I did not understand what he said, but a conceptual idea of his message wrote itself in my wits. So this was how the automatic translation worked.

"Friedrich, Germany. Why are you here?" Said he with a sincere smile

"Germany, ah, what a lovely place. Why am I here? Well, let's say I feel very out of place without my blade. And also, those modern clothes do not suit my taste, especially in such a setting. And you?"

What a psycho! How can he keep such a lovely and calm attitude when talking about means of murder? Or maybe he was right? And I was the one with an archaic state of mind?

Funny how all of this was desired of me, but I was not even in the slightest ready. Nonetheless, I couldn't lose my composure and let my true motives be known.

"I was curious what good I could buy with the 100 given coins, that's all."

"Don't you fear being behind all of the other adventurers? This might be a competition, you know..."

It was obvious, he saw through my lies. My body temperature was plummeting from the anxiety.

"I…"

"Worry not; you seem kind. I won't bite. Come, let's take a look at the market, together."

Relieved from the momentary danger and the awkward situation dismissed, I almost fell on my knees from all of the now-gone pressure. He wanted me to follow him. What use could I be to him? For now, to avoid getting myself an enemy, I should be more friendly and listen to his wishes.

The Market was located near the elevators, only a short corridor kept them separated. Remaining silent while we walked did not seem unnatural due to how fast we reached our destination.

Once we arrived, I gasped, it was quite impressive, the whole thing was about half of a football field in size, stacked with wooden stands overflowing with yet unknown goods.

It compared to a mall from our world, but empty of people and on a train. A pretty bizarre mix.

-Notification-

Welcome to the train's market, adventurers!

To purchase items, simply pick them up.

Good I never liked meaningless social interactions; this system was quite nice even.

"Fred, don't get too behind!"

He screamed as he dashed through the tables, at least carefully to not break anything.

I wondered: what if someone takes an item without having enough coins? I didn't want to try my luck, as one of the rules stated that some prohibited acts were punished by death, but again, it wasn't prohibited to steal from the tables so I was unsure.

"Go ahead, I will check over there, it grabbed my attention.”

Of course I lied, I just wanted to get away from him as much as I could without raising suspensions, I still considered him a danger.

I noticed something new, when I looked mindlessly at items, nothing happened. But if I looked with the intention to ‘understand’ an item, a system panel would pop up giving some information about the desired item.

-Item-

Steel Dagger

Cost: 40 coins

Made of cheap steel by an unremarkable bladesmith.

I was not really eager to buy anything as I wasn't sure what the promised starting package would be; having twice the same item would be foolish.

I looked for something that wouldn't be logically included in a starter pack. Maybe a weapon? Although I didn't know how to wield the blade or, actually, any weapon.

I was kind of jealous of Jinhyung, who already had some mastery from the old world. Well, should I choose a weapon unique to the train? That way, I would not be behind anyone by default.

Hmmm, I knew it! Clearly, magic would be a perfect choice. Surely magic was a thing here, but I was unsure of how to start exactly. Did I need some sort of staff or anything?

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

I checked trough what seemed to me to be the magic section of the market. I glanced at the weakest looking item.

-Item-

Amplifying Wand

Cost: 400 coins

Small wooden wand, holds a small pool of energy amplifying used spells.

Passive: Increases User’s magical output.

What? The 'Amplifying Wand', the cheapest option here was way out of my budget. My heart fell to my stomach, I felt disappointed and regretful, for the first time, I couldn't buy something I wanted.

I looked in panic through all of the magic goods in hopes of finding anything I could afford.

The only thing I found was a minor magic recovery potion for a whopping 75 coins. Since I couldn't use magic anyway, I didn't think it would be smart to buy a recovery potion, at least not yet.

"Hey, HAY".

I was startled as my heart skipped not one but two beats. I turned around, and, of course, it was Jinhyung. Did he try to kill me with a heart attack?

"You scared me; do not do that again, ever."

"But look at your face; it is so pale and scared; how cute."

Something changed; he acted even more relaxed and childish. I knew why, he got his wanted attire; he was barely recognizable from before.

He now wore something resembling a thick, grey linen blanket warped around him. I recall people wearing such things in Asian movies, but my knowledge was too poor to be sure.

Last but not least, the handle of a sword could be seen strapped to his belt.

And by the way, I wasn't cute.

"I see. You finished shopping?"

"Oh yeah, I am kind of mad the sword is so poorly made, but hey, I can't complain about the price haha. And I got that hanbok too; I feel way better now. Anyway, what did you buy?"

As he talked about his blade, his hand reached for it; I immediately tensed up; I could feel sweat dripping down my spine.

"Uhm, I wanted to get some magic material, but it's so damn expensive,” I tried my best to sound natural but my tense throat simply couldn’t allow it.

"Hmm, you should check out clothes. When I was looking for the hanbok, I noticed clothing had some special effects, like reducing air resistance or being mud repellent. Maybe some magic increasing robes were available?"

He seemed genuinely wanting to help, again, why?

"Increasing my magic powers wouldn't result in much since I don't know any spells yet."

"Well, wands and staves only increase your magic efficiency and output anyway; magic is something each one needs to find the path to themselves."

He was indeed right; how didn't I realize it sooner? It was even stated in the name, 'Amplifying' wand. And how was he so knowledgeable of magic anyway?

"Well, I have read so in novels, at least."

"..."

I couldn't believe it. He lectured me on magic based on some fiction? After a second though, it made sense. Our situation right now was quite beyond our usual comprehension of ‘reality’.

"Why do you look so weirded out? I was a really big fan of fantasy novels; I always wanted to be a true cultivator, that’s why I trained myself in the way of the sword. Now I have the opportunity to really become one."

I wanted to laugh, but when I saw his sad face, I stopped myself. He may have attacked me for such disrespect.

"Well, I'll go check the clothes; see you."

As I started walking toward the stands selling clothing, I heard someone following me. Why, why did Jinhyung follow me again?

"Why are you following me, Kim Jinhyung?"

"You don't want me to? I thought we were friends..."

Friends? I felt all this time at gunpoint. Was he doing this on purpose? I doubted someone could be that bad at picking up hints. This meant he really was following me. I was sweating lots trying to guess what he wanted from me.

"It's not like that, but..."

"Great, let's go then."

He then grabbed me by my arm and pulled me to the stands. I couldn't resist him; I didn't expect him to be that strong. Even if he was unarmed, I had no chance at defeating him.

"Here, take a look at that."

He then pointed at a brownish cloak.

-Item-

Old Cloak

Cost: 100 coins

A leather cloak imbued with an unknown spell.

Passive: ???

Hint: Allow the user to feel the unseen winds.

The passive effect was hidden? They even bothered giving me a hint… Maybe that bastard Jinhyung could help me figure out the meaning?

"Do you have some idea what does it mean?”

He looked at the ground, as if he was in shame of failing me. "Sorry, I almost exclusively read Wuxia and Xianxia novels, I barely remember anything about magic."

So he lectured me about something he didn't even know that well. This guy was unbelievable. Well, at least it seemed pretty warm and would protect me from an unhappy weather.

And above all, I had a weird feeling; that I would regret not buying it right now. Well, since I didn't have any better use for my coins right now anyway...

"I will take it."

"Sweet, you too found something that suits your taste."

He talked too much; I didn't realize it until now, but I almost let my guard down.

It was as if he annoyed me more than he scared me, but I shouldn't forget that he was armed, strong, and was trying to dupe me with his futile attempts to get friendly.

I took the cloak from its mount.

-Notification-

100 train coins deducted from Friedrich Mercer