"Sorry Ms.Sophie, I will take note of it," Aefia spoke.
"I completely understand. After all, adjusting to a new world is tough. One thing I really hate about this world is its money denominations! They are ruthless!" Ms.Sophie put her hands on her hips.
"True! I will go try these out then," Aefia laughed while turning around.
***
"The sewing of the clothes will take a while, one person's ceremonial will take up to a week to finish." Ms.Sophie spoke while writing down the amount payable for each student.
Aefia's bill came up last. "Two salars for you. Your ceremonial will be another three." Ms.Sophie handed her the written invoice. "You can pay for the ceremonial after it's been completed."
Two salars for two pairs of clothing and one pair for washing?! That's pretty cheap compared to Earth!
Aefia took out her envelope, withdrew the amount she needed to pay, and put the remaining back into her cloak pocket before fastening it back on her shoulder.
Aefia was wearing a button-down white flock with a shirt collar fastened to the last button. The trousers were black and resembled those found in a set of formal suits on Earth. Aefia thought it was weird, but thinking about this being a fantasy world, she had to learn how to accept it.
Her boots were ankle-height with a chain and pointed at the toe. It has ornaments made of gold at the front.
"You look like a character from one of your video games," Nada told Aefia after they left the tailor.
"Remember that this tailor only belongs to our team. If you ever spot anyone else in there, then you know the rest."
We can't speak of any kinds of confidential information with them? Do we use sign languages? Yes I think so.
"There is still an hour left before we have to go back to the office. Within that time, buy whatever you want but spend wisely." Ms.Avry spoke with a deep breath.
"Split up into three groups. And yes, the one left out will be with me." Ms.Avry smiled at her students.
"Nada, you can go with Anasiy," Aefia spoke.
"Alright, see you soon." Nada waved at Aefia while walking away to the stalls with Anasiy.
"Ms.Avry, I need to buy some things. Like ones which I can use in fighting." Aefia told her after they all left.
"Why are you so confidential about it?"
"I have an assignment. I need to buy some books about elemental magic and the universe beyond and a watch."
I need to obtain some items in order to unlock some elemental abilities.
"Sure, let's look for pocket watches first. Any preference?"
"I don't really know what one might look like so any works."
"Alright, we are going with the ordinary gold."
Gold isn't just ordinary! That's extraordinary! And the price is ultra ordinary! I was rich only on Earth! Not on Nikoan!
"Ms. Avry, may I ask the value and price of gold in this world?" Aefia finally asked while thinking about the cost.
"It costs around three vetors for a gold bar." Oh, that's a relief. At most, it's cheaper than my clothes...
"And the value of silver?"
"One angcle for one gram." WHAT?! SILVER IS MORE VALUABLE THAN GOLD!
Aefia thought of the cloak she was wearing which was at least twenty percent silver. "And what's the value of silk?"
"Half the price of gold." Ms.Avry looked at Aefia who was looking at the cloak. "The value of this cloak is worth your mom's fortune."
How do you know?! Are you my stalker or something?
"Anyway, we are here. The clock shop." It was the same size as the tailor's but instead of a glass door, it had windows and an intricately carved wooden door. They entered the shop and Ms. Avry asked for pocket watches for Aefia.
A man named Wayond brought out three options in gold. The one on the right was circular with vines carved into its cover. The middle one was oval with flowers carved on its cover, and the last one was circular with a plain design on the cover, but the inside had glowing watch dials. The colour of the glow was a rather odd blue unlike on Earth.
"I will have this one," Aefia said pointing to the last one. "How much will it be?"
"One vetor and three gadiens. With a discount price for being the last customer."
"Is it cheap?" Aefia whispered to Ms.Avry.
"It's a fair price. I don't think anyone else will give you that price. But you can bargain too." Ms.Avry whispered back.
"I have spent a lot on clothes and shoes, I prefer bargaining."
"Lower the price to one vetor." Ms.Avry said to Mr. Wayond.
"Fine, take it. I just want to go home." Mr. Wayond replied while putting away the other watches.
Aefia handed a one vetor note and picked up the watch before walking out with Ms.Avry.
"How do you open the cover again?" Aefia asked.
Ms.Avry showed her the rotate and click mechanism before handing it back to Aefia to try it herself. Ms.Avry also set the current time on the watch while showing Aefia how to do it herself the next time.
"Thanks. Is it already too late to buy the books?"
"No, we have forty more minutes. Why are you so worried about time?"
"On Earth, time moved faster than ants."
"Hahaha! I get it. It took you a few days to get here so time moves even faster on this planet. But we slow it down by not giving a care about it."
"Then did the students wait long for me to arrive all that time?"
"Yes, of course, and they were very frustrated about it. Now tell me, from which year do you want the books?"
"Any latest book for elemental magic? Also, I would need a dictionary and a book about the outer worlds."
"I can get you the dictionary and the elemental magic book but there are countless books about the outer worlds that you can find at the Library of Smod."
"Then I will buy those first."
"For the elemental magic book, we can't buy it today because the only person who owns it has gone home it seems. Let's buy the dictionary. We will come back tomorrow for that book. I will take a special note from Mr.Elephant to allow it."
"I also wanted to buy the emblem of faith." Ms.Avry looked at Aefia with a shocked look. Did I say something wrong?
"How did you know that? Do you precisely know what the emblem of faith does?" Ms.Avry asked after a minute of silence.
"I am not sure but my skill says that I need it. I also need the forbidden necklace of Crition."
"You can only find them at the mage market."
"So I will need to buy that tomorrow too?"
"Yes. I can send my brother to check if they are still available and buy them for you. They sold out pretty fast. I completely forgot that your power is that of a mage." Ms.Avry said while slapping her forehead.
"Oh, it's alright. And Mr. Grizzly doesn't have to buy them out of his pocket. It is my possession so I will obviously pay."
"Then let's go buy the dictionary. Anything else you want to buy?"
"Depends on the right time I guess...I clearly know I won't need a bunch of notebooks now but I may in a short while. But I will be stacking up on books in the meantime."
"Then let's head to the bookshop."
The sun was almost down by the time they reached the bookshop. Aefia couldn't believe how the bookshop turned out to be the way she had imagined. Like how people created a miniature version on the internet. They both entered through an archway door. Different shops have different doors. Unlike on Earth, where everyone uses the cheapest door they can find, especially at the place I stayed.
"I am looking for a dictionary," Aefia asked an elderly man.
"Sure. Do you want the ancient Anglic version or the modern-day Anglic version?"
"Ancient," Aefia answered straightforwardly.
The old man grabbed a book with a navy blue cover off the shelf and slammed it onto the table. The book seemed to be around seven hundred to a thousand pages thick to Aefia.
"How much will it be?" Aefia asked.
"An honest person is asking for one salar. This book is rare and harder to print."
Aefia took out a salar and two vetors before handing them to the old man. "Take care of your health, sir. I am really grateful for the knowledge I will get from this book." Aefia smiled at the old man.
"You're welcome, kid. You take care of your health too. I saw you fighting the beast earlier, I am willing to give you a book for free."
The old man got up and opened a secret chamber by knocking on one of the books.
A tunnel of shelves opened, and the old man picked up a black leather-bound book from the left shelf.
"This is a book of one of the outer worlds, Demae." The old man took off his glasses which hung from a chain around his collar. "My son was once the holder of an elemental magic."
"What happened to your son?" Aefia asked curiously.
"Anyway, I can't tell you much. The last page of the book contains precious information about elemental magic. Read it thoroughly." The old man put his glass back on after rubbing it with a handkerchief.
"Alright sir, have a good evening." Aefia gave a bow before leaving.
Aefia's hands were full of thick books which were as heavy as carrying two full grown cats in one arm. They came back to the place where they first split. Anasiy bought a deck of playing cards, and Nada bought a crocheted bag filled with jewelry. Diego bought shoes and Helio bought an emblem.
"The Aefia I know would usually only buy gift cards for her games. Now she is here with books," Nada spoke.
"I would have if I had a phone with me right now," Aefia replied while levelling the books up to her chin. The sun had completely set and the stars were out again. Half the market was gone and they walked back to their office.
Upon entering the office, servants came with glasses of water and everyone sat down to rest for a bit.
"Team two has returned I see." Mr. Elephant came by. "Aefia seems to have gotten interested in his world. Where are the rest of your books?" He asked eyeing everyone except Aefia.
"Aefia is just serious about her element. We can get into it a bit later. Let's enjoy the most out of this world first." Anasiy answered while smiling.
"Well, it is wise. I just came to remind Aefia about her bullets. Aefia, do you have the casings?" Mr. Elephant asked.
"I didn't know I had to collect the casings," Aefia answered hesitantly.
"It's alright. If you can, then gather the casings and hand them over to Ms.Panther."
"Alright thanks, Mr.Elephant."
"Now aren't you guys going to go back to your rooms to rest? Tomorrow is a big day after all."
Everyone got up with Mr. Elephant's commendations and walked back to their rooms.
Aefia entered hers and slammed the books onto the table before closing the door. She sat down at her table and brought out her notebook and her glass pen to write down about her unlocked skills and the skills she obtained after absorbing the beast's power.
She even wrote down the word 'Torture Cell' to make sure she remembers to research the matters surrounding it in the future. When she was done, she opened her system.
She went through all the unlockable skills and what requirements they had and wrote them down too, after which she brought out her pocket watch, checked the time, and wrote it down in her notebook before closing it and putting it away.
She looked at the two books she had picked up earlier. A dictionary and a book about the outer world Damae.
Reminded of the man's words, Aefia opened the last page of the book. The page before the cover. There were red circles around certain words and soon Aefia realized it was a code reading a sentence to her question to the old man.
'My son became a Guardian soon after before becoming a King. He is out there, I can tell it. During the coronation day, someone killed the soon-to-be Queen and he went into hiding. My only request to you is to find him and destroy the 'Torture Cell'. If you could kill the beast, I believe you can kill a King too.'
This 'Torture Cell'... I am hearing it everywhere.