Reincarnated as a bamboo rat, it begins its extreme survival struggle.

Inside the circular upscale market, the shops on the first floor include protective gear shops, weapon shops, and potion shops. These three items are always in demand. No matter what kind of market it is, there will always be people setting up stalls or opening shops. If such shops can stay open for ten years, they can basically be passed down to future generations.

Needless to say, weapon and armor shops that can operate continuously in high-end markets are of excellent quality. The weapons and armor sold here are all top-quality, and you can basically make a profit of more than ten gold coins by selling a set of armor.

Of course, adventurers don't have that much money to keep buying new armor and weapons. Most adventurers send their weapons and armor to the shops for repair and maintenance, which is also the source of income for these shops to keep operating.

Compared to weapons and armor that can be used for a long time, the apothecary shops are doing much better. After all, these are consumables that mid- to high-level adventurers need to purchase regularly, and before each adventure, they also need to purchase specific potions based on the conditions of the dangerous place.

For example, if you are now near the City of Bones, you will need to purchase exorcising potions to resist the corrosive influence of death energy.

"Besides these three large shops, there are some other smaller shops on the first floor. Let's take our time browsing around before going to the second floor."

Bell made the decision, and Edu also started wandering around the market.

The market in the afternoon was noticeably less bustling than in the morning. After all, the peak trading time for goods in any market is in the early morning, when goods from various dangerous places gather at the market and flow into the hands of ordinary adventurers and professional merchants.

In addition to the shops around the high-end market, there are also temporary stalls in the center of the market, where most of the high-level materials brought back by adventurers are sold.

However, these things still don't appeal to Bale.

"Hey, Edu, what are you doing here?!"

Just as Bell and Edu started browsing, a call came from a shop by the roadside. The leopard woman, whom Edu and Bell had met before and who had helped them craft equipment, appeared there.

It seems she works in one of the shops here.

Chapter 152 Market Guide Sabir

"Sister Tana, I didn't expect to run into you here."

When Edu ran into an old acquaintance on the street, he was momentarily stunned, but then he turned around and started chatting with the leopard woman.

If the leopard woman hadn't greeted him, Edu wouldn't have recognized her.

Unlike the old man Sabir who used magic to change his appearance and hide himself, the leopard woman didn't have that ability. She wrapped herself up tightly and wore something like a straw hat on her head to cover her face.

It's fortunate that it's winter; wearing this outfit can at least keep me warm. If it were summer, I might suffocate.

“I work at this tailor shop, and the boss treats us quite well. However, to avoid trouble, we have to wear this outfit whenever we go out. Although the atmosphere inside the upscale market is much better than outside, our appearance still causes some trouble.”

The leopard-woman exchanged a few pleasantries with Edu, expressing her envy for someone like Edu who was practically indistinguishable from a human on the outside. She thought that if Edu hadn't been bothered by her physical characteristics, she would have had a much easier life these past few years.

But many things are beyond our reach. Now that she's married with a child, she won't dwell on these things like a little girl anymore.

“Edu, this is your first time in the high-end market. I should have accompanied you around the market to prevent you from being ripped off by some unscrupulous guys, but right now the shop has to deal with all the materials we received from the market this morning, so I’ll leave the job of showing you around to that old man Sabir.”

According to the leopard-woman's description, the situation inside the high-end market is much more complicated than what is written on the notice board. There are many intricacies that are impossible for non-professionals to understand.

The shop is busy now, and the leopard-woman sister can't take Edu around the market. But Sabil's shop is on the second floor of the upscale market, so Edu can go up there to ask Sabil for help. Apparently, the old man has something to tell Edu.

After saying goodbye to the leopard-woman, Edu turned and went up to the second floor of the upscale market, where he found Sabir's shop in an inconspicuous place.

The old man's shop was very small; it was called a shop, but it looked more like a shop window, with only the word "wine" as its signboard.

The first thing you see when you enter is a bar, and Sabir is sitting behind the bar, fiddling with something.

In other parts of the store, all sorts of bottles were displayed, and Edu was immediately dazzled by the colorful bottles.

"Hey, these works of mine are alright, aren't they, Edu kid?"

Upon seeing the newcomer, Sabir jokingly remarked something like this.

His shop is rarely visited, since the premium brews here are quite expensive, the kind where one bottle is enough to last a month.

“Mr. Sabir’s shop is really inconspicuous. If it weren’t for Sister Tana’s guidance, I wouldn’t have been able to find it.”

"You've come at the right time, kid. I have something I want to say to you."

Sitting down in front of Sabir, the old man immediately took out a thumb-sized cup, filled it with clear wine, and handed it to Edu.

This is a liquor with added mint to boost alertness; drinking it will give you a period of heightened thinking.

Seeing this situation

Moreover, Bell jumped off Edu's shoulder, sat on the table, and pointed to his open mouth, indicating that he wanted to drink too.

Sabir was generous and poured Bell a glass of wine, letting him hold the glass and enjoy himself, replenishing some of the food energy that activated his "big eater" status.

After awakening his "Big Eater" ability, Bell no longer needs to worry about getting drunk as before. Whenever Bell wants, he can use the "Big Eater" ability to get rid of his drunken state in an instant.

"I heard you've been doing quite a lot lately."

Sabil was unaware of Edu and Bel's antics as 'Ning' in Cangxing City, but he knew that within the small group of demi-humans, Edu first went to the leopard woman to have leather armor made, and then borrowed an unused room from him.

Although he didn't know what Edu was up to, as an elder in the demi-human group, Sabir still prepared to give Edu a few words of advice:

“You’re young, you have your own ideas, and your perspective on things is different from ours, but whatever you’re planning to do, remember to protect yourself. If you encounter something you can’t handle, don’t try to tough it out, and don’t act impulsively…”

As an elder, Sabir talked on and on. He had a good impression of Edu and therefore paid much more attention to him than to other young demi-humans.

Edu also took this opportunity to talk a lot with Sabir, and he was growing rapidly by drawing on the old man's life experience.

Sabir didn't ask too many questions about crafting the portable rat suit and borrowing an empty room, which relieved Edu.

After chatting for about ten minutes, Edu explained his purpose, and Sabir was happy to accompany him on a tour of the upscale market.

Sabir appeared quite carefree, closing his shop door without worrying about the sales of his liquor.

"The large shops on the first floor offer a wide range of services and can do almost anything. The shops on the second and third floors are generally smaller and more specialized."

Sabir stated that the shops listed on the notice board are generally reliable and can meet the needs of most adventurers, and they can visit them anytime.

And it's not morning when a large amount of raw materials are entering the market, so there's no need to go look at the temporary stalls in the center of the high-end market.

Therefore, Sabir focused on introducing the small shops on the second and third floors.

Right next to Sabir's shop is a luxuriously decorated gem shop, with doors and exterior walls made of transparent glass, making it look exceptionally dazzling.

This world possesses highly advanced glass-making technology, but within Cangxing City, glass remains an expensive commodity, with higher purity glass commanding higher prices.

"The wealthy are the most common customers in the gem shops. They buy many ordinary gem products as gifts for social occasions. But the main consumers in the gem shops are the high-level adventurers who venture into various dangerous places."

The reason why gemstones are high-value items is not because they are dazzling, but because many gemstones have special effects and are the raw materials for making jewelry.

The gem shop offers two services: selling gem items and processing gems obtained by adventurers.

Gem items are generally various ornaments with magical effects. Of course, there are also some one-time-use gem bombs and the like. However, anyone who can use such items is definitely a spendthrift.

Gemstone processing is the core business of a gemstone store and the only indicator that distinguishes it from a jewelry store.

Only when there are gem cutters and craftsmen who can create jewelry can a shop be called a gem shop.

Chapter 153 Special Shop Situation

"If it's a decent piece of jewelry, the price you have to buy it will be anywhere from one hundred to several hundred gold coins. That price is enough to keep the jewelry in a display case for a very long time. But if the adventurer brings their own gems, the crafting fee for making the jewelry will be much cheaper."

Sabir led Edu into the gem shop for a look, but they didn't make any purchases, since the items in the gem shop were quite expensive.

Next to the gem shop is a shop that specializes in selling mid- to high-end potions.

Selling medicines is available in any market, as it's a popular business with no shortage of customers.

Unlike the shops on the first floor that sell a large number of low-level potions, this potion shop on the second floor takes a mid-to-high-end approach, and the potions here are also for advanced professionals.

The economic strength of adventurers of different levels varies greatly. For example, the low-level adventurers who fought alongside Edu in the bamboo forest did not have enough money to purchase healing potions. When they were injured in battle, they could only use very poor quality diluted healing potions or use berserk potions to tough out the negative effects of the injury.

While these actions may save lives, they are not the best option for an adventurer's body, as they can easily leave irreversible internal injuries and damage the body's potential.

Moreover, in many special situations, there must be special medicines for those situations.

What is insignificant to low-level adventurers is of utmost importance to high-level adventurers.

"The most popular potions on the first floor right now are berserk potions and exorcism potions. Those guys must have made a killing these days."

Upon entering the shop, Bell saw all sorts of bottles and jars, as well as many medications that were not in liquid form.

'Giant's Strength Potion', 'Incineration Potion', 'Super Acid Corrosion'...

Don't think that potions can only be used to heal injuries. The potions concocted by pharmacists can also be used for attacks. High-level life skills practitioners are also not to be trifled with.

The person in charge of this pharmacy is a senior pharmacist. She looks like an old lady with white hair, but she is full of energy.

"Hey, Sabir, you've taken on a little apprentice?"

"I have a long way to go, and besides, not many people are willing to learn my craft."

When Sabir entered, the old woman greeted him softly. She and Sabir had a good relationship and often exchanged experiences.

After all, Sabir is a true master brewer, and many of his brewing techniques can also help these apothecaries.

But in terms of actual combat ability, this old woman is far superior to Sabir.

This old woman is considered an oddity among pharmacists. She has been specializing in combat for many years and can now use potions to achieve large-scale crowd control and enhance single targets.

[Bottled Poisonous Miasma]

Type: Pharmacy

Description: Breaking the bottle will release a slowly dissipating cloud of poisonous miasma, covering an area of ​​twenty square meters and lasting for ten minutes.

Incineration agents

Type: Pharmacy

Description: Once the bottle is broken, the liquid will start to burn violently upon contact with air, reaching temperatures high enough to melt steel.