Every step he took, it felt like he was walking underwater. Lifting his feet and arms felt like he was weighed down by massive weights, and his reaction time had slowed as well. He was hunched throughout the trek. At one point, he even used one of his swords as a makeshift cane.

Finally arriving at the hub where the teleporter was, Sigurd was thrown for a loop once he saw the price for using the magic circles. It was 20,000 golden coins, per person, to use.

“What the hell? Why is this so expensive?" he asked the man at the till.

“That's just the way it is, bud.”

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Perplexed, he walked out of the building with the girls.

“Nyahaha!" Mia teased him. “I did think it was weird you wanted to come here again, having so few coins left. Magic circle teleporters are expensive.”

“So few? I thought 50,000 coins was a lot!”

“It is a lot of money," Mia agreed. “But teleporters are used mainly by the ultra-wealthy. Basically, only nobles and government workers can afford it. On a soldier's salary, you'd need to work 20 years just to afford a single use of it.”

She then proceeded to go on a long-winded explanation of how the economy works, using very complex definitions and formulas, and real-life examples, leaving Sigurd thoroughly impressed, confused, and scared, at the same time.

“Wow, what kind of a genius are you?" He said at last. “So... basically when I went on my drunk journey across the land with my friends, I used up 250,000 mostly on teleporter fees?”

“That wasn't a smart move, Sigurd," Mia smiled innocently. “But, indeed.”

“Inflation's a bitch," Nia added with her sweet, monotone voice.

Hearing that made Sigurd do a double take.

“I guess we're leaving by carriage then,” he concluded with a defeated tone.