⟨Nightmare Shard: Three-Legged Raven⟩

⟨Grade: Yellow⟩

⟨Ritual: Boil it with raven blood for an entire day.⟩

⟨Ability: Increase eyesight and accuracy.⟩

Edgar froze in place and the next instant turned towards the shop where the ordinary-looking clay stone had been placed.

The shop owner, a man in his early forties, smiled brightly when he noticed a customer.

"How much for this?"

With a casual remark, Edgar picked it up and examined the stone.

’The texture is unlike any other Nightmare Shard I have seen. It’s also a Yellow Grade. Perhaps this is what comes after Green Nightmare Stones.’

The shop owner answered brightly.

"I usually don’t sell these items. You are in luck, young man." He cleared his throat. "This is a stone that brings immense good luck to its owner, and it’s only three silver coins."

Andrew frowned upon hearing that.

"This is bullshit. You’re just trying to scam him."

"How can you say that, young boy!" the owner snapped. "I am the most honest person in the entire Bazaar."

The shop owners around them scoffed at his words.

Edgar ignored them and put down the stone.

"Do you have any other stones like this?"

"Yes! Yes!" the shop owner replied hastily while pulling out a pile of rocks from below. "You can take whichever one you like!"

Edgar slowly picked them up one by one, hoping to find another Shard.

After examining every single one, he only found another Shard displaying the text:

⟨Nightmare Shard: Elder Tortoise⟩

⟨Grade: Green⟩

⟨Ritual: Submerge it in salt water with dandelion leaves for six days.⟩

⟨Ability: Increase vitality and life essence.⟩

Edgar rubbed his chin.

’This might help old man Oswald...’

He put the two stones aside and looked at the owner.

"I will pay one silver coin for both."

A silly smile appeared on the owner’s face.

"That’s too low, little bro—"

Edgar didn’t bother replying. He simply turned around and began walking away.

"Wait! Wait!" the owner cried out behind him. "Fine, one silver for both."

A smile crept onto Edgar’s face, which he quickly hid.

He flicked the coin towards the owner, grabbed both Shards, and handed them to Andrew.

"Where did you get these stones from?" Edgar asked at last.

The owner, who was grinning after thinking he had successfully scammed another person, replied casually.

"I found them on the outskirts of Norwood Mountain."

Edgar raised an eyebrow.

’The mountain with the treasure?’

He had heard about it from Andrew and was well aware of the dangers it supposedly held.

’It seems like there are a lot of dangerous Nightmares living inside.’

But as the thought crossed his mind, Edgar suddenly paused.

’Wait... where do Nightmares live again?’

With that question in mind, he began roaming around the Bazaar once more.

From what Edgar had observed, Nightmares came with the Eternal Night.

Unless they were captured and killed, they vanished when the Eternal Night ended.

’What is their connection with the night? Can’t they hunt during the day? If they can’t... then why?’

There were so many mysteries about this world that he couldn’t find answers to.

’One step at a time...’

Edgar drew in a deep breath and stopped dwelling on it.

There weren’t any other Nightmare Shards or Materials openly displayed.

’Perhaps I am too late and those appraisers Oswald talked about already bought them...’

Still, Edgar had made quite a profit.

Those two Shards would probably be worth more than one hundred and fifty Nightmare Stones on the open market.

After asking around for a while, they finally found a parchment shop run by an old woman.

Edgar looked at the parchments hanging on display.

"How much would these cost?"

The old lady looked at him and replied softly.

"One silver coin for a wood parchment." She pointed at a premium-looking sheet. "And five silver coins for goatskin parchment."

He looked at both options and began calculating his budget.

’I can buy a few goatskin parchments and only use them for final blueprints. The wood parchments can be used for drafts and rough diagrams.’

"Give me fifteen wood parchments and five goatskin parchments."

The lady gave him a long look.

"Only a scholar or a Builder would spend this much money on parchment... and you don’t look like either of them."

After laughing at her own joke, she packed the parchments for him.

Edgar took the bundle and passed her the money without haggling.

Handing the parchments to Andrew, Edgar thought,

’I only have thirty-four silver coins left now...’

He wasn’t discouraged.

What he needed was parchment.

If his plan worked, he wouldn’t have to worry about money ever again.

Just as he turned to leave, he heard a growling sound.

Turning around, he saw Andrew clutching his stomach.

The boy awkwardly looked away.

"I am not hungry—"

His stomach growled loudly before he could finish.

Edgar chuckled.

"Let’s go eat something first."

The duo quickly found a decent-looking restaurant.

Feeling generous, Edgar ordered four dishes: smoked lamb ribs, scrambled eggs with bread, meat dumplings, and two bowls of spicy noodles.

Andrew drooled while staring at the food, but he only started eating after Edgar took the first bite.

’Hmm, it’s not that bad.’ 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

The spicy noodles made Edgar feel a little nostalgic.

They were far better than he had expected.

’I should buy the ingredients and ask Viera to make this.’

He ate at a relaxed pace, unlike Andrew, who was devouring everything in sight.

’I still need to buy animals for my planned farm, and I also need a horse.’

But he wasn’t sure if he had the budget for everything.

The cost of maintaining them would be quite high.

’If one looks closely, everything here is priced highly. Or perhaps I am simply paying too much.’

He looked up at Andrew. "Do you know how to ride a horse?"

The young boy nodded while chewing. "Yesh."

Edgar nodded and didn’t say anything else.

---

After paying four silver coins for the meal, the duo arrived at the livestock market.

Unlike the rest of the Bazaar, this place was much quieter and less crowded.

Only a few wealthy people wearing leather or Nightmare Fur wandered around.

Edgar turned towards the young boy.

"Go ahead and find the cheapest store selling chickens and roosters."

The boy nodded with a smile.

"As you say, young master."

After debating inwardly for a while, Edgar decided to only buy chickens this time.

Unlike larger animals such as pigs and goats, they were much easier to maintain.

’As long as I keep them caged at night, they should be fine.’

The blonde youth walked around casually while keeping an eye out for anything special.

But Edgar suddenly paused when he noticed a rather amusing scene.

At one of the livestock stalls, a girl wearing a veiled cap was freeing the caged birds.

She looked seventeen or eighteen years old and wore a plain white shirt along with a long white skirt trimmed with green stripes.

Her long white hair fell freely behind her while a bunch of jades hung from her waist.

The way she smiled while freeing the birds carried a blooming beauty unlike anything he had seen before.

Before he realized it, Edgar was already walking towards her.