The next morning, Eric, Lyria, and Livy arrived at the spot where Caius and the rest had left their horses behind.
All three of them wore the same outfits as yesterday, but they had now covered themselves with traveling cloaks.
Equipment of Tier 1 and above rarely gets dirty and always remains pristine due to the enchantments applied to them during manufacturing. Thus, the same outfit could be worn for a long time without needing regular washing. Of course, they could still get dirty if treated as such.
Eric stared at the six horses with appreciation. Unlike the ones from Ringwood Town, these horses were clearly well-fed, trained, and of a completely different breed. None of them were Ranked Beasts, yet just by looking at their thick muscles and tall, sturdy figures, he could tell they were specifically trained for both stamina and agility. Perhaps they were even capable of outrunning less-agile Rank 1 Mana Beasts.
Soon, Eric noticed something strange about the horses.
All six had been branded near their necks and also on their hind legs.
The marking was a circle containing two letters, 'A.H,' written in the Celestial language. Two lines from the same side passed diagonally through the circle and the letters.
Seeing this, Eric, Lyria, and Livy suddenly recalled they had seen a similar mark on the mercenary cards they picked up when leaving Ringwood Town.
Noticing that Eric, Lyria, and Livy were interested in the horses, Caius smiled as he gently stroked one of the mounts. "These horses are temporarily borrowed from the 'Animal Handlers' of Batley City. Do you know how the Animal Handlers Guild works?"
He guessed the three hadn't been to any cities yet. Since Eric had mentioned last night that they lived in an isolated place, Caius figured they might not know how cities and guilds operated. Instead of waiting for them to inquire, he asked directly.
Seeing Eric, Lyria, and Livy shake their heads, Caius continued his explanation.
"The Animal Handlers are a transportation service guild. They operate by allowing customers to borrow their trained animals for travel. They mostly house mortal beasts, though they've tamed a few Mana Beasts as well. Our Batley City branch only has one such Ranked Beast."
Eric, Lyria, and Livy nodded in understanding.
Lyria then asked an extremely crucial question: "How much do they charge per animal?"
"That depends on the animal you are borrowing," Caius answered. "The Animal Handlers' beasts are always excellent and uniquely trained, but the most painful part is that they charge a massive amount of Mana Stones, even for mortal animals. The good part is, once the animals are returned unharmed to any guild branch across the cities, they refund the customer, deducting only the service charges."
"As you can guess, they require such a massive deposit in case the animals die or get injured, which results in a smaller refund. That's how the Animal Handlers Guild works. Also, if the borrowed animals don't see their riders for an extended period, they are trained to return to their last handler, meaning they can only be kept temporarily. Intentionally abusing these animals is a serious crime that can earn you a heavy fine or a bounty."
Eric, Lyria, and Livy nodded once more.
Lyria didn't stop there, asking about something that had kept her curious and confused for a long time: "Can you explain the currency system to us? We only know that 10 gold coins equal 1 Mana Shard, and 100 Mana Shards equal 1 Mana Stone." She barely recalled anything beyond that; before leaving the Moonveil family, they had paid little attention to such matters.
The rest of the Eclipse members knew the conversation would take some time, so they went to care for the horses, feeding and tending to them.
Garrick and Eilif sat on some exposed roots, leaning against a tree. They were bandaged from head to toe.
Thorne had recovered enough to move despite the pain. Without a single complaint, he helped Brunhild take care of the horses.
Only Elianor stood right beside Eric, listening to Caius as if it were her first time learning all this too. She stood even closer to Eric than Lyria and Livy did. However, everyone smartly ignored Elianor, treating her as if she were invisible.
Caius had also been about to ask Eric and the girls if they understood the value of Mana Stones. He needed to hand over the items recovered from the necromancers' bodies; those belongings rightfully belonged to Eric's group.
"Gold coins are highly controversial because every settlement mints coins with different weights. Usually, they are only used by mortals."
Caius pulled a small shard from his pocket and showed it to the three tall humans.
The shard was only about a third of the length of an index finger. It was transparent, but a light pink color shimmered from within.
"This is a Mana Shard. In a sense, it's 'pocket change' for Mana Wielders. It lets you purchase small items like drinks. If it breaks, it loses all value and can only be thrown away. It's accepted worldwide, from what I've heard, and the same goes for Mana Stones."
Eric, Lyria, and Livy nodded. They had already found some of these in the few space pouches of the mercenary group they had brutally killed.
Caius put the shard back in his pocket and pulled a few 'stones' from his space pouch.
They were larger than pebbles, and slightly bigger than Mana Beast cores. The surface wasn't smooth, shiny, and round like a core; instead, it was jagged like a normal stone. It was as transparent as glass, but blue in color, emitting a very soft, subtle blue glow.
Eric was amazed and wanted to grab one to observe it closely, but he controlled himself and calmly nodded, acting as if he had seen them in every corner of his teacher's bathroom.
"This is a Mana Stone," Caius explained. "Mana Stones come in two varieties: low grade and high grade. Low grade is the one most commonly used and implied whenever people speak of exchanges or currency. If it breaks, its blue hue disappears, and it becomes useless."
"As far as I know, high grades are rarely used in everyday trade. They hold immense value. I've heard that 1,000 low grades equal 1 high grade. Unfortunately, I don't have any high-grade stones to show you."
Eric then pulled out a white Mana Core, which still released a subtle presence of its former owner, and asked curiously, "How much would this core sell for?" It was the core of the Night Hag Arachnid.
Caius looked at it thoughtfully. "Around 1,000 Mana Stones or more, I would say." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Mana cores are of two types: those found inside a Mana Beast, and those that are artificially made or found elsewhere—I don't have the complete details on that."
"The artificial ones are called Mana Gems. Their quality is lacking compared to true Mana Cores. Both, however, are prime materials for using it in artifacts. I apologize for my lack of knowledge on the matter; likely only Master Ranks or the top noble families of Sildargrade deal with such things."
"Still, I can tell you the standard prices for Rank 1 Mana Cores. Instead of using terms like 'Newborn' or 'Young,' cores and gems are categorized as low grade, mid grade, high grade, and so on."
"For a Newborn-stage Rank 1 core, which is considered low grade, the market value is around 100 Mana Stones. A mid grade goes for 250, a high grade for 500, and a peak grade fetches 1,000 Mana Stones. The price varies depending on the species of the Mana Beast. That's the extent of my knowledge."
"The one from last night was unique. Although it was from an adult stage, its capabilities matched an Elder, so it will probably fetch a price similar to a peak grade."
Eric nodded and put the core away.
Lyria smiled. "Thank you for explaining. I think we should begin our journey now. We can ask more questions along the way."
Caius returned the smile. "You're very welcome. Feel free to ask anything later."
He turned toward Brunhild, who nodded back, signaling that the horses were ready.
Caius then suggested, "Little brother Eric, you ride my horse. I will ride with Garrick, since he can't manage on his own with his injuries. Thorne, you accompany Eilif. Brunhild, take Elianor with you."
Everyone agreed.
Elianor opened her mouth to protest, wanting to say she wished to ride with Eric, but a harsh glare from Brunhild cut her off. In the end, she could only reluctantly accept Caius's arrangement.
They mounted their horses and set off.
Lyria and Livy had learned how to ride horses long ago from Bella Noll, while Eric already knew how and simply tagged along pretending to 'learn.'
Though these horses were of a different breed and far larger than the ones in Ringwood, riding them felt the same. They were well-trained not to resist their riders, so the journey began without a hitch.
Eric, Lyria, and Livy followed the group. They galloped at high speed for the next six hours before deciding to take a short break.
Eric was deeply impressed by the horses; they could run at high speeds for hours without stopping, a feat poor Earth horses could never achieve.
'If only I had a horse like this in my past life, I could have become a trillionaire through racing and gambling!' Eric sighed with regret.
None of them set up tents, as they planned to continue traveling for another six hours after lunch before ending the day's journey.
Eric refrained from pulling out his elven cuisine, not wanting the others to catch the scent of 'Elf' on them. He decided they would eat whatever was cooked. They had agreed to share meals with the Eclipse team since they would be traveling together for two weeks; it would be foolish to keep their distance for that long.
Brunhild, Elianor, and Thorne built a small fire and started cooking, as all three were skilled cooks.