Riches and Bitches: I have a gate to an isekai and leveling-up system!

54  Trade over bloodied coin

The changes to my system were quite massive. From the discovery that something like affinities existed, through learning how to level up in this world, all the way to the existence of tributes… For now, it was slightly more than I could handle all on my own. But there was something that I was free and pretty damn interested to try. Following the outburst of excitement, I stood up… And already noticed the change. Even though my agility rose by only a single point, I could tell how much easier it was for me to stand up and move around. While I would attribute the lightness of my moves to the growth of my strength by two points, the ease at which I could now lean different parts of my body at extreme angles…

Something like this could never come from strength alone. For a short while, I simply ran around the place, jumping, rolling and generally testing every move that a gamer would perform when launching a new game to test the controls. The difference was, though, this wasn't a game, but a real life. Yet, this simple series of tests allowed me to confirm what I already was quite sure about. 'As far as I can tell, attributes below one are dogshit, far below average. Assuming one point means a perfect average, two points for someone well-trained, then three points would mean a freaking elite.'

That much I could tell just from how easy it was for me to move around, how quickly I could now run… but also how faster my dynamic perception came to be. When it came to attributes that went above and beyond three points… I couldn't really tell the exact details for sure. But without a single shred of doubt, both my intelligence and wisdom now exceeded a human level. 'If only I knew what's their use, besides empowering my skills,' I thought, unable to hold an ugly grimace from festering on my face for a short while. Yet, as I turned around… All the anxiety vanished from my mind. How could I ever worry about some questions when I had Fay and her mother trying all sorts of different clothes?

After a short glance, I turned around, not wishing to intrude upon their privacy. And while I would be more than happy to watch Fay change… Sneaking peaks at her mother felt wrong, especially after what I've learned about their kind. 'If she has a child, she had to have a partner too. And judging by how it's nowhere to be seen…' I could only guess what happened to Fay's father. But her very existence implied the presence of her father, her mom's mate. Or, in simpler terms, while I, by some miracle, became Fay's mate, her mother already had a mate on her own. And according to what she said, it was her mate for life. 'What am I even thinking about?' I scolded myself when I noticed the source of this line of thought. 'This is not some stupid novel written by a horny author to let his virgin readers indulge in an illusion of relationships. I'm not a hentai harem protagonist either,' I thought, rolling my eyes, annoyed by the mere notion of such a possibility appearing in my mind. Still, I had no plans of letting Fay's mother go. But while Fay's position in my heart was already solidified, it was also different from the place I predicted her mother would soon take. The place that my own mother vacated when she lost her fight with cancer all those years ago. Fay for a partner, her mom for a mother… I shook my head. 'No matter how I look at this, I've created a new family,' I thought before gulping down a sip of saliva when the weight of this notion suddenly pulled down on my shoulders. 'And that means, I need to become the man of the family.'

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, preparing myself to voluntarily accept this burden. And as I pushed my eyelids up again…

"As I'm sure you've realized by now, things that are mere sundries back in my world could fetch luxury premiums here," I spoke once I confirmed both Fay and her mom were currently dressed. I stepped forth, closing the distance that I left between us to give them some space before. "On the other hand, things that are common here might become valuable artifacts back in my home world," I added, looking around as if to indicate the whole forest around was pretty much a treasure trove. According to the cliches, in a world with magic, there had to be some sort of herbs that a mob-ring back on earth would be interested in, right? And if I got my hands on a single sample, then I could pretty much move on from selling the gold that I didn't really have a stable source of. Fay's mom turned her eyes away from the pile of clothes Fay already showcased and turned her sights to my face. At the very least, now I've got her attention. "This is how I want to make money. Not by looting corpses of those who somehow intrude on us here, but by letting both worlds benefit with a simple trade."

For now, the idea of finding some funny herbs ended up shelved in the back of my mind. It was the last-ditch strategy, not the main course of action I wanted to take. After all, wouldn't it be better to sell potions that could cure all illnesses than introduce a new, potentially harmful drug to my already drug-infested world?

I stood up from where I sat at the end of my exercise. Then, after a short walk, I moved directly in front of the elegant woman… before bowing nearly in half. "That's why, I wish to learn more about this world. I wish to learn where I can go to trade, what places I should avoid, what rules create common sense here…" I spat out a long string of different trivia I was interested in. Since I've decided to adopt Fay's mother as a mother on my own, I dared not to hold anything back. How else could I build a trusting relationship with her if I wasn't honest, after all?

So, I raised up… only to bow once again, even deeper this time. "That's why, if possible, would you mind teaching me more about this world?"

Today's chapters: 4/6 n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om