Chapter 17: The White Sparrow Tavern

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[Adventurer’s Handbook] (Valley Town Branch Special Edition)
Preface…………1-2
Choosing and Using Weapons…………3-9
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How to Handle Your Spoils…………31-38
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9. About Those Sparkling, Beautiful Stones
At No. 62 Misty Street, “Kukunur’s General Store” offers the fairest prices in Valley Town, but it must be admitted that young Kukunur sometimes overlooks details (a difference of three silver coins versus a risk worth a hundred gold coins!).
By contrast, the neighboring shop “Fairy Breeze,” though stingy with offers, is run by Farilro, a jeweler by trade who apprenticed at the most renowned pawnshop in “Nium.” His discerning, meticulous eye is unmatched in Valley Town (for premium goods, go to him!).
“Clack.”
Three small, opaque green stones with faint stripes were neatly arranged on the counter by Shan Nan.
His eyes sparkled with anticipation, harboring a fantasy of “overnight riches,” as he looked at the middle-aged man before him, dressed seriously and wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
The man named Farilro did not casually speak upon instantly recognizing the type of gemstones.
Instead, he picked them up one by one, turning them left and right, bringing them close for careful examination, before sitting back behind the counter with a lackluster interest.
“Malachite, common quality, ten gold each.”
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16. Where to Toss Your Junk?
First, stop your endless chatter!
You must understand that secondhand goods picked off unlucky foes can only fetch half price—this is common knowledge!
Of course, magical items are an exception (if you happen to have any).
Second, if you truly want to find a place to unload those heavy burdens, I recommend No. 25 Misty Street’s “Pecan Furnace.”
The owner there was once an adventurer himself; he knows how hard it is for you to lug back such trash, so he always offers a decent price (provided you don’t mind him weaving in dozens of “glorious exploits” while appraising your goods).
Also, for buying weapons and armor, I suggest “Rockhammer.” Rumor has it the owner has one-sixty-fourth dwarf bloodline. Though aside from a fondness for braided beards, they share little resemblance, his craftsmanship is excellent (he also customizes gear).
“Oh, a moldy little round shield, a few pieces of bloodstained leather armor—if you brought these to any other shop, they’d probably toss them at you for free. Ten gold.”
Before him, a burly man with a brown beard growled in a rough voice,

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“But it’s not your fault. I used to be young, always liked to bring back such stuff myself. I remember once…”
Shan Nan heeded the handbook’s advice, clamping his mouth shut, not giving the other man a chance to spin tales.
“These arrows are well maintained, the poison’s worn off, and you’re not wiping them? Plus this two-handed axe… thirty gold.”
“Tch, a spiked mace? Which bear goblin’s is this? Those beasts never maintain their weapons. Six gold.”
“But at your age, hunting bear goblins is pretty good. Even when I was your age…”
Twenty minutes later.
Bang.
The door of “Pecan Furnace” gently closed behind him.
Breathing in the fresh air outside, Shan Nan rubbed his somewhat stiff face and sighed deeply.
Compared to when he had just emerged from Misty Forest, he felt much lighter now.
In just one morning’s time.
Except for the [Deadline] ring and the two daggers from Elki still sheathed at his waist—handy for emergencies—he had sold off all the rest of his loot.
Counting the small pouch of coins collected from the goblin nest,
Shan Nan’s total assets now stood at an “astonishing” 131 gold, 5 silver, and 9 copper.
Undoubtedly, for a farm boy raised in the fields, this was a fortune he had never seen before.
Numbers alone might not convey the true meaning of this wealth.
If converted into tangible goods, it would amount to an entire warehouse filled with flour, over a hundred goats, or more than ten cows.
In the village where Shan Nan had lived, this was more than the entire assets of most families.
And this was just the reward from a single quest.
Feeling the heavy weight of over a hundred gold coins in his backpack,
Shan Nan finally understood why, despite knowing the industry was perilous, fraught with near-death experiences, countless people risked it every year, plunging headlong into this mire.
Of course, these gold coins might hold immense buying power for ordinary items.
But once it came to things related to adventurers, the currency seemed to transform into something else entirely.
If pressed to say, aside from the [Deadline] ring, all his possessions barely amounted to the cost of two bottles of “Healing Potion.”

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Shan Nan bitterly shook his head, forcibly suppressing the unrealistic hopes and sense of disparity swelling within.
He reopened the [Adventurer’s Handbook].
After a morning of hustle, perhaps he should find a place to rest and eat something.
……
[White Sparrow Tavern]
The tavern’s low prices for food and drink, coupled with its convenient location next to the Adventurers’ Guild, made it the first choice for low-level adventurers in Valley Town.
Shan Nan had been there once before, invited by Magi.
He vaguely remembered ordering a dish of “Gray Squirrel Fried Rice” and a glass of water.
But his mind then was elsewhere, and he had wolfed down the food just to fill his stomach.
Consequently, he had no clear impression of the tavern’s culinary quality now.
“But since it’s recommended in the handbook, it should be decent enough.”
He muttered to himself as he pushed open the tavern’s door.
Creak—
The rich aroma of liquor, almost palpable as if it condensed into water, mingled with the lively noise like a gust of wind, enveloping Shan Nan’s body.
Bright street outside, warm tavern inside.
Just one door apart, yet it felt like entering another world.
Some young adventurers, flushed red from drinking, stood on tables waving their unsheathed longswords, animatedly discussing something; others, middle-aged men with unkempt beards and weathered faces, drank alone in corners.
Colorful tapestries and banners, curling smoke and brass oil lamps, long wooden tables and rough benches; maps, dice, tankards, leather armor, robes, and fingers plucking lute strings…
“The scent is right.”
At last, Shan Nan felt a tangible sense of having come to another world.
The warm, gentle light inside the tavern, combined with the pervasive aroma of food, instantly released the exhaustion his body had accumulated over these days.
His gaze swept across the hall, found the tavern owner’s spot, and he strode toward it.