As he was mesmerized by the overwhelming cascade of sensations around him, the voice of his Master brought him back to the physical world.

  "So, what do you think now that you have visited the market for the first time?" Berto asked, his gaze fixed on Adam with curiosity sparkling in his eyes.

  Adam made a conscious effort to ignore the presence of other mages manifesting as subtle ripples in the atmospheric pressure, and he turned his full attention toward his mentor.

  "It is quite loud, if I had to pinpoint one thing," he replied, his voice slightly strained from the effort of filtering the urban roar, which felt like a predatory beast snarling in his ears.

  Berto’s lips curled upward at the statement and he laughed quietly, the sound almost lost in the chaotic symphony of commerce that filled the Middle District.

  "You are right, it is indeed loud here, but that is simply how the world works. Let us check how much you have in that pouch of yours first," his Master suggested.

  Adam tossed the pouch one last time, feeling the unfamiliar and jiggling weight of the metal before opening it to count the shapes within. There were fifty silver coins and eighty copper pieces resting against the dark, worn leather. He tried to recall any instance where his father, a man who built his life on such transactions, had mentioned the nuances of trade, or any moment his mother had explained the inherent value of common items. Yet, his mind remained frustratingly empty, a void where practical knowledge should have been. He sighed silently, feeling the weight of his own ignorance.

  At least he recognized that this currency was unified across all the kingdoms, consisting of cold, heavy metal forged with a unique symbol of two swords crossed in a palm as if they were dancing. This sigil represented the Lycaria Bank, the most powerful financial institution in the known world, whose main branch was situated in the distant Kingdom of Mercuria. The swords on the coins felt unnaturally sharp beneath his thumb, a reminder of the violence that backed every transaction.

  "Quite the sum we have here, your father is doing pretty well. Let’s see first what we have," Berto said while taking a luxurious pace between colorful stands.

  Adam followed in his steps, looking at all the items and the prices attached to them, the signs flickering in the sunlight. Roasted meat on a stick was ten copper. It was a solid lunch for someone looking for one, with a price that seemed low to him. Even before he saw the next stand, he could smell the scent of old paper and bitter ink, for the stall was filled with books of various designs. Each of those tomes had a different price. "Crimes of Joeffrey" by Gregory had five silver marked next to it.

  So books are much more costly than food. That did make sense to him, as the food would be gone in a moment while the book stayed with you, not to mention that most of them were written by hand, a task that took quite a time. Right after followed stands with jewelry, each piece reflecting the sun shining directly upon it with a hollow brilliance. As before, the price also varied by the item. Next to a golden necklace, he could see a price of twenty silver, which struck him as a peculiarity. Why would something that is made from gold be bought for silver?

  "Master, why does this golden necklace cost twenty silver if it is gold? Is it just a scam or do I not understand something?" he decided to ask, looking upon the man and waiting patiently for an answer.

  "The answer is simple, it is not truly made from gold but only has a golden color. Some will buy it because they like this color and it is affordable unlike a real one, and some will try to lie while trying to impress others with the wealth they do not really have," Berto answered calmly, his gaze turned toward the hollow item they were talking about.

  So it was just for pointless bragging or for people that simply liked the golden jewelry but were not rich enough to afford one. It seemed pointless to him, a fragile deception in a world that already held too many secrets. As they were going through stands filled with even more of the shining fake jewelry, he noticed a next curiosity. As soon as his eyes lay upon it, he could faintly hear whispers intensifying in their cacophony. It was as if they demanded this item, their raspy echoes vibrating against the inside of his skull.

  It was a ring that stood out not for its complexity or even luxury, but because unlike all the others that reflected the sunlight, this one made him feel as if he was looking at a mana stone. It was eating the light that shone upon it, a tiny void in the middle of the glittering chaos. It was made from some dark material that looked extremely fragile, and the ring outside of it looked plain as well. But he did not care; the voices had made a move, and he decided to listen. It had saved him once, so why not try to follow their guidance again. He looked at the price attached to it, which was ten silver. It was much less than most of the jewelry he had seen while passing the stands.

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  He walked to the stand, the echo of his steps completely lost in the ever-going urban roar. He pointed at his target with his index finger and said to a man operating the stand, "I want this one."

  "Fine eye, young Lord! Even if it looks plain, it will match your dark outfit perfectly. A great contrast that makes your fair skin and blonde hair stand out even more. If you wish, I can add this silver ring for fifteen silver to it with a discount of three silver. It would make it an even better match," the man answered loudly, making tons of frantic gestures with his hands.

  Adam looked at him bewildered for a moment. Was he trying to scam him? Or was every merchant here like this? He was not sure but decided to forget about it.

  "No, I only want this dark ring. If you do not mind, could you tell me from what material it is made?"

  "Ah, the material of this fine ring! Not only are you a good-looking Lord, but you desire wisdom as well! You see, the material is called obsidian, which is created when the lava from volcanoes cools. It is not an extremely rare material, but its beauty and the extremity of skill required to turn it into jewelry is unmatched!"

  Yet again, the man was babbling a lot of nonsense while answering his question. He felt like he was at a circus.

  "I understand, here you go," he said, giving the merchant ten silver from his pouch, at which the man’s eyes shined as he handed the ring to Adam.

  He walked back to his Mentor, who was looking at him oddly.

  "To be honest, I assumed you did not like jewelry at all. Is there any reason why you bought it?" he asked, curiosity seeping from his voice.

  "Honestly Master, I just wanted to buy anything today for the first time and this ring reminded me of a Mana Stone, that is why I decided to buy it. Apparently, it is made from a material called Obsidian."

  Adam decided to not say the exact truth to Berto. He trusted the man with his life, but he was not sure if he would agree with his decision about buying this ring only because of whispers. Not to say he could not say it here publicly, and his Mentor was yet to know about the details of his last dream.

  "Obsidian, huh? It truly reminds one of a Mana Stone even if barely. It does complement you well though," his gaze settled upon the ring which now was put on the index finger of his left hand.

  "Master, tell me, is every merchant like this one? I never saw someone make so many gestures in a few sentences while intertwining everything with so much babbling."

  He could see how Berto’s lips turned into a genuine smile that looked as if he would laugh any moment.

  "There are quite a lot of them like this. It is a common practice that is supposed to make them more trustworthy while pampering you so you buy even more."

  "Ah, that does make sense? I do not feel like it worked very well for me though," he responded after a while, a bit flustered.

  I guess it works for the same type of people that would buy fake gold just to show off.

  "By the way Master, I know it might be a bit of a stupid question and I should have asked it earlier, but how much exactly do people make?" he decided to ask, feeling a bit ashamed of how late it was for this type of question.

  "Well that depends on the profession, where you work exactly, and how good you are at it. An average person in the slums, for example, makes twenty copper a month while in the Middle District it is fifteen silver a month. Well, and for the inner district it grows exponentially, turning into one and a half gold per month."

  Adam looked shocked at his Mentor. Twenty copper? No wonder his Father said that people in the slums were barely meeting ends, if at all. Not to say he just got over three months of work for an average person in the Middle District, and for this ring he paid nearly a monthly income! One hundred copper is one silver, one hundred silver makes one gold. One and a half golden coins in a month; that is a really extravagant amount of money. He felt bad, for even if his transaction had a reason for it, his heart felt heavy. If he gave this ten silver to a poor kid in the slums, they would be able to live comfortably over there, and he just presumably wasted it on some ring as he did not feel anything from it even after it was on his finger for a moment now. Did the voices scam him? He sighed and met gazes with his Master.

  "You feel bad now, do you not? There is no reason to. It is not your fault the slums exist, but the Kingdom’s. Same goes for helping them if that is what crossed your mind. People over there would kill you if you gave them this money to see if you have more. And even if they did not, they would not live to see the next day and be robbed by someone else over there."

  His voice was dark and Adam could feel as the urban roar lightened, the air becoming cold and stagnant. His brain was too occupied with the heavy reality that was constantly reminding him of itself in everything he thought and did. After a moment he decided to stop thinking about it for now. He did not have time to care about the slums when he himself and his closest were in permanent danger. He would fix the slums after he got his revenge on this Kingdom.