A huge rhinoceros with a sharp copper horn that could easily tear through a thick tree. The skin is giving off a golden bronze colour that has protruding plates here and there. It's like someone cut opened the skin and embedded flexible metal plates in it.
A grey coloured Armadillo that reaches half the height of a wagon. A black bear with huge claws and prickly fur that could easily cut your hand. Ash coloured hippopotamus with bright red spots here and there with teeth that could crunch through rocks.
Their barn here has a lot of variety of potential mounts I could get. However, from the lineup all of the animals here are the power type that the staff mentioned. Does that mean they have different barns for every type? I imagine so but wouldn't it cause a lot of walking for people who just want to browse.
It's not like the barns are small enough to walk in a couple of minutes. They need room for huge creatures like this lava hippo. Though, I guess they only rest here since they can't possibly live comfortably cooped inside a barn all day.
"Does anything catch your attention sir?"
"Hmm, all of them seem familiar. I was hoping for something unusual."
I know the price would be higher for something like that but since I am here, I might as well look at the different kinds of creatures available.
"Oh, then I would like to guide you to our luxurious collection. This area is more for the general public and introduction of the kind of creatures that we have. They are generally tame and easy to handle. The ones at the back are for those curious fellows that like the challenge. I must warn you that although they are subdued, they aren't tame. They would only listen to their master once you go through the taming process, which we have prepared. It will guide you on how to get the creature friendly with you to the point that it won't listen to anyone else unless you allow it to."
What fancy and eloquent way to say that this is where the expensive shit is!
Every store has that display case that you can't get near to. Almost always behind the counter along the wall. It's where the most expensive items are decorated to catch the shoppers attention. This way, they can sell those items for more without much effort.
"Let us start with this Rock golem. Speed isn't really it's forte but the power and sturdiness of this thing is guaranteed. Also, it has been enhanced thanks to the help of enchanters making it obey your order without fail. It can also fight and defend you when needed. Last but not the least, you don't need to feed it. If you just let it rest for a bit, it can sustain its energy by itself."
That is a very tempting offer but even though I said that I don't need speed, it will be a problem if my travel speed is that slow. I would rather walk. It would probably be much faster.
"It is tempting but the speed is too much of a demerit for me."
"Very well, let's move on to the next one. This is the golden pig. It can't pull a wagon by itself but depending on how heavy the wagon is, a passel of pigs could pull your wagon. They eat pretty much anything and they will be happy and obedient as long as you let them play around in the dirt."
"Passel?"
"I'm sorry, a group of pigs. A single one can pull somewhere around a hundred to two hundred kilogram."
"Next one, please."
Two hundred kilos per pig isn't really good. It's also a problem if I have to take care of a bunch of them. The food expense will pile up, and I always see pigs as prey in the hierarchy of the wild. Unless those pigs are wild boars, they will only attract more monsters than help me transport goods.
"Not much for the cute chubby pigs? On to the next one then, these are diamond tusked elephants. They are strong, fairly fast and don't require a lot of food. A single one of these can pull a hefty load without much burden."
"Oh, those do indeed sound amazing. However, the price must be quite high as well."
"That is true. As mentioned in the name, their tusk has diamond tips. They are often hunted for them, so most of them in our possession are bred by us. Thus making the quantity limited. A single one will reach the cost of 50-80 gold coins depending on the size."
I still have more than enough to buy it. However, spending that much will cast suspicion on me.
Tch, it is too bad that I still have to lay low since I haven't fully spread out my foundation for my fame. If only I had some regular customers, I could excuse the expenditure of this magnitude. They seem like pretty good pets too. I mean who wouldn't want an elephant?
"That is a bit pricey for me. Do you have anything else?"
"I understand, we have a lot more in our barn. Let us proceed to the next one. This is the golden ram. It has thick heavy fur that absorbs impact from most attacks. A hard head equipped with gold gilded horns capable of crushing boulders. It is also strong, can move in unstable terrain and doesn't need much food."
Oh, this seems very nice. The fur isn't exactly gold though. It's more of a brown greyish colour. The only thing golden about this sheep is the eyes and the horns.
"I see that you are skeptical about it because it isn't gold furred. However, the naming to most of the creatures was given by the past hero. The gold ram only has gold on their horns that grow over time. It's a property of the horn itself, as long as it's attached to the head of the ram. You can't force them to make the gold itself as it only coats the horn. The scholar hero said that it was a way for it to attract a mate. If the gold ram could grow golden fur then it wouldn't really serve as a mount, even if it did it would be reserved for those who have deep pockets and the ability to protect it from all dangers."
The hero sure was busy. Did that hero actually go around the world naming every single animal, monster, and creature in existence? I'm sure they already called them something else in this world. Why bother naming them with our own animal kingdom?
"Since the horns are only gilded with gold, it doesn't amount to much. Even if you scraped all of the gold off, it wouldn't even amount to a handful of silver coins. It is merely a decoration at most. However, this is a good thing as the price of this creature wouldn't be worth nearly as much if the horns are actually made of gold."
"I see, this is indeed very tempting for me. How much is it's price?"
"For obvious reasons, we can only sell the rams and not the female sheep. If you want them as a set pair, then you will have to get permission from the town mayor. The ram by itself would cost you 20-30 silver coins."
"Good, I'll take one."
"Are you sure one is enough, sir?"
"It's enough, it's not like I have that much baggage to carry around with me."
Also, for a ram, the size is almost like those small cars in the modern world. Those tiny cars where people with long legs would have to deal with aching joints after a drive. Heck, it's even as big as my carriage.
One should be enough, it's not like I plan to overburden it with the weight too.
"This young golden ram is a good choice. It would cost you around 27 silver coins. As part of the discount given to you by the branch manager, you will only be charged 24 silver coins and 3 copper coins."
10% discount? I guess I am only a prospect for them at the moment. It doesn't make sense to give me a large discount. They want to just give me a taste of the benefits so that I would ask for more, like movie trailers that only show the highlights and get you all hyped up.
"Is it alright to pay three days later. That is when I will head back home. I can't even take this ram to the inn since I can't take care of it at the moment. I'll just leave a deposit and take it back with me three days later."
"Normally, it wouldn't be allowed as you would need a guarantor for security purposes. However, you have the I.D. given by the branch manager. Alright, sir. We will remove your choice of golden ram from the showroom and care for it in a separate barn. As for the down payment, you don't need to leave any with us. You can just give the price when you collect the golden ram three days later."
"Thanks, I'll be back soon."
"We await your return, sir."
There we go, another flaunt of the benefits. As expected of merchants, they know how to highlight their merchandise, and they know how to make you feel like they are doing a gracious service to you, so you buy more than what you actually need.
At the end there, I think he misunderstood my plight of not wanting to pay for the ram now as I am not having enough money but that is alright, the poorer they think I am the easier it is for me to move under their radar. Hopefully, their branch manager will lose interest in me and think that I am some stubborn fool that wants to climb the ranks one step at a time without help.
In truth, a backing of a merchant guild is a very convenient thing to have. However, if I accept help this early without building my foundation first, I would be put in a passive position in our relationship.
It is too soon and I can't have my achievement be attributed to the merchant guild I am working for. If I make a name for myself, then go with a partnership with a merchant guild, that would balance the scale a bit and people will see that as more of an equal transaction between me and the merchants.
I don't want people to think that the merchant guild is the one building me up from the ground up, that I am some kind of rock polished by the merchant guild which they turned into a rare jewel.
