As the steward's orders from several shops began arriving, more and more materials piled up around the estate. The several thousand Gold Sol Donald had given Code to manage were already flowing away like water.
Although Donald was now quite wealthy and had just won a hefty sum in bets from Sodo and the others, he had to keep the Magic Beast Cores and Elemental Crystals in reserve. That left him with fewer than five thousand Gold Sol. He had already spent over two thousand on the manor and related expenses, and the materials for building the smaller estate alone would likely cost at least another thousand or so. On top of that, a vast manor was still waiting for him to develop.
"Still not enough, no matter how much money I have!"
So Donald decided to return to Green Cloak Forest to hunt monsters for their cores. This time, he planned to go alone. He now had Magic Beast Cores worth thousands of gold coins and hundreds of Elemental Crystals, and his confidence had soared after his duel with the Snow Mage. How could his strength not be a hundred times greater than it had been when he first entered the forest to hunt with only low-grade cores?
As for Clinton and the other two, he assigned them to Code. It wasn't prudent to go out and handle business without at least a couple of subordinates.
Donald had already been planning to venture into the more dangerous Cloud-Rising Mountain region to hunt for high-quality Magic Beast Cores. First, he wanted to stockpile some higher-grade cores. Second, the corpses of monsters above level three were in high demand on the market, often selling for dozens of Gold Sol apiece. If he accumulated twenty or thirty of them, they could bring in close to a thousand Gold Sol!
If he could obtain several level-four and level-five cores, Donald wouldn't have to fear anyone with ill intentions. After all, most of House Merlinar's old enemies were still around, led by the biggest landowner in North Shire, the governor, Viscount.
With enemies like these, even if they couldn't make a move against him openly, someone was bound to try something behind his back.
Level-three summoned creatures were powerful enough to deal with monsters of limited intelligence, but they couldn't stand against more powerful human opponents. Level-five cores were entirely different. They could summon not only powerful units but also heroes and rare neutral units.
Though these weren't heroes and powerful creatures in their full forms, they could still wield strength far beyond that of ordinary Bronze Professionals, as well as all sorts of wondrous skills from the game.
Bronze Professionals were already among the most powerful people in North Shire. Silver Rankers were as rare as hen's teeth; apart from his teacher and the white-robed bishop in the outskirts of Giant Stone City, there were hardly any. There might be hidden powerhouses out there, but there were probably no more than a handful.
The Kingdom of Selt already had fewer high-ranking professionals than the central and southern parts of the continent, and North Shire was a remote region even within the Kingdom. Naturally, things were even worse there.
On this hunting trip, Donald planned to focus on level-four and level-five monsters. As long as he was willing to spend Gold Sol, he could buy level-one and level-two cores in bulk. Now that he was well-off, there was no need to make a trip just for those.
However, Donald wasn't very familiar with the inner parts of Green Cloak Forest. In the past, he had only ventured through its outskirts. Though he was fairly confident he could keep himself safe, he still wanted to prepare carefully to make the trip more efficient. That was why he had come to the only tavern in Red Maple Town.
The Forest Tavern was where the Adventurers of Red Maple Town gathered. It was the best place to get information.
He remembered that a few years ago, like the other commoner children in town, he had dreamed of becoming an Adventurer. He would sneak behind the tavern and eavesdrop, and had learned quite a bit about Adventurers in this world.
This was his first time actually stepping inside a tavern in this world, and Donald felt a little excited.
Dressed in ordinary Adventurer's clothes Code had bought for him, Donald walked into the tavern like a drop of water falling into a pond, barely stirring a ripple.
Calling it Adventurer's clothing was a stretch. It was just an ordinary linen shirt, half-armor covering his shoulders and chest, and a pair of leather bracers. The only noteworthy thing was the wooden Elf longbow slung across his back. It looked plain, but bows made by Night Elves performed almost as well as the steel-limbed bows used by ordinary human armies.
With his outfit and his age, the Adventurers easily took him for a young hunter who had just set out on his first adventure.
Ignoring the teasing of a few courtesans soliciting customers in the tavern, Donald went to a table in the corner and sat down. He ordered the cheapest mug of Barley Wine and took in the lively, rowdy atmosphere, listening for information leaked in the Adventurers' loud conversations.
Before long, the server brought his Barley Wine. Donald took a sip. It was like beer from his previous life, with a little foam and less purity, but its sweet taste, edged with a faint bitterness, wasn't bad.
When he looked up and saw that the server hadn't left, Donald knew what he was after. He pulled a Silver Moon from his pocket. As the server watched with an ingratiating smile, Donald closed his hand around it again.
"Find me the person who knows the most about the inner parts of Green Cloak Forest, and this little fellow is yours!"
A mug of Barley Wine cost only three Copper Horn, while a Silver Moon was worth more than half a month of the server's wages. Driven by the power of money, the server soon returned with a burly man who stood a full head taller than Donald and sported a short, dark beard.
"This is the best hunter in Red Maple Town, and the most experienced Adventurer!"
Donald tossed him a Silver Moon, sending the beaming server on his way, then fixed his gaze on the man hailed as the best hunter.
The man wore practical leather gear with no unnecessary frills. Since it was summer, he had on only the protective gear he needed and a pair of linen shorts, showing off a muscular physique that would make the young women on the street blush.
The young man's stare made him uncomfortable. With a disgruntled grunt, the burly man dropped into the seat opposite Donald.
"Kid, are you the one looking for old Aid?"
Donald took a sip of Barley Wine, then gently set down his mug.
"I'm looking for the person who knows Green Cloak Forest best!"
"What, you don't believe old Aid? Everyone here knows what I can do. I once caught a level-five Shadow Leopard alive, all by myself, deep in Green Cloak Forest! If you want to hear about the dangers of the forest, I can tell you some of my adventures. But if you want to go into the forest, with a scrawny build like yours, you'd better stick to hunting ordinary beasts around the outskirts. Otherwise, you'll run into a monster and lose your life!"
Donald didn't get angry at Aid's bluster. Instead, he took another Gold Sol from his pocket, then quickly put it away again.
Aid's eyes went wide at the sight of the gleaming Gold Sol. Donald had kept him waiting just long enough before speaking.
"This isn't the place to talk. If you're interested, come with me."
Donald got up and left the tavern. Aid lingered inside for a moment, then hurried after him.
Before you continue