Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 315 Mr. Daknis

Miss Princess had only brought Shard to the tavern; she had no business to take care of. So, after some idle chatter, Shard began discussing with the barkeeper his desire to acquire a Currency Relic.

Relics were not easy to find. Luviya, through the Academy, the Prophet's Society, and Tobesk's black market, had been buying such Relics all year round, but she still could not meet the excessive demands of her "Accurate Divination". That's why Shard had taken the trouble to come to Coldwater Port City; seaport cities had more extensive connections and hence, more opportunities.

"No problem, I'll put up the commission for you. If there's any news, I'll tell you the next time you come. But if the deal is done, the tavern will take a cut,"

the barkeeper said.

"Of course, that's fine. By the way, do you have a commission sales list for Relics here?"

Shard asked, noting a slim black cat sprawling on the counter. This was the tavern's cat, apparently in the midst of a nap, undisturbed by the chat happening beside it.

"Of course not, do you think this is a vegetable market? You make a request, and we'll check the local Circle Sorcerer's commission sales list. If there's any interest, we will arrange for the buyer and seller to meet in the tavern. The tavern only acts as a broker, we don't negotiate the price for you. Wait a moment..."

the barkeeper said, looking down below the counter:

"You're in luck; there really is a Currency Relic for sale. But it's just one piece, and it's only Poet-Level. Are you interested?"

Though it seemed like good fortune, in such a large city, it was normal for Shard to find something on his first search:

"Poet-Level? No problem. When can I meet the seller?"

This "luck" might be limited to just this once. After searching the city, he would have to wait patiently for future opportunities.

"The seller is right here in the tavern. I must remind you, the seller isn't a regular, they came to us for the first time a week ago through a friend's introduction. They've been spending their days here waiting for a ship to the New World. So, the tavern does not guarantee the transaction will be free from fraud."

"I understand. How much commission do you want?"

"For small transactions, we take a five percent cut on a hundred."

The brawny man behind the counter twisted his fingers.

"No problem."

Shard nodded, picking up the glass of water from the bar, but then remembered he was wearing a mask:

"I would like to meet the seller. Also, regardless of whether this deal goes through, the commission to acquire Currency Relics should stay listed here for a long time."

"It can only stay up for half a month. Otherwise, if you never return, should the tavern keep remembering your commission?"

The brawny man laughed, tilting his head and whispering to the young barkeeper beside him.

The latter nodded and left the bar, heading straight to the wall on the left. He whispered to a man sitting alone at a small round table, drinking and reading the newspaper. The middle-aged man then looked back in the direction of the bar.

He had straw-yellow short hair and noticeable ectropion. He wasn't wearing a mask, nor was he dressed to conceal anything, the only notable feature was a red glove on his right hand.

He saw Shard and Miss Princess at a glance. Shard nodded to him, and after a moment's thought, the man gestured for Shard to come over to discuss business.

Miss Princess seemed curious about the upcoming events but respected Shard's privacy and did not follow.

Shard sat opposite the man, noticing a hand-rolled cigarette, matches, an overturned Roder Card deck, half a mug of beer, a plate of boiled peanuts, and a thin book titled "Storm Eye Adventure Guide" on the wooden round table.

In those city-life novels heavy with romanticism, middle-aged men often spent the entire day whiling away time in a tavern. However, the man by the table wasn't middle-aged; although he appeared mature, he was probably just approaching thirty years old.

There was no small talk between the two strangers; Shard got straight to the point:

"I want to buy the Poet-Level Relic you have."

"I only accept barter."

The man's voice was hoarse, as if his throat had suffered an injury, but his Draleon language was surprisingly standard. His eyelids drooped as he looked at Shard, who was wearing a mask, so he couldn't really see much.

"Barter?"

Shard shook his head. The only item he could part with right now, the "Infinite Mercury Bottle", was for academic practice, and it might be linked to the doomed "Blood of Mercury". Selling it through channels other than the Academy could cause problems.

"I don't have anything good on me. Name your price, and I can make a high offer for your item."

he said.

"A high price?"

The man hesitated for a moment:

"The Poet-Level Relic I have is the 'Universal Currency'. When mixed with any two similar type and value regular coins, it can automatically transform itself into the surrounding coins. What's your price?"

Shard had heard of such a Relic, which was introduced in his freshman course "Containment and Management of Relics."

The Poet-Level Relic "Universal Currency" was first recorded in the Common Calendar of the Sixth Era in the year 723. The Church of Creation detected an abnormal frequency of natural disasters in the southern cities of the Cassandra Region on the Old Continent. After three consecutive years of investigation, it was discovered that the spread of this Relic in the local area was the cause.

The trait of "Universal Currency" was very simple, its positive trait was that it could be used as any other form of money, while its negative trait was that once it was spent as money, the person who used it would fall into at least ten years of bad luck.

Initially, after a major earthquake in the Cassandra Region in the year 719 of the Common Calendar, the entrance to an ancient tomb was exposed on the surface, causing coins from ten large water jars filled with them to scatter throughout the city. As these coins circulated within the Cassandra Region, more and more locals came into contact and used the "Universal Currency," ultimately causing a decline in the fortunes of the entire area and leading to frequent natural disasters such as earthquakes, storms, and plagues of insects.

Of course, although it sounded terrifying, after the Church became aware of the "Universal Currency" and recorded it, the Relic became known to Circle Sorcerers as a common Relic. Therefore, as long as they came into contact with it, Circle Sorcerers could usually identify this Relic, thus reducing the danger level of the Relic to the lowest grade.

Because it was relatively common and of little use except to Circle Sorcerers with traits like "Wealth" inscribed with Spirit Runes, its value was actually quite low.

"How about 10 pounds?"

Shard proposed, though a reasonable price should not exceed 9 pounds.

"20 pounds,"

said the man. Shard narrowed his eyes:

"You know that price is impossible."

"I'm simply expressing that I prefer bartering. There are no Relics under 10 pounds in this tavern, but you could take those 10 pounds elsewhere to find a new Relic, then exchange that new Relic with me."

the man suggested, signaling Shard to take his time thinking it over, while he reached out to grab the newspaper that had been put aside.

Shard shook his head:

"I don't have time to run around for something worth less than 10 pounds. I noticed you have a Roder Card by your hand, how about we play a round of Roder Card instead?"

"Oh? What do you want to wager?"

the man inquired, his gaze shifting to Shard's mask as his fingers tapped lightly on the table.

Shard proposed:

"If I win, I'll buy that coin for 9 pounds. If I lose, then I'll buy it for 20 pounds."

The man hesitated only briefly before nodding:

"Agreed."

"I need to confirm that you have the Relic on you first."

"Agreed,"

the man said, reaching into his pocket and placing a golden coin on the table. On the face that was turned upward, there was an ancient Rune that symbolized "Wealth," and Shard immediately received a hint of the "Whisper" element.

"No problem. Let the tavern's bartender witness the bet, oh, and you can call me Mr. Watson. By the way, there are no Special Cards in my deck."

Shard stated, not wanting to reveal his identity through the game of Roder Card, as he intended to use those cards to participate in the "Big City Player" Roder Card competition in the fall.

"You can call me Mr. Daknis, and my deck has 1 Special Card," Continue reading on My Virtual Library Empire

Mr. Daknis said, folding his arms on the table:

"These days of waiting to set sail are so dull; I'm actually quite pleased to have someone want to play Roder Card with me. How about we play with some interesting rules? It's still the Roder Card game of 21, but each person takes three cards at a time, two upcards and one hole card, then we reveal at the same time. Two points for a win, none for a loss. If both parties bust, then both score zero. Folding is allowed, scoring zero for the folder and one for the opponent. Once one party runs out of cards, whoever has more points wins."

Shard thought for a moment:

"No problem."

Although this would take more time, a deck had only 54 cards, so even at a slower pace it wouldn't take more than twenty minutes.

Thus, the two approached the bar and explained their intentions to the burly bartender. This was not the first time such an event occurred in this tavern, so the bartender readily agreed to be a witness and collected the wagers from both parties in advance.

Shard didn't consider this gambling, but rather a bargaining tactic, so he had no qualms about participating in the card game.

The onlookers in the tavern, hearing about the Roder Card game, gathered around, but due to their distrust of a strange Circle Sorcerer, they only watched from afar. Only Miss Princess stood directly behind Shard's chair, resting her hand on the back.

The lady showed no surprise at Shard's sudden switch from shopping to playing cards. Even as Shard swapped out his deck, removing all the Special Cards, she very naturally shielded him from view.

After both parties organized their decks, they exchanged and checked each other's decks, then shuffled them. Shard also got a glimpse of Mr. Daknis's Special Card, which was a 9 of Moons but looked very new.