"This is."
Gron raised an eyebrow. After pondering for a moment, a hint of surprise appeared on his face.
Seeing his reaction, Gauss knew he had asked the right person.
Actually, he had taken out this unknown stone because Gron was well-informed. Even if it wasn't metal, perhaps he had come into contact with it before.
"This is a Life Magic Stone. I'm not sure about its exact quality, since I'm only a blacksmith, not a gem expert. As for its price, you could probably sell it for more than 2 gold coins?"
"2 gold coins!!"
Before Gauss could say anything, Marlin, who was standing beside him, wore an expression that seemed to say, "Did I hear that right?"
Two gold coins meant 200 silver coins, or 20,000 copper coins.
For ordinary people, this was an enormous fortune. At present, Marlin had only 5 silver coins and 12 copper coins in his purse.
That meant Gauss's former dream—to buy a house of his own in Grayrock Town—could be realized instantly, with plenty of money left over.
Converted into wages, an ordinary low-level laborer could earn around 10 copper coins for a full day's work, assuming he could find a job.
Even if the man were single, after deducting food and lodging expenses, saving 5 copper coins would already be extremely difficult. That didn't even account for other expenses, such as clothing and medical treatment.
Even assuming he could find work continuously and work every day for a full month, he could only save around 150 copper coins.
Under such ideal conditions, 2 gold coins would require eleven full years of work without rest.
Of course, this was merely a purely theoretical calculation.
In reality, a low-level laborer couldn't save even 1 gold coin over the course of his entire life.
Measured against the value of adventurer equipment, however—
A set of leather armor was worth around 15 silver coins, meaning one could buy 13 sets.
A set of Light Scale Armor was worth 60 silver coins, enough to buy 3 sets.
As for heavy armor like full plate armor, well, he couldn't afford it for now. A single set of full plate armor cost a full 15 gold coins, equivalent to nearly 15 houses in town.
Don't think that price was exaggerated. In fact, full plate armor was a true family heirloom and hard currency in this world.
Real estate would depreciate during times of war, but fine armor wouldn't. It would even increase in value.
It was precisely because he knew the value of 2 gold coins that—
Marlin couldn't help exclaiming in front of Gron. He then looked at Gauss with undisguised envy.
Gauss was also deeply shaken, but he still pretended to remain calm.
He had long been able to guess that this stone was a treasure. He just hadn't expected it to be worth so much.
Seeing the envy and jealousy almost spilling from Marlin's eyes, Gauss had to admit that he felt a little secretly pleased.
In his past memories, Marlin had treated him fairly well. Unlike the other apprentices, he liked to chat with Gauss whenever he had nothing to do. Still, Gauss could tell that Marlin's attitude toward him was mixed with a kind of condescending pity.
Although it wasn't obvious, Marlin would occasionally reveal an air of superiority in his words and actions, as if a city dweller were asking about a countryman's life merely to highlight how much better his own life was.
That said, Marlin himself wasn't actually a bad person.
Now, it seemed that the positions of the two had been reversed.
Gauss pursed his lips.
So even in this other world, there's a saying about being afraid that your brother will live a hard life, but also afraid that your brother will drive a luxury car.
"If you want to sell it, you can go to Widow's Alley. There's a stone house with a sign that says Thorn Hut. The shopkeeper there buys Magic Items like this. Of course, if you know any other customers who understand this sort of thing, you can trade with them directly."
Gron shrugged.
Two gold coins were a huge fortune to ordinary people, but in his eyes, they were nothing remarkable.
His earlier surprise hadn't been directed at the Life Magic Stone itself. He was merely astonished that an ordinary low-level adventurer like Gauss, who had only just set out, could produce such a "good thing."
In fact, Gauss had already surprised him greatly when he brought out that pile of secondhand weapons as loot.
"All right. Thank you, shopkeeper." Gauss was extremely grateful.
He had no connections at present, and Shopkeeper Gron was the most knowledgeable person he knew.
"Shopkeeper, may I presumptuously ask you about a few other things?" Gauss hesitated for a moment before asking, somewhat awkwardly.
After asking question after question, he felt less and less like someone who had come to sell something and more like someone deliberately trying to gather information.
"Go ahead." Gron didn't seem to mind.
"Do you know much about class holders? I want to know how to become a Mage class holder."
Hearing Gauss's question, Gron's gaze gained another hint of scrutiny.
The fact that Gauss could ask this question already revealed a great deal.
Even if an ordinary person asked about class holders, they wouldn't be specific about the Mage class unless they had already confirmed that they possessed the Talent to become one.
How could that be confirmed? Naturally, by awakening magic power and mastering spells.
Thinking of this, Gron understood a few things.
No wonder Gauss had been able to bring in so much loot. If he had already embarked on the path of becoming a class holder, then such gains were still somewhat exaggerated, but not impossible to understand.
"Come with me." Gron glanced at Marlin, who had pricked up his ears and was trying to eavesdrop out of curiosity. After saying a few words to Gauss, he turned and walked toward the inner courtyard.
"That's so unfair, shopkeeper."
Gauss glanced at Marlin, who was muttering his complaint under his breath with indignation written all over his face, and secretly chuckled.
In the inner courtyard, the apprentices were busily smelting and forging in front of several furnaces.
The crisp clang of Iron Hammer striking an anvil would make one's ears ache after listening for too long.
Gron pushed open the door to a small room.
Although Gauss had worked at a blacksmith shop for a short time, this was his first time entering Gron's private quarters.
Upon entering the room, Gauss instinctively looked around.
His gaze was quickly drawn to a suit of full plate armor beside the bed.
It was a complex suit of heavy armor filled with a sense of powerful beauty. It consisted of dozens of components, all precisely connected by hinges, straps, and rivets.
The silver-white armor plates, the pointed helmet extending into engraved cheek guards, and the raised breastplate at the center resembling an inverted ship's hull—all of them were striking. A raised ridge ran down the center of the breastplate, shaped like a shark's dorsal fin or a frozen wave, reflecting a cold metallic gleam.
Layered shoulder guards resembling Dragon Scale, hand armor, steel gauntlets, and hard, cold armored boots completed the suit.
It was beautiful.
Although this armor had neither gilded gold and inlaid silver nor elaborate patterns, it exuded a simple yet practical aesthetic of violent beauty.
If an ordinary suit of full plate armor was worth at least 15 houses, then this armor hidden in the shopkeeper's room might be worth 50!
That was Gauss's instinctive estimate. And the longer he observed it, the more certain he became that the armor was absolutely priceless.
Compared to the "cheap goods" outside, even the material of this armor seemed different.
Shopkeeper, you're definitely an expert, aren't you?
Gauss looked at Gron with an indescribable expression in his eyes.
"Ahem. Don't look at me like that. I'm just an ordinary blacksmith now." Gron felt somewhat uncomfortable under his intense gaze.
"However, as everyone knows, it's perfectly reasonable for a qualified blacksmith to know a little about class holders, isn't it?"
Gauss nodded repeatedly.
You've already put it that way, shopkeeper. How could I say otherwise?
Before you continue