CHAPTER 84: PERFECT HERB

Hearing the price, Nash couldn’t help but look toward the bidder.

Possessing a unique temperament, he easily found that it was a woman dressed in a cold white suit.

"50% above market price? Are you sure?"

Unless this woman had some hidden agenda, there was no reason to offer such a losing deal.

Judging by the crowd’s reaction, too shocked to even speak, Nash was sure the woman standing before him wasn’t ordinary.

"Yes, no need to doubt me."

"Well, since you’re willing to pay that much, I suppose I have no choice but to sell it to you," Nash said with a smile, accepting the offer.

He wasn’t about to turn down free money offered to him up front.

"Great. Please calculate the total—I want everything you have."

"Even materials?" Nash asked, perking up.

Materials were harder to sell than herbs. Since there wasn’t much demand, he usually had to offload them at a loss through official stores.

"...S-sure, you can pack those up too," the woman replied, her lips twitching.

This black-hearted merchant was too shameless.

They were only talking about herbs. How did these low-tier beast materials suddenly get thrown into the deal?

Still, unwilling to tarnish the Verdant Group’s reputation, she held her pride and agreed to the loss.

"Perfect!" Nash beamed, not expecting her to agree.

Not wasting a second, he quickly counted the total value of his herbs and materials.

To be sure about the official market price, he even called Aspen over.

"This—"

Watching Nash’s shamelessness unfold, Aspen was just thankful he had already finished his business with him.

"What? You don’t know the price of this stuff? Remember—you have to give me the true price!" Nash reminded.

"Uh..." Aspen hesitated, catching the representative of the Verdant Group staring at him with fire in her eyes. Reluctantly, he gave Nash a subtle signal not to push too far.

"Huh?" Taking a hint, Nash understood what Aspen was worried about.

"Don’t worry, this beauty promised me 50% above market price. Naturally, I need to know what the market price actually is."

"You..."

Seeing Nash’s eager expression, which seemed ready to drag him into a pit if he refused, Aspen sighed and gave the actual values.

And by "true" price, of course, he meant the premium rate.

With Aspen’s help, Nash quickly tallied up everything.

"Alright, beauty. Everything adds up to 3,783 merits. With the 50% premium, that brings the total to 5,676 merits." Nash said excitedly.

One had to know that even with the Sun Bow, he could only make about 2,000 merits in Silver Forest.

Now, just by selling off his harvest, he had already earned over 7,000.

Hearing the number, the woman just rolled her eyes, too lazy to argue.

[Leslie Crane sent you 6,000 merits]

[Do you accept?]

"Huh? Beauty, you sent too much! It’s only 5,676 merits," Nash reminded, thinking she overpaid.

"Just take it as my token of appreciation," Leslie muttered, trying to sound casual.

"Oh? Then I’ll graciously accept it."

Free money was free money; refusing to accept it was a sin.

Handing over all the herbs and materials, Nash was about to pack up and return to the real world when—

"Wait a minute. Can I talk to you for a while?"

"Go on, I’m all ears."

Since he had already accepted the money, Nash didn’t mind giving her a few minutes of his time.

Before saying another word, Leslie shot a meaningful look at the crowd, silently urging them to clear out.

"Boss, I’ll come back later. Please save me another marshwort," Aspen said before leaving, unable to resist the reminder.

"Don’t worry. I’ll set them aside after I go hunting tomorrow."

For a loyal customer who helped him earn extra money, Nash was happy to offer a little convenience.

"Thanks, boss. See you tomorrow."

Once the crowd dispersed, Leslie activated a sound barrier using an unknown item.

Hearing the noise suddenly muted, Nash’s demeanor shifted, ready to run or fight at any moment.

"Relax. I’m Leslie Crane, an agent of the Verdant Group. I just want to offer you an invitation."

"I’m not interested," Nash replied immediately.

He never intended to work under anyone.

"You don’t even know the offer. Have you even heard of the Verdant Group?" Leslie frowned at his instant rejection.

"I’ve heard about the reputation of the Verdant Group."

"Then why? Do you already belong to another organization?"

"No. I just don’t want to be a lackey for someone else. And besides, you’re only here because you want me to gather herbs, right?" Nash said, cutting straight to the point.

From the moment she approached, he had been sizing her up. After some thought, her motive was clear: she wanted his ability to find herbs.

Harvesting high-grade herbs in one go like he had wasn’t something an average scavenger could do. It suggested he had a unique ability to locate rare resources in dangerous zones.

Meanwhile, hearing Nash’s words, Leslie’s expression tightened.

Indeed, her entire reason for approaching him was his talent in the field.

Even though she wasn’t exactly sure what ability he had, having someone like Nash on their team would ensure they never returned empty-handed.

More importantly, the Verdant Group had recently discovered signs of a perfect quality herb in the Willow Swamp—a Tier 5 danger zone near Dark Willow Shelter.

A perfect herb! Even for a giant like the Verdant Group, it was a rare resource.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have the manpower to dispatch to such a remote location, so they had no choice but to rely on local talent.

Thinking Nash had the right skill for the job, Leslie decided to recruit him as a pathfinder.

"Will you hear me out first? Since you don’t want to join the organization, how about working with us as a temporary pathfinder?"

"Pathfinder? For what?"

"We’ve received intel about a Tier 1 perfect herb appearing near Black Willow Shelter. We want to hire you to help locate it."

"A Tier 1 perfect herb?"

Hearing it was a perfect herb, his breathing couldn’t help but quicken.

Even the lowest-tier perfect herb could be sold for a minimum of a million merits.

Some could even fetch ten million or more, depending on rarity.

Although it was not as expensive as a perfect weapon, it was still a life-changing fortune.

If he could find it on his own, it would save him years of struggle.