The Chili Panda
Before this chapter gets underway, just wanted to say that the first world is Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear for those that may not have figured that out yet. I figured it was a relatively peaceful first world for the main character to start in, and it will end up becoming the Standard World. So, do expect this to be the main world he goes back to when he does eventually travel to more worlds.
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"You look pretty scrawny to me, but from what Lurina has told us, I guess I can respect you. She's not someone to just say a bunch of hot air, so you must be pretty strong then. Despite your appearance, kid."
"Yeah, thanks..." Nixon was honestly not certain whether or not that was supposed to be a compliment or not, though whatever. At the moment, he was currently standing in front of a large man who was probably twice as tall as he was.
The man was wearing iron pieces of armor along with a green undershirt, along with what looked to be a fur garment over his waist. The man also was probably in his forties, or maybe a bit more, with a large visible scar shaped like a cross that was located above his left eye.
This man was none other than Deborane, the party leader of Lurina, the girl that he had saved from the goblins not too long ago. Nixon had met with him after Lurina escorted him to Crimonia, along with meeting the other two teammates in her group.
Speaking of which, the other two members were also males, with one of them probably being in his thirties and the other maybe in his early twenties. The first being Gil, a large muscular man with black hair, and the other being a male named Lanc who had spiky blonde hair.
Nixon, along with the group, were currently standing around somewhere in front of the Adventurer's Guild building that Lurina had escorted him to. This was where he had met with the party, and he was currently showing off his stock to the group.
"How do we know that these are actually real?" The voice of Lanz sounded as he looked at one of the healing potions that Nixon had taken out, shaking it a bit, causing the red liquid inside to splash around. "You could be lying to us for some profits."
"Lanz, that's rude!" Lurina shouted with a small glare at her party member.
"No, I completely understand him." Nixon waved it off as the group seemed surprised by his calm response. Potions were rare items, so finding someone just so happens to sell them like this was not common at all. "It's normal to be skeptical. However, I'm afraid I have no method of proving that my items are legitimate without using them myself. But, I do assure you, they are indeed real."
Lanz just narrowed his eyes slightly with an unsure expression as he continued looking at the potion, both Gil and Deborane glanced at one another and were also unsure. Lurina, however, held five mana potions and two healing potions in her hands as she walked up to Nixon.
"I trust you, especially after you saved me back there. I'll take these seven."
"L-Lurina!"
"Lurina's never lead us astray, so I guess I'll believe you as well. We'll take both these books, right?" Gil voiced as he held two of the Sharpness I books as he looked at Deborane, who nodded in response as Nixon gave a small smile. Lanz couldn't believe his ears as he stared at his fellow members in disbelief.
"Alright then, so the items you guys are buying are five mana potions, two healing potions, and two Sharpness I books, right?" Nixon asked to make sure as they all nodded, except for Lanz who just grumbled. He was obviously still skeptical about it all. "Very well, then the total cost is four gold and three silver coins."
Thankfully, the system had automatically translated the cost from system coins to the necessary currency depending on which world he was in and where in the world he was. This world used a basic currency system from Copper, Silver, and Gold. One System Coins is one copper, one hundred is silver, and five hundred is gold.
None of the members seemed to be surprised by the rather steep price as potions tended to be expensive due to their difficult brewing process, not like that applied to Nixon. Lurina was the one who took out the payment and gave it to Nixon, who gave a small nod as the coins got disappeared and were absorbed into the system as system coins.
"Can I have my other potion back?" Nixon spoke towards Lanz as the guy was still holding onto one of the healing potions that he gave for them to look at, which the male just grumbled before tossing it over. Nixon easily caught it before sending it back into his inventory.
『Merchant Level has levelled up!』
Nixon inwardly smiled when he saw the notification, this meant that he could have a better chance at getting better items from future item packs and more. He wasn't surprised either when he checked his status to see that the amount of exp needed for the next increase was upped, he also had those status points to allocate as well.
So, he decided to just quickly add those ten points he gained from killing that big goblin from before into his Agility and Endurance. His Strength was fine for now, and he wanted to increase his Agility and Endurance to somewhat catch up to his Strength value.
...
『Status』
Name: Nixon Colress
Age: 16
Title: None
Race: Human
System Coins: 12,700
Player Level: 16 [EXP: 7/200]
Merchant Level: 2 [EXP: 5/200]
Status Points: 0
Health Points: 530/530
Mana Points: 0/800
● Strength: 70 <+0>
● Agility: 57 <+0>
● Endurance: 53 <+0>
● Intellect: 40 <+0>
● Luck: 15 <+0>
...
'Oh yeah, I still need to collect some lightning spirits. My mana is literally zero right now...'
Anyway, the group were all surprised when he displayed the ability to make the items disappear, except for Lurina as she had already seen it happen before with the goblins. Deborane looked at the books in his hands with curiosity, the magnificent ethereal glow they gave off was quite the sight.
"How do we use these books, exactly?" Deborane couldn't help but ask as he opened up the book, only to raise an eyebrow in confusion when a bunch of unfamiliar text probably written in a completely foreign language was presented to him. "I can't read any of this..."
"You don't need to, just take out whatever weapon you use and hold the book over it. I suggest using it on swords, or weapons that depend on slicing and piercing. Kinda useless to use such an enchantment on weapons that produce blunt force."
Deborane just nodded his head before unsheathing the iron sword that he had hanging on his waist, the others watching curiously as he then took one of the books and held it above the sword. Much to their surprise, the book gave off a bright glow that caught the attention of the people around them.
Soon after, the light dispersed as the book turned into particles that flowed calmly into the sword like a flowing river. Once the particles were all absorbed, the sword gave off a short glow before dimming down. However, there was a constant flow of strange energy that remained on the blade.
"Nice, it should be easier now for you to slice through things. Just keep in mind that you can't stack those books on top of the same blade, at least the ones with the same type and number value." Nixon made sure to inform as the group seemed confused, but nodded nonetheless. "Nice doing business with you all."
"Right..." Deborane gave Nixon a nod as he was still marveling at the blade in his hands. The same could be said for the others as they were all looking in awe at the brilliant beautiful glow that the blade constantly displayed, and while not blinding, was incredibly beautiful.
"Well, I'm going to head off now. See you guys around."
"O-Okay, see you some other time!" Lurina quickly said her farewells as Nixon walked off, he just gave a small wave over his shoulder as he continued walking. What an interesting group he had encountered, and to think all of that was due to meeting Lurina.
Anyway, he had now managed to complete his first successful transaction. He was now out of the Sharpness I enchantment books though, so he only had the Unbreaking books now. Sharpness would definitely appeal more to people than Unbreaking, though he was confident they would sell at some point.
Well, now that he was here in the city, he needed to find a good place for him to set up home. To do that, he needed to buy off some land for him to set up his house with that cube he got from Xur. With some information from Lurina, he should be able to buy some land by going to the Trade Guild.
They were apparently the ones that handled all the business pertaining to selling the items that adventurers bring in as well as apparently land renting and buying. He had already been given the direction by Lurina, so he already knew which general direction to go.
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It didn't take him too long to find the place as it was decently close by to the Adventurer's Guild that he had done his business with Deborane's party, and it was actually pretty cheap to get some land. Mainly because he had decided to go with buying land father out from the city center.
The reason for this was obvious, he didn't want to be living in a place where there were tons of people around so that it was noisy. He treasured his peace and quiet whenever he had it. Also, he just decided to buy out the plot of land as it wasn't too expensive, only fifteen gold which was 7500 System Coins.
He'd probably just use this as his main base, though he wasn't certain whether or not he'd end up traveling to other cities and such. Maybe in the future, but probably not anytime right now in the near future, so those decisions can be made later.
"This place ain't bad, not at all." Nixon smiled as he looked around at the grassy land that he had bought. The land he ended up getting actually had a river next to it, along with the forest being a good bit away. It was pretty much a peaceful grassy plain that was relatively close to the city. "Okay, I just throw this thing, right...?"
Nixon looked at the cube in his hands curiously as he then shrugged before throwing it forwards, causing it to release a sudden flash that soon caused the cube to expand rapidly before crashing down onto the ground with a relatively loud thud that shook the ground he stood on.
"Woah, modern to the max..."
In front of his eyes was a building that would no doubt stand out greatly if he had decided to get land inside the city, and that was because it was a two-story modern house made of polished white marble and darkish-grey polished stone. It had a nice pair of double glass doors at the front, and it even had a fenced-off pool at the front of the damn house with sunbathing chairs and umbrellas already set up.
"I may not mind nature, but I am still a modern man. Thank goodness for having modern equipment... Thank you, Xur." Nixon smiled as he entered the house. Just like he thought, the entire house was furnished and incredibly clean. From the description of the cube, it should have three bedrooms and pretty much every other room you'd find in a house.
While he doubted that he'd end up using all of the space since he was only just a single person, but he didn't mind the space, not at all. The room he walked into looked to be the living room, furnished with couches with a coffee table, though there wasn't any sign of a television. Though, there was an open kitchen looking over the living room.
"Oh yeah, I still have that token." Nixon suddenly remembered as he quickly accessed his inventory. There was still that token he earned from completing the quest and its optional objective, he had honestly forgotten about it due to everything that happened in the city. "Those mana gems too, looks like I just sell them."
There were also those pelts and stuff he got from killing those monsters, and apparently, it seems that he is just supposed to sell them. He wouldn't get much due to them just being common items, the exceptions being the one Rare Mana Gem. But, he might as well the next time he visits the Trade Guild or the Adventurer's Guild.
Though, that could be saved for later, he was more focused on the token.
...
● Companion Token [Amount: 1] - [A special token that allows the user to summon forth a loyal companion. They are familiars that can range from basic pets to even familiars that can assist in battle. They can range from different animals, to even human-like lifeforms or even humans]
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"Oh, so like pets and such that you get in RPGs? That's pretty cool." Nixon nodded as he read over the information that was given to him. It was like familiar summoning in many different RPG games, especially fantasy games. It seems that he could get one himself.
Wasting no time, Nixon took hold of the token from the inventory before flipping it up into the air. The token spun around before bursting into particles as the particles all gathered on the ground in front of him, all of them seemingly forming a small tornado of sorts.
Nixon watched curiously as the tornado soon began to condensed before taking shape into a more animal-like stature, and from the looks of it, the figure was quite short, probably a bit shorter than half of his own height. It also stood on both legs and had a silhouette that resembled that of a bear.
As the particles stopped condensing, the colors of the summon soon were revealed as it was revealed to indeed be a panda bear that stood on both legs. It was mainly black in color with a red stomach, a red ball-tail, and also a red circular patch of fur over its right eye.
"A red and black panda?"
...
『Companion Received!』
● Guoba, Panda Of Fire - [Guoba is a special species of a panda bear that is capable of creating chili peppers using its magic, and loves to consume them. However, they are not able to handle the heat of said chilis and release cool it off by firing it out as a torrent of flames through its mouth. They are capable of adjusting the intensity of the flame they produce, and are also able to transform themselves into special accessories which help them hide or move around by attaching themselves to others]
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"Huh? That's quite an interesting bear..." Nixon couldn't help but sweatdrop after reading the information that was just provided to him about this bear. Looking down, he saw that the bear was looking around in confusion before looking up at him. "Guoba, right? Nice to meet you."
Guoba, the name of the red and black panda summon, nodded his head up and down while waving at him. While he understood that Guoba was the species this panda bear was, the panda seems to respond to being called Guoba if that small greeting was anything to go by.
*Guoba Noises*
"Huh?"
*More Guoba Noises*
"Wait, hold on... what?"
*Even More Guoba Noises*
"Okay, I don't understand a single thing you're trying to tell me..." Nixon deadpanned as he stared at the short panda bear. Nixon just shook his head before smiling down at the panda in amusement, which he then knelt down. "Anyway, I guess you and I are companions from now on. Let's be great friends, Guoba!"
*Excited Guoba Noises*
"Yeah, communicating with you is going to be difficult." Nixon smiled nervously as Guoba waved both his arms up and down with an excited expression on his face. Nixon soon noticed a new screen popup in front of him, and from the looks of it, it was Guoba's stats.
...
『Status』
Name: Guoba
Race: Guoba Bear
Level: 1 [EXP: 0/50]
Health Points: 100/100
Mana Points: 200/200
● Strength: 10 <+0>
● Agility: 10 <+0>
● Endurance: 10 <+0>
● Intellect: 10 <+0>
● Luck: 20 <+0>
...
'No status points? I guess he must just get stronger naturally.' Nixon took notice that there wasn't any kind of section that told him how many status points Guoba had, so he could only assume such. Unless he was able to use his own points to increase Guoba's. Probably not though. "Now that is some balance in stats... You're a lucky little guy too."
*Cheerful Guoba Noises*
"Still don't understand you... Meh, whatevs. We'll have to get you trained up." Guoba only nodded in response as he heard this. Nixon smiled in response, though soon turned his attention towards the kitchen. "How about some dinner? You hungry?"
While Nixon definitely wouldn't say that he was the best chef out there in the world, he would say that he knew his way around the kitchen. He had been praised for his cooking ability in his previous life, so he was confident that he could cook up a good meal.
*Fierce Guoba Noises*
"Okay, calm down! I'll make us something." Nixon chuckled at Guoba's vigorous head nodding as he walked over to the kitchen, Guoba quickly following behind. "You know what, I'm curious to find out how that wolfe meat taste. What do you say? Up for it?"
*Agreeing Guoba Noises*
"Okay then, wolfe meat it is. Let's see here..." Nixon quickly went into his inventory before selecting the three pieces of wolfe meat, to which they soon materialized onto the kitchen counter. They were decent in size and were already in large steak-like slabs. "They look good quality, just to be safe though..."
Quickly using his Appraise skill, he was able to check the quality of the meat. Since keeping it in the inventory also keeps it suspended in time, it didn't at all rot during the time that it stayed in there. It was definitely very useful for him to have.
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● Wolfe Meat - [A common yet popular meat that can be sold for a decent amount for its worth, and it is a rather popular delicacy to be eaten by the residents of the world] [Rarity: Common] [Quality: 80/100] [Worth: 150 System Points]
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"Oh~, not bad quality. This will do just fine." Nixon smiled as he looked at the information, and it seemed that Guoba could also see the holographic screens as he also hopped up and down on the counter waving his arms up and down in a cheer. "Wait, what's with that worth? Why is it so high? System?"
True to his words, the fact that the meat was worth 150 System Points meant that it would be worth one silver and fifty copper here in this world. From what he had seen of people selling it in the stores, they put it up for only five copper for a medium sized bundle.
『The Appraise skill identifies the exact worth of that particular product in possession. The meat you just scanned was of high quality, thus the actual price would be far higher compared to one of lower quality. People in this world don't seem to understand this too well and are selling them for a particular price no matter what quality』
"Oh, I see now. That makes a lot of sense, not complaining here then. Plus, sounds like an exploit to me." Nixon smirked as he thought about it. He could go around the market, use the Apparise skill, and find the best quality things and buy it. He'd only do this for his own personal use of said bought items as he doubted he could sell it for more if people expect it to be sold at a particular price. "Ready, Guoba? Want to help me cook?"
*Serious Guoba Noises*
"I agree, let's do this!"