Treasure Hunting House

Treasure Hunting House

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Day had broken, and the rising sun slowly climbed into the sky. Warm golden sunlight slanted down upon the earth, turning all living things verdant and vibrant.

Diya stood in his courtyard, gently twisting his body, shaking his hands, kicking his legs, and slowly repeating the motion of throwing a small sword. This was currently his only life-saving move, and it could only be used once. Naturally, it would be best if he could hit the target every time.

"Young Master, breakfast is ready," Uncle Fu called as he emerged from the house, carrying a tray with several grayish-black pieces of coarse wheat bread and two cups of cheap milk.

No matter what, this was breakfast for Diya and Fu Ka. Diya stopped moving, faint sweat glistening on his forehead like gold beneath the morning sun. Even these light, simple exercises became a burden after he had done them for some time.

"Young Master, you look quite well today," Uncle Fu said with a smile as he watched Diya approach.

"Of course," Diya replied with a smile. He sat down by the chair, picked up the milk and bread, and began eating.

"Young Master, where are you going later? To the academy?" Uncle Fu asked.

"No. I'm not going to the academy today. I'm going to The Smith's shop to take a look. The small sword broke when I killed the Crimson Blood Python last time, so I need to have a better one made," Diya answered.

"Very well, Young Master, but you mustn't go to the Twilight Rainforest again," Uncle Fu said once more, repeatedly reminding him. Rather than feeling impatient, Diya felt warmth rise in his heart.

"I understand, Uncle Fu. I won't go until I have the strength. Don't worry," Diya said with a smile, emphasizing the words "have the strength" once again.

Putting down his cup, Diya stood and headed for the door.

"Uncle Fu, I'm leaving first. I'll come back for lunch," Diya said, waving to Uncle Fu as he left the courtyard and headed toward the commercial street in the city. The smithy was located there.

Diya had once deliberately calculated the length of the commercial street. It was ten kilometers long, stretching almost from north to south through Carlos City. The gates of Carlos Academy stood on one side of the street. As Diya passed them, classes had already begun, so the gates were tightly shut. The gatekeeper was leisurely sunning himself on a recliner beside the entrance. When he saw Diya, he was about to get up and open the gate, only to see Diya walk straight past without pausing. He froze in surprise.

Diya paid no attention to the gatekeeper's expression. To him, aside from Uncle Fu, no one else in this world was worth his concern. Whether they lived or died, whatever happened to them had nothing to do with him as long as they did not offend him. But if they provoked him, then one day, when he had the necessary strength, he would repay them tenfold, a hundredfold.

The smithy was not far from the gates of Carlos Academy, only about five hundred meters away. Even so, it took Diya quite a while to get there.

"Clang, clang"...

The sound of metal striking metal came from inside. Diya casually walked into the smithy. It was not large, only around forty square meters. The walls were covered with swords—one-handed swords, short swords, longswords, greatswords, heavy swords, and more. There were also all sorts of axes, from one-handed axes to battle-axes. The selection was quite comprehensive.

Yet there was no one in the main room. The sound of hammering came from an inner room.

"Boss," Diya called out. The hammering immediately stopped, followed by footsteps. A sturdy middle-aged man emerged, wiping the sweat from his face with a towel. His upper body was bare, his muscles knotted and veins bulging, his eyes bright and spirited.

"Kid, what weapon do you want to buy?" the middle-aged man asked with a hearty laugh, his voice booming.

"I want to have a small sword like this made," Diya said, taking out the broken sword.

"Oh, so it's you," the man said, realization appearing on his face. Seeing Diya's slight confusion, he explained with a smile, "You ordered one from me before. The design was unique, so it left a deep impression on me."

Hearing the explanation, Diya understood. Indeed, he had ordered that small sword here several years ago. "Boss, I want one just like the last one, but with better materials."

"Kid, you know that making a small sword like this with good quality and fine workmanship is somewhat difficult. The price will be a little higher than last time," the man said. He also knew who this young man was—the publicly acknowledged waste of Carlos Academy. As the owner of the only smithy in Carlos City, he naturally knew Diya's identity and that his family was not well-off.

"Would fifty copper coins be enough?" Diya asked.

"Fine. Since you're offering fifty copper coins, I'll make you a high-quality small sword. Come back in three days to collect it," the man said generously.

"Alright." Diya nodded and took out his only silver coin. "Boss, I don't have copper coins. Give me eighty copper coins in change, and keep twenty as a deposit."

"No need. Just pay me all at once when you come to collect it in three days," the man said with a laugh.

"Thank you, Boss." Diya did not insist and put the silver coin away. That was how he handled things: yes meant yes, no meant no. He did not like haggling and dragging things out with people.

With that, Diya turned and left the smithy. The middle-aged man watched his departing back, shook his head slightly, and sighed, looking regretful, but said nothing. He returned to the inner room, and a few seconds later, the clanging of metal resumed.

After leaving the smithy, Diya did not know what to do next. He began wandering aimlessly, though his steps took him back the way he had come. As he passed Carlos Academy, he suddenly looked up and noticed the shop directly across from the academy gates.

Diya hesitated for a few seconds before walking toward it. Above the storefront hung a plaque with several words written on it—Novelty Treasure Hunting House.

As the name suggested, it was a shop where people could search through items. Inside were all kinds of strange and peculiar things. Some were useful, some useless, and some had their true nature hidden. In short, everything in a Treasure Hunting House depended on luck and discernment.

With luck, one might find something valuable. Carrying a silver coin, Diya's thoughts became active. With the knowledge he had gained from books over the past dozen years, along with his five senses and spiritual power that surpassed those of ordinary people, perhaps he could uncover something valuable. If he sold it afterward, he could earn some money.

Faced with the hardships of life, Diya began trying every possible method. He would not let go of even the slightest hope of making money.

Generally speaking, the customers of a Treasure Hunting House like this were mostly students. This one stood directly opposite Carlos Academy, so nearly all of its customers were students. But Carlos Academy was still in class, making the shop unusually quiet. The owner sat behind the counter, looking listless.

Diya walked straight in and began looking around. Items of every size were hanging, arranged, or piled up. In short, both walls to his left and right were packed with things.

The shop owner glanced up. Seeing that Diya was alone, he said nothing and went back to resting, completely ignoring him. Diya did not care about the man's attitude. It was irrelevant.

Diya went to the left side and examined the items carefully. There were several oddly shaped stones. He recognized most of them as ores. After checking their prices and comparing them, he found that buying and reselling these ores would bring almost no profit, so little that it could be ignored. Thus, Diya ruled them out.

There were also some transparent, crystal-like stones about the size of a thumb. Diya picked one up and examined it. It was a Magic Crystal, but a useless one. The magic power inside had been completely drained, which was why it had become transparent.

Some professions needed these crystals without magic power, such as alchemists, but they did not need many of them. To Diya, they were not practical either, so he ruled them out once again.

Besides ores and crystals without magic power, there were also medicinal herbs. Diya recognized all of them, but none offered any profit to be made, leaving him somewhat discouraged. Finding nothing on the left side, Diya moved to the right, where the items were comparatively more complicated.

There were all kinds of strange objects. Some were familiar to Diya, while others he had never seen before and had no idea how to use. He immediately began searching more closely, picking up one item, putting it down, and moving on to another.

The shop owner raised his head and watched Diya busily moving about, clicking his tongue disdainfully. As the owner of a shop opposite Carlos Academy, how could he not know who this young man was? On a continent where the strong were respected, the weak were a pitiful group, and being looked down upon was only normal.

Diya could sense the shop owner's gaze. Although he did not look up, he keenly felt that mocking disdain. Taking a deep breath, Diya ignored the man's stare and focused on searching through the items, hoping to find something valuable.

"Isn't this the 'genius' of the Summoning Department?" A voice suddenly rang out from outside, full of mockery and provocation. Diya did not turn around and continued searching as though he had heard nothing.

"Welcome," the shop owner quickly stood up and said with a beaming smile.