Become A Profiteer In Isekai

Chapter 11: Chapter 11: The Crafty Merchant’s Main Attribute

After leaving Heitai Town and crossing the wheat fields, Lu Wei soon found himself back in Gelan Forest.

Nothing seemed to have changed since yesterday.

The only real difference was that this time, he was alone.

Without Furen’s incessant, childish questions, the journey felt a little longer.

Gazing up at the distant crown of the Tree of Origin, Lu Wei thought to himself, ’No wonder most Adventurers prefer to form parties.’

’Aside from complementing each other’s abilities, it seems staving off loneliness is another important reason.’

’Braving the elements, sleeping under the stars... it’s fine for a day or two, but it would be tough to endure for long periods.’

’Especially in a remote Adventurer’s Land like this, the loneliness would be magnified immensely.’

’Even if you don’t get eaten by monsters, you’d probably end up losing your mind.’

”No wonder Female Half-Beastmen are so popular...”

”Not only are they natural-born Warriors, but they’re also very... open-minded in certain respects...”

Lu Wei nodded thoughtfully, seemingly understanding some of the stranger dynamics of the party-finding scene.

He then inevitably recalled yesterday’s Beastman joke, in which he was the main character.

The ear piercing was a joke, of course.

But the way that Female Half-Beastman looked at him was definitely strange.

’It’s probably because my [Charm] is as high as 14.’

’The goodwill he’d received from others was also likely due to this, more or less.’

Thinking of this, Lu Wei opened his Attributes panel again.

[Name: Lu Wei]

[Profession: Crafty Merchant (Unique Special)]

[Power: 7]

[Agility: 11 (+2)]

[Physique: 8]

[Intelligence: 13 (+2)]

[Perception: 18 (+2)]

[Charm: 14]

After equipping the Soul Pendant, all his Attributes except for Power and Physique had surpassed 10.

His Perception had even reached 18, nearly four times that of an Ordinary person.

Though he couldn’t be certain, Lu Wei felt that even a [Priest] or a [Druid], whose main Attribute is Perception, probably couldn’t reach this level right after becoming a Professional.

Besides, his Agility, Intelligence, and Charm were also quite high... Hmm?

’Wait a minute.’

’So what is my main Attribute?’

Suddenly, Lu Wei paused, having realized a very important question.

Every [Profession] had a corresponding ”core trait”—in other words, a crucial ”main Attribute.”

A Priest, for example, mainly relies on prayers and rituals to channel Divine Power from the Outer Planes to strengthen allies and weaken enemies. Therefore, they must have extremely high [Perception] to communicate with Divine Beings.

Or take the noble Mage, who casts Magic by manipulating the natural Elements and must often conduct research. They undoubtedly require extraordinary [Intelligence].

As for the [Warrior] that Furen aspired to be, it went without saying that everyone knew it was synonymous with [Power].

’So what’s the main Attribute for a [Crafty Merchant]?’

’Is it [Charm], for easily gaining others’ trust?’

’Or [Intelligence], for manipulating foolish customers?’

’Or perhaps [Perception], for sniffing out profit and avoiding disaster?’

’They all seem important.’

’But none of them feel quite right, either.’

”Hmm...”

Lu Wei rubbed his chin, thought for a moment, and finally reached a conclusion.

’None of them!’

’For a Crafty Merchant!’

’The most important thing has to be luck!’

...

...

”You managed to escape from a dozen Kobolds... Bai Ya, you’re so incredibly lucky.”

「Meanwhile, at the Sawing and Sewing clinic.」

By the window, Aryan rested her chin in her hands, a look of pure astonishment on her face.

Bai Ya was sitting up in bed, propped against the headboard. Her complexion was clearly much better than it had been that morning.

After some food and water, she had regained some of her strength.

But she had lost a lot of blood, so a full recovery would likely take several more days.

”Mm, yes.”

Bai Ya nodded and said weakly, ”I didn’t think I’d be able to escape, either.”

”Then it must have been a blessing from the Goddess of Fortune.”

Aryan confidently attributed it all to ”Divine Power,” then continued, her cheeks puffed out in indignation:

”But those men were so selfish! They actually used you to lure the monsters!”

”And what’s worse, when they realized they couldn’t win, they just ran away!”

”How despicable! They don’t deserve to be called Adventurers!”

Aryan’s voice was loud and filled with disgust, showing just how angry she was.

As Bai Ya recalled the scene, she subconsciously clutched the bedsheets, a flicker of pain in her eyes.

’Abandoning one’s companions to survive isn’t unheard of.’

’From a ”cutting your losses” perspective, it’s even understandable.’

’But when it actually happens to you, it’s impossible for anyone to just accept it calmly.’

”Let’s not talk about that anymore.”

After a moment, Bai Ya lowered her head and changed the subject, a bit stiffly.

”Aryan, are you very familiar with Mr. Lu Wei?”

”Hmm, I wouldn’t say familiar, no.”

Aryan answered truthfully, ”We’re just acquaintances. We’ll chat for a bit when we run into each other, that’s all.”

”So he’s a resident of Heitai Town, then?”

”He is. He lives in the smallest cabin by the river, on the south side of town.”

”Then... his financial situation probably isn’t very good, is it.”

”Yeah, probably not.”

Aryan nodded. ”I’m not sure how he was doing before, but right now, he’s probably penniless.”

Bai Ya looked lost. ”Why?”

”Because he used all his money to pay for your treatment yesterday.”

Spreading her hands, Aryan made an ’all gone’ gesture with a serious expression on her face.

”I saw it with my own eyes. He emptied his entire coin purse. Not a single Copper Coin was left.”

”So now he’s completely broke, isn’t he?”

She shrugged helplessly. It had to be said, Aryan had a real talent for dark humor. If she didn’t become a Doctor, she could probably make a living in the circus, or maybe as a satirical newspaper columnist.

But this joke, meant to lighten the mood, struck Bai Ya’s heart like a great hammer capable of shattering Heavy Armor.

THUMP!

Her slender shoulders trembled. Staring blankly at Aryan, Bai Ya froze completely.

She never imagined that Lu Wei had not only saved her and carried her back from the forest, but had also used all of his money to pay for her treatment.

’What a kind person!’

In that instant, a flood of complex emotions washed over her, leaving her at a loss for words.

The image of Lu Wei in her mind grew even grander.

The only problem was...

’So, how can I possibly repay him?’

Biting her lip gently, Bai Ya subconsciously touched her chest as a bitter look flashed in her eyes.

’If only I hadn’t lost my Pendant...’

...

...

”Achoo!”

”Strange, why do I keep sneezing today.”

”Don’t tell me I’m catching a cold.”

”I’ll get some medicine from Aryan when I get back.”

”I’ll check if she’s awake while I’m at it.”

”Speaking of which, I wonder if there was some medical malpractice and she unfortunately passed away.”

”If that’s the case...”

”That would be wonderful!”