Altura

Suddenly eager, I summoned my Qi and tried to conjure gold. And failed. I tried again, keeping a closer hold on my Qi. As soon as I tried to convert the Qi into gold, no matter the method, something would interfere and stop it. System, is that you?

Affirmative.

The System deemed it too dangerous to allow cultivators to conjure valuable materials that are used as currency. Gold, silver and bronze conjuration will be actively hindered by the System.

Well that did make sense. But didn’t the system ask me for the gold coin? And wouldn’t the economy just shift to use of things like spirit stones? I suppose commoners that never awakened their seeds would still use gold, but otherwise it could work. System, could you please answer?

The System decided to implement the policy based on three factors

> Gold, silver and bronze, unlike spirit stones, are available in all continents in some quantities.

> Spirit stones condense only in places of Qi deficiency, which could have unknown, undesirable consequences.

> The total quantity of spirit stones, though increasing constantly as they condense, is not sufficient to serve as a global currency.

The value of gold varies from region to region, but the metal remains one of the main currencies.

And the Kingdom is a large producer of spirit stones. Guess we know how Qi deficient this Land is. Actually, didn’t the Arch duchy use to be the most Qi deficient place in the Kingdom?

I rushed towards the Roalt Mansion, money on my mind.

A few weeks had passed by since I put up the task. I had received a variety of materials, most of them scams. A few did absorb, but only for small intervals and miniscule amounts. And they were all gems. I suppose the trend holds even in this world.

I did have more success on the spirit stone front. A large mine had been found. A whole twenty meters below the three farming villages. The mine was very deep, even my Treeling senses couldn’t extend to the end, but it was easily a few thousand feet deep.

The problem was that the place was already occupied by the food source of the duchy. And the land was owned by the farmers. The ownership did technically end at ten meters deep, making the mine entirely Ducal property, but the surface was owned by them. And they had built their home on it. And lived there for the last few decades.

Asking them to move would be too much, even if I offered a lot. But leaving that mine be…was just a waste. A way was to access the mine from a distance away and dig a tunnel to it, but the mining would still make it hard to live there, especially since there was risk of it collapsing.

I had left it just as for now, waiting for a solution to show itself. But it still left me with nothing much to do. I had basically stopped gaining Qi lately, none of the organizations were leveling yet, though the Adventurer’s Guild had leveled a few days ago, but none besides that.

I had been training though, I was getting quite proficient with the staff and planned to ask about the seals on it soon. I hoped it would be good, it should be with how much of a legendary item it was.

But I was still sad. I guess I was just too used to levelling up every few weeks, it had been nearly two months since my last one, and I had barely grown. I was getting antsy.

Xerte

Xerte sighed as one of the Merchant Lord’s merchants entered his wagon.

“What brings you here, merchant Louis?” he asked, his voice weary.

“I must once again reiterate that the conditions provided by your adventurers have been abysmal, honored Plant. I recognize that they are all cultivators of high ability, but restricting movement from the convoy is a bit too much.” Louis said.

“The answer is the same as before, merchant Louis, I will not allow you to visit any slave markets. I have strict orders to make sure that the goods taken to the Kingdom are all in order and that the reputations of both remain intact.”

“The buying and selling of slaves is not in line with either. I would allow you to go if I wasn’t also required to protect you, after all I could then just leave you here. But I am responsible for the safety of all the people on this convoy, and that sadly includes you.”

“So please, merchant Louis, keep your thoughts to yourself and not cause a ruckus.” Xerte replied, exasperated at this disgrace of a man.

Louis had been caught sneaking out and attempting to buy slaves the first time they ran into one of these slave markets. The Empire had yet to declare slavery illegal, and the lands between the Empire proper and the Kingdom were still lawless.

The Archduchess had warned Xerte to not go on ‘heroic escapades and try to save every wronged person they came across.’

Xerte took that as a policy to not interfere with the running of other nations and stateless structures. A single Emerald adventurer could completely destroy all the various nomadic forces in the lawless lands, but it would be a waste of time.

The forces were largely made up of fugitives and people that were not welcome in the Jewels. The lack of beasts, low quality of seeds and constant attacks from the nobles of the Empire had left the lawless lands as a rather weak and uncivilized place.

And of course, rife of slave traders to ‘procure’ their merchandise. The entire thing had left a bad taste in Xerte’s mouth, but he did know that he could do nothing about it other than spread words that the arch duchy was accepting people. And that he did.

The convoy would be passing into the Empire tomorrow and the day was bound to be tumultuous. Not that the journey till now had been without its troubles. The duchies had tried their best to prevent their citizens from getting to the convoy.

The Merchant Lord had ensured that they wouldn’t ban them from coming, but the duchies had decided to distribute free food in the opposite direction to the convoy, making numerous commoners rush there.

The convoy did manage to get some rather large orders from the rich merchants there however, they were quite happy to buy some goods the Archduchess had mixed in. But the best of things had gone in the Capital. The King had bought a huge amount of goods, and promptly asked to add them to the convoy with the Kingdom’s emblem on them. And royal merchants of course. Xerte had to admit, it was a stroke of genius, the King would likely make a tidy profit and become a part of the future convoys.

But that was all for now. The day had gone on for long enough, it was time to sleep.

The Baron of Quarestor looked at his foster son with anger in his eyes.

“What madness has begotten you? Tell me! What is it that has you even think I would let you marry a shoe cobler's daughter? Why you do not even know who the father was!” he asked, fuming.

“I am sure he was noble! Just look at her, Father. The noble demeanor, the skill with the sword, she even managed to beat Captain Horlt! The best swordsman in our barony. '' his son, Jasper, replied.

“Horlt is seventy years old Jasper. I can beat him” the Baron sighed in frustration at this son’s stubbornness. “What will convince you that she is not a good match for you? Do you know the opposition I faced, naming you, a noble born not of my blood my heir? What makes you think the nobles of the Empire will accept her?”

“The question, Father, is what will make you accept her? The nobles don’t care about us, father. The barony is but a small piece of land that is barely more civilized than the lawless lands. The only civilization we have is this village. Why can’t we just live our lives in peace here? Why care about the nobles at all?” his son replied.

“Because, son, we are not alone. The Empire might not care about us, but we must care about it, else we would be helpless when things like this appear.” the Baron replied, lifting a red scroll from his jacket.

“The new Jewel has sent a convoy of merchants to the Empire, they will enter the Empire through our barony. Now what do you imagine is going to happen? The Vassal Kings are sending envoys and so are most of the high nobility.”

“The convoy will make us the richest barony in the Empire, and you know why? Because we are in good standing. Do you understand now?” the baron said to his son who did not look convinced. But he would be, he would make sure of it.