As is normal for hard-working people, the townsfolk of Cimia also rose with the dawn. Vendors were busily dusting their stalls and setting up their wares. Town officials were heading towards the town hall, ready to spend their entire day listening to the disputes of bickering peasants. The town preacher, too, was an early riser, fanatically preaching and screaming his lungs out now that people were awake enough to listen. More than a month ago, he used to preach how God loved them all and how it gave them life. But now, his new topic was about the world's end and how piety was the only way to stop it.

Amidst all of this, newcomers were beginning to flock to the main road as the guards once again opened the gates for the day. Most of them were merchants looking to barter their goods. Some were mercenaries looking for some muscle work, or just drifters looking for hard labor to fill their bellies. Among them, a pale girl was sticking out like a sore thumb with her wide hat. A crystal was hanging from her hip, reflecting the early morning sun.

After passing through the iron portcullis, a familiar voice rang in the girl’s mind.

“The security here is terrible compared to Rath.”

The girl looked behind her. People were still flooding into the town, but the guards weren’t searching for anyone at all. Either the security here was terrible, like Crystal said or Rath was incredibly well-defended.

Turning her head back, the girl continued walking.

“I wonder if Nure followed us.”

“Even if he didn’t, he certainly alerted the rest. We should have taken care of him when we had the chance.”

“No, Crystal. He was only doing what he was told. You heard what he said; he’d rather die than face whoever sent him.”

“That means we would have done him a favor, Lila. He’s going to live the rest of his days being pursued.”

“Like us?” Lila thought.

“We aren’t living in fear, girl. You still have me. All he has is the dirty rag he wears on his back.”

Living in fear, huh? She has been doing that since the night she took Crystal out of the cave, but she never had the chance to admit it until her confrontation with Nure. Now that she was aware of the people looking for her, that fear did nothing but grow. This is the reason why she decided to camp in the mornings and move only when it was dark after she left Rath four days ago.

Lila suddenly hesitated. She was planning to look for a tavern, but that might not be the best idea when there were people after her. She had gotten used to camping, so maybe camping outside the walls was the safer option. However, if she did that, the barkeep might not be so keen on pointing her to a job. Besides, if she spent her money on supplies rather than buying a room, she would still need a job to buy more supplies to last until the next town. She made up her mind; whether it was safe or not, she still needed that tavern room. And if anything happens, she could just barricade her door and wait it out until help arrives. There were guards inside towns, and it was their job to protect people, right?

With this, Lila started to follow the main road to find the local tavern. If all the other towns were like Rath, it must be close to one of the gates. A while later, she was proven correct. It didn't take long for her to see a hanging sign with a shabby depiction of a beer mug on it. She raced to the thick wooden door of the tavern and went inside, immediately shutting it behind her after her entry. She peeked inside the tavern before doing anything else.

At first glance, it didn’t look that different than the one in Rath, but once Lila took a better look, she noticed that this one was much bigger. The interior was sufficiently lit, and the tables were neatly organized, save for a few that were occupied. The walls had the heads of many different animals as decoration—a bit grim but certainly good enough for this rustic tavern. As usual, a barkeep was behind the counter, cleaning mugs.

"Well, hello there, young fellow! Looking for anything?" The barkeep addressed Lila.

"Do you have any available rooms, mister?"

He finished wiping the mug and neatly placed it on top of the rest. Leaning on the counter, he continued,

"A couple. One night for 70 bronze pieces, three nights for one silver piece."

Lila took out her pouch and approached the counter, hoping that the man was a kind soul because, the last time she checked, she was just shy of a silver coin. With that, she emptied the contents of her pouch. But, much to her surprise, the man’s face soured. He looked at the pile of copper pieces laying on the counter and furrowed his eyebrows. When he was angry, his lean but muscular build showed itself, and his tall stature certainly made him look intimidating.

"Did your hometown run out of large coins? Or are you here just to mock me?" He barked at Lila.

“Umm, no? I don’t know what you mean, mister.”

He scrutinized the girl for a while, trying to determine if he was being pranked. After a few more seconds, he gave a deep sigh. It didn't look like the girl was aware of the copper coins with different values.

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"Is it your first time in a town?"

"No, it's the second time."

He nodded to himself, his anger now deflating. He quietly reached under the counter and took out three different copper coins of different sizes, placing them on the wooden surface next to one another.

“You see, there are no different ones with gold and silver coins. But with copper, there are four: one, five, ten, and twenty,” he pointed out to each of them. “Each one of these has different values, and that value depends on the weight of the coin.”

Lila gave a nod after the man finished his explanation. Still, even though she understood the concept of different coins, she had no idea why he got angry over it. Money is money, right? Why would anyone get angry over something so small? That didn’t matter though; all she needed right now was a roof to sleep under and a bed to sleep on.

“Is this enough for three nights? There should be almost 200 copper coins there, I counted them myself!” Lila said.

The barkeep looked at Lila and then looked back at the pile of coins. She seemed like a nice person, maybe a bit naive, but she certainly didn’t look like someone who would lie. He swept the pile into a small wooden box and nodded at the girl.

"Next time before you bring someone money like this, make sure they're rounded up into bigger ones at a commerce hall. Nobody is going to bother counting all of this!" He continued, “Okay, let me show you to your room. Right this way.”

The man took a key under the counter and went upstairs with Lila in tow. On the second floor, there were 10 rooms lined up in a small hallway, with numbers painted on top of the door frames. He went to the fourth room, pushed the key into the hole, and unlocked the door.

“Enjoy your stay and welcome to Cimia,” he said as he left the room and gave the key to her.

After watching the man slowly descend the staircase, Lila closed the door and locked it tightly. After dropping her bag on the floor, she rushed to the open window and shut it along with the curtains. Finally, the tension in her shoulders relaxed, though it made a small difference. She was barely able to sleep while on the road, and that was due to Crystal's assurances that it would keep watch. She might have no money left, but if she could rest without keeping one eye open, then it was money well spent.

"So, what do you think?" Lila thought.

"It's better than Rath, that's for sure. The door seems a little bit rotten, though."

Hearing this, Lila went back to the door to inspect it. It was hard to see it in the low light, but pushing her conveniently glowy friend closer made the rotten parts stand out. Crystal was right; it did seem a little bit rotten and moldy. Although this made her friend a little bit prickly.

Lila interrupted the grumbling Crystal with a concerned voice,

"Do you think it would hold up if they come knocking?"

"Relax, girl. They aren't going to lay siege to an inn in the middle of the town. Stop worrying about every single detail," Crystal replied.

"How can you be so calm about this? There is a group of killers after me. They sent a child, and he almost succeeded! Who knows what will be next?"

"And you survived. You should be proud of yourself."

"Yes, I'm really proud of myself for not dying to a child," Lila replied, her arms crossed.

Crystal stood quiet for a while. She was speaking the truth. Her attacker was a child, one who hadn't even reached puberty. But the thing that bothered Crystal the most wasn't that. It was the fact that Crytal itself couldn't detect the malice in the kid's presence. He managed to hide it perfectly until the very last second. Lila sensed the danger almost before it did. A girl with no magical training did that. And then it dawned on it; she still hadn't begun her training! No, that won't do. Not when the stakes are this high…

With that, Crystal decided to break the news to the pouting adventurer,

"I think it's time, lass. We should begin your training."

Lila's attention immediately turned to Crystal with big, hopeful eyes.

"Are you talking about magic? Really! Will you finally teach me?"

"We delayed long enough. I told you already that you have what it takes to be a mage. A proper mage… A wizard."

"Proper mage? So there are different types of mages?"

"Yes, there are. But what I will be teaching you is something a bit different. It is a magic that all sapients can use. It will take more mana and imagination than usual, but it is worth it."

Lila's excitement was turning into confusion,

"Sa-Sapi-... Sap of what tree? Seriously, you keep dropping words like wizard and mana. I don't know what any of those mean."

Crystal gave a deep sigh, "Sometimes I forget how isolated your village was."

After unnecessarily clearing its nonexistent throat, Crystal continued its long lecture.

"Sapient means a being that can think. Anything that can think, from barely conscious babies to the mightiest of mages, produces mana. And that mana is what you pay in exchange for changing the world."

“So, doesn’t this mean everyone can be a mage or a wizard, Crystal?” Lila asked while tilting her head.

"No. Not everyone produces the same amount of mana. Some people have a significantly larger amount of it. Only those people can become mages."

"Then, what are the proper mages you talked about? Wiseard, was it?"

"Wizard. They were the mages of old. They were the ones who used their vivid imaginations and unique mindsets to cast their magic."

There was a childish smile on Lila’s face as she listened and questioned, washing over the stress and paranoia that had taken hold of her days ago. She was brimming with curiosity and anticipation. After all, it was a whole new world of possibilities, ones she once thought confined to her mother's fairytales.

"Well then, enough with the history lesson. Let's get to work, shall we?"