Winterlake City stood at the border with three nations, the Lytal Republic and the Sordan and Lank kingdoms.
While the Lytal Republic and the Lank Kingdom are equal in power, the Sordan kingdom is already comparable to an empire in power.

Winterlake city took advantage of its strategic position and became a prosperous trade centre where even the goods from other continents could be found.
The superpower which backed the freedom of Winterlake City was an extremely powerful organization which had several King levels and was rumoured to have an Emperor level powerhouse amongst its ranks.

Dante was walking the main road of this bustling city. Even if it was night the streets were still bright and colourful, a testament to its fame as the city that never sleeps.
Looking around Dante saw people of many different races and of all walks of life. There were commoners, soldiers, nobles and clerics all doing the same thing.
They were all heading towards the City Center, like moths to a flame.

"What a hassle! Until now I've already been the target of three robberies... It's good that I already have an inner world where I can store my things or even with my amazing senses it would have been a bother to deal with those little thieves."

In Winterlake city, if someone didn't have some power or status he would be devoured by the dark organizations which thrived here.
The same could be said for any other city but Winterlake City didn't have the Dungeon's direct protection so the criminals became really bold.

Dante decided to speed up his pace, the earlier he finished the better it would be for him. 
However the crowded road didn't give him the possibility, so he could only grit his teeth as he didn't want to cause a commotion by bumping into one of those powerful figures with a bad temper.
Anyone in the crowd had his own special means to deal with these problems, Dante couldn't risk proking them.

...

Twenty minutes later, after dealing with another couple of thieves, Dante finally arrived at the Merchant Guild.

It was a seven floors building with exquisite high-reliefs of warriors carved on the pillars which supported it.
Dante was awed by such grandeur, the Merchant Guild truly lived up to its name!
Merchants were one of the most respected occupations in the Five Continents as they had really harsh requirements on their members.
To become a Merchant one had to first pass the exam for 1-star Appraisers and the exam for another occupation, those were the requirements to become just a 1-star merchant!
Many people found it difficult to pass the exam for only one occupation!

Dante looked at the pillars for a good minute before entering the Guild.
At his current level and status, Dante could at most enter the first floor, from the second floor and above there were harsh requirements on the customer's status and cultivation.
At the end of the day, the time those 2-star and above Merchants had was limited and they couldn't lose it by dealing with soldier and Lieutenant level people.

Without even looking at the items and Merchants on the ground floor, Dante headed straight to the first floor.
On the ground floor, there were only items useful for Soldier levels and they were dealt by apprentice Merchants which still had to pass their exam.
Near the stairs which led to the first floor there were two Commander level guards which confirmed Dante's qualifications.
Even his status as Dungeon soldier couldn't help Dante too much here, he could only rely on his own power.

As he arrived at the first floor, Dante felt a refreshing tea fragrance enter his nostrils. The fragrance alone was enough to make him feel comfortable as he even sensed his mental energy level rise a bit.
Mental energy was important to every cultivator as it gave them resistance to illusions but more importantly because with a high mental energy one would be able to use his spiritual power more efficiently.
If spiritual power was like the soldiers, mental energy was like the general.

Dante was already impressed by the Merchant Guild but seeing how they could use such an expensive tea just to welcome their customers... Unfathomable, their depths were immeasurable!

Still a bit shaken Dante made his way to a free counter just now he had been too deep in thought.

...

"Look Morty another country bumpkin has arrived!"

"Don't say it out loud, Rick! He's wearing a Dungeon uniform..."

"Who cares Morty, unless he is one of those geniuses groomed by the Dungeon he can't do shit to us.
Hahaha, look at the stupid face he has! He must have smelt the tea fragrance!
I can't get enough of their reactions..."

"Shut up Rick! He's coming this way."

It wasn't the first time that the duo joked about their customers to relieve their boredom.

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Even if the customer heard them and got angry they would still get away with it thanks to their identities as 1-star Merchants unless the customer had some big background... But then he wouldn't react like a country bumpkin if he was really a big shot.
Regaining his composure, Rick said politely.

"Welcome customer, how can I help you?"

Dante didn't think that the Merchant would have such a nice attitude, he had expected him to act all high and mighty due to his identity.
With a smile on his face, Dante answered.

"I would like to sell some Life Cores, I hope you will give me a fair price."

After saying that Dante took out the recommendation card that Theodore had given him.
It was a silver card with a golden libra in the middle.

Seeing the card Rick was shocked.
That was the recommendation card of a 2 star Merchant!
How did this country bumpkin get it?

After recovering his composure Rick asked.
"Dear Customer, can you tell me who gave you this card and for what reason?"
Rick was really puzzled, he couldn't understand how this card ended up in Dante's hands.
Furthermore, he had to ask so that he could report his findings to the higher ups later.

Dante was a bit displeased with Rick's question but he still replied.
"It was given to me by Young Master Theodore, I travelled with his caravan for a few days and fought with them against a battalion of hobgoblins
He gave me this recommendation card as a token of his appreciation."

Rick racked his mind trying to find the name of a 2-star merchant who matched Dante's description but to no avail.
Just as he was about to question Dante again, someone interjected.

"Do you mean Young Master Theodore, the son of the 2 star Merchant Vince?
You should have arrived at Winterlake city with them two days ago, am I right?"

Morty had been listening to their exchange all along as he didn't have anything to do, when he heard the name "Theodore" he recalled a piece of information he read an hour ago.
It was about the return of a caravan led by a 2 star Merchant, it also said that they had stopped to resupply at Winterlake city and to recover from a difficult battle they had with a battalion of hobgoblins.

Dante was astonished by the speed at which the news spread, the caravan had only arrived yesterday...
However, his astonishment was quickly replaced by impatience as he wanted to finish his business in a short time.

"Yes exactly, can you give me a price now?"

As he said that Dante took out a spatial pouch with 80 Life Cores at the Soldier level and placed it on the counter.

Rick didn't dare to delay anymore as he did a quick scan of the items, but he was left agape by the number of Life Cores.
What the fuck, eighty Life Cores? That's at least 3000 gold coins!
Rick thought that he would only be able to do small business with Dante, not in the least did he expect such a big deal.
Even Morty was looking at him with envy.
A Merchant ability was related to how much money could he make, it was the greatest of honours for them to make big deals.
Rick only felt it was a pity that he couldn't swindle him a bit...

"Sir, I can offer you 3500 gold coins. The price isn't negotiable, you can trust me as I wouldn't dare insult the name of a 2 star Merchant."

Dante was pleased by Rick's offer but he didn't take the money as he had other business with them.

"I heard that the Merchant Guild is a place where one could trade fairly, I wish to buy some resources useful for breaking through to Commander level."

Rick was even more pleased as he would be able to make some actual money this way.
"Sir we actually have an Iron-Blood fruit from the Aderlate continent in stock, it's considered as one of the top quality treasures to breakthrough to Commander level.
I can give it to you for 1000 gold coins.
If you combine it with some Crow-fire pills you would be able to breakthrough immediately without any problems.
I can give you a bottle of Crow-fire pills and the Iron-Blood fruit at the reasonable price of 2000 gold coins."

Dante felt the tea fragrance become bitter at that moment, cultivation really meant burning money as if it was cheap wood...
With a dry voice, Dante said.

"Ok, I accept. Put everything in this spatial ring."

Rick quickly gave some orders to a nearby servant who after a couple of minutes returned with two medicine boxes.
The two boxes were made of a special wood which preserved medicinal effects, their value alone was several gold coins.

"Sir, take those two boxes as a gift of the Merchant Guild. We hope to do business with you again in the future!"

Waving at Dante, Rick felt that he shouldn't judge people from their actions anymore.
However, that thought only lasted for a moment as he returned to his previous self.

Morty also watched as Dante headed off to the ground floor and he felt that this big customer was actually a bit dejected.