I'm a monster in Demon King's Castle

"What does money taste like?" Li Yue stood in front of the mustached man, chatting casually, then, without a second thought, directly used his clairvoyance to scan the interior of the merchant guild, searching for Gamma's traces.

The merchant guild had a total of three floors. The 1st floor was the store Li Yue was in, with a front desk and shelves, the shelves filled with all sorts of dazzling trinkets and goods.

The rear half of the 1st floor was a passage leading directly to an underground warehouse, connecting to the alley behind the guild, seemingly a loading and unloading area.

The 2nd floor was a reception hall, presumably used for greeting guests and signing cooperation agreements.

The 3rd floor was blocked by magic, making its structure unclear.

Besides this, each floor inside the guild was inscribed with runes, which Li Yue examined, but couldn't understand.

"Money is a taste you don't have," the mustached man said confidently, certain that Li Yue didn't carry much money. "Don't bother looking, these are magic spells used to ward off prying eyes. Someone observing so blatantly like you… is the first time I've encountered it."

"Yeah, like you said, I am indeed short on money," Li Yue didn't deny it.

"If you still don't state your purpose clearly, I have reason to suspect you're a thief, coming in advance to scout the place," the mustached man chuckled.

"Then how can you be sure I'm not?" Li Yue wasn't sure if the other party had magic like clairvoyance, so he was still probing.

In his clairvoyant view, there were no shadows under Mustafa's clothes obscuring key areas like pockets, and the feeling was consistent with the guild's anti-theft runes.

"Would you like a drink?" Mustafa pushed the coffee forward.

Oh, they even have surveillance?

It should be some kind of poison, but not lethal, just intended to restrain Li Yue.

"Pang Zhexiao, merchant," the mustached man extended his hand.

"It can't be worse," Li Yue was quite eager to try the coffee of this world, feeling like he had finally returned to civilized society.

"Very low grade."

The coffee started to cool.

"What do you need?"

"So, would you like to try it?" Li Yue pushed the coffee cup back in front of Mustafa.

Pang Zhe also shook his hand, formally assessing this merchant.

"But I'm afraid, you're not here to peddle combat skills," Li Yue's combat didn't involve any skills.

"Hahaha, you're right," Pang Zhe understood the mustached man's hint, "You're called Li, here to sell some skills to us."

Whether it's mountain coffee produced by the Theocracy or sand coffee from the Sand Kingdom, both are far inferior to this cup of coffee.

Having traveled with Gamma for so many days, this wandering bard has boasted more than once that he is in the process of advancing from 8th to 9th rank.

Li Yue waved his hand at this eyeball, but the eyeball remained unmoved.

The entire merchant guild only has a few appraisal tools, and most of them are still in the Holy Mineral Town, making operations very difficult.

"Well… generally speaking… a thief's movements wouldn't be as forceful as yours," the mustached man pointed to the sword that Li Yue had twisted into a ball at the street corner, and the broken door.

Before Li Yue left the store, he scanned the shelves with his eyes, and also compared the value of the coffee.

But Li Yue's clairvoyance was different from a thief's eyes, and he could still see the outlines of some large objects, guessing that this merchant must have some good things on him, with thorough protection.

"I'm here to sell my appraisal ability," Li Yue picked up the coffee, stirring it with a spoon, occasionally scooping up a spoonful and pouring it back in.

Surely, having someone who is good at appraising low-level items is very valuable to the merchant guild.

"Of course, we don't need it that much. And to become a merchant guild bodyguard, you need to be introduced or recommended by an acquaintance. A traveler with an unknown origin like you, no merchant guild would choose…" Mustafa quickly walked back with the coffee.

Something else has been added to this cup of coffee.

Mainly, Li Yue himself was quite curious.

"Hmm? Does the merchant guild need combat?"

"That makes sense…" Li Yue nodded and smiled.

"Then please wait a moment, I'll go get something…" Pang Zhexiao walked to the front hall, all the way to the guild's underground warehouse.

"Now we can talk properly, what skills?" Mustafa guided Li Yue to a large table on the 1st floor, "Coffee?"

"And those very forceful ones are almost dead," the mustached man hinted to Li Yue, while the names of several low-level thieves flashed through his mind.

Li Yue recalled what he saw on the old woman and also felt that thieves usually moved lightly, which indeed didn't match his style.

Li Yue felt that since he could appraise the value of Gamma's box, then he should at least have the ability of an 8th rank or so?

"Very good, I like candor." Although the coffee was poisoned, Li Yue didn't dwell on it too much, but felt that if one could be well-received by casually barging into someone else's shop, then that would be a miracle.

Pang Zhexiao twitched his mustache and smiled: "It seems I need to be more candid."

"Very good!" Li Yue was very satisfied—except for the interlude with the poisoned coffee, everything was progressing as expected.

"But how to prove it?" Mustafa folded his hands, seeming somewhat hesitant.

"What rank is your appraisal ability?" Pang Zhexiao began to consider the possibility of cooperating with this traveler.

Also, when Pang Zhexiao left, an eyeball suddenly extended from the corner of the room, staring intently at Li Yue.

After seeing Li Yue twist the sword with his bare hands, Pang Zhexiao was indeed moved, but this was not the most needed ability of the merchant guild.

Obviously, Mustafa's handiwork was not worth that much, and there was no need to use better coffee to treat a bumpkin who came to the store for no reason, so the answer was obvious.

Pang Zhexiao went to the shelves.

"How to verify it?" Li Yue very much understood Mustafa's concerns, and of course, he welcomed them to find ways to prove his appraisal ability.

"Oh? We do need this kind of ability." Although Mustafa was a merchant, the low-level merchants of the Hunting Kingdom were almost all dead, and the survivors had limited abilities, making it difficult to appraise some low-level mysterious items.

"Very simple, let's take the cup of coffee in front of us as an example," Li Yue raised the coffee he hadn't drunk, "This cup of coffee is not cheap, far exceeding good coffee beans…"

"Money or tools, either is fine, as a reward for the appraisal," Pang Zhe felt that he couldn't snatch any money from the townspeople, and the merchant guild still had money.

They were once very well-known in the mercenary circle, but now their corpses don't even know which demon has digested them into shit.

"Then how about this." After thinking for a moment, Pang Zhexiao raised his head and said, "We need to verify your ability. If you can really meet our requirements, we can cooperate, and the reward will be discussed then."

Having come to this world, Li Yue had not yet tested the limits of this body.

"The Demon King City is about to launch another expedition, so obviously, the army is more suitable for warriors," Mustafa sat opposite Li Yue.

Mustafa looked at Li Yue, then rubbed his mustache, silently thinking.

And at this moment, Li Yue heard a voice.

"Oh? What is this?" Pang Zhexiao seemed to have a little interest, but seeing that Li Yue had no reaction, he was also a little puzzled.

"If the skill you want to provide is 'combat' or something, I don't think the merchant guild is your best choice," Pang Zhexiao said while making coffee.

"Very simple, I will find a few unappraised goods, you appraise their value, then you can go back," Mustafa got up, "Wait for us to appraise them in our own way, if the results are consistent, your good luck will come."

"Very low grade…"

"Li… save me…"