Chapter 3: The Denizens and So Information
"That should be it," Marcus said as he breathed a sigh of relief, then out of nowhere, he lurched forward as soone patted him from the back.
"I don’t know who you are but you are a talented mage!"
Marcus turned around and saw a blonde man in his mid-thirties. He seed to be the one rallying the n earlier to fight.
"That’s one hell of an explosive magic you used earlier. We owe you our life sir."
"Uhm...sir Vance! Can I co out already?"
The voice ca from one of the carriage.
"Yes, everything is clear now, you can co out now," Vance said, confirming the state of the situation.
Marcus turned his head to the carriage and saw a man coming out from it. Compared to the others who were geared to fight, this one wore clothing that seed to speak of nobility. And he also looked to be in his mid-thirties as well.
"Ohh...I thought we were gone," he said, breathing a sigh of relief. "You must be the one that causes those little explosion magic right? My na is Ivan, and I’m a rchant, what’s your na?"
"My na is Marcus, Marcus Manfred," Marcus introduced himself.
Suddenly, everything went silent upon hearing his na.
"Marcus Manfred...are you perhaps a nobility from a different country?"
"Uh...no..." Marcus clarified but it was too late, they were already kneeling reverently.
"Please forgive our rudeness, Lord Marcus, as we were ignorant of your status."
"Hey—get up," he said imdiately. "I’m not a lord."
They didn’t move.
Ivan kept his head lowered. "A man who commands such destructive magic and carries himself like a knight must be of high birth."
"It’s not magic," Marcus said, more firmly this ti. "And I’m not noble. I’m just... a traveler."
Vance raised his head slightly but remained kneeling. "Forgive , but common travelers do not annihilate eight ogres alone."
"Look," he said, stepping forward. "If I were a noble, would I be alone in the forest?"
That seed to make so of them hesitate.
Ivan slowly lifted his gaze.
"You truly are not affiliated with any house?" he asked carefully.
"No."
"Nor a royal battlemage?"
"No."
Marcus extended his hand toward Vance.
"Stand up. All of you."
There was a brief pause.
Then Vance rose cautiously, brushing dirt from his trousers. The others followed, though their posture remained stiff and respectful.
Ivan studied Marcus openly now.
"You are dressed like no soldier I have seen," the rchant said. "Your clothing is strange. Your magic wand... I cannot even describe it."
"Yeah...I understand the predicant and it can be very confusing," Marcus chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Still, you saved our lives sir. I would like to return to the city and properly reward you, if that’s okay."
Marcus’s eyes lit up. It was perfect timing and they look trustworthy enough.
"If you don’t mind."
Ivan clasped his hand. "Very well, we will leave now. Vance, please confirm all the damages and losses. And as for those who perished in the battle, please bury them."
"Yes sir," Vance’s mood turned gloomy upon acknowledging that order. "How about the Ogre’s corpse?"
"We’ll take them as well."
Two hours later, they were all now riding a carriage with Marcus sitting in front of Ivan.
And along the way, Ivan told him so information about this world.
The world’s na was Altrea and it is a fantasy world of swords and magic similar to light novels and ani. The culture and social structure of this world is very similar to middle-age Europe where cities kind of acted like city-states ruled by lords who pledged allegiance to a greater kingdom.
"We are currently within the territory of the Kingdom of Renshade," he said. "Though this region is not heavily patrolled. Bandits, monsters... they roam freely outside the main trade routes."
"City guards don’t handle that?" Marcus asked.
"They handle what they can see," Ivan replied dryly. "Beyond the walls, responsibility becos... negotiable."
Marcus nodded slightly.
"Adventurers?" he asked.
Ivan’s brow lifted. "You know of adventurers?"
"I’ve heard the term."
"Yes. rcenaries. Freelancers. They take requests from the adventurer’s guild. Be it monster subjugation, escort missions, dungeon exploration."
"I see," Marcus said as he stroked his chin and then flickered his gaze to the girl whom he had saved earlier. Her na was Leila. Her ears are similar to that of a bunny, and she has a tail as well.
Leila felt his gaze and shrink shyly.
"What do you call her kind?" Marcus asked curiously.
"Ah, this one? Her na is Leila, and she is a werebeast."
"Werebeast? Are there any species classifications?" Marcus asked.
Ivan adjusted himself on the wooden bench, lantern light flickering across his face as the carriage rolled forward.
"In Altrea," he began, "the dominant races are humans, elves, dwarves, and beastfolk. Though the term ’werebeast’ is commonly used in the Kingdom of Renshade."
"Beastfolk," Marcus repeated.
Leila kept her eyes lowered but her long ears twitched slightly at the ntion.
Ivan continued. "Beastfolk are divided by lineage. Lupine, feline, ursine... and lagomorphs, like Leila."
"Lagomorph," Marcus said quietly. "Rabbit lineage."
Ivan blinked. "You know the taxonomy?"
Marcus shrugged lightly. "Sothing like that."
Leila finally looked up at him, surprise flickering in her expression.
Ivan added. "Beastfolk are strong laborers and loyal escorts. Many rchants employ them."
"Employed," Marcus noted the word carefully.
Ivan caught the tone.
"They are not slaves," he said quickly. "Not here. Renshade outlawed formal slavery decades ago. But... prejudice exists."
Marcus glanced at Leila again.
Her hands rested on her lap. There were bruises on her wrist from where the ogre had grabbed her.
"Are you okay?"
"Uhm...yes...Sir Marcus," she said bashfully.
Marcus smiled. She is just a child and he was glad to hear that she was not a slave.
"Good thing that you really ca, Sir Marcus. If not, I don’t think Sir Vance and his n would be able to defeat those ogres."
"I know, and so perished too. If only I was sooner."
"No no...you don’t have to bla yourself for sothing you can’t control," Ivan said. "We were ambushed. That much is certain. Had you not intervened, we would all be dead. Though we lost n, horses, carriages, goods, it’s still a blessing in disguise."
"What do you an?"
"The reason why it took us a long ti to get moving, we retrieve the corpse of the ogres. They are a valuable commodity?"
"How so?" Marcus inquired.
"The skin of an ogre can be used to make fine armor if you tan it. And since it’s also a large specin, there’d be a lot of fabrics to be made out of them, and it’ll fetch for a huge price. Of course, since you were the one that killed the ogres, it’s natural that it belonged to you. I’ll buy them from you."
He rembered that he could convert local currency for military credits. It’s free money so he’d accept it.
"Please do, how much would each one of them cost?"
"An eight ogre can get you 800 gold coins," Ivan answered.
"800 gold coins?" Marcus repeated. "Uhm, pardon
but what can it buy?"
Ivan looked at him strangely for a mont, then answered.
"With 800 gold? You could purchase a modest house within the city of Berm. Or you could live comfortably in a year without doing anything. It’s a lot of money."
"I see, can you tell
more about the currency?"
"Currency? Well the na of our currency is Kinah. It has three denominations—gold, silver, and copper," Ivan said.
"How’s the conversion?" Marcus asked.
"Ten copper makes one silver. Ten silver makes one gold."
Marcus nodded slowly.
"So one gold equals one hundred copper."
"Correct."
"Hmm, I’m learning a bit about this new world now," Marcus chuckled.
"Which surprised . You don’t seem to know anything about this world?" Ivan noted.
"It’s because I lost so of my mories so I don’t know where I originally ca from," Marcus said one of the most convenient lies.
Ivan stared at his weapon.
"Your staff sir, can I take a look at it?"
Marcus thought about that request for a mont. Would it be dangerous to hand him over a modern weapon to a local in this world? Well, he seed oblivious about it and kept referring to it as a magic wand. It wouldn’t hurt if he were to grant his request.
But safety first. He rotated the rifle slightly and flicked the selector lever from SEMI to SAFE.
He pressed the magazine release and caught the magazine in his palm before it dropped. With a quick motion, he pulled the charging handle back slightly and visually checked the chamber.
He let the bolt go forward.
Only then did he hold the rifle out horizontally.
"Now you can look," Marcus said. "It’s safe."
Ivan hesitated before accepting it. He held it awkwardly at first, clearly unfamiliar with the balance. The weight surprised him; the barrel dipped slightly before he adjusted.
"It’s... heavier than I expected," Ivan muttered. "And it’s really different from the wand I normally see. I wonder how I can make one of these...Oh I apologize, Sir Marcus."
Ivan said, returning the rifle. "You know as a rchant, whenever I see strange things, it’s making
excited. Like how can I copy this and profit from it."
"It’s fine," Marcus said, receiving the rifle back. "How long until we get to the city?"
"It’ll take another six hours but the night is getting deeper so we’ll have to set camp."
As if on a perfect timing, Vance’s word reached them.
"We’ll set camp here!"
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