The man who walked into the shop had a sharp buzz cut and wore a suit of reinforced leather armor. A tiger head forged from fine steel sat prominently on his shoulder, and a massive greataxe was strapped to his back.

  As he pushed the door open, the man paused, taking an extra moment to scan the ice sculptures standing guard on the street.

  "Manager, these decorations at your door are quite something," Tiger Hunt laughed heartily, his voice booming like a roll of distant thunder.

  "Just a bit of business. What can I get for you?" Kael replied, settling back behind the counter.

  "Some young lads I ran into back in the Cloud Mist Forest gave me some pills. I figured they must have come from a place like this."

  Tiger Hunt was a seasoned mercenary in Cloud Mist City. Aside from taking contracts at the Mercenary Guild, he often ventured solo into the forest to hunt magical beasts—partly to hone his skills, partly for the coin.

  On his latest excursion, he had just finished slaying a Brave-rank beast and was ready to call it a day. But unexpectedly, two more Brave-rank beasts emerged from the thicket. In a place like Cloud Mist Forest, famous for its low-tier monsters, encountering three high-level threats in one area was unheard of—especially since he wasn't even in the forest's deep zone.

  By a stroke of luck, he crossed paths with Ke Minglang and his students. With the help of the Minor Strength and Minor Wind-Speed Pills, Tiger Hunt acted as the vanguard while the four youths provided support. Together, they brought the two beasts down.

  That battle was all it took for Tiger Hunt to become obsessed with those pills. As a Level 36 Brave-rank Warrior, he was stunned that such tiny pellets could nearly double his power and speed in an instant. If he kept a stash of these on him, his mission success rate and survival odds in the wild would skyrocket.

  "If it’s pills you’re looking for, then you’re in the right place," Kael nodded. "They’re on the shelves. See if anything catches your eye."

  Kael gestured toward the display and gave a brief rundown of each pill's effects.

  "Manager, that kid warned me your prices were steep, but seeing them for myself... I realize I still underestimated you."

  Tiger Hunt was a veteran nearing Level 40. He had built up a decent nest egg over years of mercenary work, but the price tags still made his head spin.

  Kael said nothing. He knew that by raw numbers, the prices were high, but relative to their life-saving results, they were a steal.

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  "Fine. I’ve heard you don't haggle anyway," Tiger Hunt sighed, reading the "take it or leave it" expression on Kael’s face. He carefully weighed his coin purse and picked out two bottles of Minor Strength Pills and two of Minor Wind-Speed Pills. He ignored the Minor Intellect Pills; those were for the mages.

  "You sell weapons too, I see." As he placed forty Spirit Crystals on the counter, Tiger Hunt glanced at the adjacent shelf.

  "I do. Take a look. They’re no less impressive than the pills," Kael said, though it was hard to tell if he was actually trying to make a sale or just stating a fact.

  "I don't doubt it, but I’m a heavy-weapon specialist. These look a bit too light for my taste," Tiger Hunt chuckled.

  "Heavy weapons will be in stock eventually."

  BANG!

  Before the words had fully left Kael’s mouth, the door was kicked open. Iron Wolf, the man from yesterday, swaggered in with a small army of lackeys.

  "Kid, I don't know what trick you used to freeze my men outside," Iron Wolf barked, glancing at the two sculptures. "But if you don't give me a proper explanation today, don't think you're staying in Cloud Mist City for another minute!"

  He gave a cold snort, and his men drew their weapons, surrounding the counter with menacing glares.

  "Boss, why waste breath? Let the boys beat him into submission first," one lackey sneered.

  "Yeah, and then we’ll take all these pills and weapons as 'tax'!"

  "Boss! Look! Look at what I found!" another thug suddenly cried out, as if he had stumbled upon a legendary hoard.

  The room’s attention snapped to the shelf where the Skill Stones were displayed.

  "Skill Crystals!" The name flashed through everyone’s mind. Iron Wolf and his gang began to breathe heavily, their eyes burning with raw greed. A Skill Crystal was a priceless treasure; even a Brave-rank one could easily fetch over a thousand Spirit Crystals. If the skill within was rare enough, they could go for several thousand.

  "You froze two of my men... so, in exchange for that and this month’s management fee, I guess I’ll 'reluctantly' accept these three transparent stones as compensation," Iron Wolf sneered. He reached out to snatch the Skill Stones, making no effort to hide his avarice.

  "Hands off!"

  Tiger Hunt, who had been silent until now, suddenly moved. His hand clamped onto Iron Wolf’s wrist like a steel vice.

  "Tiger Hunt? You're here? Was it you who made the move last night?" Iron Wolf froze, turning to glare at the mercenary. He hadn't noticed him in the corner until now.

  "So those 'decorations' outside were yours? No wonder they’re so hideous," Tiger Hunt raised an eyebrow and let out a booming laugh.

  "Let go, you damn scavenger. I’m warning you, the Iron Wolf Gang isn't someone you want to provoke," Iron Wolf hissed, his face darkening.

  "You’ve got a big gang, and I’m just a lowly mercenary," Tiger Hunt smiled mockingly. "But do you really think you can afford to provoke me?"

  "You...!"

  The two were well-acquainted. One was a gang leader, the other a renowned solo hunter. They had clashed over commissions in the past. While Tiger Hunt didn't have the numbers to wipe out the entire gang, Iron Wolf knew that a solo warrior of his caliber could pick off his men one by one until the gang was a hollow shell.

  However, the Skill Crystals were too valuable. Wealth moves the soul.

  "Tiger Hunt, are you sure you want to involve yourself in this mess?" Iron Wolf gritted his teeth.

  "This Manager might be a bit of a 'blackhearted' businessman," Tiger Hunt said, enunciating every word, "but his goods are the real deal. I won't let your gang disturb the peace of this shop."