Chapter 107 Ignatius's Leather Goods Store

Roughly ten minutes later, Nie Yan arrived at a relatively remote location.

Here and there were several dilapidated houses, teetering in the wind. The roads between the houses were extremely narrow, with sewage flowing everywhere. This was clearly a slum.

A putrid stench wafted over with the wind, nauseating and smelling of rotting corpses.

Nie Yan saw several monster corpses piled outside a few of the houses. Some Hilton residents, clad in tattered clothes, were skinning them, a rather bloody scene.

Following the map given by Blevins, and passing through one narrow alley after another, Nie Yan saw a dilapidated shop standing in the center of an open space in the distance. A tattered sign hung above it, reading in Common Tongue: Ignatius's Leather Goods Store.

This was the place!

Nie Yan revealed a hint of excitement upon seeing the shop across the way.

He checked his bag. With over two hundred thousand gold coins inside, it should be enough to cover the expenses this time.

Nie Yan strode into Ignatius's Leather Goods Store. The somewhat cramped shop was filled with stacks upon stacks of various leather materials. In the center, there was a small open space and a wooden counter. A short old man in gray leather armor looked over. His face was wrinkled, his figure gaunt, and his beady, triangular eyes gleamed with a sharp light.

This old man was Ignatius!

"Strangers aren't welcome here. Please leave," Ignatius said in a stiff tone, looking at Nie Yan with hostility.

Because Nie Yan's titles carried some weight, Ignatius was only a little stiff in his tone and didn't start cursing right away. Nie Yan had heard that in his previous life, many players were cursed out before they even got this far.

"Respected Mr. Ignatius, I was recommended here by Physician Blevins. This is his letter of introduction," Nie Yan said, taking out the letter of introduction Blevins had given him.

Ignatius glanced at the letter in Nie Yan's hand, and his expression softened a little.

"I'd like to purchase some monster pelts and tailoring blueprints here," Nie Yan stated his purpose.

Ignatius didn't answer, changing the subject to ask, "Scholar, were you the one who cast Greater Prophecy just now?"

"Yes," Nie Yan nodded. When he cast Greater Prophecy, the dazzling divine light was seen by almost every NPC in Hilton Fortress.

"Then may I ask what you foresaw?" Ignatius asked with some curiosity. Greater Prophecy was the most mysterious of all skills, possessing unpredictable power.

"A devastating disaster," Nie Yan said. He suddenly thought that Ignatius was friends with many high-ranking warlords and had close ties with them. He might even know the governor of Hilton Fortress.

"What kind of disaster, if I may ask?" Ignatius's tone became more polite, though his eyes still held some skepticism.

"Hilton Fortress may be destroyed. Mr. Ignatius, could we not talk about these things?" Nie Yan said. Sensing the change in Ignatius's tone, he was no longer in a hurry.

Most NPCs only possessed elementary intelligence. They could only issue and receive quests, and engage in simple conversations. High-level NPCs like Ignatius possessed intermediate intelligence. They had some reasoning ability, could express emotions, and could weigh the pros and cons. However, they couldn't possess advanced intelligence like humans.

"..." Ignatius was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected Nie Yan to suddenly cut off the conversation.

"I want to buy some monster pelts and tailoring blueprints here," Nie Yan said, looking around.

"Very well," Ignatius said, appearing somewhat preoccupied, clearly affected by Nie Yan's words.

Nie Yan leisurely opened the trade window and examined the various goods on display. Each bundle of pelts was of at least seventh-grade quality—good stuff.

The levels of pelts were divided into Elementary Monster Pelts, Intermediate Monster Pelts, Advanced Monster Pelts, Super Monster Pelts, and Legendary Monster Pelts. Advanced Monster Pelts were fairly common, Super Monster Pelts were rarer, and Legendary Monster Pelts were even rarer. Super Monster Pelts could be used to make Sub-Legendary leather armor, and Legendary Monster Pelts could be used to make Legendary leather armor.

Of course, there were also tailoring level requirements for making these things. At least a Grandmaster Tailor was needed to cut Super Monster Pelts.

Currently, there were quite a few Advanced Tailors, but no one had yet reached Grandmaster level.

Nie Yan looked at the monster pelts for sale here, and they were all below Advanced. He didn't even see any Super Monster Pelts.

Nie Yan flipped through a few pages. After that were the tailoring blueprints. The levels weren't high either. The highest were just Advanced blueprints for Advanced Tailors. There were quite a few of these, around fifty or sixty. These items were relatively rare outside, but not nonexistent. At least five or six Advanced blueprints were traded in the four auction houses of Calore every day.

It seemed Ignatius hadn't brought out the good stuff!

An idea struck Nie Yan. He put on a disappointed expression and said, "Is this all you have here? Looks like I came for nothing."

Nie Yan made as if to leave. Ignatius was stunned. Seeing Nie Yan reaching the door, he quickly stopped him, saying, "Scholar, please wait. I still have many high-grade items I haven't brought out yet. I'm sure there's something you'll want."

"Oh, really?" Nie Yan stopped but didn't seem inclined to return, looking uninterested.

Ignatius rummaged behind the counter, taking out some pelts and placing them on the counter, along with a stack of blueprints.

When Nie Yan looked at the trade window again, the items for sale had completely changed. It was now filled with various Super Monster Pelts, as many as twenty or thirty of them, and even two Legendary Monster Pelts. The prices of these pelts started at two or three thousand gold coins, with the highest, the Hellhound Pelt, costing twenty thousand gold. As for the tailoring blueprints, there were as many as fifty or sixty, at least Grandmaster-level, and even some Supreme Grandmaster-level blueprints. The prices were all in the thousands of gold.

These items were simply impossible to buy outside, even with money!

Nie Yan calculated that buying all of these things would cost at least three hundred thousand gold coins. The money he brought wasn't even enough!

However, he absolutely couldn't let these items go. Even if he had to transfer money, he had to buy them all.

"Respected Mr. Nie Yan, if you tell me the results of your Greater Prophecy, from now on, you can enjoy a fifty percent discount on anything you buy from me," Ignatius lowered his posture. He held an extremely high position in Hilton Fortress, and thus had a very eccentric temper. He paid no attention to anyone except those high-ranking warlords. But Nie Yan was holding Hilton Fortress's lifeline in his hands, so he couldn't help but lower his head. He wanted to know what kind of disaster was about to befall Hilton Fortress.

"I don't have time to come here often," Nie Yan said in an indifferent tone.

Seeing that Nie Yan wasn't budging, Ignatius said, "In the future, anyone who comes here with your letter of introduction can also enjoy a fifty percent discount."

Nie Yan understood that this was the lowest price Ignatius would offer. If he continued to pressure Ignatius, he would definitely offend him. He could take advantage of Ignatius's words to spread the results of his prophecy, so he wouldn't have to ask High Warlord Breakspider.

The prices here had become half of what they originally were. Buying everything would cost around a hundred thousand gold coins. Nie Yan unhesitatingly took all these items into his possession. With these items, and a few months of effort, he could at least cultivate one or two Grandmaster-level tailors. And there was also a chance to produce a large number of Sub-Legendary and Legendary leather armors.

Of course, completing this work would take a very long time.

"Mr. Ignatius, do you know the governor of Hilton Fortress?" Nie Yan asked.

"Yes," Ignatius nodded.

"Mr. Ignatius, please treat what I'm about to say with utmost seriousness, and convey it to the governor," Nie Yan said solemnly.

Ignatius's expression turned serious, and he said solemnly, "I will."

"Anfret Volcano has been more active than usual recently. The lava beneath the surface will drive the underground monsters to the surface. This will be a great disaster for Hilton Fortress. If these monsters cannot be stopped, Hilton Fortress will be reduced to ruins," Nie Yan said.

"Anfret Volcano erupted once twenty years ago, which only caused a commotion among the underground monsters. Mr. Nie Yan, aren't you being a bit alarmist?" Ignatius said doubtfully.

"Mr. Ignatius, are you doubting my Greater Prophecy?" Nie Yan stared at Ignatius, asking sternly.

"I wouldn't dare, Mr. Nie Yan. Please forgive my ignorance," Ignatius said in fear. Greater Prophecy was the ability closest to the gods, able to communicate with the divine. He wouldn't dare to desecrate the divine.

"In five days, the chaos will begin. An endless sea of underground monsters will surge towards Hilton Fortress. They will engulf Hilton Fortress. This is the result foretold by Greater Prophecy. If you don't believe me, you can wait five days and see, but then it may be too late," Nie Yan said. Having said this, there was nothing more for him to say.

Hearing Nie Yan's terrifying prophecy, Ignatius's face changed.

"Convey my words to the governor. I hope Hilton Fortress can survive this disaster," Nie Yan said faintly, walking towards the door of the leather goods store.

Nie Yan exited Ignatius's Leather Goods Store and headed towards the slave market.

Watching Nie Yan's receding figure, Ignatius remained silent for a long while before hurrying towards the governor's hall in the center of Hilton Fortress.