Jonathan appraised the disc of light for a moment, and then nodded. There was no reason for the woman to want to harm him, and her level was too low for any skill that she produced to be able to harm him. Even if this portal was not what it seemed, it would only be a minor setback.

He took a deep breath, and strode into the unknown. The world around him seemed to distort and change, and a long tunnel of light stretched out in front of him. A moment later, it contracted, and he stepped out into a bustling panoply of life. An endless array of tents and various shops stretched in every direction, glistening under the light of two suns. Everything felt different however, as if it was not entirely real. Jonathan was met with a notification almost immediately.

You have entered the Universal Trading Hub. This subrealm was made for the purpose of commerce unfettered by geographical limitations. No violence is allowed here, and all travelers here will have their skills locked. From weapons to alchemical products to natural treasures, almost anything can be found here, as long as you can afford it.

Jonathan looked up at the twin suns, and then at the world around him. He was standing in the middle of a bustling neighborhood of what looked to be various textile related vendors. The portal that he had entered was beside him, seemingly only visible to him. People walked through it without seeming to notice it.

There were a few stalls next to him, all of which sold items of clothing. They seemed to be tailored to people of his level, as most of them exuded the aura of a Tier 2 piece of clothing. He walked over to one, curious, and read off the prices.

Alpha Ram’s Wool Shirt

1500 Telvarian Marks

2000 Leviathan Marks

2000 Halcyon Marks

2500 Outer Realms Credits

There were three other currencies marked there aside from the Leviathan Marks that Jonathan had become familiar with. Telvarian Marks, which were likely the currency on the planet of Telvaria, Halcyon Marks, which were possibly the currency of the Heavens, and Outer Realms Credits, which were probably the currency of the worlds of the universe of Telvaria, that were not part of the planet of Telvaria. It seemed that the relative value of these goods was based on the strength of the currency.

“Are you gonna buy anything, or are you just here to stare?” The vendor called out, giving Jonathan a nasty look.

He quickly realized that he was standing in the way of other patrons. He quickly moved to the side, realizing that he was not the only person here. Strangely, the others almost seemed to be shrouded in shadow, and he could only glean the most basic of attributes from looking at them. A pointed ear here, a tuft of fur there. Perhaps this was to prevent real world retribution for a perceived slight in this world.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

In any case, judging by the prices here, there was nothing that he could afford. With a sigh, Jonathan headed back through the portal, appearing in the crowded square in his city. The merchant woman was still standing there, and brightened up as Jonathan exited.

“Did it work?” She asked, seemingly too distracted by the fulfillment of her craft to afford him the normal obsequious honorifics. It was better that way.

“It did. I found myself in another world, one filled with stalls and merchants. I assume that is what you expected?” Jonathan asked.

“It was. With this conduit to the outside world, we can now supply this city with far more resources that we could otherwise. The Universal Trading Hub is the one place that denizens of all realms can meet together.”

“Well, you seem to be the best suited to run this operation,” Jonathan declared. “What are you waiting for?”

The woman spluttered, but Jonathan simply walked away. He could see that people were trying to rope him into the runnings of the city, but he had no interest in doing such a thing. They had come to him, not the other way around. If anything, he should have simply let them founder out in the ash. Seeing as he was protecting them, he did not want to take on any additional burdens.

For now, it was time for more training. With more free time on his hands with the increase in level among the guards, Jonathan knew that it was time to boost his remaining skills to Journeyman rank. As he strode away from the market district, Edgar stayed behind to administrate the creation of a permanent portal to the Universal Trading Hub. Jonathan was quite excited about the potential of the portal, but he did not show it.

A few minutes later, Jonathan sat in his cave, manipulating the strands of Divinity within himself to create runes. He had three runes currently in existence, and he knew that to reach Journeyman Rank, he would have to do something unique with them, or create a new one. Seeing as he wanted to experiment with lessening the drain on his strength from the low ambient mana, he began with his Rune of Consumption.

The first step would be trying to reduce the intake rate from the rune. As it was, the rune took in far too much mana. As soon as it started to run, if it was on Jonathan’s skin, it would draw in enough mana to overfill his core, and almost kill him. He needed some sort of limiter, or at least a way to spend some of the mana that was coming his way.

He placed down a Rune of Consumption on the ground, interested in how the amount of Divinity that he invested affected the strength. He put as little as he could, creating a dim rune that pulsed weakly. However, it started to pick up power, and soon it was drawing in just as much mana as its more powerful version. Jonathan quickly banished the rune before it could turn his cave into a mana desert, and sighed.

The main problem was that the rune drew power from an outside source, and it only needed a tiny kick of Divinity to get it working. After that, it was a chain reaction. There was no way that he was going to be able to make this work without invoking another rune. It was time to delve into the world of rune constructs.