11 - Chapter 10 - Day 1751 continued

Adya, with her entourage, wandered around the town. She wanted to get a good idea of what was available and the general technology level of the country. Yes she was in one of the provinces in one of the three human kingdoms, and yes this wasn’t even the capital of the country, just the capital of the province.

Yet the level of advancement was truly abysmal. There were no mana devices in widespread use. Yes a few places used some devices for lighting and a few other conveniences, but in general unless people could do things themselves, it was mostly like being in the dark ages. Adya could think of hundreds of things that would revolutionise life, it would only require her to come up with a way to convert mana to electricity. However the lack of any significant infrastructure would severely hamper her attempts at any form of mass production.

As Adya wandered, she also thought about how few mana stones that the largest money exchange in the city dealt with. She would need thousands of shops to launder mana stones on the scale that she needed in order to convert to gold. Without that ability, it would kill her ability to develop fast. Everyone needed resources, but a resource you could not use was just worthless. She had considered herself rich, but the issue made the number of mana stones she had pointless. She really needed an understanding of the magical economy,.

Without somewhere safe to transact in volume, and without having a way to get access to magical and cultivation knowledge in this world, she would need to slowly grind up, build out enough strength to protect her interests and challenge the status quo. Given her age and gender, it would be an uphill struggle.

As she was lost in thought, she felt someone brush past her, trying to make off with her fake coin pouch. As the small hand brushed past her, she grabbed the hand, stopping it dead. She realised it was another child, about the same age as her. The girl apologised for bumping into her, and ran off, or rather Adya let her go. That was an avenue she had not considered. There would be a black market, and an underground. She needed to tap into that world to see what was really available.

Adya, trailed by her entourage, spent the day going around the city. Adya was interested in everything, from the style and quality of food available to the kind of clothing, entertainment, industry and lastly technology. There were a few shops that sold mana artefacts. They required mana stones to run. The prices were very high, even though the finished quality of the devices left much to be desired. A mana lamp was 5 gold or 50 tier 1 mana stones, totally outside the price range of all but the most wealthy.

Adya, obviously, brought one. She paid in mana stones, as her gold was at this point a very limited resource. Given her high quality clothing, and her entourage, she did not garner too much attention, not any more than a young girl carrying around that kind of money.

She decided to take a chance and push her luck a little.

“Miss, are all these wonderful devices made here, or do you just sell them here,” asked Adya in a very childish voice. She wanted to use the perceived innocence and inquisitiveness of her age to see if she could get any details.

“Yes Miss, everything is made here.” answered the attendant. “The owner is the best artificer in the city.”

“Can I see him please?” asked a very cute sounding Adya. Her own entourage looked at the nonplussed having never seen this side of her.

“He is very busy,” answered the attendant, “But I will ask for you.”

“I am happy to pay for his time,” replied Adya, sounding like a little girl trying to sound grown up, not at all like her normal demeanour. “Mother said that we should be fair in our dealings.”

Eventually, a surly man came out from the back. He was in cultivator robes, and had a tidy beard.

“All right little miss, I was convinced to give you some time,” said the man. “But make it quick, I have a lot of work to do.”

“May I see you work,” asked Adya, “I have always been interested in how artefacts work. Pleaseee. I promise I won't distract you.”

The first attendant gave him a little nudge from behind. Adya had a feeling that the pair were more than just coworkers.

“Fine, but just you.“ replied the man. “I can't have anyone stealing my secrets. Also it's going to cost you.”

Adya put 50 mana stones on the counter, the man nodded and ushered her to his workshop.

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He pulled up a bench for her to sit on. The bench had a thick book on it. The man sat down and started to work. To Adya the work looked straight forward enough. The man was using a kind of pen, with a mana stone attached to the top, like an etching tool.

He picked up a square of metal, and started to engrave a detailed design. His hands moved with precision and speed. Adya had a feeling that he was using a skill. She watched him work. He was rotating through around half a dozen designs. Adya sat watching, not wanting to get kicked out for distracting him. She spent the time memorising the designs, and then trying to trigger her mana manipulation skill to accurately follow what he was doing. After a while she received a notification.

Soul Mana Manipulation: Level 38 evolves to Mana Manipulation: Level 38

After receiving the skill, she could more easily follow what the man was doing. He was not only etching the design into the metal, but also laying down a thin line of mana, along the edge as he worked. He was also testing the mana flow as he worked on the design.

After sometime, he took a break, looking up seeing Adya watching him intently, he was surprised by the fact she was still there and that she had not disturbed him even once. He sighed, and asked if she had any questions.

“Are those designs the formations cultivators mention?” asked Adya. “I am assuming that you are also doing something I can't see? Are you using a skill?”

The man was surprised by the level of insight shown by the little girl, but didnt feel like it was much of a problem to answer a few general questions.

“Yes formations are a design to exclude mana, and a design to allow mana to follow in a particular format.” said the man, “I am using my mana scribe skill to create the design. Then when you put a mana stone, the mana powers the formation.”

“Wouldn't that make the formation burn out quickly?” asked Adya thoughtfully?

“Why would you think that?” asked the man, a little suspicious now.

“I made a mud castle, and put a canal around it,” replied Adya, “but when I put water from a bucket into the canal, it was fine at first but as more and more water went into it, the whole thing washed away. I thought mana would do the same. Was I wrong?”

The man chuckled, “That's actually the best explanation I have heard, and it's from a little girl. You are right, but it's more complicated than that. Mind if I use that explanation with my apprentices?”

“What do I get in return?”, asked a cheeky Adya.

“What do you want?” asked the man, obviously in a better mood for some reason.

“Can I look at your book?” asked Adya?

“You are a strange girl,” chuckled the man, “Sure, but you won't understand it, it's not in common.”

Adya shrugged and started to flip though the book, taking note of each page, just at a pace that no one would think she was reading. Unbeknownst to the man, not only could Adya read the language, probably better than the man, but she also memorised every page. Sai was very useful for capturing books.

After a few minutes she was done. “I think that is enough for one day, " said the man.”If you come back, I may let you watch again.”

“Just one question,” asked Adya, on her way out of the workshop. “Will the design work on any material?”

“In theory, yes, you could even draw it on paper, but the moment you activated it, it would burn up.” He replied, “Some materials have better mana capacity, they will last longer. Who would want to spend the time and mana to create a single use formation?”

Adya thanked the man, and with her entourage left the shop. They spent the rest of the day wandering around with Adya purchasing a few items that took her fancy. She would wait till she was back home to go through the knowledge she had borrowed.

In the afternoon, as she was getting tired, they started to make their way back home. She knew if she wanted more outings, she needed to keep her mother happy.

Adya was so lost in thought, that she didn't notice everyone making space for a teenager, followed by his own guards. She almost bumped into him, stopping at the last second.

The boy was furious that she hadn't gotten out of his way.

“How dare you get in my way.” he shouted. “Don't you know your place?”

Adya just looked up at him with a cold stare. She had been about to apologise for almost bumping into him, but after his outburst, she wasn't in the mood any more.

“And what is my place?” asked Adya, “Also why are you howling like a banshee in public, did no one teach you any manners?”

The boy was stunned by being called out, it never happened to him. He was especially shocked that it was by such a small girl.

Adya, didn't wait for him to answer, and just carried on to her carriage leaving a very annoyed and sputtering boy behind.

*

**Lord Willaby POV**

As he walked down the street, all the commoners made space. He was thinking of where he would go to entertain himself today, when a little slip of a girl almost bumped into him.

How dare a commoner not get out his way. He berated her, but not only was she not cowed, she actually berated him, then not only did she not wait for him to respond, she ignored him as she walked away.

Just who was that girl, and how dare she treat him like that. He would find out, then he would put her in her place.

He looked towards his valet, “Find out who she is, and who her family are.”