As the four were walking, they saw a river. It was extremely weird—a violent river rushing straight forward. It was a plateau river in the plains! Harper, who was a strategist and made terrain observations for the group back in the war, was amazed by the fact that such a river existed.
"Okay, this is the dragon river; if we follow its course, we will end up in the capital city. The city is cut in half by the river, and the most important part of the city is deep inside the walls. The city itself is a clear proof of our greatest manpower! The oceans behind them were modified to only let allowed ships pass; the ports are the biggest on the entire continent."
Comoron said it: Proud of his country!
"If I may ask, how is the city by itself?"
"Alex, right? The city is the jewel of the kingdom, our greatest achievement in architecture and magic."
"Magic? Is that what you made with this big stick of yours?"
"This isn't your ordinary 'big stick'. This is the last generation scepter the dwarves had made!"
"So, this is a fancy big stick?"
"No, this is... AH, fuck it, you got it."
"hahaha, Of course, it is just that the concept of'magic' is quite new for us."
"Isn't that metal scepter in a strange shape you go got there also a magic tool?"
"Hahahaha, it may sound magic when you shoot it—the sound, the movements, and the power. But this is 100% mechanic."
"Wait, this isn't magic?"
Comoron asked as Alex explained that his 'Scepter' is nothing but a mechanical rod that kills everything in front of it. As an elf in the proud race of great magicians, Comoron didn't understand how mechanic rods could rival the most potent magic the world had to offer. Even though he wasn't a blue magic user, he was at least a cyan user, so he was quite an asset to have.
"No, this is not'magic'. You can build one within nature. Actually, we can sell you one, but in exchange, you have to teach us how to use this so-called 'magic'."
"Amazing. The dwarves of your place must be amazing to build things like these without magic."
As Comoron noted, he was amazed by the fact that these rods that easily killed the wolves were made without magic. But he still had to hear the shocking news.
"Actually, these were made 100% by humans. We don't have such a thing as dwarfs. Actually, we have some short people that we call like this, but they are not of a different race; they are part of ours."
"What? HUMANS? This technological wonder was built by normal people. Only dwarfs have the skills to build it."
Alex, who was stunned by Comoron's strong reaction to the fact that humans make weapons, couldn't help but wonder if those 'dwarfs' are really that good. He muttered to Michael:
"Hey, Michael... I think that we may have landed in a medieval world."
"Why do you think so, Alex?"
"You saw that guy's reaction to our gun, didn't you?"
"Yes, but maybe their technological level isn't bad, but they are a peaceful nation, so weapons were never developed, or even the fact that they can use magic made themselves more focused on it than actually going through modern warfare."
"You may be right. Let's ask something of this elf to check if we are really in a medieval world."
After Alex muttered it to Michael, he turned to Comoron and asked
"Hey Comoron, how much does an average dish cost in the city?"
"It is about 3 coppers; why?"
"No, I am just trying to understand the prices here."
"Oh, I can gladly help you with that, then."
"Very nice of you, but I just have one more question. How much is a coat and a pant in the city?"
"If you are looking for a fancy one, it may cost you 5 gold or more, but if we are talking about a simple one, 8 silver will do it."
"Interesting, how much is silver and gold then?"
"We use a 10-10 base to convert things. 10 bronze coins for 1 silver coin, 10 silver coins for 1 gold coin, 10 gold coins for 1 royal gold coin, and 10 royal gold coins for the platinum coin."
"Thank you; this will be useful."
"You are welcome."
Comoron said it, but he found these questions quite strange. Don't they know the system used on the continent? They don't know the kingdom... Perhaps he is from another continent?
Alex finished his questions, then turned to Michael.
"I took a glance at their financial system. If what this guy told us is true, we can actually sell stuff for a good price and earn tons of money. Also, it appears that we are in a medieval society. A coat and a pant that are usually used by the average folk cost at least 25 times the price of a dish. Back on Earth, it is no more than 10. Our low price is because of the industry. So, if clothes are expensive here, they are probably homemade, which means they don't have industries."
"Wow, as always, you can grasp their entire society for the price of a dish and a cloth."
Michael was amazed by the fact that Alex already understood the financial system and the development of society by only asking a simple question. After this strange set of events, the four of them continued to walk for an hour or so.
2 hours later...
They already had sight of the capital. They could see a big wall that encircled the city, a river passing by its center, soldiers guarding the river to check on boats that were entering, and a huge queue of wooden carriages. Alex was almost 100% right, but one thing still remained unclear for him.
"What is that building in the city?"
He asked. The building itself was as high as a skyscraper, but there was only one.
"This is the royal castle. The previous king said something like, 'We should build the castle the highest possible! This may be a sign of our great kingdom!'. It was 170 years ago, and even now, this is magnifique and unparalleled."
"Interesting"
Alex, without much amazement, just said this much. For him, this skyscraper was as high as an average one from New York. At work, he could see something higher than this one. The only fact that amazes Alex is that such buildings were built with medieval assets. Incredible. How does this work? Well, he would figure it out in another moment.
They continued to walk towards the city gate, and when they reached the place, one of the guards asked
"Show your ID!"
Comoron showed his; it was a wood plate that shone golden.
"Oh, we have a noble here. Welcome back, mister."
Comoron then said
"Thank you. Actually, these three guys here came from another place, and they don't have their ID."
"Hmm, they must have the ID of their own country at least. We need to register their entrance."
Alex noted that somehow the translation spell Comoron cast also worked with the guard. It was incredible; he had to learn it.
"Ok, we need to see your ID. Do you have anything to prove yourselves?"
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"Yes, we do."
Harper said it. And then he took his ID from his pockets. It was a strangely made card with a very clear photo of him and strange characters. The guard could see a pair of characters that appeared to be from the place they were from. It was written in a very stylish font. Something like "California".
"Sir, we don't understand these words. I fear that this might not work."
"I suppose it is so. We are from a different place, and now Comoron is supporting us with a spell that allows us to communicate."
"I understand this, but we have to check in the information here somehow."
"I can help you guys."
Comoron said it, then cast a new spell. The guard could now read the text because his mind was linked to Harper's. They couldn't read each other's thoughts but instead utilized some of the skills of each other. The language was one of them.
"You are Harper Montana; you are from... Somewhere called ka-luh-for-nyuh uh-puh-bluhk (Californian Republic), which appears to be a province of a kingdom named Yoo-nai-tuhd stayts uhv uh-meh-ruh-kuh (United States of America). You guys even have your own calendar; here it says your birthday is July 1990, and this document data says 2019, so you are 29 years old."
"I am actually 34, sir."
"Oh, so this document was made in 2019, not that we are in 2019?"
"Yes, exactly"
"Alright sir... I think this is enough to prove yourself. Even though I don't know where these 'Yuunaituhd Stayts ohv uhmehruhkuh' (USA) are, it seems you guys aren't just messing around. You pass"
After the guard let Harper pass, Alex and Michael also gave their IDs, which were checked, and they were permitted to pass.
"This is our capital city, guys! The marvelous kingdom jewel!"
The Comoron were nobles; they didn't know until they heard the guard. Alex then said
"Hey, are there anywhere that we can learn this 'magic'?"
Comoron knew very well that not so many people had talent for magic. The magic system was classified by energy levels, and 300 years ago, a brilliant mage discovered that the energy, if imbued with certain magical crystals, could show colors. He also discovered that some colors were better than others. For example, the weakest colors were red, then orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet. A red user could only glow the red crystal; the orange user could glow both red and orange. The violet users, even though the kingdom had only one king in history, which was the last king, could technically glow every crystal. After some time of this achievement, another mage made a synthetic crystal, and he could adjust the frequency of its waves, so this crystal would feel the power of the user and glow in the magic color he had.
The crystal is like an obsidian shard, so people without magic are called 'Black Users' because the crystal doesn't glow with them, showing only its original color. 90% of the population were black users, and for each 10 red users, one orange user would appear. But for each 100 orange users, one yellow would appear; for each 1000 yellows, one green; 10000 greens for one cyan; and it goes on. The newest magical discovery about measurement crystals makes it possible for sub-level colors. For example, a yellow user A can be twice as strong as a yellow user B. This new measure of crystal shows the colors by tone. The user A is a bit greenish yellow, while the user B can be a more orange yellow. This is by far the best technology on the entire continent for magical measurement.
Comoron was a little concerned. He promised to teach magic to these guys, but what if they didn't have any affinity? How would he explain something like, "I can't teach you guys; you cannot do it. Die and be born again; maybe you can get luckier next time." Comoron was concerned because of this. But he had to at least try. These guys actually had an almost 10% chance of being a red user, or 1% of being an orange one. They could be lucky. And even if their parents aren't magic users themselves, there is a slight chance that the child will be born one level above their parents. The last king itself was an example; even though both his father and mother were blue users, he was born as a violet one. He lived for the entire 300 years; that man was sure amazing. The stronger someone's color is, the longer they live.
As Comoron was bringing the three folks to the measurement room, they finally made it.
"Alright, the process is simple. Put your hands in the crystal, and the color it shows will be your magic level. The color order is Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, and Violet."
"Just like the wave length for colors, with the red being the least energetic and the violet being the most energetic, Newton was amazing at figuring it out."
"noo-tn (Newton)?"
"Oh, you won't know him; he is from our homeland. Don't worry, Comoron."
"Alright"
As Alex said it, he went to the crystal. He finally touched it, and the crystal started to glow.
As the crystal started to glow, it quickly became too bright, and nobody could see anything.
Only after Alex took his hands off the crystal did things become clear.
The color of the crystal was something they had never had before. The crystal's color was white!
"How is that possible?"
Comoron started to think. Never in history has the white color appeared. What was it meant? Comoron started to ask himself about it. There's no doubt that the crystals are working. They will have to test Alex in the castle, but no doubt, his magical aptitude was at least above cyan grade. He could even be a violet. As Comoron forced himself to think of it as the device wasn't strong enough to test above certain colors, it was Harper's time now.
Harper touched the crystal, and it started to glow strongly, but not as strongly as Alex. After a few seconds, the crystals were emanating a violet color. Harper was officially the second violet user to be ever registered in the history of the kingdom.
Comoron was shocked. How were these guys from nowhere so strong? They didn't even know what magic was! He was somehow angry and envious. But he was also amazed and happy. A strong person here could easily help the kingdom, or not. The thing is, Comoron being a noble, he has some people that hate him, and they can, at any moment, incriminate him for anything, and the kingdom will just throw him away. He messed with really strong people in the past. But he did what was right.
Well, Comoron didn't think much about the things it might represent. Nobody was here to see this, so it may be kept a secret. He told them
"Well, Harper, you are stronger than the strongest mage in this kingdom, the King! Don't tell anyone about it. We have to fake your level."
Comoron said it to Harper, but his mind was alarmingly screaming at him. If the device isn't weak and Harper could demonstrate a violet magic level, then how in hell did Alex get white? He knew a theory for this but refused to believe it. The very same mage that discovered the measurement crystals found one that didn't glow, the more he tried. Only when he broke it into a very small piece and channeled the energy of the strongest magical energy crystal towards it did a faint white glow appear. There's no mistake; if what he saw is true, then Alex has enough power to destroy this entire continent, or even more, the entire world.
Comoron, seeing that they were kind of ignorant of the fact that they are stronger than anyone, said
"Alex, your level is probably above Harpers. You are extremely strong. Take care of yourself; people will try to drag you into shady business if words of your power spread."
When Comoron said it, he was shocked, but something was still unclear. If the two were that strong, how about Michael?
Michael approached the crystal and touched it without hesitation. The crystal glowed, and the color showed itself. It was a violet blue. Nothing as amazing as Harper or Alex, but still strong enough to pair the current King with the strongest mage.
"Are you guys monsters?"
"Hahaha, no."
Alex laughed; it appeared that Comoron went crazy. Well, this was a good joke. He understood at least one thing: They were strong.
"So, let's go somewhere and sell something to gain some money."
"But you guys don't have anything with you."
"Oh, we do, but it is stored elsewhere."
"Do you guys even have a magical bag?"
"No, we have a portal.".
"A portal?"
After Comoron asked, Alex opened the portal. It had red lightning coming from the borders and a greenish membrane that was glowing. It was surely amazing; he had never seen anything like this before. Alex then said
"If you enter this, you will be teleported to our base somewhere else. This portal is not storage, so if we use it as one, we technically have infinite room for storage."
"You guys are on another level."
Comoron muttered, and Alex said:
"Probably; I don't know. Wait, let's eat something."
"After this much, I am hungry. Let's do a cultural exchange!"
Harper replied happily. He surely liked to try the food of the places he was before, and another world? This is an opportunity in front of him that people would kill for.
..
.
Some time later...
"So this is the restaurant?"
"Yes, I know the owner of the place; he is a good friend of mine."
Comoron replied to Michael.
As they entered, they saw the menu. It wasn't like on Earth; it was a plank of wood carved with characters. Comoron then cast the translation spell, so they could understand the meaning of those words.
Soup of chicken for 2 bronzes, steak for 5 bronzes, bread for 1 bronze each for 2 units, and vegetable soup for 2 bronzes. They also had juices. Orange juice for 1 bronze, lemonade for 2 bronzes, and beer for 5 bronzes.
Comoron, knowing they had no money, offered to pay. After all, they saved his life; it was the minimum he could do.
"So, if you are paying for us, let's have a good meal! I want a steak and a beer!"
"I want the same as Alex."
"So, I'll go with you guys."
The three of them picked up a steak and a beer.
"Sir, it will be 3 silver coins."
The waitress said the price. Comoron picked for himself a chicken soup and a lemonade and paid the girl.
..
15 minutes passed, as the three of them were laughing at bad-made jokes, when the food arrived.
"Sir, there is the food."
As the waitress said it, she served the food to each one. The steak probably went through a smoking process. It was common in the Middle Ages to smoke the food to preserve its integrity and freshness.
As the three of them started to eat the steak, they noticed it wasn't bad; it was good, but nothing compared to Earth. The beer was also only average. Comparable to a low-quality beer branch in the US.
They finished their dish with a strange expression. It wasn't disgusting, but it wasn't that good. The junk food on earth tasted better.
"Wait, I had an idea, guys."
Alex exclaimed.
"What is it, Alex?"
"Michael, did you taste that food, yes? The price was quite low, but it was paid in metal. As Comoron said, 100 bronze coins led to a gold coin. The gold coin is probably a tenth the size of the bronze one. What if we sell junk food from Earth to people here? They would pay at least one silver coin for a noodle, and what about that burger from the Golden Arch Company? It would be sold for gold. Do you have the notion that people would pay gold for a burger we buy for $18? A gram of gold costs about $60. We can become rich."
"Now that you mention it, we could really gain some money here... They appear to not value the gold as much as we do, and people seem quite wealthy."
"Yes, that's the power of a gold standard currency for you. People have money that the government cannot print as much as they want, so it won't devalue as ours."
"We can think about it later."
Michael replied to Alex. They were almost in the 'guild' Comoron said that buys animals and monsters.
..
.
The four of them had already approached the guild, and Comoron asked them for a private room. They are professionals; they didn't ask why; they just led the way into the room we requested.
"Alright, time to bring the big boy!"
"Let's go!"
After Alex and Harper excitedly exclaimed, the portal was opened, and the three of them entered. Before Alex, the last one, entered, he invited Comoron to come together. He accepted. Both of them came into the portal, and what were there terrified and shocked Comoron...
These guys were trying to sell the fucking king of the forest.