When Mapan first arrived at the Yuroki Mountain Range, he couldn't really find much to do. It really was difficult for merchants to settle their businesses in unknown territories. Mapan, however, adapted pretty quickly.
"There is no such thing as a place in the world where you can't earn money!"
An indisguisable greed for money! The adaptability Weed had seeded in him activated.
"I can trade, simply traveling from town to town, buying and selling."
There were plenty of towns in Yuroki, either comprised of Orcs, Dark Elves, or the Exiles in the plains. Mapan started a trading route between all these towns with a wagon filled with goods.
"Alright, buying items -- anything from animal skins to japtem from your hunts!"
First, he bought all the japtem he could get his hands on in the Exiles' towns. Those items, traps and camping equipment such as rope, were cheap and plentiful. He purchased enough items from the Exiles to fill five wagons, and moved on to the Dark Elves' settlements.
While not as skilled as Dwarves, the Dark Elves still had a rather high skill in handicraft. Much of their crafted equipment and tools were durable and reliable.
Mapan bought as much as he could here as well.
After selling the skins from the Exiles' towns, he spent all the money on buying more items.
Then he travelled to the Orc settlements. First to the town of the orc lord Bulchwi. After the Orc Race quest had been cleared, new users was appearing in great numbers in Yuroki.
"I'm an Orc. Chwichwit!"
"Any real Orc should be able to nasalize. Chwiiik! Mimic me everyone."
"Oppa, you're so charismatic! Chwichwichwit!"
"Eww, you're spraying spittle. Chwichwit!"
There were a horde of Orcs wearing the orc starting gear.
These people were charmed by the Orc race after watching Karrichwi on the Hall of Fame.
Overwhelming numbers! Quantity over quality! Orcs, the incredibly reproductive lords of Yuroki!
Those who dreamed of adventuring with the strong, charismatic, and violent Orcs chose this as their race. Even the shoddy east gate of the town was crowded with more than a thousand Orcs!
If you added to this the Orcs that hadn’t passed the newbie four weeks in Versailles Continent's time, it would total an astronomical amount of them!
"Let's hunt! Chwik!"
"It's a monster haven. Chwichwichwit!"
"Chwikchwik! Lots of things to beat up."
These people formed parties of three to five, scattering out of town in order to pummel wolves.
They held bulky clubs and even large broken branches as weapons.
Since branches had shoddy durability and miniscule attack power at best, newbies from not only the central kingdoms, but also from the Rosenheim Kingdom, altogether ignored them as weapons.
*SMASH*
The female Orc user, Erchwi, pummeled the head of a wolf with a branch. It wasn't a weak hit at all.
"Nice hit, Erchwi. Chwiik!"
"Such overwhelming power, Oppa. Chwichwichwit!"
While humans have trouble hunting even the feebler rabbits and foxes, these newbies were effortlessly beating up wolves.
Orcs don't have to fight as controlled as humans.
They can take most attacks with their natural thick-skinned defense even without protective gear. Add that to their natural strength!
They could even freely use heavy weapons normally unusable to humans, so their fights were very easy.
Take one hit, then give back a hit - only, their reciprocated hits were extremely powerful.
"From the Yuroki Mountain Range... Chwichwichwichwi! I am an Orc!"
"Orc! Orc! Orc!"
"Puchwiik! Puchwichwit! Kill them all!"
Massive, burly Orcs ran amok, stomping and clubbing wolves on sight. This was the splendor of the Orcs, and proof of their incredibly fast precocious growth.
Meanwhile, Mapan began his business in this Orc settlement.
"Come one, come all for adventuring tools! Essential bandages to dress those wounds, and bags to carry all your items! There's even some simple weaponry -- top quality, made by Dark Elves. You must be tired of all that mundane Orc cooking! Don't you miss the taste of salt? I have all sorts of spices used by Dark Elves."
"Chwichwichwik!"
"I'll pay all my money. Chwichwik! Please sell me one of those weapons."
The Orcs had to line up to buy even one thing. Sure, Orc settlements were fine in all other fields, but it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that their shops were the baddest there were.
Since even a rusty glaive cost more than a hundred thousand gold, there was no affordable weapons to buy and use. Then, as if some kind of god had manifested on Earth, Mapan appeared with wagons filled with goods. Not only were they in high demand, he had a monopoly as well!
"Step right up and wait in line; there's plenty of stock!"
Mapan was more than happy to sell all the goods he had bought. The lowest price was two or three times the original cost, and weapons were even sold at ten times the original cost!
Others might criticize his actions as bordering extortion, but Mapan had been taught something important by Weed: "It's not a rip-off if your customers are happy."
Usually, the profits from newbie items were minimal, but it was a completely different story if they were sold this skillfully. It might have been nice with a little more, but the profits were enough to fatten Mapan's pockets. Above all, the fact that he didn't have to wait very long for it to sell was a huge advantage.
As he watched the Orcs cheer as they make their purchases, he felt a certain satisfaction as a merchant.
"Chwichwik!"
However, Mapan’s faint heart was tested every time an Orc's face got too close.
"Gaahhh!"
The atrociously ugly Orc Karrichwi! His vestige was evidently present here. The users who selected the Orc species after being charmed by Karrichwi's quest usually changed their appearance slightly. Except, they always changed it for the worse!
"A knife scar on the face, please."
"I'll be fine, even with an eyepatch."
"Make the teeth as large as possible, and have them stick out of the mouth a lot as well."
"Make it easy to spit a lot while talking..."
"A nose that takes up half the face!"
Orcs don't even have a plain appearance in the first place!
There was always at least an eyepatch or a scar on their faces. Adding to this all the personal "tastes", the resulting sights were the stuff of nightmares.
Nevertheless, Mapan ended up making a killing on his sales and rapidly built up his fame.
Mapan, the Merchant of the Orcs! Virtually every Orc user knew the name of Mapan.
"Orcs tend to grow blazingly fast, though it slows a bit after the initial stages to mid-game."
Orcs had feeble magic and handicraft. They have no idea how to disarm traps, and lacked the power of faith. There were Orc Shamans and Warlocks, but they specialized in buffing fighting power, rather than restoring health.
"Orcs -- weak mentally but amazing physically. If these people mature, so will my profits... Establishing a monopoly without a single competitor! This is the dream of any merchant."
Mapan continued trading with high hopes. After selling all his goods, he bought japtem from the Orc users.
"Hey! Buying anything and everything! Buying all kinds of japtem."
"Over here! Chwichwit!"
"Chwiik! Buy mine too."
Mapan even purchased japtem in bulk. Items from thousands of Orcs! Using his monopoly to buy items cheap, he made a fine profit by reselling them on the spot. His dream of becoming a wealthy merchant was finally coming true, step by step. Depending on the success of the many Orcs now wandering Yuroki, Mapan's profits might grow even larger! Since the number of Orc users were multiplying by the day, one could say that Mapan had discovered a rose-colored life as a merchant.
Most ordinary merchants would have become complacent at this point.
"I've earned lots of money already. I deserve some rest."
However, Mapan was already severely affected by Weed on this point.
"Gotta earn as much as possible while I can. I need to tighten my belt, buy cheap, and sell for even more."
Mapan didn't even bother resting on the roads between the Orc settlements and Exiles' towns. He kept his hands busy as he sat on the coach box. He used a carving knife to improve his handicraft.
"Indeed, a merchant must learn and practice. One must do whatever he can to get rich."
Mapan diligently carved sculptures. He had learned the basics of sculpting back in Rosenheim Kingdom.
His primary goals were to learn weaving and jewelcrafting. After his handicraft reached a certain level, he would be able to learn even more production skills. If a merchant like Mapan buys leather and turns it into clothing, or refines the jewels he purchased, he can double or triple his profits!
However, as neither his handicraft or his other skills could rise quickly because he didn’t have a sculptor-like class, Mapan could only handle his carving knife with even more diligence.