Selling The Beast Core

'Yeah. That has to be her. No one else has enough authority on the system.' Celina's reply was quick but her voice had nothing but concern.

'It doesn't sound like she's awake or else she wouldn't have done something like this, right?." Daren assumed that Celina's sister would be similar in regards to how they insult people upfront.

'She is not awake. I could tell if she was awake since we are connected through the system. I don't have any idea why she changed the system notification but I'll know when she wakes up. For now, let's ignore this.' Celina did not want to talk about her sleeping sister as it has pained her since the moment she had decided to go into slumber.

'Okay. Go watch your shows. I'll probably be busy for a while and not bother you.' Daren decided to end it there. He could hear the pain in Celina's voice and did not want her to feel like that for too long.

Celina returned to her life of entertainment while Daren pulled up the map.

The map now had the addition of the entirety of Igrit City detailed beautifully. The map looked like the satellite view maps that you could find online but had all sorts of colored lines to mark out borders and such.

As long as Daren zoomed into the map, he could see every building like 'Noodle Street view.' It had not only 2D but 3D modes. There was even a search bar in the corner to look for specific locations.

On the map of Igrit City, there were about 17 locations that were marked with the golden letter "X".

These were the extra rewards the system had provided him using the newly absorbed souls. Upon further examination of the locations, the reward was the places where the thieves had hid their fortunes.

There were only 8 locations that represented these hidden spots while the rest of the 11 locations were locations in which thieves convene to set up big heists or just to share information about the changes with the city.

These places were called "The Den of Thieves" by the city guards. They knew that places like these existed but they were never able to find them as the thieves had set up a strict rotation for these places.

No one location would be used more than twice a month.

Now that Daren knew not only the locations but the rotations as well, it was time that he starts the real hunt.

Before that though, he had to find a place where he could relax. He chose to search for an inn or hotel on the map.

It found him 5 inns, 12 hotels, and 7 hotels that also served as restaurants. It also included a rating system of 1 through 10. Daniel wanted hotels that also served as restaurants.

These were places where he could not only eat and rest but also listen to the conversation of the townsfolk that visited these places regularly.

With his sharp hearing due to cultivation and unlimited memory from the system, Daren could learn and remember everything he heard if he chooses to do so.

Daren knew that the first step to starting any shadow organization was having a strong intelligence network.

His first step would be to set up one that could cover every little thing that was going on in this city.

.....

About 10 minutes later, Daren arrived at a large, 5 story hotel called "The Star Bear". This restaurant was rated by the thieves to have 10/10 food.

Not only were the food portions good, but the taste and price were beyond extremely fair. You would feel like you were back at your loving mother's house when eating here.

The system also stated the living accommodations in the hotel were well above average even though it was on the pricier end of the city. Overall, this place was a great choice as long as you had a decent amount of money to spend.

The logo of a brown bear with a black star on its stomach was etched into the wooden sign outside. The building was made from dark-colored wood with small stone accents that were placed into the walls in certain places.

The stones were meant to help support the building as it was quite tall. Stone construction was not cheap around here so it showed that business was doing well.

Daren walked into the first-floor lobby wherein the front, there were hordes of people eating and talking to each other.

The atmosphere was unlike anything that Daren had ever seen. Everyone was having fun and enjoying their lives to the fullest here.

Daren also wanted to have a group again where he could do things like these men and women were doing. He wanted to join these people but he knew he couldn't as he didn't know any of them.

Daren calmly walked slowly towards the reception in the back. He wanted to take in the atmosphere as much as he could.

At the reception sat a cute little girl who seemed to be about 12. She saw Daren approaching her so she stood up and greet him. '.What can I do for your sir?'

Her voice was as sweet as candy and along with her clean, chubby face, it made you wanna squeeze her chubby cheeks as if she was a little sister.

Daren ignored that urge and activated his charming smile while saying 'I would like a premium single bedroom. I would also like meals to eat the meals here and not in my room. Oh, and can you sign me up for the shower service too?'

The little girl was a bit dumbfounded at high handsome this man was. she was literally squirming inside. Daren's height, figure, and face made him an incredibly rare man to find in this world.

As someone who had been running this establishment with her parents since she was 5, she had never seen a man like Daren.

This little 12-year-old girl was named Lilith. She had soft, red hair that went down to her shoulder. Her golden eyes were full of honesty and curiosity.

Lilith's experience as the receptionist soon broke her daze as she replied to Daren calmly and professionally.

"The room costs 50 bronze per night. How many nights would you like to book? "

"I'll take 7 nights."

"Okay. The meals you have to pay for when you eat and the shower costs 10 bronze peruse. Each use is 20 minutes long. You have to pay for the shower before each use. You have to pay 350 bronze upfront." Lilith was no longer squirming inside as she did not want to accidentally embarrass herself.

Daren still had his smile on at this point and said "Okay. Here is the pay. Give me the room key when I come back later as I have some shopping to do."

He handed her 4 silver coins and she gave him 50 bronze coins back. Daren had been gifted over 500 bronze, and 12 silver, and 2 gold by the dead.

That was good enough for his food and living for a while so he was quite happy that the thieves in this world didn't suck. It's not like the city guard was just trash but rather thieves were just too good.

As Daren walked it off the hotel, he could feel her gaze on his back. He now realized that showing his face with that dangerous smile was definitely not a good idea. This was definitely going to lead to some issues.

....

Later, Daren entered a shop that was fully decorated with colorful stones and laid with geometrical designs involving hexagons and triangles.

This was the "Bart's Beast Core Emporium". This was a place where the rich, cultivators, and beats hunters all came together. You could buy and sell powerful or good-looking beats cores here.

Daren went to one of the 3 clerks that were present and placed the Blupa Tiger's beast core on the counter from his pocket.

"How much for this?!" Demanded Daren.

The clerk's nonchalant expression did not change even if the customer was rude. The fat-faced clerk took out a blue box that was embroidered with a red and gold color. It had an orange gem inlaid on top.

This was a magical item that can detect the level of a beast and the level of a beast core as well.

"Hmm.' Said the clerk as he read the strange letters the box displayed in the air with orange energy. "This is a Blupa Tiger's beast core with a cultivation of Body Strengthening, Level 1, Mid Grade."

"Mid Grade?!' Daren was confused in his head. he was sure the system said it was Lower Grade.

The clerk continued his explanation seeing that Daren's face did not change after what he said.

"Even though the Cultivation of this beast is not that high, the core looks beautiful with its two swirling colors and could be used to make wonderful ornaments. I will give 3 gold coins for it." offered the clerk.

"I think that's a little too low for a core that has such a vibrant purple and blue glow. How about 3 gold and 25 silver." Daren made a counter offer. He knew that the clerk was lowballing on purpose. With the combined memories of Alex and the thieves, Daren knew the price of his core to be about 3 gold and 30 silver.

Daren did not want to squeeze money out of the clerk even though he could do so with the negotiation skills of his past lives where he made deals with the CEOs of mega-corporations daily.

He wanted to form a good connection with this shop As he would be hunting beast cores in the future. This store had a good reputation for providing fair prices as long as you talked to the clerks.

"That is acceptable." said the clerk as he took the stone off the glass counter and took out the coins from a big box at the back. He gave Daren the money and went to serve another customer who had just entered.

Daren pocketed the money and left the store. He practically had the net worth of what a well-off commoner family earned in about a year. He was about to have more once he looted the secret stash of the thieves.

It was time he went shopping for the first time in this world.