Reaching the town was a lot easier this time compared to the last. The long winding staircase that went through the thick forest he had descended with ease, and even now as he walked, looking around, he wasn’t out of breath.
He was better at observing his surroundings as he would move and weave, avoiding the people next to him, not bumping into them like the last time he had visited the place. Eventually, Raze had stopped at a building he had been to once before.
‘One of the major issues I have is the fact that I have these crystals that are like a bar of gold, yet it’s impossible for me to sell on my own. How am I meant to get more items that are needed?’
The place he had stopped in front of was the pawn shop, the same pawn shop he had visited last time. Although it had been a long time since he had visited the place, there was still the chance that no one had found out about the incident, and if that was the case, there would be no harm in him ‘borrowing’ a few items from inside.
To his surprise, the sign on the front door stated ‘open’.
‘Open? How is that possible? I didn’t hallucinate about what happened last time, did I?’ Raze thought.
His curiosity was great, and he wanted to open the door, but considering what had happened last time, he thought it was best if he left it be. Walking away, he couldn’t help but think about how strange it was.
‘Was there no investigation? I mean, I can understand if the business was bought out and changed, maybe it was taken over by another family member. Or it could be some type of trap; they do say that criminals always return to the scene of the crime.’
Inside the shop, working behind the counter, was the large man in the brown overcoat. Himmy had been using it as a base of operations of sorts in the meantime and had gotten permission from the Red Brigade to look after it for now. As for the deaths of the two, they truly did have no family and friends.
No one missed them, and when old customers returned, stating that the two had run away, everyone was quick to believe that fact.
Continuing his walk, Raze had entered an open market. There were stalls that were packed tightly together in rows selling a number of different things. One would sell food, another clothing, while being stationed right next to weapons. It was a mix and match of all sorts.
It was also one of the best places to get a bargain. ‘Maybe I could do some odd jobs for one of the stalls in return for an item or two.’
Stopping at a jewelery store, Raze was looking at all of the objects that had been made from stones found all across the continent. Jewelery was good for a mage to enchant since they could wear multiple pieces. One had ten fingers but didn’t have ten pairs of trousers to switch in between fights. Of course, there was a limit to how many magical items one could use. Otherwise, one would have mages pierced in every section possible, although he did know a mage with a Prince Albert once.
Raze looked at the woman behind the counter; she looked fairly old and was covered in her jewelery, most likely ones she had made herself.
“Feel free to take a look at whatever you want, young man!” The woman said. “I made most of these myself, while some have been traded and shared with, as well.”
What Raze was looking for was a high-quality item. The materials, as well as who crafted it, was what made the quality of the item better. With this, the effect of enchanting an item with cursed magic would increase, and he wouldn’t have to rely on finding a higher-level powerstone.
The thing was, high-quality items for aesthetic reasons and high-quality items for a mage were completely different. The easiest way to tell if an item was high quality for a mage was to use magic.
Raze lifted his hand and hovered it over each item, and as he did, he activated a small amount of magic in his palm, touching the item ever so softly. The item would then vibrate in response; the more it vibrated, the easier it was to enchant into a higher-level item.
The shopkeeper was keeping a keen eye on Raze, perhaps thinking he would steal and run off with the items. But with how small the amount of magic he used, it would be next to impossible for one to tell what he was doing unless they were a mage.
Continuing to do this with each item, nearly all of them were of poor quality until he had reached a rounded black-colored earring. It looked like a ring one would put on their finger, but based on the sharp pointed ends, it clearly was an earring.
Hitting it with magic, it started to vibrate, even moving the box it was in slightly.
“How much for the black earring?” Raze asked.
“That?” She peeked over her display. “Are you sure you don’t want any of the other items? That one is quite dull-looking compared to the rest.”
“I’m sure of it.” Raze replied.
The woman clicked her teeth. It was quite clear that the earring didn’t match the style of the other items, so it wasn’t something she had made, and most likely, it was traded, which was why she was disappointed.
“The ring goes for 10 coppers, no less, no more, I don’t haggle,” the woman said.
Often at the temple, Kron would teach the younger children how to read, write, and also a few general things about the world. The currency in Pagna mostly relied on coins, and there were three types: copper, silver, and gold. There were some currencies above these, but Kron made it clear that they would never see these in their lifetime, so he didn’t bother with teaching them.
One hundred coppers were worth 1 silver, and 25 silver equaled 1 gold coin. To put that into perspective, a loaf of bread went between 1 to 2 copper coins, depending on the season or how much bread was produced.
Although jewelery had a hefty price in his world, he found it hard to believe that there would be those willing to give up ten loaves of bread for an earring when there were plenty of people who looked underfed. 𝒩𝒪𝐕𝔩xt.𝗰𝒐𝓂
“And how much for one of these?” Raze pointed at one of the more colorful earrings that were shining with purple decorations.
“Oh, you have good taste; that is 2 copper coins,” she happily said with a large smile.
It was without a doubt that right now he was getting scammed. Right now, he wanted to grab her face and slam it down into the display, but he had to tone down his anger.
‘I don’t even have 2 copper coins, never mind 10, so how am I going to do this?’ Raze thought. The best way to word how he would be able to help her; he didn’t want to pull out the power stone again, not unless he was willing to kill the store owner, which was starting to become a possibility in his head.
“Oh, if that young man isn’t taking the black earring, I’ll take it for 10 coppers,” a soft voice said.
Turning his head to look at who had just taken his item, he could see a woman who was a head shorter than he was, wearing a beret hat with orange hair.
“Wait, that’s my item,” Raze said. “And no one takes my things.”