The reason why such valuable items as Sprite are sold in the South City, rather than in the noble district in the East City, is because these Sprite come from all over the duchy.
In the South City, caravans from all over the duchy gathered. These caravans had no shops in the East City, so they could only rent shops in the South City market and sell them along with other goods.
When Nalant and his group arrived in the South City, the flow of people there had increased significantly, and even ordinary pedestrians on the street were seen carrying longswords.
However, ordinary people who could bring weapons into the city generally needed to register, and only noble caravans had this right.
After traversing the stone-paved streets filled with the sounds of people and horses, and the rumble of cartwheels, Nalant and his companions finally arrived at the entrance to a huge market enclosed by a wooden fence.
This market is where caravans trade their goods. There are two markets in the entire Tulip City: one for selling ordinary goods, such as firewood, rice, oil, and salt, and the other for selling high-end goods, such as potions, Sprite, or monster pelts.
Nalant and his companions naturally came to this high-end market to buy Sprite. As they entered the market, they saw quite a few nobles strolling around in silk gowns.
"Look, there are some Sprite over there!" Soon, Rell saw a shop with three or four Sprite displayed in a tin box for sale in front of it.
"Gentlemen, take a look at these little Sprite. Their effects have lasted at least two years!" The shop owner greeted the three as they approached.
Three of these Sprite are Green Sprite, and only one is Blue Sprite. Next to the Blue Sprite is a large spiky rat.
"What luck! His grandmother would probably cry if she knew!" Boris almost burst out laughing when he saw the spiky rat.
Clearly, the Blue Sprite, which should only attract some kind of animal, had instead attracted a group of ordinary spiny rats.
This spiny rat looks quite similar to an ordinary rat, except it is about the size of a rabbit, so it is also edible.
However, the meat of the thorn rat is both fishy and tough, and nobles generally do not eat it. Only commoners or serfs are willing to eat it, so this Blue Sprite is losing a lot of money.
"How many more years of use do your Sprite have left, and how many more chances do they have to recognize the host?"
"My lord, one of these three Green Sprite has a three-year effect, the other two have a four-year effect, and the Blue Sprite has a seven-year effect. This is the last chance you'll have to use this skill!"
"How much does it cost?"
" Green Sprite with a three-year validity period costs twenty-one gold coins! Green Sprite with a four-year validity period costs twenty-eight gold coins. As for the Blue Sprite, it's the best deal, only thirty gold coins!"
"That's way too expensive!" Rell frowned slightly upon hearing this.
Normally, Green Sprite that is less than five years old would cost around five gold coins per year.
Because once Sprite lives past five years, the chance of it transforming into Great Sprite becomes extremely slim.
A nobleman once calculated that almost all elves that can transform Sprite Great Sprite do so within four to five years of birth, because by then they have absorbed enough energy, and those with the talent for transformation can transform into Great Sprite at this time.
"Sirs, the number of Green Sprite has been scarce lately, and we have to pay high prices to acquire them. There's nothing we can do about it!" the shopkeeper immediately explained upon hearing this.
"Let's take another look!" Rell wasn't in a hurry and continued to wander deeper into the market.
As they ventured deeper, they discovered a row of several shops, all of which sold Sprite.
Rell immediately chose a shop with a large number of Green Sprite. After inquiring, he discovered that the shop had a green Sprite Bug with a nine-year effect and an eight-year effect. Rell immediately decided to buy one.
However, these two Green Sprite are not cheap; they are sold for nine gold coins for a year's worth of use.
Rell immediately began negotiating prices with the shop owner.
While they were negotiating the price, Nalant began to examine the Sprite around him. Surprisingly, most of the Sprite sold in these shops were not green, making up almost the entire majority, which was slightly unexpected by Nalant.
After all, Green Sprite are generally the most common, while Sprite of other colors are rare.
" Nalant, don't be surprised. Although other colored Sprite are rare, they are not reliable. If you're unlucky and get a useless one, many nobles would rather sell it and make a little money."
"As for the Green Sprite, many nobles are unwilling to sell them unless absolutely necessary!"
"I see!" Nalant nodded in understanding.
Out of curiosity, he began to examine the abandoned Sprite. To Nalant's surprise, he even spotted a Yellow Sprite that had found a clay mine.
Nalant tried asking about the price and was told that the clay Sprite had eight years of effect remaining and was estimated to be worth around forty gold coins.
The price can probably be negotiated down further, since in the eyes of the nobility in this world, clay can only be used to make pottery or the simplest porcelain, and it doesn't fetch a high price at all.
"Huh!" Nalant exclaimed in Yellow Sprite as he looked at each of the shops.
Of course, what attracted him was not the Sprite itself, but the mineral samples placed to the side.
The ore sample was about the size of a fist, but it looked like pieces of white, transparent rock candy stuck together.
"Sir, do you like this Yellow Sprite? It's made of white crystal ore. Although the crystal isn't very big, it's still quite beautiful!"
The shop where Nalant was currently located only had this one Sprite; it seemed that the Sprite was just an add-on item for sale.
The middle-aged man in charge of looking after the shop, with his pointed face and monkey-like features, immediately greeted Narant warmly when he saw Nalant stop to examine the Sprite.
Upon hearing this, Nalant rolled his eyes. This person was more like a diamond mine, since he had never actually seen such fine crystal ore before.
Nalan did not reply immediately, but instead frowned and continued to search his mind for more memories of his past life.
"Sir, although these Sprite crystals are small and fragmented, they were only found a month ago, and the price is very favorable. So, buying them now is extremely cost-effective!" The middle-aged man was not annoyed that Nalant did not answer. Instead, seeing that he did not leave, he became even more enthusiastic in promoting the product.
"How much are you planning to sell this Sprite for?" Nalant naturally didn't believe the nonsense the other party was spouting, but he finally managed to recall all the information he had about this kind of mineral.
While asking questions, he pretended to touch the ore, but secretly used his Battle Qi to break off small pieces of ore.
"My lord, because these are just small crystal fragments, they're only sold for fifty gold coins each. That's two-thirds cheaper than other white crystal ore! Buying now is definitely a good deal. Whether you use them to decorate utensils or adorn ornaments, you'll make a fortune!"
"Hmm! So expensive!" Upon hearing this, Nalant frowned, then discreetly put the broken-off ore particles into his mouth.
"Pah!" The next moment, Nalant felt a bitter taste in his mouth, and then bent over and spat on the ground.
However, as he bent over, a glint of light began to flash in his eyes.