Van pulled his rucksack off his back and dumped it on the table. The clerk was about to complain about Van's rude att.i.tude, but his eyes boggled in as an endless river of kill tokens spilled onto the table.

The clerk put his gla.s.ses on and counted the fragments of sh.e.l.l and beast tails in front of him. Each represented the death of a demon beast in the woods.

"One-hundred… one hundred and ten… o-one hundred and sixty-four pests killed…"

Van nodded, "There's one more thing."

He tossed a small red chip onto the table. The clerk's eyes widened.

"A face plate from the Queen Brown King Ant!"

The clerk peered up at Van's young-looking face. He couldn't have been more than thirteen years old!

Van folded his arms, "An entire nest of Brown King Ants was destroyed. I believe that means extra points and rewards."

The clerk nodded quickly, as if a chicken pecking a corn.

"Yes, yes. There is an extra ten percent rewarded. That rounds up the total contribution points earned to two-hundred and ninety-one points!"

There were hushed gasps from the outer disciples of the various sect's present. Two hundred and ninety-one points!

Van ignored them. The clerk put his pen down and peered around him.

"Young man, bring your teammates over. I will distribute the points equally and report it to your sects."

Van looked at him silently.

The clerk looked back at him with a puzzled expression. What was he waiting for?

…

…

The audience were silent. They waited in antic.i.p.ation. Which extraordinary team had gathered to wipe out so many beasts at once?!

…

…

One boy and one middle-aged clerk stared each other down.

…

…

The audience were still waiting.

…

…

Pak.

Van put his hand down on the wooden table.

"I killed them all myself."

It was as if he didn't say anything.

The clerk paused for the punchline of the joke to come.

The audience continued to wait in silence.

…

…

The clerk grew angry.

[Don't tell me this kid is trying to take all the credit for the work his entire team did! What a crook! How shameless!]

He opened his mouth to scold but was interrupted by the arrival of a young girl to the crook's side. She wore pink robes and was quite short for her age. Her black hair was tied into two buns on the side of her head that gave her an innocent and precocious aura.

"I can vouch for him. He killed all of them himself."

The audience were stunned. They looked at each other and tried to clean their ears. Had they heard wrong…? Someone came closer and read the inscription off Van's jade name tag.

The clerk was baffled. Absolutely baffled!

Van looked appreciatively at Delphine. She refused to look at him.

"Miss Delafosse. Are you sure?" The clerk questioned.

The young girl gave the clerk a sharp look with her cat-like eyes and he shut his mouth. Once more he was a chicken pecking at corn.

"Yes, yes. It is done!"

She turned her head and looked up at the boy standing beside her. He looked back down at her with his dark eyes; for once they were not filled with contempt or anger. Actually…he was not that bad looking.

Her heart stuttered in her chest.

"You owe me now," she said quickly. She walked away, fl.u.s.tered.

[What is wrong with me!]

Back at the register, the clerk hastily shoved the point certificates into Van's hands.

"Hahahaha…young man, sorry about that! I didn't realise that such a talented young genius was in front of me…Hahahaha…"

The clerk leaned forwards.

"Hehe. Take this."

A small pot was shoved into his hands.

Van looked puzzled.

"It's from Miss Delphine. She gave it to me just then!" The clerk winked, "I believe it's one of her famous medicinal creations! Favor like this is really hard to get."

The clerk's implication pa.s.sed right over Van's head.

…

Famous medicinal creation…?

[Why would she give me something like this…?]

______

When Van returned to Dragon City, he sent Blackie back into the forest. Patting his pet before he left, he noted that the wolf's muscles were far more solid than before, and his fur had taken on a healthier sheen. He was sure that the wolf's physical strength and defence had been dramatically increased after feeding on the flesh of demonic beasts for three days. He reminded himself to bathe all the wolves in a solution containing the body strengthening powder when he had time.

When he pa.s.sed through the gate, Van picked up four heavy sacks from the agreed meeting place.

Putting the goods in a donkey cart, he grabbed the handles on the wooden cart himself and took it to a reputable dealer.

He took the bags to the scarred old man at the counter. His eyes gleamed as he took in the sights within.

"One-hundred and forty Brown King Ants. Mandibles, razor-edged legs, sh.e.l.l. Worth a total of four-thousand and nine-hundred silvers."

"Two White Fanged Rabbit Furs. Good condition. I'll offer you one-thousand one-hundred silvers."

"Twenty Black-Spotted Boars. Meat, trotters, horns. Five thousand silver for the lot."

"Two Gatling Sparrows. Shame they are not whole. Stuffed ones are popular as mantlepiece decorations. For their feathers, two hundred silvers."

The scarred man opened the last sack. A gleaming red sh.e.l.l peered out at him. An excited gleam entered his eyes. He jumped up.

"The exoskeleton of a Queen Brown King Ant? For this many pieces and because I really need it right now…I will give you nine thousand silver."

The shop a.s.sistant, his son, sucked in a cold breath. That was a lot of money!

"Or rather, I would if I could," the shopkeeper shook his head, "I desperately want to take it off your hands, but I only have five thousand silvers left…"

Van frowned. The old man continued.

"See, the reason why I want the Queen Brown King Ant's is because I have a dear friend who is a famous armour smith. He needs this sh.e.l.l to complete an urgent order. That customer is both rich and of importance to the realm."

The shopkeeper grabbed Van by the hand.

"How about this: I will pay you five thousand silver for the sh.e.l.l up front and my friend will make up the missing three thousand silver by making you a set of armour. You are still a young fella, so the left-over pieces should be enough for your size. Many people can only dream of having armour made by my friend!"

Van was silent as he thought.

He would be earning twenty-thousand and two-hundred silvers if he sold everything. Receiving three thousand silver less in exchange for armour crafted from a famous smith out of such a good material was definitely worth it.

Van nodded. The scarred old man cheered up. Although he knew he had made a loss in the exchange – a full exoskeleton was worth ten thousand taels, the amount in front of him was probably only worth seven thousand – he was still satisfied as his friend would be saved from being in a difficult situation.

"Good, good! Let me take your measurements. The set of armour will be finished and here before the day of the Lantern Festival. Just pick it up from here!"

The shopkeeper gathered all the s.h.i.+ny red plates of the exoskeleton and got his son to wrap them up. He immediately closed his shop and travelled to his friend's armoury.

Van left the store with very heavy pockets. He was keen to change a lot of it into goods quickly – carrying loads of cash around with you was not an intelligent idea. Unless you wanted to be robbed, that is.

He walked purposefully down several shopping streets despite not really knowing what he wanted to find. This was to discourage any opportunistic thieves. Eventually, he saw something that piqued his interest.

Ding dang ding

The wind chimes at the top of the store rang when Van opened the door.

The shopkeeper, a round woman with thick arms came forward.

"Can I help you?"

Van gazed with quiet awe at the sight of dozens of sharp and glinting weapons. He could see exotic-looking weapons further in the back.

Van felt excitement grow in his belly.

"Yes, you can. I am looking for a weapon."