"We're here, twentieth street…" Cody murmured, double-checking the NeoNet Maps application on his phone.

While there are a lot of shops that specialize in novice item trade, the best ones in Edgehaven, with the most competitive prices, are apparently on this street.

Daru and Cody were both from Ancient York City, where Ashton High was.

They weren't really familiar with Edgehaven yet; the two could only explore.

As it turned out, although Cody had a mother and father—unlike Daru—his financial situation wasn't even close to that of the other A-rankers, who had been trained and fed with a silver spoon since they were young.

It was all due to his hard work and determination that he got skilled enough to awaken the A-tier Sword, Vulkhan.

He was also only slightly more knowledgeable and experienced than Daru in other matters.

"Let's see…Novice HarvestHub..." Cody muttered, looking at the signage of the shops as they walked along the spacious, red-brick sidewalk.

"Is it that one?" Daru suddenly said, pointing at a shop a few dozen meters from where they were.

"Ahh, yeah, that one seems to be it. Let's go."

The two quickened their pace, arriving in front of a massive, single-storey shop whose walls were made of reinforced glass, displaying some of their high-quality novice goods.

One didn't have to enter to see that the interior had a luxurious, vintage look.

Cody was inwardly in awe as they entered.

Daru, on the other hand, truly appreciated the atmosphere inside the shop, especially since this was the first time he had visited one in the past decade.

The two students looked around, checking the displayed items out as they headed over to the huge counter at the far end of the shop, manned by two employees.

There was a separate queue for sellers and buyers.

However, since it was a weekday, there were fewer people.

Most of the novices were in the academy, grinding hard in the sword realm.

There were also a few low-rankers like Nutter and Taro, who were still considered novices despite having graduated already.

Those kinds of people, however, had work commitments with their guilds on weekdays.

This was why Daru's patience was barely able to hold.

He utterly disliked queues, after all, as the unpleasant thought that he was wasting his time standing around instead of training always crept into his mind.

Daru only had to wait for twenty minutes before his and Cody's turn came.

The A-ranker offered to go first, even though he was only slightly more knowledgeable and experienced, so that Daru could watch and see how a transaction goes.

Cody believed that with his status as an A-ranker, the shopkeeper would probably offer him a reasonable price for his items and not cheat him in an attempt to rope him into an unofficial partnership.

At the end of the day, a high-ranker would always deliver stuff of higher quality than low-rankers, as the latter would naturally find it difficult to secure such items at an early stage due to their lesser talent in combat.

An A-ranker like Cody would naturally be treated better.

Sure enough, the moment he placed his academy identification card on the table, the attitude of the extremely plump shopkeeper manning their queue changed from formal to enthusiastic and even a bit chummy:

"Ahh! So Sir Cody is an A-ranker, haha! That's amazing. You know, sir? I could only admire bladeborns like you since I don't have such talent myself…I'm a retired E-ranker, you see?"

Daru's brows furrowed, and he frowned slightly.

For some reason, he didn't like the shopkeeper, getting the impression that the guy was too talkative.

He could also sense that the guy's energy was somehow…fake?

'Why would this guy pretend to be lively, though? Why not just act like how he truly feels?' Daru mused in confusion, not understanding the plump shopkeeper's actions.

If they didn't want to do something, then don't do it, and if they wanted to, then they should.

Why do people keep complicating things?

This was the thought in Daru's mind as he watched the interaction between Cody and the plump shopkeeper.

To Daru's delight, the transaction was short and quick.

The shopkeeper might've been talkative, but he was efficient. His opinion of the plump guy had changed slightly.

For only a few seconds, that is…

Daru and Cody had already discussed everything they needed to before entering the shop, so from the moment they stepped inside, they hadn't conversed with each other, simply queuing up in the agreed-upon order.

The A-ranker was also busy counting the money as he left the queue, deciding to wait for Daru at one of the seats in the small lobby of the shop.

Thus, no interaction between them happened inside, and the two didn't even notice, since they'd been chatting nonstop the whole time—mostly matters of the sword.

Daru stepped forward, facing the plump shopkeeper, who greeted him with a formal smile.

The guy's enthusiasm was gone, but at least he still talked formally and quite respectfully.

"Hello, sir. Welcome to Novice HarvestHub. I'm John Porch. How can I help you?" began the plump shopkeeper in a customary, professional tone.

"Hello, I'm here to sell my loot from the sword realm."

"Ahh, certainly, sir! But before I can process the transaction, I need your Academy ID, please."

Daru saw how the transaction went earlier.

So, to save time, he had already prepared the requested card in advance, placing it on the countertop.

John's expression visibly changed, and not for the better…

"Ah, sorry, sir. Our shop only accepts items within a certain value threshold. I'm afraid this transaction cannot go through. Please try another shop. I would recommend that you go to the Starter Yield Traders just further down the road. They accept lower-quality goods. Next! Please."

While there was indeed a protocol in Novice HarvestHub that only items within a certain value threshold would be accepted, the limit was much lower, and even a few goods from F-rankers would easily make the list.

John was simply too lazy to process what he believed would be a low-value transaction.

After all, Daru was but a mere novice F-ranker.

What good items could the likes of him possibly have?

Cody heard how the plump shopkeeper drove his good pal away, instantly exploding in anger and walking up to the front of the counter to confront the bastard.

The nerve of this fatty…

He will never sell his goods in this damned store ever again!

However, before he could back his friend up, Daru was already leaving the queue, a slight scowl on his face.

If the shop did not want to purchase his goods, then fine.

He shall sell them to another shop.

The moment Cody arrived, the next in line had already intentionally bumped shoulders with Daru on his way to the counter, sneering after noticing that he was driven away for being a lowly F-ranker.

"Move, low-ranker! Let the valuable goods through!"

Naturally, Cody couldn't hold his temper anymore.

"You bastards!" he roared in fury, turning to the C-ranker who had intentionally run into his friend, causing Daru to slightly lose his grip on the eco bags, a few items spilling out. "Who said it was your turn?!"

The C-ranker was naturally startled at the outburst, remembering that he was an A-ranker.

Cody then shifted his attention to John, who was horrified upon realizing that the F-ranker—some way, somehow—turned out to be his friend.

How?!

But Daru stopped his schoolmate, momentarily stopping putting the scattered goods away: "It's fine. If this shop doesn't want to buy my stuff, then I shall never sell here again."

He then proceeded to grab the last item, returning it to his eco bag.

John, slightly shaking at his blunder, noticed Daru's actions, his eyes widening:

'L-Lurker Leopard Hide?!'

The plump shopkeeper couldn't believe what he was seeing.

How did the low-ranker get his hands on such high-quality novice loot this early?!

"I-I…" John, unfortunately, could only stutter, panic settling in at the realization.

Cody, although seething, respected his brother's decision.

Even he wouldn't want to sell his items anymore after such unprofessional treatment.

He had that much self-respect, at least…

The A-ranker shifted his attention back to the plump shopkeeper, pointing at him in resentment.

"I'll never sell my items here again, and in any of your affiliated shops, you hear me?!"

Cody then turned and followed Daru, who was already proceeding to the exit.

The people inside the shop naturally appreciated the spectacle.

After all, most of them enjoyed watching somebody be embarrassed in front of the public.

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