Here is an early release guys since i know a 17 hours wouldnt make a difference and i can afford to release it so.
this is where things start a bit technical so im relying on you guys to tell me if there are any major flaws that affect the story/etc.
i have a suprise for you guys hopefully in a few days which is why im in a good mood :) can we get some of you guests & readers who havent rated/voted to do so please :D it would mean alot to me ^^ !!
next few chapters will be ment for information aswell as progress for avrin if you dont allready know my ff is ment to take things at a fair pace :D
P.S iv tried hyperlinking to the next chapters but i cant seem to get the hang of it Q_Q
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Avrin pondered on who to use. Of course, he could use a street urchin who he had no relation to and that no one would care for but then he remembered the Nemean and felt somewhat bad. He wondered if it was still alive and what had happened to it. Surely they would not dare to kill it? He would have to find out another time. As of right now, his own survival was imperative.
Avrin glanced back and forth until he noticed a perverted looking man eyeing the expensive jewelry and wares as if he were about to snatch them and hide them under his attire in the blink of an eye. Avrin smiled faintly. This man was perfect. He didn’t seem like anyone special, just your average Joe.
Avrin called out to the man right before he passed through the side alley. “Hey you!”
The man froze as if someone were about to slit his throat. Horrified, he turned to face Avrin and blinked. “Me?” There was a tremble in his voice.
“Yeah, come here. I’ve got a proposal for you,” Avrin said calmly and soothingly, to convince the man he meant no harm.
The man wasn’t convinced. He still thought it might be some sort of trick. He hesitated for a moment, but went closer into the alley, nearly out of sight to the other passersby. “What do you mean, proposal?” the man asked. He wouldn’t let the chance to make some extra coin slip away.
Avrin raised his hand to reveal his golden bracelet. “Would you be interested in buying this gold bracelet, crafted by a novice blacksmith who had gone into debt and had his assets sold off?” Avrin was lying through his teeth, but it would lend reassurance as to where he got this bracelet from.
The man took the bracelet and examined it. “Hmm. It’s not the best I’ve seen...but why sell it here? Surely you can find a merchant?”
Avrin grinned. This confirmed that he would be able to sell it to a merchant, but he figured he didn’t need much. “I don’t really have much time. I need the coin to pay off my tab,” he lied again. At least the lie gave a little credibility as to why he was hiding here to sell it.
The man grinned back. He figured he could cheat Avrin, but, little did he know, Avrin couldn’t care less. All he wanted was one of each coin and he could handle the rest. “Hmmm…” The man initiated his buyer mode. “Well, as I said, it isn’t the best. I can give you...5 gold coins.”
Avrin knew the man was ripping him off, but he played his game. “Five gold coins?!?” he growled. “This is worth much more!” He made sure not to name a price, as he actually wasn’t quite sure how much more it was worth. “Look, I’m in a rush. Give me seven gold coins, five silver, and two copper and we’ll call it a deal.”
The man was curious as to why Avrin wanted the lesser coins, but decided not to ask questions. Who would argue with a free profit, after all? “Hmm the price seems fair then.”
The merchant didn’t bother to continue. The gold bracelet seemed quite unique, despite its shabby craftsmanship. It gave a bright shine, almost glowing in the sun light. Avrin held his hand out for the payment.
The man smirked and held the small coin sack after calculating everything. “You know, maybe you stole this. You look a little suspicious.” The man snickered. Avrin raised a brow, knowing exactly where this was going. The man continued, “Maybe I should alert the guards. That is, if you don’t give this to me without paym—”Avrin grabbed him by the neck, raised him up nearly two feet, and pinned him to the wall.
“It’s just like you said. And there’s nothing stopping me from gutting you and leaving with both the bracelet and the gold. After all, no one knows who I am.” Avrin’s menacing smile appeared from the shadowy hood of the cloak and the man almost pissed himself with fear.
He began to plead and beg for forgiveness. Avrin dropped him in disgust and took the gold coins. As the man ran off he called out “Y-you haven’t seen the last of me!! I’ll be back!!”
Avrin shook his head. “Whatever,” he whispered to himself before heading deeper into the alley and exiting from the other side.
He looked around with the coin bag in his left hand, hidden beneath his shabby cloak.
“Best thing to do right now is find an inn.” Avrin was excited at the progress he was finally making. As much as he tried, he couldn’t get used to the atmosphere of the village. He could probably learn a lot by buying and studying books or even someone to train him in the art of swordplay.
Avrin tried to be a little bit more social and spoke to a fruit vendor who looked honest. “Sir, would you happen to know where the nearest inn is?” Avrin asked.
The vendor smiled warmly and folded his arms. “Hmm, I may happen to know. If I could sell something, the joy of a profit would help my memory.”
Avrin chuckled quietly. This merchant was far from honest. Avrin reached into his newly acquired purse and took out a silver coin with rough edges and scratches and handed it to the merchant. He took a red fruit that looked like an overgrown strawberry from the vendor’s cart.
The merchant pocketed the silver skilly as if he had done so millions of times. “Ho ho ho!! Dear customer, you will find that the Falcon’s Nest inn is the best place to relax in this town.” He pointed down the street to a large building connected to a few minor houses. Of course, Avrin could be wrong and they could be storage units.
Avrin thanked the man and headed towards the inn, clutching onto the bag with his left hand and the strawberry fruit, which the man had called Blood Berry, with his right. Avrin took a bite of the fruit out of curiosity. It tasted like a pomegranate without the hassle of opening it up and picking the buds out.
Avrin was cautious. He felt somewhat out of place here. Maybe it was his past lifestyle that made this seem different, but he was sure the feeling would die down. He noticed outside of the inn, 40 meters down the road, was a blacksmith, an armory, and a weapons shop. He figured that was where adventurers would most likely be. He would have to pay it a visit; maybe he could learn more about metals and their properties.
As he contemplated things, he decided to prioritize learning. He reached the large door to the inn. It had a large wooden frame with metal coverings. The wood was lacquered and made from an oak-like material. He pressed his hand firmly against it and opened the door with ease, taking a few steps in.
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The interior was exactly what you would expect from such a lifestyle. It had several paintings and decorations, wooden beams, and a couple of wooden support pillars with several tables around the interior. There were several people who wore equipment, from metal to a leather-like material.
Of course, just like the outside of the town, this had a wider variety of people and races.
Avrin was quiet. He didn’t want to attract unwanted attention. Of course, he received a few gazes here and there, but in a town like this, where new adventurers were an everyday occurrence, it was the norm.
Avrin approached the thick and sturdy desk that bent around a fair area. Ink pots littered the surface along with several papers, scrolls, and quills. Avrin noticed a female that seemed to be in her 20’s. She had a strong figure and long hair. Her blue dress resembled a uniform.
Avrin was greeted with an attractive smile from the lady, but then again what potential customer wasn’t? When she spoke, her voice was very cute. “Afternoon dear customer, how may I help you today? Would you like to reserve a room or are you after a map?” Avrin was interested in the room, but hearing a map was available, he knew it would come in handy.
“I’d like to reserve a room for three days if possible. How much is the map?”
The women nodded and began to look for a key to suit Avrin. “Three nights in the room comes to a total of ten silver. Adding breakfast, lunch, and dinner is a total of three silver a day. We also have a bathing area which is one silver extra.”
Avrin gave her one of the gold coins and took the key. “Sir, this is too much!”
Avrin smiled. “Keep the change. So, what about the map?” The women snapped out of it as she held the gold coin with both hands, admiring it as a tip. “Oh, sorry. A map of Agrianea costs 20 gold coins.”
Avrin’s eyes widened slightly. “Why is the map that much?”
“Oh? Sir, do you not know that all maps are handmade? Obviously they would be quite hard to copy without an expert who specializes in geography.” Avrin nodded. It seemed like this world didn’t have a way to copy books or even maps. It would be quite useful to invent a few pieces of technology for himself later on for important things.
After the lady confirmed Avrin wasn’t going to buy a map, she smiled. “Breakfast is at eight o’clock in the morning, lunch is at one o’clock in the afternoon, and dinner is at eight o’clock at night. Of course, we have a buffet in the back of the inn that is always open, but you need to pay for every meal there unless you pay to become VIP here.”
Avrin shook his head and the female receptionist nodded and directed Avrin to his room.
After the conversation ended, he headed up two flights of wooden stairs to find a somewhat long hallway. At the end of the hallway was another flight of stairs. He made his way to a room with a strange symbol on it that resembled a number.
He looked at his makeshift copper key and saw the same symbol on the edge. “Hmm, it seems I can’t read the words. I’ll have to learn the hard way, eventually.” He opened the door after unlocking it and was graced by a fairly standard room. Although it seemed quite large, it was furnished averagely.
There was a single double bed with a wooden frame. It seemed uncomfortable compared to the beds he was used to.“Well, it’s better then that cave,” he said to himself. He walked over to the table and emptied the bag of coins on top of it. The metallic clanging was quite loud, but he cared not for the value of it.
To him, along as he memorized how to make them correctly, he could make as much as he wanted. Six gold coins, four silver, and two copper was what came out. After separating all but one of each coin, he took up one of the copper coins and began to examine it. Avrin, upon his traveling, had tampered with his ability and the nebula mist.
He came to realize that after absorbing an object, it would be memorized somehow. If he had known this, it would have saved him a lot of time with the permafrost mines. All he needed to do was reabsorb one and it would save somehow.
Of course, this wouldn’t mean it would still be easy to create certain objects. Some would still require concentration. He confirmed this by absorbing a strangely shaped rock and then recreating an identical one. To his surprise, all he had to do was somehow remember the rock and this hidden memory mimicked it exactly.
Absorbing the copper coin was quite simple. It disintegrated into black specks of dark matter that were absorbed into Avrin’s gloved hand. It seemed wearing equipment didn’t hamper the ability.
Avrin recreated the copper coin that was completely identical. Of course, just to be sure, he absorbed the same coin and recreated it until he was satisfied that it was etched into his body.
He repeated the process with the silver coin and discovered that absorbing it was only a little more time consuming, possibly due to the material. After he finished with the silver coin, he began with the gold coin.
All-in-all, it took a total of 18 minutes. Avrin smiled as he moved the silver and copper coin to the side and gazed at the lone gold coin. He placed his hand over it. “Let’s see.” He willed his body and a nebula mist began to form in his palm. A gold coin could be seen growing in the center covered in black until it fell from the mist, making a clanging sound as it landed near the other gold coin. Avrin nodded and spoke softly.
“100 gold coins should be enough. After that, I’ll go purchase some books and information.” From there it was like a factory. He produced several coins a minute, moving faster as his body got used to it. The amount increased by the minute.
Finally, Avrin reached 100 gold coins. Avrin pocketed the coins in his bag, barely managing to squeeze them in, and created a binding to tie the top with. He then stood and gazed at a weird device on the wall. It resembled a clock, but had strange symbols where the numbers should be. “Memorizing those numbers should be easy, considering she spoke the times the same as one would in my universe.
Right now its 2:23pm, so I have some time...”Avrin hooked the bag onto his side and made his way out the door. His first planned destination was anything that resembled a book store.
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