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"Forget this wretch, I offer you 200 Low-Grade Spirit Stone!" an imposing young master exclaimed as an incredibly buff man behind him stepped forward and opened a chest filled to the brim with crystals that gave off a dim glow.
"I was about to buy this, what are you doing?" a beautiful young woman shouted indignantly, her hands balled to fists. She had been about to strike a deal with a cultivator selling spirit herbs, but a competitor appeared before it was cut and dried.
"This is a market, not a hunt. The price makes the buyer," the young cultivator answered derisively. Her red robes swayed as she turned toward the arrogant, handsome man. She was clearly stronger than him, but the buff man behind him, who was at least 10 levels above her, stopped her from doing something violent.
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"Then I offer 300 Low-Grade Spirit Stones," a third voice echoed across the intersection before the stall of the herb gatherer. A man in incredibly expensive-looking robes, covered in intricate embroidery of gold and silver thread, appeared behind the woman.
"Another one! I already said it's mine!" she insisted dramatically.
"And it will be yours. Let me buy it for you, fairy~" the man said in a smooth, deep voice. Despite almost whispering, everyone close by could hear what he just said.
"Who says i would let you!" the rich young cultivator asked cockily. Behind him, the buff man cracked his knuckles. Unfortunately for him, he was at least 20 levels below the man who had just appeared. This would only end in pain for him.
"So now that you don't have the deeper pocket, you wish to solve it in the way of cultivators? I don't mind. You are welcome to try," the languid man in dark, expensive robes said, amused, still standing leisurely, awaiting the attack.
"Shut up! Who even are you? I don't need your help, I can deal with this on my own," the ill-tempered woman barked at her mysterious helper, taking a battle stance, ready to attack the competitor.
Meanwhile, the herb gatherer was watching the conflict, half-worried, half-happy.
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"Do you even know who I am? I'm Yi Ma! You would do better not to offend the Yi Family in Konan!" the young master exclaimed. "I may let this go if you concede now!" he offered. Maybe he was not as sure of their victory as his henchman.
"Ha, the Yi Family, a bunch of ants building a castle in a pile of shit-" the mysterious helper mocked.
"I don't care who you are! Eat my fist!" Without a glimpse of hesitation, the young woman in red attacked Yi Ma viciously. When his buff companion tried to intervene, his fists were caught by the mysterious helper.
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"I'm glad we came to the market. These dried fish taste really good, and the entertainment is stellar," the blacksmith commented, watching the dramatic battle play out. Fin and Mina, beside him, nodded, nibbling the weird fish sticks.
"I like her, she is really energetic," Fin commented, watching the girl in red pummeling Yi Ma without much of a problem. While the unruly woman unleashed her fists of fury, the stranger who helped her was like a fluid shadow, toying with the buff companion.
If it wasn't for hapless bystanders being drawn into their fight at times, it would have looked like a choreographed show.
"Do you think this kind of stuff happens often in this place?" Mina asked, slightly confused, why nobody else seemed surprised, or at least interested in the sudden street brawl. Most people ignored what was going on, or avoided it. Just a couple of people and the stall owners stayed by and watched.
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"Probably. This is a world that had been ruled by the fist for centuries. I bet it happens more foten than we could guess..." the bard gave his guess. Looking at Urth, it had not taken long for players to devolve into chaos in many places.
Okay, they also had to deal with an apocalypse, but they came from a civilized, mostly pacifist society and still chose violence in many cases. How would it be for people who lived in a world where the bigger fist is glorified to be in the right?
There was a dampened, gut-wrenching thump when the mysterious stranger finally attacked. he punched the man in the chest, and the weird thump was accompanied by an audible crack, as the buff man's sternum was pulverized.
"he had no chance, poor guy," Fin commented, watching the lv.50 guy get felled by the lv.75 cultivator. He got played the whole time and owned with a single strike. Tragic. The girl was also about done with the young master.
Yi Ma was completely yamcha'd, lying in a shallow crater on the ground. There was no visible spot on his body that was not black, blue, or bruised. She had completely tenderized him. She nonchalantly grabbed the unguarded chest that Yi Ma's henchman brought along and placed it before the herb gatherer.
"This should be enough to pay for the 50 Year Meadow Ginseng, right?" she asked, shamelessly paying with stolen money. The stall owner didn't bat an eye and nodded happily. "Of course, Fairy Huan, no problem," he said and exchanged her chest for a small box.
The girl checked the inside and allowed the group to catch a glance at the little root inside. Seth used the
A meadow Ginseng that had grown for 50 years in sub-optimal conditions. Hold a huge amount of magic power. Can be consumed raw to raise max mana by a small amount. Recommended to be used as an ingredient in addition to certain preparations to maximize efficacy.>
Surprised, Seth found that it was actually a plant that could raise stats permanently. He could also imagine the preparations mentioned. Cultivators had techniques that allowed them to make foreign or natural magic power their own and increase their storage.
Seth was able to do something similar. That way, and by making a pill from the plant, they could gain a lot more than the small amount from consuming it raw. Master Mountain had told him about it, when they talked about what the cultivators actually wanted on Urth.
The blacksmith had also experienced it himself when he consumed the pills they had gotten their hands on. The energy circulation, together with Charon's Obol and his "Fairy, don't be so cold. Didn't I help you?" the stranger asked the woman. he had tried to approach her, but she kept her distance.
"Stop following me, as you know me!" she barked, storing the chest with the herb in her pouch.
"I would love to know you better," he said, amused, not letting off. The fairy walked away and her mysterious savior followed.
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"I guess the show is over. Should we look around now?" Mina asked, nibbling away the last bits of her street food. They had just entered the bazaar when the interesting piece of street performance emerged before them.
"Yeah, let's go."