The imperial capital of Odin was very prosperous.

The nearest commercial street was not far from Valoran Academy, and the two only had to cross one or two streets to reach their destination.

After all, the students of Valoran Academy had considerable purchasing power, so part of the reason the commercial street was built here was to serve them.

"Elissa, are you here to buy weapons this time?"

Loren walked beside Elissa, keeping an optimal distance from her, with his eyes wandering between the shops on both sides of the street.

"Yes, my weapon broke during our trip to the Warcraft Forest last time, so I've been saving money for a month to get a new one," said Elissa, with her hands behind her back and a shy smile.

It was her first time shopping with a boy of her age, and her gem-like eyes were filled with shyness.

"Was it that time..."

Upon hearing her words, Loren couldn't help but recall their encounter more than a month ago, when Elissa was fighting a huge fire ape, and her high quality sword was damaged in that battle.

"But is it okay to wait a month to buy a new one?" Loren couldn't help but ask, as the air-fighting classes often involved sparring, and not having a suitable weapon could be a problem.

"I wanted to buy a magic weapon this time, so I saved for another month. Also, using the academy's weapons during training is sufficient for now. This time it's to prepare for the mid-term assessment," explained Elissa.

Magic weapons, which are more powerful and durable than ordinary weapons, contain special powers. If Elissa had been wielding a magic weapon when she encountered the fire ape, Loren wouldn't have needed to rescue her.

"I didn't know you were such a little rich girl, Elissa."

Loren teased. Magic weapons were also a thing in the game, and their prices were quite high, with the cheapest costing tens of thousands of gold coins. Elissa had saved enough money in just one month to buy one.

"Not really, I had to withdraw all my previous savings to afford it," Elissa said, somewhat embarrassed.

Loren looked at the shy Elissa and couldn't help but smile. As someone who had never been in a relationship, interacting with Elissa gave him a very comfortable feeling.

Although he had really annoyed Princess Ailie in their previous conversation, that doesn't mean that Loren was like that in front of every girl. He had treated Ailie that way because he knew that she wanted to use him, and he generally wouldn't intentionally go after those close to him.

"Ah, they're selling magic pets here, and they're all young," exclaimed Elissa, her eyes sparkling when she suddenly saw a stall selling baby Warcraft in the commercial street. Those fluffy little creatures were too lethal for a girl her age.

Elissa couldn't help but squat down in front of the stall, pressing her short skirt and closing her knees, her attractive legs wrapped in black stockings caught the vendor's eye.

Elissa didn't notice the vendor's burning gaze, as her attention was completely drawn by the little Warcraft. Loren, however, was a bit annoyed and glanced at the vendor, since Elissa was his friend now.

Taking a few steps forward, Loren blocked the aggressive gaze of the vendor, who only then noticed Loren's presence. The vendor was initially frowning with slight anger, but upon seeing the Valoran Academy uniform on Loren, he was immediately startled. He had been so captivated by Elissa's alluring youthful figure that he hadn't recognized her as a Valoran Academy student at first glance.

Now that he had come to his senses, he didn't dare to continue his uninhibited gaze on Elissa's figure any longer. The Valoran Academy's reputation in the imperial capital was well-known, and many of its students were rich and powerful, so ordinary forces wouldn't dare to offend them.

Meanwhile, Elissa was playing with several fluffy little Warcraft, her face adorned with a cute smile.

A beautiful girl holding cute Warcraft made for a very pleasing picture.

"Big brother Loren, these Warcraft are really cute. What do you think about me buying one to raise?" Elissa asked with a blushing face."It's up to you, as long as your family doesn't mind, it's okay to buy one to take home." Loren said indifferently, mentioning how girls in every world seemed to have a soft spot for these fluffy things.

"Hey, young man, this beautiful little lady must be your girlfriend, right? Since she wants it so much, why don't you buy one for her to raise? These magical beasts have a strong vitality and are easy to take care of." The seller hurriedly said.

"Am I, am I Loren's girlfriend?" Elissa blushed at the seller's words, squatting down, not daring to look at Loren's expression.

Loren, somewhat speechless, glanced at this opportunistic fellow and asked, "How much are you selling it for?"

Although he was not short of money, Loren didn't want to make it too easy for others.

Upon hearing this, the seller felt hopeful about closing the deal, so he quickly quoted a price: "Five thousand gold coins!"

Upon hearing this, Loren almost slapped the seller's head. Five thousand gold coins! Was this guy trying to rip him off?

"Five, five thousand?" Elissa was also surprised and quickly put the adorable magical creatures back on the ground. "Forget it, Loren, let's go. These magical beasts are too expensive."

Even though Elissa brought fifty thousand gold coins to buy magical equipment, five thousand gold coins would be enough to buy a good piece of magical equipment or an excellent weapon. Although Elissa, as the dean's granddaughter, was not short of money, spending five thousand gold coins on a pet for ornamental purposes was still a bit hard for her to accept.

Seeing Elissa wanted to leave, the seller became anxious, "Little sister, we risked a lot to capture these magical beast cubs from the magical beast forest. Those magical beasts do not keep their cubs by their side but hide them in secret nests. We lost many brothers in the process of searching for them. Selling a cub for five thousand gold coins is not expensive."

Elissa shook her head, "Even so, I don't want it. Five thousand gold coins for one is just too expensive. An ordinary pet, even an expensive one, would only cost a few hundred gold coins."

"But these are precious magical beasts, and even the weakest of them possess magical power, unlike those ordinary pets," argued the seller. "Even the lowest-level magical beast, when raised, would have a combat strength comparable to a Level 3 warrior."

"But..."

Indeed, for ordinary people, these magical beasts would be precious. However, for someone like Elissa, who was destined to become a Level 6, 7, or even more powerful warrior, they were no more than a trifling matter.

Loren's expression became somewhat strange upon hearing the seller's words.

"Alright, how about this - four thousand five hundred gold coins. Just four thousand five hundred gold coins, young man. Your girlfriend likes these magical beasts so much; can you bear to see her sad?" The seller shifted his target, addressing Loren instead. "Just four thousand five hundred gold coins to make your girlfriend happy. Isn't this price worth it?"

Loren grinned and said to the seller, "Five hundred gold coins. If you agree, I'll take it."

The seller immediately became upset, "Five hundred gold coins? Are you trying to rob me? My brothers paid a hefty price for these magical beast cubs, there's no way I can sell them for five hundred!"

Elissa stood up, and whispered to Loren, "Let's just go, Loren."

She also thought Loren was pushing the bargain too hard and blushed a little. However, she didn't blame Loren considering the initial price was indeed too high.

Loren gently stroked her soft hair and smiled gently as Elissa's cheeks flushed. He then looked back at the seller and said, "If the magical beast cubs you sell here really have the potential to grow into Level 3 magical beasts, I have no problem with paying five thousand gold coins. However..."

Loren paused, and the seller seemed to sense something wrong. He started sweating and said with a forced smile, "Young man, what are you talking about? I am selling the real deal here. Look at these little guys, lively and jumping around. They'll definitely grow up well and won't die halfway through."

Loren still had a cheeky grin, "Seems like I didn't make myself clear. Let me clarify then, these magical beast cubs you're selling...""Wait, wait, little brother, I get it, I get it, you don't have to say anything else, 500 gold coins, you can take this magical beast baby away, consider it me making friends with you." The seller said with a grin.

In his heart, he was already cursing. This kid was really weird. Seeing Loren's confident appearance, the seller knew that his trick had been exposed. The magical beast baby he was selling was indeed problematic, but most people couldn't tell. He didn't think that Loren and Elissa could see through it either, but now it seemed that he had picked up a rock only to drop it on his own foot.

"Be my friend, 500 gold coins aren't enough. Give me 5,000 gold coins, and I'll make friends with you," Loren frowned.

Seller: "???"

This kid really had some nerve! The seller's face turned a little dark. If it wasn't for the uniform Loren was wearing, he might have been in the mood to fight him.

Seeing his expression, Loren knew it was about time, so he cleared his throat and was about to call out. The seller saw his posture and could only endure the pain and said, "I get it, 5,000 gold coins, right? I'll give you now."

In the end, Elissa was surprised to see the seller's sullen face as he handed over the magical beast baby to her.

"Loren, how did you do it?" Elissa asked, holding the magical beast baby and staring at Loren, who was leisurely putting the gold coin card back into his pocket.

"I just threatened him. If he didn't give you the magical beast, I'd expose his trick to everyone," Loren said calmly.

"What trick?" Elissa asked, puzzled, while carefully holding the fluffy magical beast baby.

"He's not selling real magical beast babies. Instead, he uses ordinary wild beasts, modified them with magic, and creates inferior-quality magical beasts. Even when they reach maturity, they won't have the strength of a third-level warrior," Loren explained.

"Ah? Is it possible to do that?" Elissa showed a deceived expression and couldn't help looking at the magical beast baby in her hand.

"Of course, but their methods are concealed. At least a fourth-level magician is needed to see through their tricks, and they don't choose high-level magicians as customers so it's hard for them to be exposed," Loren explained with a smile. "My magical perception is pretty decent, so I accidentally discovered their trick. Although this fake magical beast baby isn't as valuable as a real one, it's more valuable than ordinary pets, so I asked him if he would sell it for 500 gold coins at first. But since he didn't give me face, there's no need for me to give him face either."

"But Loren, won't they continue to deceive people there?" Elissa hesitated.

"Yes," Loren nodded. "But if others can make money by their skills, why go after them? Just consider those who have been deceived as paying an intelligence tax."

If the seller could hear this, he might spit blood. Since you're not going to trouble me, why did you extort 5,000 gold coins from me?

"But..."

Elissa wanted to say something else, but Loren interrupted her: "And even if you want to do something now, it's too late."

Upon hearing this, Elissa quickly turned around and found that the stall had already been vacated.

So, there was silence.

"This kind of thing is common outside the academy," Loren yawned, looking at Elissa's somewhat sad expression. This girl had always been protected by many people and might not fully understand the dangers of the outside world.

At this moment, a small figure wearing a tattered cloak suddenly rushed out of the crowd. She bumped into Loren, not too heavily, and Loren instinctively helped her to not fall. In that instant, Loren saw the dirty, pretty face under her hood, and when their eyes met, Loren was momentarily dazed. But quickly, the little figure shook off his hand and ran past him.

A while later, several burly men came rushing angrily from that direction: "Where's that little thief?""Darn it, you demon thief! Don't let me catch you, or I'll sell you to the brothel!" A few strong men angrily shouted as they dashed past Loren, chasing after something.

Loren also came to his senses, and suddenly, as if realizing something, he reached into his pocket and found that the gold coin card he had just put away had disappeared!

..