I woke up to daylight, got up, and went to Fenris's room. When I knocked, Luna opened the door, and Fenris approached from behind her. "Let's have breakfast," I said. "How are your injuries?"
"They're healing well; the pain's gone," he replied, as they both left the room. We got a private room and ate there. I ordered braised wild boar meat, steamed fish, bread, and mushroom soup. Rice wasn't common here, so we had bread.
After eating, I said I had business at the Mercenary and Merchant Guilds. I paid for our meal and left, heading to the Merchant Guild. The attendant recognized me and led me to the back for more space.
"What beast carcasses do you have?" he asked. I summoned the ones I'd hunted last night: twelve hyenas, twelve Moon Wolves, six wild boars, one Black Saber Tooth, and one Forest Brown Bear. His eyes widened. He inspected them.
"Hyenas are still 20 silver per carcass. Wild boars are 55 silver each, since their eyes aren't damaged. Moon Wolves are 1 gold each, the Black Saber Tooth is 4 gold, and the Forest Brown Bear is 5 gold." I was surprised by the prices of the Saber Tooth and Bear; they were worth around 360,000 PHP combined.
"Here's 2 gold bars, 6 gold coins, and 7 silver coins," he said. I now had 8 gold bars, 3 gold coins, 97 silver coins, and 50 copper coins, worth over 3.3 million PHP, plus the cores I hadn't sold. I went to the Mercenary Guild to sell the cores. The attendant was shocked when I showed them.
"Where are your hunting companions?" he asked.
"I hunted them all myself," I explained. He was even more surprised and used a device to confirm I'd killed the beasts. It showed all their details, proving I was the sole hunter.
"Uh... where's your Mercenary Token?" he stammered. I gave it to him.
"Rank C?! You can advance to Rank A for 1 gold coin."
"What are the benefits?" I asked.
"You'll have access to more quests, and a 20% discount on weapons, potions, and scrolls from merchants, except for custom-made items," he explained. I nodded in agreement.
"Here's your new token, and 2 gold and 30 silver coins. I deducted the advancement fee," he said, handing me a new gold token with an "A" on it. Before leaving, I glanced at the Quest Board.
As I looked, a woman pinned two drawings to the board: Fenris and Luna. They had a bounty. I asked the woman about them.
"Baron Grimgar Fellbane is looking for them. They attacked his sons," she explained. We needed to leave, but how could they get past the gate? I could use my portal, and they could come with me if they had Slave Binds. Would they agree?
While searching for a potion and scroll shop, I saw a "Raw Gem Store." I thought I could sell some gems on Earth for a high price.
Inside, various gems were displayed. "Appraisal."
"7 grams Raw Deep Crimson Ruby," "15 grams Raw Blue Topaz," "12 grams Raw Royal Blue Sapphire," "4 grams Raw Diamond," "15 grams Raw Diamond," "3 grams Raw Pink Diamond," and many others.
I asked about the prices. Ruby was more expensive than pink diamonds, and nobles preferred clear diamonds. For colored gems, they favored ruby, sapphire, and topaz. I asked the price for a 16g raw ruby, 12g raw royal blue sapphire, 15 grams raw diamond, 7g raw diamond, 11g raw pink diamond.
"20 silver coins for the ruby, 10 silver coins for the sapphire, 33 silver for the two diamonds, and 7 silver for the pink diamond." I paid and left.
I went to a potion and scroll shop, buying two Slave Bind scrolls and two health potions for emergencies. They cost 1 gold and 50 silver coins, but with my 20% Rank A discount, I paid 1 gold and 20 silver.
Back at Flora Inn, I went to Fenris's room, knocking and entering quickly. He and Luna were surprised. I explained what I'd seen at the Mercenary Guild.
"We need to leave, but the gate will be heavily guarded. I have a way, but you'll need to use Slave Bind scrolls," I said. They looked hesitant and doubtful.
"Trust me. I won't let you get hurt," I said. I felt guilty; if I hadn't intervened, they wouldn't have bounties on their heads. Luna touched Fenris's arm, and he nodded. Luna must have seen I was telling the truth.
I gave them the scrolls. They bit their fingers and stamped them on the scrolls, marking themselves as "SLAVE." I cut my finger and stamped it on "MASTER." The scrolls vanished, and chains of light appeared, connecting to my chest and their chests. The light faded.
"Slave Bind Completed."
"Special Traits: You can use any skills your slaves possess." "You can also share your abilities to your slaves with your consent."
"Slaves Skills: Rune Master Engraver, Scroll Master, Stealth, Gem Refiner, Potion Refiner, Eyes of Truth."
"Gate." I opened the portal.
"Let's go," I said. They hesitantly walked through, and I followed. We transferred to my room.
It was only 11 PM when we arrived on Earth. Fenris and Luna's eyes wandered around the room, likely marveling at the unfamiliar designs and gadgets absent in Eldorath.
"We'll stay here for a day. This is my home, Earth, a different dimension from Eldorath," I explained. Fenris nodded curtly.
"It's still night here. You and Luna can stay in the other room," I said, leading them to a clean room with two single beds. I knew they wouldn't fall asleep immediately since it was almost noon when we left Eldorath. I prepared instant cup noodles for them.
"They're called instant cup noodles. They're delicious. Be careful, the broth is hot," I said. Luna examined and sniffed the noodles before tasting the broth.
"This is delicious, Master!" Fenris and Luna exclaimed, their eyes wide and delighted. I wasn't surprised by the "Master" address; it was a requirement of the Slave Bind. Ignoring it would trigger punishment.
I turned on the TV and played a Netflix movie. "Share Auto Translate Skill to Fenris and Luna," I said, so they could understand the movie. Luna hid behind Fenris when she saw the TV, and Fenris looked at it, puzzled.
"Master Henry, why are there pixies trapped in that box?" Fenris asked.
"Those aren't pixies. They're normal people. Only humans live on Earth. It's called a TV, a device that plays recorded images, like moving pictures," I explained. Luna slowly emerged from behind Fenris and sat cross-legged, staring at the TV.
"To turn off the TV, just pull this," I said, pointing to the plug. "Knock on my door if you need anything," I said before leaving.
I wasn't sleepy. I examined my updated status.
"Name: Henry Park"
"Age: 27"
"Race: High Human (20% bloodline)"
"Level 14"
"Experience: 572/6000"
"Health: 2500/2500"
"Strength: 27"
"Agility: 45"
"Intelligence: 43"
"Dexterity: 45"
"Durability: 24"
"Undistributed points: 0"
"Skills: Portal to Eldorath, Appraisal, Dimensional storage (200 cubic meters, upgradable), AutoTranslate, Communication Device, Intermediate Regeneration, Change"
"Slaves: Fenris Grey (Demi-Human), Luna Grey (Demi-Human)"
"Slaves Skills: Rune Master Engraver, Scroll Master, Stealth, Gem Refiner, Potion Refiner, Eyes of Truth"
I could now use Luna's Gem Refiner skill. "Touch any Raw GemStones and Simply say Refine to activate the skill." "Additional attribute, You can say Enhance to enhance the quality of refined gemstones." I took out the raw gemstones I'd bought: a 16g raw ruby, 12g raw royal blue sapphire, 15 grams raw diamond, 7g raw diamond, and 11g raw pink diamond. I picked up the sapphire first.
"Refine." A screen appeared, showing the sapphire's image and weight. I chose round and oval shapes, 5 carats per piece or 1 gram. "Processing... 10%... 17%... 34%... 56%... 82%... 98%... Process Complete." Four oval-cut and seven round-cut sapphires appeared. Normal cutting and polishing yield only 1-2 five-carat pieces, depending on the raw gemstone's shape. Normal processes have 20-40% weight loss, but my Gem Refiner skill only lost 8%.
Diamonds have 50-70% weight loss. I used "Enhance" to improve the quality. I processed the other gemstones, creating five round-cut rubies, five oval-cut rubies, five emerald-cut rubies, fifteen round-cut diamonds, five princess-cut diamonds, eight round-cut pink diamonds, and two princess-cut diamonds. I suddenly felt sleepy.
I woke up at 9 AM. Luna and Fenris were still asleep, probably tired from watching TV. I went to the kitchen and cooked sunny-side-up eggs, tocino, bacon, and garlic rice. I ate without waking them. After showering, I saw Fenris waking up. "I'm going out. There's food on the table. Eat if you're hungry. You can watch TV," I said, showing him how to turn it on and play movies. I showed him where the essentials were and how to use the bathroom.
I went to the store to open. While arranging stock, I got a call. "Calling Tony..." "Hello, Tony?"
"Henry, I'm on leave this weekend until Monday. I'm coming to Pampanga."
"Oh, okay. I have news. I'll tell you when you get here."
"I'll probably arrive tomorrow afternoon."
"Are Roy and the others coming?" I asked.
"No, they're busy. They don't even open the group chat."
"Okay, I'll wait. Come straight to the store."
After the call, I decided to call Mr. Alfred Uy. I still had his business card.
"Hello, who's this?" a deep voice answered.
"Hello, sir. I'm Henry Park, the one who brought your daughter to the hospital."
"Oh, young man! How are you? Do you need help?"
"I'm fine, sir, thank you. I wanted to ask if you buy gold bars and gemstones."
"Yes, but it depends on the quality. What kinds of gemstones do you have?"
"I have 10 gold bars, each weighing 100 grams. I also have 15 deep crimson rubies, 11 royal blue sapphires, and 20 diamonds, all weighing 5 carats and flawlessly cut."
"That sounds like quite the collection!"
"I have some surprise pieces I'll show you if we make a deal on the others."
"Okay, bring them to Red Dragon's Treasures Store. When are you available?"
"I'll meet you there at 4 o'clock."
"Okay, young man. See you then." The call ended.
Meanwhile, in the Red Dragon's Treasures Store manager's office, the phone rang. "Hello, this is Bryan, the manager of Red Dragon's Treasures Store speaking. How may I assist you?"
"Prepare the private room. I'll be there at 4 o'clock with a VIP guest," said a deep, middle-aged voice.
"Yes, Chairman," the manager replied. After the call, he called again. "Albert, come to my office right now." Within 30 seconds, there was a knock. "Come in."
"Manager Bryan!" Albert said, entering.
"Prepare the private room. The Chairman will be here at 4 o'clock with a VIP guest."
"Right away, Manager Bryan," Albert replied.