Chapter 1062 – Mo Lan’s Travel Diary 15

“What’s with all this pushing and shoving?” Talam raised his voice, cutting through the clamor. “Didn’t Taliro already tell you? The general store only carries cards Level 5 and above! Take a good look at your own Gem Coin balances—can any of you even afford a single card?”

The excited atmosphere fell silent for a moment.

The tribespeople exchanged glances, each summoning their Card Magic interface.

Semi-transparent screens materialized in the air, Gem Coin balances displayed in their corners:

【237】, 【518】, 【891】, 【403】…

Even though they had scrimped and saved, setting aside every Gem Coin they extracted each day for essential supplies, the vast majority still had balances under 1,000 Gem Coins.

And Level 5 cards typically cost 1,500 Gem Coins or more.

Reality was like a bucket of cold water, yet it couldn’t extinguish the longing in their eyes.

Talam looked at the disappointed yet stubborn faces of his people and understood completely. He cleared his throat, his voice softening:

“Alright, stop moping. Here’s what we’ll do—everyone pool your Gem Coins and transfer them to me. Taliro and I will go make purchases on behalf of the entire tribe. The rest of you, hurry up and process the game we brought back, and start preparing for the hunting season festival!”

He raised his head and gazed toward the quiet castle not far away, solemnity and anticipation surfacing in his eyes:

“Lady Moira will be staying at our settlement for three days—just enough time to prepare. Once the shopping is done, I will formally invite Lady Moira and her daughter to attend our Tatari tribe’s hunting festival.”

“Invite Lady Moira?” The tribespeople’s eyes lit up again. This way, they could not only meet Lady Moira in person but also share the festival feast with her. Who knows—maybe they could even collect the utensils Lady Moira used, to bring good luck when drawing cards!

“That’s right!” Talam nodded. “For this festival, we’ll use our finest game, the freshest mountain fruits, and the strongest Thunder Fruit Wine to welcome Lady Moira and Miss Sylvia!”

The proposal immediately won everyone’s approval.

“I’ll go prepare a whole roasted Antler Deer!”

“I’ll go pick the freshest Moonlight Berries!”

“I’ll dig up the Thunder Fruit Wine I buried last year!”

“I’ll take the kids to gather Glimmer Vines to decorate the tent!”

The crowd quickly dispersed, each person bustling off to their task.

A festive, jubilant atmosphere began to permeate the valley.

Talam and Taliro, meanwhile, entered the Clan Leader’s tent and began tallying the Gem Coin Cards that the tribespeople had gathered together.

Every single Gem Coin Card represented the hard-saved hopes of a family that had scrimped and economized.

The final amount settled at: 14,000 Gem Coins.

For a remote mountain tribe of fewer than two hundred people, this was a staggering sum. Every last Tatari had emptied their entire savings.

Talam wrapped all the Gem Coin Cards in beast hide and said to Taliro, “Let’s go. Time to see Lady Moira and Miss Sylvia.”

Inside the general store, Sylvia was sprawled across the counter, her small face pressed against the cool wooden surface, gazing wistfully toward the door.

“Mama, will he come back? It’s been so long…”

The words had barely left her mouth when two figures appeared in the doorway.

Clan Leader Talam walked in front, with Taliro half a step behind. Both stopped at the entrance, straightened their armor and face paint, and only then solemnly stepped inside.

“Lady Moira,” Talam thumped his right fist against his chest and bowed deeply. “I am Talam, Clan Leader of the Tatari tribe. Thank you for gracing our valley with your presence and bringing us such a precious opportunity.” His common tongue was more fluent than Taliro’s, his voice rugged and resonant like ancient wood.

Mo Lan rose to her feet and returned the greeting with a slight nod.

Sylvia immediately slid down from her tall stool, stood up straight, and tried her best to look dependable. “Hello! Welcome back!”

“Miss Sylvia, may we take a look at theerta first?” Talam asked.

“Of course!” Sylvia nodded.

This time, both Talam and Taliro studied it carefully.

Truly, every single card made their hearts ache with desire. Unfortunately, they could afford very few.

Talam committed to memory several cards that were critically important but currently beyond the tribe’s collective means. Then he placed the beast-hide bundle on the counter with both hands:

“These are the Gem Coin Cards pooled together by every member of our tribe, totaling 14,000 Gem Coins. We’d like to buy three Level 5 Healing Potions, one Level 5 Antidote Potion, and one Level 5 Magic Card—Thornvine Stranglehold. Would that be enough?”

When he said “Antidote Potion,” his gaze unconsciously drifted to Taliro. On Taliro’s arm was a fresh bite wound tinged with dark purple—though it had been treated with herbal remedies, the toxin had not been fully purged.

Sylvia took back the Product Catalog, flipped to the corresponding page, and read aloud price by price, her small finger tracing along the entries: “One Level 5 Healing Potion is 2,500 Gem Coins. One Level 5 Antidote Potion is 3,000 Gem Coins. One Level 5 Magic Card—Thornvine Stranglehold is 4,000 Gem Coins… the total is…”

She got stuck too—how much was it again?

Sylvia turned to look at Clack and Sentai beside her. Got it!

“Clack! Calculate the total in Gem Coins. If you get it right, I’ll give you priority hiring next time!”

The soul fire in Clack’s skull flickered as it picked up a piece of cardboard and wrote out the equation: “2,500 × 3 + 3,000 + 4,000 = 14,500.”

It held up the cardboard when finished.

Sylvia glanced at it, then said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Talam. The total for the cards you need comes to 14,500 Gem Coins. The Gem Coins you’ve brought are 500 short… to buy everything.”

Talam’s brow furrowed deeply.

A gap of 500 Gem Coins didn’t sound like much, but for a tribe that had already emptied every last coin of their savings, it was an insurmountable hurdle.

He looked at the wound on Taliro’s arm, then thought of the hunter back in the tent with a broken leg, and the elder whose old injuries had flared up again…

Buy one fewer Healing Potion? But all three wounded needed one.

Give up the Antidote Potion? Taliro was one of the tribe’s best young hunters—they couldn’t let hidden damage linger.

Skip the Thornvine Stranglehold card? But this card could drastically reduce casualties when hunting large predators. It was a lifesaving trump card they had long planned to save up for, and they had never found the chance to buy one before…

Mo Lan took in their predicament and, after a moment’s thought, said, “Your tribe’s hunting season just ended recently, didn’t it?”

Talam and Taliro both looked up at her simultaneously.

Mo Lan’s gaze fell on the silver-blue wolf-pelt cloak draped over Talam’s shoulders, then swept across the expertly tanned leather armor at Taliro’s waist.

“I happen to be looking to acquire some fine beast hides to make leather armor and stock my magical goods shop. Tatari-tanned hides are renowned throughout Valen as premium goods. If you’re willing to use hides of equivalent value to cover the 500 Gem Coin shortfall, we can close this deal.”

Talam’s eyes lit up.

“Of course!” He nodded without a moment’s hesitation. “Our tribe’s storehouse has a batch of freshly tanned hides ready. If Lady Moira doesn’t mind, we’ll go fetch them right away!”