Adam was inside the town wearing his new clothes along with the black cloak with the hood up, though not so much as to hide his face. He used up his mana when he awoke making another sixteen silver coins, bringing his total to thirty two. This time upon entering the town he had given a silver to each of the guards hoping to get on their good sides. By the much happier smiles on their faces he thought it was working. When he entered the market area he saw that he had been noticed by the various people living on the streets.
He walked up to the fruit salesman at his stall again with a new batch of fruit, though only six baskets this time. The man had taken a moment to recognize him in his new clean state, but a smile spread across his face once he did. While the man was speaking to him, Adam reached into his pocket and counted out twenty silver handing it to the man. The man's eyes opened wider in surprise at the much larger increase in silver from yesterday, but happily took it. He made the same motions as yesterday, though the man barely paid him any attention as he started bringing the food over to a spacious area to the side of the market area. The people around instantly began gathering around to get the free food. Grabbing a basket himself and following, Adam smiled. Not only at the fact that he was able to help the people around them but at how happy the man seemed to be at the task, walking with almost a skip in his step.
Bringing the last basket to the group of people, the man had looked at Adam for a long moment. Seeming to have made some kind of decision, he watched as the salesman walked over to the meat stand. Chatting with the two people there, he saw a small handful of silver exchange hands and ten decently sized chunks of meat similar in size to the piece he had received, be placed on the grill. The stall was owned by a young man and woman, both about the same height and similar dark brown hair and hazel coloured eyes. The man was wearing similar clothing to what Adam now wore, apart from the cloak. The woman wore the same brown pants except with a white blouse. He had seen she was missing half of her right index and middle finger.
Looking at all the people around him, Adam began to notice many more injuries and scars. Not just the homeless people but everyone. A missing eye, scars on different areas of their bodies, missing fingers, hands or entire arms. Very few people he could see appeared to have no form of injury. Thinking about the wooden wall that surrounded the town, he found all the injuries strange as he had not once seen or heard any animals. Nothing dangerous. Yet if there really was no animals in the forests around the city, why would they need a wall and where did the meat stand get what they were grilling right now.
Adam was now very apprehensive about sleeping in the forest, in a tree that would allow anything to easily walk in and rip his throat out as he slept. Had he somehow just gotten extremely lucky this entire time. He knew he couldn't be considered stealthy with all the noise he made walking through the forest.
Eventually the meat finished cooking and was brought over to the group of people who had finished eating the fruit. The meat was cut up into many thin slices to make it possible to share with so many people. He doubted if these people have had meat in a long time, as he watched them savor every bite. The fruit salesman walked up to him and gave a large slap on the back with a hearty laugh. Adam was sent sprawling forward, barely able to catch himself before his face would have smacked straight into the ground. He turned to look at the man, wanting to ask what the fudge he did that for, but saw astonishment on the mans face. He was quickly helped up and patted down to clean the dirt off his clothes. He figured the slap was more of a friendly gesture rather than anything intended to knock him to the ground. So he let it go, giving the man a smile to show he understood. The man gave a sigh of relief and offered his hand to Adam instead. He may not know the language here but at least they seemed to have many of the same gestures and similar body language. Returning the handshake he smiled. Did he just make a friend?
Leaving the group of people behind, Adam decided to go into the stone building which he assumed to be a bank. He only had ten silver on him but hoped the same conversion rate applied and would allow him to get one gold for ten silver. His mana was back up to seventy five since he used it up first thing in the morning so he could make twelve more coins if needed.
Upon passing through the metal doors, he saw five people standing behind five separate counters lined up beside each other. Three of them occupied with customers, he walked up to the right most counter and looked at the woman behind it. She looked odd to him as her skin was noticeably tinged with blue, close to his aquamarine birthstone. she was a head taller than him as she looked down at him and unknown to him was speaking. Her eyes stood out just as much as her skin as they pierced his with brilliantly pink irises. He was staring, he probably shouldn't do that.
He quickly looked away from her as he glanced around and saw a chart of images on the desk which displayed a list of coins, including more than the four on the building. It also showed a list of various materials and gemstones. He looked up while pointing to the gold coin and held out a silver coin and waited. The woman stared at him with a blank expression. Adam tried again. This time after pointing to the image of the gold coin, then the silver coin he had placed on the counter, he held up ten fingers. Annoyance clearly started to appear on her face, she started talking again. When she stopped it was his turn to stare at her with a blank expression on his face. She closed her eyes and pinched her nose with her thumb and index finger. Looking back to him, she held up ten of her long slender fingers, then closed both hands, holding all her fingers up again and repeated this until she had done it ten times. He couldn't help but give a mental curse, One gold was worth one hundred silver. That was a much higher conversion rate than he would have expected.
Thinking for a moment, his mind went back to the colour of her skin which reminded him of the Aquamarine gemstone his mother had gotten him on his twentieth birthday. It was much larger than the one he had purchased for his collection and much higher clearity. The tear shaped gem had come with certification telling him it was seven point three carats. With his hand in his pocket he withdrew ten mana and pictured the exact gem he had received over eight years ago, along with the crystalline structure of the gem. Something formed and fell in his pocket consuming two of the ten mana he was prepared to spend. Returning the eight mana back to his body he pulled out the gem and looked at it. As far as he could tell is was an identical copy. He realized then how world breaking this skill was. If everyone had this ability, then an economy would be impossible to have, and money would be worthless. Obviously this wasn't true so he began to wonder if he was one of few or the only one with this mana materialization skill. If so, why?
Looking back to the similarly skinned lady, she was staring at the gemstone in his hand with all the annoyance in her face gone and a large smile on her turquoise tinged lips as she looked back up to him. He placed the gemstone on the table and pointed to the gold coin. She picked up the aquamarine stone and inspected it. Then holding it between her two hands, a faint blue glow appeared between her hands. Taking the gem with her she retreated to a back room past a very large door that looked to be made of a bluish metal that was at least ten centimeters thick. A minute later she returned with a small pouch and placed it on the counter in front of him. He looked inside to see two gold coins. Well fudge and brownies, he definitely wouldn't have a money problem as long as he had this skill. He felt like he was a huge cheat, robbing this bank with a fake gem. He wasn't sure why two gold coins needed to be put in the small bag but he would take it anyway.
Adam slid one of the gold coins across the counter to her and pointed to the image of the silver coin. Taking the gold coin she promptly returned with a slightly larger bag which looked hefty. Handing it to him he glanced inside to see a pile of silver coins. He didn't want to stand there and count out each one in front of her so he closed it up after removing two silver. There was probably less than one hundred silver coins he assumed if there was any kind of exchange fee. After placing the gold coin in his small pouch inside his waist, he attached the pouch of silver coins to the outside of his waist. Placing the empty pouch in his pocket, he then put the two silver coins in front of the woman, smiled and walked away. He figured she deserved something for her troubles.
With the equivalent of over two hundred silver on him he decided to see if he could purchase some things he couldn't just make. Making a small portion of soap had used up a fifth of his mana, so he knew he couldn't make anything with much size to it. Besides he needed to be able to manipulate the mana outside his body to materialize it, and his current limit was thirty. Luckily the coins were quite small and didn't consume much mana. So he would have to buy the things he needed like everyone else, and wouldn't be popping entire buildings fully furnished into existence. Well maybe not quite like everyone else since he didn't exactly have to earn the money.
Walking into the area with the sturdier buildings, he eventually found what appeared to be a street with actual shops, noticing what he assumed to be an inn and tavern with a sign that depicted a bed and what he figured was a glass of some kind of alcoholic beverage. He thought he would have to see if he could start staying there for the night, as he was honestly afraid of going back out into the forest, the more he thought about it.
The next shop he noticed had an image of a black circle with text on it. He would have originally thought it was money if he didn't know the coins they used here were rectangular rather than round. He decided to check it out, his curiosity peaked. The shop was completely empty of people except for a sleeping man, head resting on the counter he sat at in the center of the room. The shop itself was also nearly as empty, shelves lined the walls with only the occasional item placed upon them.
Only one shelf had more than a single item on it. Five black coins sat on the shelf which looked identical, including the dark gold writing on them. Unlike the coins in his pocket, the text on these black coins didn’t appear to be engraved but completely flush. As he was about to pick up one of the coins he heard an angry shout from behind him. He spun around to look at the previously sleeping man glaring at him. Adam put his hands up defensively, hoping to convey he didn't intend to steal anything.
Taking a seat his eyes remained vigilant, not leaving Adam for a second. Then he asked a question. With no response he repeated his question more loudly. Adam gave him a confused look and a shrug to convey an ‘I don't know’ gesture to the man. The man looked at the five coins on the shelf and something seemed to click in his eyes as he stood back up. Stepping around the counter, he walked over to the shelf and grabbed one of the black coins. He placed the coin on the counter, followed by a silver coin, then held up five fingers on one hand and zero on the other. After the action was repeated another time, Adam figured he was saying it costed five zero, or fifty silver.
Fifty silver he thought, that was a lot of food, for a simple black coin which he didn't know what it was. He walked up to the counter but didn't see why he should buy the coin. He had no clue at the value of anything and would not doubt if he was ripped off previously. Something worth fifty silver had to be worth that much for a reason but without knowing that reason it was worthless to him. Adam began to turn to walk away when the man grabbed his arm and placed the edge of the black coin against the back of his hand for a second then placed it back on the counter.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
That short second was more than enough to tell Adam he needed this coin. It would solve his biggest current problem. Well maybe the second as being stranded in a new unknown world with no way to get back home was probably his first. When the coin touched him a window appeared in front of him.
Skill: Language
Learn one language of choice.
Would you like to use this skill coin to learn one language?
[Yes][No]
As the coin was touching his skin, then removed, the option to select yes or no faded away. It was a skill coin which gave him the skill pertaining to the coin. This made him assume all the coins in the room were probably various skills. This particular skill coin allowed him to learn one language of his choice. Would it somehow allow him to speak and comprehend the language he chose. That’s what he hoped anyway.
Overjoyed at a way to talk with the people around him without having to spend years to learn the language, he thought it was worth much more than fifty silver. He placed fifty silver on the counter and picked up the skill coin. As he touched the coin again, the window flashed in front of him again, the yes and no options lighting up.
Skill: Language
Learn one language of choice.
Would you like to use this skill coin to learn one language?
[Yes][No]
Clicking Yes, A large list appeared in front of him in english, which he presumed was all the languages he could learn. Fudge and crackers, how was he supposed to know which language was the correct one, there had to be hundreds of choices.
Looking at the man he heard him repeating a single word over and over again. Was he telling him which language to choose? Listening closely to what is being said, he repeated the word in his head and searched through the list, after scrolling down a ways, he found that it was one of the options.
With another tap and confirmation he chose the language. For three seconds Adam had the most agonizing headache he ever had in his life. An enormous amount of information was shoved into his brain all at once, causing him to nearly black out but once it was finished the pain was completely gone. He realized he had collapsed to the floor. No longer feeling the coin in his hand he started Looking around for the coin he assumed he dropped on the floor. As he is searching on his hands and knees, he hears the skill coin salesman speak. Except this time he can comprehend the words that are said as if he had known the language since birth.
“Well? can you understand me now? The skill coin disappears upon use.” Adam heard.
“Thank you. not being able to speak to anyone has been rather challenging.” Adam said standing back up, responding in his new language with natural ease.
“Just be glad you could afford it. Not many can. Even if it is one of the cheapest skill coins.” The salesman told him.
“I see. How much are rare skill coins and what can they do?” Adam couldn't help his curiosity.
He had been in university until he graduated for a second time at twenty four years old. He had spent ridiculous amounts of time studying to learn all the content in his physics, chemistry, material science, computer science and many other classes. A small black coin having the capability of downloading an entire language into his brain and giving him the capacity to use it perfectly was staggering.
Learning of magic in this world made him think of throwing fireballs around, freezing large areas and other common displays of magic shown in media. If these black coins could be used to impart any information in large amounts along with how to truly use the information, anyone could be exactly what they wanted. It would be more realistic for parents to tell their children they could be anything they wanted. Of course this was only if the coins could be mass produced and sold cheaply enough for the average citizen to afford them.
“Some of the most rare skill coins I couldn't tell you what they do, as I have never seen one. Most people use them rather than sell them. Not that I would be able to afford it anyway. They are reserved for the wealthiest and most powerful of people. Usually royalty, upper nobility, along with those strong and lucky enough to acquire one themselves.” he explained to Adam.
“Well what is the most rare coin you have here?” he returned.
“I have a spell coin in stock right now that is an invisibility spell, which I would sell no less than two hundred gold. Some skills and many spells can easily cost large quantities of mithril however”
“Mithril?” Adam questioned.
“Yes” Was his only response
“No, what is mithril?” Adam clarified.
“Oh, well mithril coins are the highest tier of coin. Its value can vary depending on where you are but typically one mithril is equivalent to one thousand gold.”
“One thousand. Damn. Is there anything in between gold and mithril?” he wondered
“Not for coins. There are gems and metals that are worth more than gold but less than mithril.”
“I see.” is all he said.
“My name is Adam by the way” he said after a second, holding out his hand.
“Evond” he responded, shaking hands.
“Mind if I look around at the rest of the skill coins?” Adam enquired. There were many more questions he wanted to ask but didn't want to bother Evond as he could continue asking questions all day.
Evond simply nodded. Upon inspection, Adam noticed each of the coins had writing on the shelf in front of them, giving the name of the skill and its price. There were six coins apart from the invisibility coin that was nowhere in sight.
The first one he came to said Basic Water Creation. That would be useful, he thought, though he figured he could already do that, at least in small quantities. This Basic Water Creation skill might not be any better. The next four were what Adam considered crafting skills, Alchemy: Poison , Construction: Wood, Forging: Iron, and Cooking: Meat. He assumed they would give the user the knowledge to use the specified skill with the material listed in the skill. The cooking one was by far the cheapest at five silver with the other three priced at thirty silver each. The last skill coin he came to was a skill labeled as Sword (Beginner) priced at one gold.
“How many slots do you have? If you don't mind me asking.” Evond Spoke up.
“What?” He asked, Not sure what slots were.
“How many slots do you have available for skills and spells?” He tried to clarify.
“Umm..”
“Check your Skills and Spells Menu” He told Adam.
Adam focused and found there was such a menu he could bring up.
Skills Mana Sense II: 0% Increase Level: 400 Exp Mana Absorption I: 0% Increase Level: 200 Exp Mana Manipulation I: 30% Increase Level: 200 Exp Mana Materialization I: 0% Increase Level: 200 Exp Language: 1 Spells Slots Available: 3/4
“Four. With three available.” he told Evond.
“Not bad. I have four myself, with one still empty. So you have no skills then apart from your mana skills and the new language skill you just used.” Evond said.
Adam Nodded. Curious he asked “What are the mana skills, do you have them as well?”
“Of course, everyone is born with the basic mana skills, as everyone is born with the potential to use mana. Not that everyone is capable of unlocking the skills, as it is difficult and time consuming for most people or dangerous otherwise.”
‘Interesting’ Adam thought. Once he had figured out exactly what the skill did he had found it very easy to unlock each of the skills.
“Would you mind listing the mana skills for me?”
“Sure… The first is mana sense which allows you to sense mana, the first and most basic skill. Next is Mana Absorption which allows you to actively absorb mana faster than your passive regeneration allows. This can only be done once you have learned to sense the mana around you. Lastly is Mana manipulation, which allows you to use the mana inside your body, drawing it out and using it for other skills and spells. This skill is important to get as high as possible because if you can't control the required mana to use a skill or spell, then it is rendered useless.”
“Thank you.” As he suspected, most people probably didn't have mana materialization.
He had been considering the sword skill for one gold. Now knowing he had a limited number of coins he could use to learn skills and spells, he changed his mind. He also understood why the cooking skill for meat was so cheap, relatively. For someone to use up a limited number of slots on the knowledge to cook meat seemed silly. Especially when they could just experiment and learn it themselves or be taught by someone who already had the knowledge.
Adam thanked Evond again for all his help and left the shop. Looking around he could now read the signs on buildings. The Inn and tavern was of course, just that. The shop he was just in said Skills and Spells. A few other shops that were within sight were Bob’s Butcher, Alchemist, and General Shop.
As he was looking at the Butcher, he saw a fairly large muscular man leaving the shop with a young woman following behind him, carrying a bundle in her arms. A metal collar around her neck attached to a chain extended to the man's waist hooked to his belt. What concerned him most was that he recognized her, she was the woman wearing the school uniform he saw the first night with tears running from her eyes as she stood motionless.
The girl wore a simple piece of fabric with a hole in it to go over her head, draped down her front and back. She had short brown hair, similar in length to his own. Adam couldn't help but stare at all the barely healed cuts and bruises covering her face and all down the side of her body. Standing about five and a half feet tall, her body was fit and fairly muscular. Looking closely, he could see her legs trembling. He knew she had been through much worse than he could handle himself.
Suddenly she looked at him with fierce hazel eyes, and he could tell she recognized him as well. Glancing at the man she was attached to and seeing him turn to head in the other direction, away from Adam, she mouthed two words to him in english which he understood clearly. ‘Help Me.’
The pleading in her pained eyes was more than he could handle. Then she was pulled away by the chain attached to the man's waist. He wanted to help her more than anything, but how? The man was easily twice his size and could probably kill him in a single hit. The man deserved death for what he did to her, but he knew It was Impossible for him to do it. Even if he was willing to kill another human, he would undoubtedly die first, especially without any form of weapon.