After more than half a day in a horse-drawn carriage, father and son arrived at the town of Dorn.
Although it was late afternoon, many carriages were still queued to enter and leave the town.
This town occupied a convenient position for trade between Eldoria and Braxen, so traffic was always heavy.
Tris's village owned a relatively large property in the town, used for storing goods or for official matters, such as this trip by Elder Arven.
The property was always staffed and maintained, so Tris and his father didn't need to rent an inn—they could stay there for the next few days.
After settling the carriage and storing their belongings, night had already fallen.
Tris and his father decided to visit a nearby restaurant for dinner.
"Welcome, honored guests," greeted the server as soon as they entered.
The restaurant appeared accustomed to hosting merchants; the tables and chairs were clean, and the service was professional.
Checking the menu, they saw nearly twenty different dishes.
Both ordered a portion of game meat, seasonal vegetables, and soup.
For drinks, Arven chose a glass of apple wine, while Tris opted for fruit juice.
Although Maren's cooking was delicious, the repetition of the same style could grow tiresome. Tris was quite pleased with this dinner.
'Maybe I should leave the house more often to change the flavor now and then,' he thought.
"Tomorrow, I'll be busy with work. You can stroll around the town while I'm gone," said his father, handing him 100 gold coins.
The kingdom's currency was divided into copper, silver, and gold: 10 copper coins = 1 silver coin, 10 silver coins = 1 gold coin.
Tris knew that an ordinary person could live comfortably on about 10 gold coins per month, so this was a substantial sum for a child's spending money.
However, Arven understood that, given Tris's abilities, 100 gold coins was not a significant amount. Between father and son, it was more like giving a child some money for treats.
"Thank you, father," Tris said happily.
Even though he now had personal funds, buying materials for a magical puppet was very expensive—or rather, almost anything related to magic cost a lot.
Thus, every coin was helpful, and knowing it came from his father made Tris even more grateful.
The next morning, while Arven went off for work, Tris wandered alone through the streets of Dorn.
In one hand, he held a baked pastry, in the other a skewer of meat, eating as he observed the shops around him.
'First, I need to find a place that buys magical beast materials,' he thought, beginning to search for stores specializing in armor and weapons.
"Aaa—!" - A passerby suddenly fell to his knees and screamed in pain.
A sharp wooden skewer, previously used for Tris's meat, had pierced the man's hand.
'Security here doesn't seem great… Pickpockets are already at work this early in the morning.
Tris thought, continuing to eat his pastry while walking.
At his waist, he carried a small dagger and several leather pouches.
Although Tris kept his gold stored in the ring, he refused to let anyone casually take the items from his pouches.
'Ah, here it is.'
After about fifteen minutes, he found his target.
* * * * * * * * * *
Behind the counter stood Bran, a broad-shouldered man with a bushy beard that made him appear older than his thirty-something years.
As Bran cleaned the counter, the bell rang, signaling a customer's arrival.
A child entered, with black hair, black eyes, and a delicate face.
The child wore an expensive black leather jacket. A belt held a dagger and leather pouches, like a typical hunter.
Both hands were gloved—slightly unusual, as the left glove covered all fingers, while the right was fingerless.
Bran, curious, asked:
"What do you need, kid?"
"Sir, do you buy magical beast materials?" - The child asked suddenly.
"Yes, but it depends on the material," - Bran replied reflexively.
"Black Beetle wings and Giant Mantis forelegs."
'D- and C-grade materials?' - Bran was surprised.
Magical beasts were classified to indicate danger levels, which also served as a measure of their strength.
F-grade: low danger, easy for untrained people to handle, mostly non-magical-beast creatures. These were the main sources of daily meat and income for hunters.
E-grade: moderate danger; low-level magical beasts. Ordinary people must be careful when facing them.
D-grade: great danger; only those skilled in spiritual energy combat could handle them.
C-grade: very great danger; each C-level beast was a serious threat. Spiritual energy alone wasn't enough—slaying one required strength, skill, and experience. A minor mistake could cost one's life.
Judging by the child's appearance and question, Bran assumed he came from a skilled hunter family and smiled:
"If you have them, I'll buy."
C-grade materials were rare. With them, he could craft powerful weapons and sell them for high prices.
"Price?" asked the child.
"Black Beetle wings, 2 gold, 5 silver each. Giant Mantis forelegs, 12 gold each."
Hearing the price, the child nodded, waved his left hand, and said:
"Here are 4 wings and 8 forelegs."
Immediately, magical beast materials flooded the store floor.
Bran was stunned by the quantity and quality of the materials. He didn't expect so many at once.
But more astonishing than the amount was how they were retrieved—clearly from a spatial bag.
Even the cheapest spatial bag could cost several hundred to a thousand gold coins—an enormous sum for an average family.
Yet here was a child holding such a fortune in hand.
From the clothing, Bran had guessed the child came from a wealthy family, but he realized he had underestimated him.
'Ah, that explains the glove,' Bran thought.
A spatial ring or spatial bracelet could be recognized by someone knowledgeable. That glove, however, could truly help avoid unnecessary attention.
"All materials are in excellent condition, completely intact, no damage. I'll buy everything at a slightly higher price—110 gold coins. How does that sound?" - Bran offered warmly.
"Very well, thank you!"
The transaction went smoothly, and both parties were satisfied.