Mitch’s coin pouch still jingled with 405 gold coins, their weight a reassuring presence at his side.
The sum represented a small fortune for most adventurers, though he was beginning to understand that in this world full of magical items, wealth could disappear as quickly as morning mist.
The core shop sprawled before them like a treasure vault divided into two distinct realms.
To the left, gleaming display cases housed the rare and valuable cores, each one a crystallized fragnt of magical essence that pulsed with inner light.
These precious artifacts served as crucial components in countless crafting recipes, their surfaces etched with intricate patterns that seed to shift and dance when observed directly.
The air around them humd with barely contained power, and Mitch could feel the mana radiating from behind the reinforced glass.
The right side of the shop presented a stark contrast. Here, rows upon rows of sturdy wooden boxes lined the walls, each one carefully labeled with tier classifications and mana capacity ratings.
The cores within appeared mundane, dull, gray stones that looked more like common pebbles than repositories of magical energy.
These utilitarian cores served a single, vital purpose: advancing an awakener’s level through gradual absorption and integration of their stored mana.
The pricing disparity between the two sections was staggering. The rare cores commanded prices that ranged from a handful of gold coins for the most common varieties to over a thousand gold pieces for legendary specins.
anwhile, the leveling cores offered a more accessible path to power, tier one cores cost less than a single gold coin, while tier two cores varied dramatically based on their mana content, ranging from fifty silver pieces to two gold coins for the most potent examples.
"We should sell our cores," Mitch suggested, his mind already calculating how many additional cores he could purchase with their existing stock. "They might be more valuable than we realize."
"Sure," Leya agreed, her tone suggesting she harbored similar hopes.
The shopkeeper, a middle-aged man whose weathered hands spoke of years handling magical artifacts, examined their collection with practiced efficiency.
His assessnt was disappointingly swift and direct.
Most of their cores were unremarkable specins that barely warranted a second glance.
However, when he reached the bird core they’d extracted from their recent encounter, his deanor shifted perceptibly.
"This one’s different," he murmured, turning the core over in his palms. The crystalline surface caught the shop’s lamplight, revealing deep azure veins that pulsed with residual energy.
"High tier two, and rare quality at that. You must have found this in a hidden ground, these specins don’t surface in common hunting areas."
"I can offer you thirty gold coins for it," the shopkeeper declared, though his sleepy expression suggested this was rely another routine transaction for him.
"Deal!" Mitch’s hand shot forward eagerly, fingers closing around the gold coins as they clinked onto the counter.
After a brief consultation, they decided against selling their remaining cores. The offered prices were disappointingly low, and the cores would serve them better as stepping stones toward higher levels rather than a modest boost to their finances.
Mitch’s purchasing decision was both bold and telling. He selected 300 mid-level tier two cores, each one carefully chosen for its mana density and absorption potential.
The cores filled several heavy satchels, their combined weight representing not just 300 gold coins, a substantial investnt, but also months of potential advancent for a typical awakener.
Leya’s more conservative approach led her to purchase only 20 cores, a quantity that would provide steady progress without overwhelming her absorption capabilities.
"So many cores," the shopkeeper observed, his previously drowsy deanor giving way to genuine curiosity. "Are they all for your personal use, young man?"
"Yes, I intend to use them all," Mitch replied matter-of-factly.
"How... interesting." The shopkeeper’s gaze traveled from Mitch’s face to his feet and back again, as if trying to solve a puzzle written in flesh and bone.
Once they’d left the shop’s confines, Mitch turned to his companion with a puzzled expression. "What was that reaction about?"
"People don’t typically buy cores in such quantities," Leya explained, her voice carrying a note of concern. "I an, at a normal absorption rate of one core daily, that supply would last you nearly a year."
"But it only takes a few minutes per core," Mitch admitted sheepishly, as if confessing to so minor social transgression.
"What!?" Leya’s exclamation drew curious glances from nearby pedestrians. "That’s absolutely impossible! Are you perhaps... the Golden One?"
Her eyes widened as she stared at him, mouth agape in a mixture of awe and disbelief.
"The Golden One? I don’t know who that is," Mitch replied, genuinely confused by her reaction.
"You really don’t know anything about the wider world, do you?" Leya said, exasperation coloring her voice. "The Golden One is the prodigy of our generation, a legend who erged from obscurity just a few years ago.
He possesses the unprecedented ability to master mana skills rely by reading skill books once, and his core absorption rate is so extraordinary that witnesses claim you can actually see the mana draining from cores in real-ti when he handles them.
People whisper that he’s been blessed by the gods themselves."
"That does sound interesting," Mitch mused. "But I’m not him, I’m just Mitch, a simple mage trying to understand this world."
"A simple mage!" Leya threw her hands up in frustrated disbelief. "Nothing about you is simple! Your abilities, your instincts, your sheer luck, none of it fits the pattern of an ordinary person!"
Her expression suddenly shifted, worry replacing frustration as thoughts of her brother surfaced. "We should go. I want you to et my brother, and hopefully... hopefully you can help heal him like you promised."
The ntion of her brother transford Leya’s entire deanor. Her face beca serene yet tinged with deep concern, her eyes reflecting a mixture of hope and desperate longing.
The weight of her brother’s condition seed to settle on her shoulders like a heavy cloak.
"Of course, let’s go," Mitch agreed readily.
Though he still needed to purchase additional supplies, spare clothing, travel rations, and various survival equipnt.
He recognized that Leya’s need took precedence. Besides, his [Pocket Space] ability provided virtually unlimited storage capacity, aning he could easily return later to complete his shopping. It would be foolish not to take full advantage of such a convenient magical tool.
As they made their way out of the bustling shopping district, neither noticed the hooded figure who had begun trailing them from a carefully maintained distance.
The stranger had positioned himself far enough away to avoid suspicion while remaining close enough to observe their movents and conversations.
The mysterious pursuer had witnessed Mitch’s substantial core purchase and had taken careful note of the various magical trinkets adorning his person.
His experienced eye assessed them as high-tier two equipnt, valuable enough to be worth the risk. But their owners seem to be only low-tier two.
To his predatory gaze, Mitch and Leya appeared to be perfect targets: wealthy enough to make the effort worthwhile, yet seemingly inexperienced enough to be easily overco.
The hooded figure’s lips curved into a cold smile as he continued his patient surveillance, already formulating plans for when the opportunity to strike would present itself.
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