MERCHANT ADVENTURER

Receiving a Rich Treasure

On the threshold of manhood, I felt a bit lost. I knew this day would come, but I never thought it would come so soon. And my limbs felt achy all the time. Garlan said the aches stemmed from me growing taller.

Surprisingly, Bacchanal didn't tease me. Instead, he and Garlan threw a rite of passage ceremony for me. Although it lacked the usual flare a normal rite of passage ceremony would have, but it sufficed for us who were on the lam.

We walked for a few days more before reaching the bank of the Great Wide River. We were further downstream than Oxburg. In this remote area, the water flowed rapidly, making it a dangerous place to fish or travel by boat.

It was highly likely the violent nature of the river made this place a prime area to avoid. Otherwise, why would no one want to settle down near the river.

Numerous boulders jutted out from between the white river foam. This place would be impossible to cross to the other side. With no other choice, we headed south again. We followed the path carved out by the river. Occasionally, we would meet with other travelers. We would share news and even food.

Eventually, we came to an area where the river was calm. Jumping into the river for a bath, Midas suddenly rang out, "Treasure."

I followed Midas' instructions and dove down into the depths of the water. Underwater, despite it being difficult to see, I saw something glitter. I picked up the small sized rock and brought it up to the surface. To my surprise, I was holding a thumb size nugget of gold. This gold was unrefined. It must have formed naturally upstream in a mountain. With the spring melt, the gold was eventually washed away and ended up here in the river.

I submitted to gold nugget to Midas. Believing there wasn't any more gold, I was readying myself to leave the river, when Midas chimed out, "Treasure."

Under Midas' guidance, I found several more thumb sized gold nuggets. This allowed me to unlock several more items in the tradeshop. It appeared I had unlocked medicine. From cold cures to bone regeneration medicine. Was this really possible? With bone regeneration medicine, if I was injured, I could regrow a missing limb.

I was so enthralled, I couldn't breathe. Even with money, I don't think anyone could buy this medicine. In fact, this medicine was worth the wealth of an entire kingdom.

Not only would it sell well, but it was also probably the only type of medicine of its kind in this world. How precious it is! And I was the only one who had access to it.

The thought of owning something truly priceless seeped into my core, making me joyful to the point I couldn't stop grinning. But then reality took over and I realized I must protect this secret medicine well. If people knew I had this medicine, they would do anything to obtain it. Realizing the possible mess I might encounter, I vowed to be more careful in the future. A moment of inattentiveness may cost me my life in the future.