I Have An SSS-Rank Service System: Hire Me For Anything!-Chapter 11: Three Hundred And Sixty-five Coppers?!
"You sold all of it?!" Horg yelled in surprise.
Twenty years since he started this business, he had never once sold all his ingots in a day, not to mention a large number of forty.
He calmed a bit and ushered the two young men into the shop, then poked his head out of the door as if checking if someone was following them before slamming it shut.
It was already dark, and so a lot of people had gone to sleep, but there were still a few passersby since the moon had just risen an hour ago.
Horg ushered Liam and Dory to the house and slammed the door again. He asked them to take a seat on the mat and also sat down. He took deep breaths and calmed himself.
"Okay. First, wow! Second, another wow! And lastly, how much and who bought it?"
Horg’s eyes were practically bulging out of his head. He looked like a man who had just seen a ghost, or perhaps something even more terrifying: a miracle. He leaned forward, his massive, soot-stained hands resting on his knees, his breath hitching as he waited for the answer.
Dory leaned back against the wall, a calm, tired smile playing on his lips. Beside him, Liam was practically vibrating with a mix of exhaustion and ego. Liam looked like he wanted to jump up and dance, but the weight of the copper in the bags between them kept him anchored.
"Well, Father," Liam started, his voice cracking slightly with excitement, "Dory... Dory is a madman. That’s how."
Dory chuckled and reached for the heavy leather pouch. He dumped the contents onto the mat. The sound was a heavy, rhythmic clink-clink-clink as a small mountain of copper coins spilled out, gleaming dully in the dim light of the oil lamp.
"We sold one piece for ten," Dory said, his voice smooth and professional. "Then we sold the honeycomb cases. One went for forty-five coppers per case. A few loose ones, four to be precise, from the one piece we sold for ten each also. And the last three..." Dory paused, a glint of mischief behind his glasses.
"The last three cases went for fifty each because the sun was setting and the buyer was desperate."
Horg’s hands trembled as he reached out to touch a stack of coins. He began to count, his lips moving silently.
"Forty bars," Horg whispered. "At ten... Fifty... forty-five... by the gods."
He calculated the whole amount in his mind. Three hundred and sixty-five coppers!
Horg sat back, his weight hitting the wooden stool with a heavy thud. He stared at the pile of copper as if he expected it to vanish into smoke if he blinked. Three hundred and sixty-five coppers. To a man who usually moved a handful of bars a week for seven coppers each, this wasn’t just a successful day; it was a fortune.
"Three hundred... sixty-five," Horg repeated, his voice barely a rasp. He looked up at Dory, his expression unreadable. "Dory, in twenty years, the most I’ve ever held at once was a hundred and twenty, and that was after a month of back-breaking work for a military contract."
He reached out, his thick, calloused fingers tracing the rim of the copper mountain.
"You sold those last cases for eighty? Eighty coppers for eight pieces of iron?" Horg shook his head, a bewildered laugh bubbling up in his chest. "That’s ten coppers a piece in bulk. It’s supposed to be cheaper when they buy more! That’s the rule of the market!"
He paused and raised an eyebrow. "Who exactly did you sell— ah, wait, you two should freshen up and I’ll arrange dinner. Liam, prepare a warm bath for your elder brother... I-I mean... Dory."
Dory smiled and said nothing. He stood up and nodded to Horg, whose expression had turned crimson red. He walked away with Liam to prepare for his bath.
Last night, Dory had slept in the main room and taken his bath beside the pig’s sty, but this time, Liam was leading him to the guest room. The room was not that big and not too small.
The room was modest, but compared to the dusty corner near the pigsty, it felt like a palace. There was a simple wooden bedframe with a straw mattress, a small stool, a washbasin, a small window showing the forest behind the house, and a door that led to the toilet. Liam bustled about, hauling a heavy bucket of steaming water he’d heated over the forge’s embers, his face still glowing with the pride of the day’s victory.
"Here," Liam said, setting the bucket down and wiping his brow. "Don’t mind the old man. He’s... he’s just not used to having things go right. He called you ’brother’ because in our village, you only share a roof and a purse with family."
Liam paused at the door, looking back at Dory. "I’ll leave you to it. Dinner will be ready soon. My dad is probably slaughtering the fattest pig we have to celebrate."
As the door clicked shut, Dory let out a long, ragged sigh. He stripped off his soot-stained tunic, walked into the bathroom that was at the other end of the room, and stepped into the large wooden tub. The heat of the water was an instant relief, soaking into muscles that had been tensed all day from the stress of the market. He leaned his head back against the rim, closing his eyes.
Immediately, the blue interface of the system flickered to life in the darkness of his eyelids.
[Daily Summary & Milestone]
Total Revenue: 365 Coppers
[Rank: F-Rank ’Retail’ Freelancer]
[Service Points (SP): 5,000 (Available)]
[Hidden Bonus: +200 SP for "Brand Creation: Eagle-Mark"]
[Current Title: Lower Based Trader]
[System Notification]: "You have reached the end of the business day. The 10x Multiplier is currently active and awaiting confirmation. If applied to your physical earnings (365 Coppers), the total will be recalculated."
Dory opened his eyes, staring at the steam rising in the dim room.
’Three thousand six hundred and fifty coppers...’ he thought.
He paused for a moment before whispering.
"Multiply."
