Warlock Ch 74. Different Value
"Isn't it, you know… expensive?" Damian asked, a little hesitant as he approached the kitchen counter. The behemoth at was no casual cut; in the Nullis world, it was on par with A5 wagyu beef, a rare delicacy with a price tag to match. Every slice was coveted, and prized for its restorative effects on the body.
Cassius glanced at him with an unamused look. "Do you think I'm so kind of a poor mage or sothing?"
Damian bit his lip, trying not to laugh, but his silence gave him away. Yes, he did think Cassius might be strapped for cash, at least by mage standards. "Well, you live alone," he pointed out, "and, uh… I've seen a lot of buildings bigger than this one."
Cassius raised an eyebrow, setting his knife down as he gave Damian a look that bordered on insulted. "Then why didn't you ntion the fact I don't have sports cars in my garage? Or maybe I lack helicopters and yachts?"
Damian clamped his mouth shut. In the Nullis world, those things would've been seen as the ultimate indicators of wealth and status. But here? Here, they'd be utterly pointless.
'This place runs on magic, not money,' he realized. In a world dominated by mages, warlocks, and all manner of supernatural beings, the typical trappings of wealth were pretty useless. Power didn't co from fancy cars or luxury houses. No, here it was all about magical might, about what one could summon, craft, or command.
A mage didn't need a sports car when he could teleport anywhere he wanted with a flick of his wrist or maybe fly with his wind spell. A warlock didn't need a yacht when he could summon a leviathan to carry him across oceans. And witches? They didn't need designer jewels—they could make those things themselves using their witchcraft, crafting items of value and power that far outstripped any mundane treasure.
The only thing anyone needed in this world, the true currency, was power.
Damian cleared his throat, trying to think of how to respond. "Fair point," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Guess I hadn't thought about it like that."
Cassius resud his cooking, clearly unimpressed by Damian's earlier assumptions. "Most newcors don't," he replied, flipping the behemoth at in the pan with ease. The at sizzled, its aroma filling the room with a mouthwatering scent. "They co here, from the Nullis world or elsewhere, thinking it's the sa. That they can bring the sa values, the sa markers of success. It doesn't take long for them to realize… only power matters here."
Damian watched the behemoth steak as it sizzled and browned to perfection in the pan, filling the room with a rich, savory aroma that made his stomach rumble. He shifted a little, trying to distract himself from the gnawing hunger and the fatigue lingering from training. The day's lessons had been brutal, and his body felt like it was running on fus. Maybe a little conversation could keep his mind off it.
"So…" he started, trying to sound casual. "Does that an there are other people who enter this world? You know, like adults?"
Cassius didn't look up from his cooking, but his mouth twisted in a slight smirk. "Yes, there are others. Not many, thankfully. Most of them… they're incredibly annoying."
Damian raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Annoying? How?"
Cassius let out a low sigh, turning the steak in the pan with a precise flick of his wrist. "Adults from the Nullis world, people who co here late in life… they've already ford a certain understanding of the world. Rules, values, instincts—all of it honed over years in their world. It's hard for them to unlearn that. They co in acting like they can use those old ideas here, expecting them to work just as they did in Nullis."
"Right," Damian nodded, understanding the challenge. "So they think they can just… fit in?"
"They think they can get by on what they already know," Cassius replied, his tone sharp. "Most of them assu this place follows the sa rules. That their knowledge, their money, their status are things that will help them here. But this world? It doesn't care about those things."
Damian took a mont to digest that. In Nullis, everything seed to hinge on wealth, power, and status. A person's value was often asured by the money they held, the influence they wielded, or the position they occupied. Yet here, those things didn't hold the sa weight. It was… refreshing. And strange.
Cassius continued, his tone cold and unforgiving. "So of them co in here, waving their money around, trying to buy their way into power or influence. They think that a few coins will solve all their problems, that their resources from Nullis have any sway here. And when they realize that isn't the case, they get angry. They feel cheated. It's amusing, really."
Damian could almost picture it: newcors, arrogant and entitled, trying to throw their wealth or connections around, only to find that no one cared. The idea of money, authority, even social clout—it all crumbled in the face of true magic. Here, the only thing that mattered was strength. Real strength, the kind that ca from skill and hard work, not a currency balance.
"What happens when they try to buy their way in?" Damian asked, a slight smirk playing on his lips.
Cassius finally glanced over at him, a faint gleam of amusent in his eyes. "They learn quickly, usually after a harsh rejection or two. Magic isn't sold to the highest bidder, and power isn't just given. A ntor will only take an apprentice if he truly wants to. The academy lets students in if they can prove themselves. And sellers… they only sell their wares if they believe the buyer can handle the power of the goods they're purchasing."
Damian leaned back, mulling it all over. It was a world where soone earned his place, where skill and dedication were the only things that got soone ahead. In Nullis, he'd seen people climb to the top simply because they had the resources. They didn't need the actual skills or knowledge to hold that power; they just needed the right connections or money. But here? Here, there were no shortcuts.
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