CHAPTER 130: CHAPTER 129: THIS IS HOW YOU MAKE THE WORLD LISTEN

Axelius leaned against the counter, watching the chaos unfold like it was a play written just for him. Laughter echoed, mugs clinked, and even the grumpiest mercs were smiling now.

He smirked, pulled a gold coin from his pouch, flicked it into the air, and muttered under his breath with a satisfied sigh, "Money really is the best."

Then he started walking through the crowd, casually flicking one gold coin at a time toward random adventurers, one hand still in his pocket like it was nothing.

"Here."

"To you."

"Don’t spend it all in one place."

Flick. Toss. Land. Cheers.

The room exploded again.

"HE’S GIVING GOLD!"

"THAT’S A WHOLE TEN SILVER COINS!"

"ARE YOU SERIOUS? THIS IS ROYAL MONEY!"

"I’M JOINING HIS SIDE. WHATEVER SIDE HE’S ON!"

One rough-looking man held up the gold coin like it was a holy relic, eyes wide. "Do you know how many weeks I’d have to work for this?"

Another woman laughed, holding hers to the light. "This ain’t fake either—this is real, minted gold! That’s noble stuff!"

Someone shouted from the back, "I’m switching allegiances! Whatever guild that kid’s in, I’m signing up!"

More laughter. More gold flying.

In this world, gold coins weren’t just currency.They were status.

Only nobles, royals, or high-ranking merchants handled gold regularly. The rest of the world worked with silver and bronze.

One gold coin = 10 silver coins

One silver coin = 15 bronze coins

To most people in this room, even one silver coin was a good reward.But Axelius? He was tossing gold like candy.

And they loved it.

Axelius stretched, then threw one last coin high into the air like a firework.The moment it hit the floor with a ting!, everyone roared again.

"DRAVENHART! DRAVENHART! DRAVENHART!"

Axelius turned to Owen and grinned with all his teeth. "Let them cheer. But this... this is how you make the world listen."

After the noise settled down and the atmosphere inside the guild turned into merry drinking and chatting.

Axelius walked back to the receptionist’s counter, leaning slightly and resting his elbow as he spoke, "Alright, back to business—I’m here to recruit a blacksmith."

The receptionist, who still looked dazed from all the gold coins tossed earlier, quickly nodded and pointed to the other side of the room, "Then you’ll want to check the Recruitment Board, young lord—it’s right beside the Quest Board."

Axelius followed the direction and arrived in front of a broad wooden board filled with different posted sheets, each showing hand-drawn portraits of people, with notes beside them like "Experienced Guard,"

"Cook with Beast Handling,"

"Merchant Assistant," and of course, "Blacksmith: Available for Hire."

He hummed a little, eyes squinting as he rubbed his chin, staring at the three different blacksmiths listed—one had a long beard, the other looked young but had a serious face, and the third looked like a bulky ex-adventurer type who could probably hammer steel with his fists.

As he stood there deciding, three slightly tipsy men leaned in beside him, their breath warm with drink, faces red and grinning. One of them asked with a crooked smile, "What’re you lookin’ for, young lord?"

Axelius didn’t look at them immediately. He just pointed at the board and replied plainly, "A trustworthy blacksmith."

The three men exchanged glances, then started chuckling to themselves. One leaned closer, tapping the board with a calloused finger, "We know someone, alright. Right person, right skill—but you know how it is, we just want a little something in return, eh?"

They all grinned wide, eyes greedy but not hostile.

Axelius smiled too, reached into his pouch, and flicked three gold coins, one for each of them. "We got a deal." His grin widened. The coins hit their palms with a sweet clink, and their eyes lit up like children on festival day.

"Follow us then, young lord," one of them said, tucking his coin away carefully as if it was more precious than his life.

They led him out of the guild, passing through the crowd where many still enjoyed free drinks "on the house." Some adventurers nodded to Axelius in respect, while others whispered and pointed—but no one tried to stop him. Gold had already spoken louder than words.

As they walked farther from the center of town, the streets became narrower, less polished, and the noise faded behind them. The lanterns dimmed, and the smell of metal and smoke grew stronger.

They passed old shops, most closed or in bad shape, until they stopped in front of a narrow building with cracked walls and a crooked sign that read "Tarn’s Forge."

The windows were foggy, the door slightly chipped, and the smell of burned iron lingered in the air.

One of the men gestured toward the door and said, "This is the place. Might not look like much, but inside’s a smith you won’t forget. Trust us."

Axelius looked at the worn-down shop, then at the glowing coin in his hand, then back at the door.

They pushed the door open, and it creaked loudly like it hadn’t been oiled in years, a wave of hot air and the scent of burnt iron brushing against his face as the three men followed right behind him.

all of them chuckling like they were heading into a tavern instead of a forge, and the moment they stepped inside, the ringing sound of steel-on-steel echoed from the back room.

The shop was cluttered with weapons, armor, unfinished tools, and scraps of metal piled like forgotten treasure—axes leaned against walls, a dusty longsword hung crooked over the entrance.

and there in the middle of the mess, behind an anvil taller than most chairs, was a short, broad-shouldered figure, pounding away at a chunk of glowing red steel, thick smoke rising from the forge beside him.

One of the three grinned and cupped his hands, shouting, "Oi! You stubby-bearded rock! We brought someone who actually has coin, so don’t pretend to be deaf today!"

The dwarf didn’t stop hammering, but his beard twitched.

"Oi!"

The third added as he leaned on the counter, "Bet he’s still angry no one invited him to that drinking contest last festival."