“Nyaa, this is quite the high quality gem you have~!”
A blonde cat-eared lady, about a few years older than Marilyn, spoke those words. Her cat-like red eyes were currently inspecting the small faintly glowing object of power that the Adept Mage possessed, and she had been doing this for the past couple of minutes now.
She was very meticulous, very attentive. That was how Marilyn viewed her, Felicia Gilder, the daughter of Hanna Gilder, and the current owner of the Gilded Tail.
Marilyn had just been sitting upon the chair presented before her, in front of the cat-person shopkeeper's counter. The shop itself had an antique and classical feel to it, with items shelved and stored in an ornamental fashion, as if they were decorations themselves. A spiralling metal staircase could be seen at a corner, presumably leading to Felicia’s personal living quarters as well as the storage room.
She had also observed the items that the shop sold with her eyes for quite a bit, even used the Eyes of Heaven to scan for quality and prices.
In fact, she was doing it right now.
Item Identified: Abigail's Dream
Type: Master-Crafted Enchanted Runic Steel Blade
Quality: Rare
Price: 150 Divine Coins
Description: A sword belonged to a lost loved one, Abigail the Dreamer. Ever since her passing 100 years ago, one of her descendants that received this as an heirloom decided that it was best for the Gilded Tail to keep it in order for it to find a new owner, so that Abigail's dream of adventure could continue on, as they believed they could not live up to it.
The Master-Crafted Runic quality makes it so that it could receive and cut some of the toughest of attacks, both mundane and magical, without a sweat for the tool or wielder. The Essence-absorbent material of runic steel in general makes it ideal for warriors to fire back an absorbed magical attack at the enemy faster than the caster could even cast.
Marilyn blinked a little, in fact she felt goosebumps. 150 divine coins were…
“Expensive…brrr-!”
She shivered at the thought. Abigail must’ve been either very rich, very lucky, or very legendary to have that kind of wealth to her name.
The currency of this world, like titles and the max potency of individuals, would also be ranked. From lowest to highest it would go from copper, silver, gold, and then divine would be the highest. Items also would obviously have ranks as stated, going from common, uncommon, rare, epic, legendary, and then mythic.
At the current exchange rate, the higher valued coin would be 1000 times more valuable than the lower valued counterpart, so one silver coin would be worth 1000 copper coins, and so on. And the values of each rank go from one, ten, and a hundred.
Most of the middle class of this world could only ever dream of getting a divine coin. Their salaries would tend to really only be in the silver or gold at its highest. While they could get divine coins if they were to have 1000 gold coins saved up, what would it be worth for them when those kinds of items divine coins sell need dozens or hundreds of such things?
No wonder the career of the Pathfinder could be so lucrative, despite its dangers and relatively high death rate compared to some other jobs.
Of course, getting all of these metals, or whatever the term ‘divine’ would inquire, would be too expensive. So ever since the industrialization of the world, the term ‘coin’ and its ranks were mostly ceremonial, only copper really stood its ground in being its coin self. They're now essentially using the equivalent of paper money for this world, made out of durable yet flexible material, the ranks of the coins being denoted by the letters C, S, G, and D.
She was quite amazed honestly, at how this world could have a unified currency unlike her past one. The power of further globalisation perhaps?
In any case…
“So…how does my item sell…?” Marilyn would ask, swinging her legs back and forth as she sat on her rather comfortable stool.
“How does your item sell, nyaa~? Well of course by having me buy it from you, nyahahahaha~!!” The cat lady jested, it earned a forced smile from the silver-eyed mage.
“Soo…what’s the value…?” Marilyn said, once again, trying to get a clear answer.
Felicia placed the gem at the counter again, for the umpteenth time, in fact she had played with this thing like a cat for the past several minutes as she meticulously inspected the quality.
“Welllll, I’d say the most effective price for this little thing would beee….”
Marilyn grew slightly impatient, somehow hyped up by her trailing those words.
“100 gold coins! It's pretty much the same worth as an uncommon runic enchanted sword, it's quite high in quality for such a small gem-core, y’know~?”
“Hmm…” Marilyn seemed contemplative.
“What, you don't like the price, nya~?”
“No no! I think it's alright for its size, I just thought it would've been higher?” Marilyn had a bit of an insecure tone, as if she was in disbelief.
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Felicia snickered, “Well if you want to get 100 divine coins you would have to kill a larger golem, nya~! The giant ones would gain you perhaps 1000 divine coins maybe~!” She said, “—Depending on the type and level of the golem, of course.”
Marilyn was a bit appalled, “Twenty metres tall isn't large…?”
“That's just normal, nya~! The big ones are a hundred metres tall or more~!”
The cat lady’s tail wagged in an off-beat rhythm as she explained so. That answer brought a small sigh to the girl’s face, at least 100 gold coins would be good enough for repairs, right…?
“How about repairs, how much would that cost me?”
“Hmmmm…” Felicia was once again in deep thought, “Present me the item you would want to repair, so I can judge it, nya.”
Marilyn nodded, and quickly dispatched the broken staff from her belt and onto the counter. It was made out of a silvery metal, mithril in actuality, due to its light yet Essence-conducting quality. As a family heirloom it would be considered priceless by her.
“Hum hum…yeah, this should be easy, but the mithril material would make it more expensive nya~” Felicia stated, “I’d say 10 gold coins for basic repairs, 50 if you also want an upgrade~!”
“How much of an upgrade would that be…?”
“Tougher material, further enchantments, and for a further 20 gold coins I could also integrate the gem-core into the staff itself!” She said, “But…there’s a problem.”
Marilyn raised an eyebrow, “And that would entail…?”
“The tools that I use for repairs and upgrades are currently in maintenance and repairs for a few days, soooo unless you're willing to store your weapon here for said few days, which I promise you I will keep safe, I can't help you!”
Marilyn paused for a short moment. She presented her mage staff in hopes for a repair, and got nothing in return…? What a—
“Alright then, my apologies for perhaps getting my hopes up, Ms. Gilder.” Marilyn responded. If she weren't a nicer girl, she would’ve said that this was a scam, but she's too mindful of herself to not say such things. “I can't exactly store my weapon here right now, because I do need it for class tomorrow.”
“And you don't have any back-ups, nya~? That's quite the necessity for Pathfinders no~?”
“I don't, haven't thought of it.” She said, “Though it would most likely mean I just have to do the repairs myself. It would certainly be tougher work, but it's at least free, right?”
Felicia sighed, “My my, all this time you could’ve done it yourself, nya~? What's the point in asking me for repairs even~?”
“Uhh, I was thinking that I could probably observe how you work with it so I could also improve in that field…?” Marilyn replied, laughing sheepishly for a bit, “Not to steal your craft or anything, it's just something I’m curious about, you know?”
“Haahh…that’s definitely the first time in a while I heard that reason. Oh well…” Felicia would soon stand up straight again, her artisan clothing presented itself more clearly as she did. She grabbed the gem from the counter afterwards, “Anyways! 100G, deal?”
Marilyn smiled, “Deal.”
————————
“So! How did it go?”
As soon as the bell to the store rang once again, announcing Marilyn's leave from the Gilded Tail as its door closed, Helena began by saying those words to her little sister.
“Well, the negotiations were short, but I managed to get 100G. No repairs though, looks like I had to do it myself after all.” Marilyn answered, plainly, perhaps with a hint of disappointment.
“Hmm, 100G. That's quite high.” Helena said, “You should definitely treat me and your friends to a hefty meal, pronto!”
“Ehhh, I don't intend to, I think splitting it up between my friends would be enough. 25G each for those that participate in the Sanctioned Veil does sound fair.” She responded, clearing her throat for a bit.
Helena sighed, arms crossed. “Welp, suit yourself, baby sis.”
For a few moments, the two of them standing by the sidewalk would observe the streets of the Golden Mile of Leandon. The activities of commerce and people going about their day could mesmerise those that were unfamiliar with the big city, but right now Marilyn felt a bit tired.
All this effort, and she only got one half of her objectives done. A half-success more optimistically at least. But if one could count learning how repair processes work as an objective, it would only be one-third, meaning only a 33% completion.
A one-third success, two-thirds failure, whatever it could be, she only got one significant thing done for herself today.
“I think it's about time I go back to the academy, huh?” Marilyn said, fixing her white mage cloak for a bit.
“Well, if you say so. I do have further patrols to do…” Helena said in turn.
It would be that phrase that would mark the end of a bustling peace of the Golden Mile however, as Marilyn heard something peculiar. Her eyes had also widened, darting across to the left side of her face. The crowd had also seemed to gather up somewhere away from her view…
A strong voice. A charismatic voice. Words currently incomprehensible to her as it would be muffled by distance, but the sheer presence of that voice enticed her nonetheless.
It brought herself to walk towards where the crowd had gathered, wanting to see for herself what was going on.
“H-hey, Marilyn, what are you doing?” Helena called out, reaching out for her, before noticing it as well.
She wasn't as affected as Marilyn, but the voice was still hooking her, combined with the reason for following Marilyn to try and find out what's going on.
Further into the crowd of people, the two girls would soon gather amongst them. And the voice of muffled words turned into something much more clear for one’s ears to listen towards.
The current form of the district that was the Golden Mile was located near the St. Helen's Cathedral, its grandiose structure not far from view, to the point that one could take a clear picture of it from the Gilded Tail itself if the camera were to be focused enough.
And that location, as it was said, was a place of worship dedicated to—
“—Hence why we are blessed by salvation by the Goddess Seraphina! We are but sinners, influenced by our vices, our vanity, our empty dreams without substance! Yet in her eyes…we are her children, and her hand has always been and shall always be kind enough to extend outwards for us to reach with our own will!”
A short man, a beardless dwarf, a preacher. He was rather feminine in his features, having near-porcelain skin and hair colour, dressed in an elaborate yet humble fashion befitting of his beliefs. His eyes were blindfolded with a black fabric lined with gold, yet he acted as if he had sight. His dominant hand was occupied by a white staff, while his off-hand held onto a sort of holy talisman, lined with beads and pearls.
“Oh how blessed we are in her eternally divine prevalence, for she has always been the origin of our deliverance from the evils of this world!”
And he had spoken so.