Aldred walked around the sea market with his wives some more. He had never seen something like this before in fantasy books or modern reality.
Why do they sell their wares in the sea? Why not on land? After asking the merchants around, it got to do with the quality of the fruit. The Sea Fruits lost their quality when they got near land. This forced the merchants to set up their wares in the middle of nowhere.
The fact that these merchants use rafts and small boats to sail the sea was proof that they were willing to risk their lives for gold coins.
During his travel in the sea, Aldred saw a lot of sea monsters in the Platinum Rank. The market only had a few ships to protect themselves from the monsters. If they met a powerful sea serpent, all of them would be slaughtered.
"Ten thousand gold coins seem too cheap now the more I think about it," Aldred said.
Mary agreed. "With all the risk they take, this fruit should be worth at least fifty thousand gold coins each."
"Aldred, my dear," Zafrina called before hugging his arms. "Why don't you set up a golem mercenary company here? This way, people can hire your golems to dive into the sea to help them collect the fruits."
"That's a good idea, but wouldn't that mean I steal their jobs?"
"You can use the money to invest in other businesses which will create more jobs for people."
"Hmmm, the problem is... That's a good idea. I will tell Tarrar to manage this business."
"Who is that again?"
"Did you already forget the wise bugbear I defeated? You know, the one who can obtain Platinum Rank power temporarily using a magic tower."
"Ah, that guy."
"He's a competent worker. He's been managing the golem business in Paphia and Yevileria. I told him to expand to the food category, and business is booming."
"Are both nations still at war?"
"Yes, they are. They have been pouring money into my company, but on the bright side, almost no life is lost during their war."
Zafrina laughed bitterly. "You squeezed their money, but saved their lives."
"Two birds with one stone."
Zafrina and Aldred laughed.
"There are still competitors though. Ever since I opened the business, there have been more than 5 companies trying to compete with me."
"Are they any good?"
"Well, they are nothing at first, but they are improving rapidly."
"You cannot have the monopoly forever."
"I know. I don't intend to, but I am sure, I will still be the top contender."
"What if a Diamond Rank made a company and can make better things than you?"
"There are. My selling point is quantity, speed, and price. A Platinum Rank or Diamond Rank can make something better than my golem for sure, but they cannot match my quantity, price, and production speed."
Aldred smiled. "Don't forget that I can make my own mana crystals. Although they are not as powerful as the real mana crystal, they are more versatile and almost cost me nothing to make."
"You're a walking gold mine, Aldred."
"Then you all better start digging." Aldred laughed.
After chatting with his wives, Aldred opened up a portal to tell Tarrar to set up a golem company on the sea market.
There was a small problem--distance. Tarrar couldn't store the gold coins if it was too far away, and he could not rely on Aldred all the time.
Thankfully Tarrar had a solution.
"A teleportation device?"
"Yes. It cost a lot, but it will be more than worth it," Tarrar said.
"Alright, I will trust you with the details."
Tarrar nodded. "I have to say, this sea fruits business is really a good idea. Maybe I can further expand to different exotics foods or items."
"I like that idea. Do whatever you want."
"You trust me that much?"
"All I see is good results coming from you. How can I not trust you that much?"
Tarrar shrugged.
"How's the business?"
"As usual. Some companies offered us to collaborate and merge."
"What do you tell them?"
"Fuck off."
Aldred laughed. "Are you not interested in collaborating with them?"
"Bah! Those guys are useless. If we collaborate, they will make us do 70% of the work."
Aldred and Tarrar chatted about the business a bit. The income from the three companies: Aldred's Golem Mercenary, Aldred's Golem miner, and Aldred's Tasty Food were enough for Aldred to do anything.
"By the way," Tarrar started. "Gold coins might seem good, but there is a better currency out there that is not within our reach yet."
"Mana crystal?"
"Yes, that, but there is something better out there."
"Like this sea token?" Aldred showed him a token.
Tarrar's eyes lit up. "Yes, like that one. Some things cannot be bought with gold coins. And those things are the good stuff."
"I understand. If we want the good stuff, we need to have a better currency."
"Yes. But I believe it's not good to think about it now. Maybe we can discuss it again after you enter Platinum Rank or Diamond Rank."
"Sure."
After some small talk, Aldred walked to his boat and returned to the mothership with his wives.
Bartrem and the soldiers returned as well.
"What did you guys buy?" Aldred asked.
"Some fruits, and a couple of sea accessories," Bartrem replied. "Some of them can even increase my speed. Just like an actual treasure."
"That's nice." Aldred bit into a sea fruit.
[You have received one teleportation point]
'Eh?'
Teleportation points: 2/4
He could get a teleportation point by eating fruit?! That was shocking. A teleportation point could let him open a portal anywhere in the world and teleport to pre-set teleportation points.
He had used two: one in Folineley City, his company headquarters, and the other one was on his mothership, The Devourer.
With an extra teleportation point, he could set it up to another place for any kind of function such as a golem factory, or simply storage where he could dump anything he found in that place.
'I should eat more of these fruits.'
