He could make out a dark patch in the cloak in that spot. It was no different from some of the other patches in the worn looking cloak, but his thief instincts, as mediocre as they were, told him there something off about the patch. Quickly dropping to to his knees, he decided to trust his gut and tore at the patched up part of the cloak. At bit of force, and the fabric ripped at the seams of the patch, and what fell out left Val shocked. Six golden tals glinted in the moonlight, their stamped crown images proclaiming their worth to anyone, who held one.

  Val swallowed heavily for a moment but then secretly grabbed the coins and wrapped them in the cloak slowly, with his heart beating wildly. The gold was more money than he had ever held, and it was enough for a freeman family of three to live on for a little more than three months, even living in the city. However, he knew that he had to stay calm. If it had been the past him, he would have grabbed the coins and run for it, but memories of spy movies from earth popped into his head. He knew that if someone was watching, playing it 'cool' was going to be important. Otherwise, there was a good chance he would become a target for anyone that recognized him. A pair of cheap boots, an empty dagger sheath, and a worn out cloak were choice pickings, but nothing to hunt down some street rat over. However, a 'suspicious' street rat was something that would draw attention.

  Grabbing his loot, he got up and walked calmly in the opposite direction from where the killers had gone. Not showing any expression on his face, Val stayed vigilant, as he tried to recognize where he was. The district was like a maze, but having grown up in this hell, he had to know the streets like the back of his hand. So, a short while later found him in another alley, dumping everything except for the coins which he slipped into a small pouch, hidden in his pants' waistband.

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  Shoving the shoddy loot under a garbage pile, Val sighed. He was excited about the gold, but what really kept his mind spinning was the magic that he had done. He couldn't believe it, but there was nothing else it could have been. The warm sensation, the sphere in his mind, and the whitish glows with everything around him changing. Moreover, the more powerful glows had been from the six golden Tals, and memories of the 'process of elimination' method told him that his magic had somehow identified the coins.

  Having no idea what magic could really do, even though he had grown up in this world, Val had to reference his memories of Earth. It was true that Earth did not have 'magic' per say, but it had science and legends from the past. More than that, it had something that was a good point of reference: fiction. Val remembered all the games, books, and movies from that life, and even though he did not know if he had been an avid enthusiast, he knew he must have spent his fair share of time exploring the different fantasy settings, considering how many memories he had popping up in his mind.

  In fact, he knew that he wasn't completely accurate. When 'they' started appearing on earth, scientists labeled 'them' as inter-dimensional creatures, coming up with dozens of scientific theories about 'their' existence. However, the religions and various cultures of the world had thrown out their own theories, ranging from demons to aliens. Val couldn't remember what his opinion of it all had been, but some of the things 'they' had been able to do did seem like magic from what he had heard about in this life.

  Val clenched his fists, remembering the last and only day of his life and the fear he had felt. The anger and hopelessness from that day was still there, even though it was all from a past that he could not completely remember. Something in him called for revenge, and he felt the cool sensation from before pervade his body again, as the dark sphere appeared in his 'mind's eye.' Val wasn't shocked, but as his attention focused on the sphere, it began to fade, along with the comfortable sensation, leaving him feeling a little drained. It had happened again, and he smiled thinly in satisfaction. The phenomenon occurred again, which meant that it was repeatable, and past memories of a scientific world told him that if an effect was repeatable, then it can be eventually controlled one day.