"Thirdly, we usually schedule attempts into the Test of Mettle once a day. It's the best way to keep order around the test site and also monitor those who enter."
"It would be a bit troublesome if one were to suddenly succeed and flee the continent or something else without taking up responsibility." Shamael calmly pointed out.
Darius agreed internally. It would be quite the problem if one succeeded and decided that they would use this power how they liked instead of how they should. Especially if it were to enter the hands of an enemy, that would be problematic.
But ah, because of their dire situation, they cannot say no to anyone who wished to enter on the very slight off-chance that they might have just denied a potential successor to the Desert King.
What an ugly situation to be in.
Darius couldn't help but think this with an amused smile. He then crossed his legs in a gentlemanly manner before gazing at Shamael.
"I understand most of these rules and was prepared for them. Is there anything special to note?"
"No, that is mostly it. We had many more rules, but they were all eliminated naturally over the years. If you're in a hurry, the next session of the Test of Mettle should be later today, in the early afternoon. You can look around the city if you want or wait in my palace until then." Shamael offered with a wide grin.
Darius pondered for a bit and rose to his feet. "We will take a look around to make some purchases in the Central District, then return here when it is almost time."
Shamael rose to his feet and bowed with gratitude. "You have my thanks for your consideration. Please, accept my daughter as your guide during your visit. She'll make sure to prevent those miscreant peddlers from playing their games."
Darius smiled softly. "That won't be necessary, Shamael. Have you forgotten who I am? Hahaha."
Shamael smacked his own face. He had treated Darius like one of his usual contacts, a rich noble without much life experience, but who was Darius?
The Lord of Safemoon, the haven of mercantilism!
He was a man who had organized the greatest auction in the entire world! The top echelon of each and every continent had been in attendance, with goods so expensive that he had set his own standard of pricing.
How could someone who fought against big guys lose to these small guys trying to make a living?
"Hahaha, my bad! In that case, I wish you a good shopping experience, Lord Stone!" Shamael genuinely wished the other as he bowed once more.
Darius also made a bowing gesture as he left the palace calmly. The guards eyed him for a bit, but when Gunner glared at them, they paled and looked away.
The Itemancer led his group into the streets. It should be noted that almost everyone here was peddling something or the other. The houses were arranged behind neatly and orderly, but in front of them were kiosks and stands of various sizes that contained goods.
One could see either the father or mother of the nuclear family handle the shop, while the kids played around on the street with makeshift balls and the like.
It was messy, it was noisy and it was very lively.
To Darius, it felt quite nostalgic. In his younger years, he had been sent to East Africa to learn how to trade by his father. In his father's own words, there were no better traders in the world than the Arabs.
An Arab trader could sell you something for a slightly higher price and make you feel like you have cheated him dearly, even making you think of him as a friend. Their skill and charisma was unmatched.
Darius had learned this truth during his few years living in the suburbs of East Africa. He had learned all their tricks and even used them himself for a while, later refining them into his own set of mercantile skills.
Darius saw a store peddling trinkets and walked over with interest. He and his two Branded Servants had more than 100 points of Luck, with Xela at a whopping 300.
He had yet to take advantage of their high Luck in this manner for a while, using it mostly to avoid more critical dangers with the Spiritual Senses.
He remembered that even when he had less than 100 points, he would find rare and precious items in any shop he visited that could only be claimed because he had Analyze to see them for their true worth.
Heck, even Darla, that natural-born Paragon of Luck in the First Order, had possessed heart-throbbing items in her possession that were only released because she had met with Darius who had equivalent Luck.
As Darius had recently learned through God Krona's library, when two people of similar Luck met, it canceled each other out and everything reverted to factory settings.
Now, he stood before this stall that was manned by a man wearing a light grey turban and a purple vest that was worn over a grey thaub. He smiled enthusiastically at Darius as he introduced his goods one by one, but neither Darius nor Gunner paid him any mind.
Darius was analyzing the goods one by one, while Gunner was glaring at the fellow, making him begin to stutter unsurely. Only Xela felt the need to listen to him so that he wouldn't feel embarrassed or uncomfortable.
Darius noticed that while some items were special, none stood out like the ones he had acquired when he had been weaker. He guessed that there was something significant he did not understand about how Luck worked in this case.
And it was the truth. Luck worked relative to a person's power, needs, and status. The kind of things Darius needed or wanted at his current stage could not be easily found in a market stall in Ludo.
This was a place with poor Luck, and there were no conduits for his Luck to present him with opportunities like Foldo or Darla.
