A/N: Alright, I'm ready for round 2, after like... 2 months.
Chapter 1: Tent Of Monsters
It was a quiet night in the castle town of Melromarc. The current shield, Naofumi Iwatani, was pretty tired after a full day of monster grinding with his companion, Myne. Even with all of his effort, he was only able to gain two levels due to a combination of his nonexistent attack power of 1, and the little exp gain he got from slaying a balloon.
He was planning on counting the grind throughout the night, but his companion wanted to go back to the inn to eat and turn in for the night, but unknown to her, Naofumi couldn't sleep. He was still fascinated by the new world he was in. And still being curious about the town, he decided to go outside and walk around in the market district for a bit, passing by many shops that specialized in fields like magic and potion-making, satisfying his sense of wonder.
"Wow... this place is so cool. It's not even morning and I can feel the life this town breathes. Although I do need to find a faster way to level up, If I keep going at this pace, I'll most likely be under-leveled before the wave hits, and being useless means death or someone else." Naofumi looks down at the shield on his arm, seeing the reflection of his face in the orb in the middle. "I've already promised that I will fight for this world. Let's not die before I can make that a reality."
Naofumi continues on a path through the castle town until he approaches a bright light that seems to be shining down an alleyway. Looking down the alley, he can confirm the light was from a lantern of some sort, and it seemed to be shining next to a rope. "What is that?" Naofumi asked questions while staring down the alleyway. Curious, he walks down the alleyway only to find a large tent.
Naofumi scratches his head as he looks at the tent. "A tent? Did a circus happen a couple of days earlier?" Many questions run through Naofumi's mind until he hears a voice.
"Well well well, it appears that I have some business." A relatively short man in a dark purple suit and a top hat walks outside the tent to greet his new customer.
"Oh, do you not plan on coming inside." The trader asked as he saw Naofumi's hesitant face.
"Oh, sorry for the wait. Naofumi replied, following the short man inside.
"It's not every day a hero will come to my establishment, I promise this visit will be worth your while."
"You know who I am?"
"I apologize if you wanted to keep it a secret, but I saw the shield on your arm and thought it would be a great opportunity to show off my merchandise." The small man chuckled.
"What merchandise? Isn't this for a circus?" Naofumi asked, rather puzzled by the situation. They continue walking to the back before he gets the answer.
"Oh, that's more of a side project I do sometimes, the real supply is in the back."
"Supply? supply of what?"
The man walks over to a curtain and pulls it away. "Well, slaves, of course!" As Naofumi passes through a curtain, he looks at dozens of cages full of creatures and people of all shapes and sizes.
"S-slaves!" Naofumi said, with a concerned tone as he witnessed the grand reveal.
"Y-you're a slave trader!" This time, he said with anger. Raising his shield against the rather short man.
"Indeed I am. The trade of demi-humans and beast-men is legal in this country, so I decided to take that business opportunity and sell them myself! And what a great idea that was. "
"Demi-humans and beast-men..., what are they, exactly?"
"Intriguing huh? As expected from the hero of the shield, "
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"That is not important at the moment. Regardless, demi-humans and beast-men are half-human, half monster-like creatures. Demi-humans have more of a human appearance with some monster traits, whereas beast-men tend to look more like monsters than actual humans. Some even have the uncanny ability to transform between human and monster forms. Depending on the type they can go for hundreds of gold pieces like my prized slave right here." Belokaus pulls off another curtain. This one is in a cage holding a werewolf.
"This one is a beast-man type known as a werewolf. This specific one here is around level 75, and has combat experience due to his gladiator origins."
"I can assume he isn't cheap then."
"Of course, this one is just an advertisement if you ever desire a slave similar to him."
"W-well, alright then. I'm not here to buy a slave, though. " Naofumi slowly lowers his shield.
"A shame, but fear not. If slaves don't interest you, I also dabble in the monster business as well. By registering them with yourself, you'll be able to command them for all sorts of tasks."
Naofumi thinks about the offer for a moment as he fully lowers his shield. With a monster, he can gain some levels faster.
"If I get a monster, would it be a lot easier to defeat more monsters and level up?" Naofumi asked.
"Indeed, while registered, it will even share the experience gained with you."
"Interesting, fine, I'll take one.
"Good choice. Now follow me." The man says He takes Naofumi to an area of the tent that holds all the monsters.
"We have the usual types of monsters you'll see during adventuring, like frogs and Usapil. Then there are some of the more rare creatures, such as Griffins and the occasional dragon, though I sold the last flying one a long time ago."
"Well, there goes that option, but it's cool to see that dragons do exist here."
"Sorry about that. Now here is the exotic type section, my favorite kind since these go for thousands of silver."
"But there's only one thing here." Naofumi complained as he looked at a deer-like creature with wings."
"Yes, this section is still a work in progress."
"I'm not sure. Almost everything here is out of my price range, no matter how cool it looks. " Naofumi complained."
While Naofumi is looking around the monster cages, he spots a table with a bunch of eggs. "So what is that one over there?"
"It's just a new thing I'm trying. It's called a monster lottery. For only 100 silver, you can get a monster egg, although which one you get is a mystery. "
"Sounds like a loot box from one of those lame gocha games. What is the grand prize anyway? "
"A dragon, although you are at least guaranteed a filolial if you play."
"And that is?"
The man points to a cage holding two sleeping Filolials. "These are Filolial. They are the birds you usually see outside, pulling the carts. They also have pretty strong kicks if you plan on using them for combat as well. "
"How much would a fully grown adult cost then, assuming they're that useful?"
"At least 300 silvers, but both options are still on the table if you like to go for the grand prize."
"Totally a gocha game. I can only assume there isn't even a dragon in there."
"Of course there is. Probably." The man muttered.
Naofumi sighed as he pulled out his pouch. He said, "Eh, I don't have much to lose if I play," as he pulled out some silver from his money bag and chose an egg.
After registering the egg with Naofumi, Naofumi walks out of the tent with an egg inside of an incubator. Finally heading back to the inn for some rest. Naofumi Takes off his armor and places it in the wardrobe along with the rest of his clothes. Naofumi then decides to hide some of the money he had in his shield and puts the egg on the nightstand near him so he can have a good rest for tomorrow. Still unaware of the scheme his companion is plotting for him.
Thanks for reading.
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