yelled-


    ¡°50 silver for a health potion? this is a total rip off! Come on guys, this fogey ain''t worth our time.¡±


    The thief quickly followed after hearing the price. The priestess looked hesitant before reluctantly joining them.


    ¡°Alright, thank you for your patronage dear customer. Please come again~...


    ¡­ Like you¡¯re gonna be alive long enough for that to happen you little snot.


    Bending over to pick up the scroll, the old man began mumbling to himself while frowning.


    ¡°God what is it with adventurers nowadays, This team wouldn¡¯t even be considered F-tier in my time, but now they act all high and mighty like a goblin who dons a crown. They would be lucky to buy a waterskin off me at this rate! Haven''t they been taught any manners? They don¡¯t even look geard enough to travel another two floors and they think they can talk down to me. Don¡¯t these kids know who I am? These brats couldn¡¯t even leave a scratch on my boot, and they think they can take on the boss? Ha, they couldn¡¯t even understand the value of a potio-¡±


    ¡°Excuse me sir?¡±


    Quickly the old man put on a friendly smile before looking toward the source of the voice.


    ¡°Ah, young priestess. What brings you back, did you forget something?¡±


    ¡°Ah- um- no, actually I wanted to ask if I could look at your list?¡±


    The old man smirked before handing her the scroll.


    ¡°Also I apologise for my party members. they aren''t bad people,they''re just¡­ not good people.¡±


    Looking at the scroll, the priestess quickly unraveled it. She pointed at a lesser healing potion.


    ¡°Please give me this one.¡±


    ¡°Gladly!¡±


    Pulling a crimson bottle out of his coat pocket, he handed the bottle to the girl before asking for payment.


    ¡°10 silvers.¡±


    Handing the old man 10 silver coins she bowed before quickly running in the direction of the other two adventurers.


    ¡°... maybe there''s still hopein this generation after all.¡±

 [Chapter 2] Opportunist

    ¡®Phew, that was the first customer I had in awhile. I knew it was a good idea to head to these lower tier dungeons. The money may be less but I sure do get a lot more traffic. Bless that young priestess. Some are too good for this world.¡¯


    Looking at the coins in his hands, the old man began to tear up. Grabbing the silver, he shoved it into his coat pocket before sitting down.


    ¡®Even with the lesser potion, I doubt that those youngsters will be able to beat the boss. That thing isn¡¯t that friendly either, so they wont get off with just some cuts and bruises.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Alright I guess there''s no helping it.¡±


    Getting up, the old man stretched his back before walking next to the wall closest to him. He lifted his hand before slowly knocking on the wall.


    ¡°Hey open up.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°I said open up.¡±


    ¡­


    Sighing the old man lifted his foot before slamming it into the wall with a thud.


    ¡°Listen, either you open it up or I will!¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Slowly a crack formed in the wall to reveal a well lit passage. Taking his foot off the wall, he stepped into the new passage while frowning.


    ¡°Rude adventurers, rude dungeons, nobody seems to respect their elders anymore.¡±


    Grumbling, the old man walked until he found what he was looking for. Sat below a blue torch, was a sign that read Ragnoros.


    ¡°There we are.¡±


    From behind the wall, the old man could hear screams.


    ¡°Looks like they''re already having some fun. Alright, Can you open up to the entrance room.¡±


    Stepping into the newly formed crack, the old merchant looked towards the boss door before sitting down.


    Screams could still be heard coming from the other side of the door.


    ¡°Should be out any minute now.¡±


    Banging noises came from the door before it suddenly opened, soon after the thief bolted his way out holding the priestess in both his arms. Close behind them, weighed down from the heavy armor, was the knight. Before The knight could run out in turn, a hand of flame formed around his whole body before pulling him back. Realizing the situation, the thief reacted quickly, dropping the girl and making a run for the door. The thief looked hesitant as he saw the knight being dragged away. Quickly closing the door and activating the magical lock on the handle the thief sighed in relief.


    ¡°Heartless, but smart¡±


    The old merchant couldn¡¯t help but praise the young thief''s resolution.


    The thief quickly turned his head, only to see the old merchant sitting down while looking at him. His eyes narrowed before a look of realization appeared on his masked face. He quickly made his way towards the young priestess before kneeling down next to her.


    ¡°Are you okay? Please, wake up!¡±


    Shaking his head, the merchant spoke-


    ¡°No point young lad, you''re more likely to hurt her than to help her at this point.¡±


    Getting up from his sitting position, the merchant made his way over to the unconscious priestess.


    "Second-degree burns are covering most of her body. I would say you have two choices. One, leave her to die in the most pain she will ever experience."


    A grin appeared on the old merchants face.


    ¡°Or two, pay me 10 gold for a top grade regeneration potion.¡±


    A look of horror appeared on the thief''s face. He now realized that the boss they were facing was nothing compared to this old man.

 [Chapter 3] Price gouging

    ¡°10 Gold, are you crazy!!¡±


    The look on the thief''s face changed from that of horror, to that of malice after the old merchant didn¡¯t answer him.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to let a young girl die just for some measly gold coins, old man.¡±


    ¡°I could say the same to you youngster. I already measured the coin on you, and know you have enough.¡±


    The young thief''s face became hesitant before he spoke-


    ¡°Were you the one who sold her the health potion?¡±


    A smirk found its way onto the old man''s face.


    ¡°Let me guess. You were at death''s door and she gave it to you. Am I right?¡±


    The thief froze up and couldn''t answer.


    "Why are you hesitant to speak the truth young man? This girl saved you, and you¡¯re not willing to fork up some shiny pieces of metal to return the favor?¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Shut up old man, it''s more than just pieces of metal, it''s my entire life''s earnings!¡±


    The old merchant frowed in displeasure.


    ¡°Your earnings are meaningless in front of death son. However, because it''s not your death, you fear to let go of some coin that could save a life. In the end, the younger generation is just as pathetic as I thought.¡±


    Closing his eyes, the old merchant began to shake his head in disappointment before he felt something cold pressed up against his neck. A look of horror soon appeared on the old wrinkled face. The thief had made his way behind him while holding a knife to his throat.


    ¡°Just give me the potion old man!¡±


    ¡°P-Please don¡¯t do anything rash now¡­¡±


    The thief pulled the blade closer to the old man''s neck.


    ¡°Just give me everything, and I won¡¯t hurt you.¡±


    ¡°P-Please, it¡¯s my entire lives earnings¡­¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Enough!!!¡±


    With a quick slice the thief''s knife cut deep into the jugular of the old merchant. The old man''s eyes had widened before he dropped to the ground, motionless. Looking at the body and feeling the blood run down his hand the thief let out a sigh.


    ¡°Looks like you were right master. Its ten people now, and I can barely feel anything anymore.¡±


    Smiling in the dark cave, the thief was about to search the old man''s corpse before his expression froze. He was gone... All that was left in his place was 10 silver coins.


    ¡°W-What the hell!!¡±


    Frantically he looked around to no avail. The old man was gone. Not even tracks to follow, just an empty room with not but a priestess lying almost dead. Looking around once more there was still nothing. Fear suddenly spread throughout his whole being after hearing something behind him.


    ¡°Assassin in training huh?¡±


    Cold sweat flowed like a river down the apprentice assassin¡¯s back. Everything was numb, his entire body wouldn¡¯t listen to him. Then nothing¡­ he felt fine, nothing was wrong¡­ The presence was gone as if it never even existed... In Fact he felt nice, almost warm¡­ he felt... numb¡­