Jingle, clink! A hefty forest-green pouch was shoved into Essairyn’s hands resting on her lap. Taken aback, she turned her view away from the townscape peeking over the final hill of their journey and looked toward Chona questioningly.

Smiling amiably, the woman explained, “We’re almost at Reisparte, so I wanted to give you this now. It’s not much, but it should last you a fair amount of time until you get settled in this world. I encourage you to shop around the market because as you see…” She jerked her head toward the window near Essairyn. “It’s quite a sea of tents, stalls, and wagons like ours all the way around the town. So, head for the center with all the tall buildings if you get lost in the marketplace. And there, you’ll find the school we told you about on the way here.”

Essairyn nodded gratefully and accepted the pouch of money. While she didn’t know how much it contained, she knew by its weight that the Andelrins had been generous, contrary to Chona’s words. Prior to this gift, Gerran had enthusiastically taught her how to count money. Sol’h’meyr primarily used eleven different coins, each of separate size and weight from one of four specific metals.

The Andelrins had suggested she visit The Academy, a premier educational institution that extended across all of As’pyze. All travelers were welcomed at their regional campuses to acclimate and learn about Sol’h’meyr. But, the main campus in Neu’Arth, a magically and technologically megalopolis in the northeast, was extremely competitive and limited to top performing mages, knights, and students.

However, Chona strongly believed that Essairyn would be accepted at the main Academy if she was interested in studying there. But, whether she could join on full scholarship was another question. So, it was better for her to first make a living. She would also need money for room and board even if she was granted free tuition.

On the topic of education and learning, Essairyn remarked, “It’s still strange to think that travelers can automatically translate the common language of Sol in their minds. But people growing up in Sol’h’meyr have to learn it naturally.”

Chona chuckled in agreement. “Yes, as long as that word exists in your vocabulary, you’ll hear it in your native tongue. Otherwise, it’ll sound foreign.”

Seeing Essairyn stash the money pouch inside her magic cache, Chona exhaled in yearning and said, “I wish I were magical too. You travelers are so lucky to usually arrive with magic, much less a built-in translator to the Sol language. So few native-born humans have regular m’u higher than rank E.”

“Yeah, I suppose traveling through the portal injects us with powers or something.” Essairyn giggled softly. Regular m’u, or magic units, was the excess quantity of magic that a mage could utilize without drawing on the essential reserves keeping them alive. This amount was regenerated every day and could be stacked up to a mage’s magic capacity limit. Most humans were categorized as nonmagical at rank F with less than a hundred regular m’u.

“It’s too bad that humans are the least magical race, though––even less than spirits and demons.” Essairyn tapped her chin, thinking back to Akari’s lecture on magic in the Spirit and Demon Forest the night before they left. Elementals were are the top of the magic pyramid with most falling in between rank D and C.

“While we were essentially birthed from humans,” Akari chimed in, “that very process was a result of magical interactions. So, it’s not too surprising that we can absorb and wield more magic as a race. And because we came from humans, we’re able to circumvent what restrains life and death in Sol’h’meyr. Not even the elementals can do that. So, I’d say we’re the true superior race.” The fox winked cheekily, prompting the girl to squeeze her adorably smug face.

“Anyway,” Essairyn began, addressing Chona and Banran as the wagon crossed the border of Reisparte. “Thank you once again for your hospitality. I’ve learned a lot and feel more confident in the direction I’m going.”

“We are grateful, too.” Banran chuckled from the driver’s seat and slowed the horses, looking for a place to station their shop. Once he found a suitable space, he parked the wagon and began unloading some goods.

Meanwhile, Chona fetched a wooden box and handed it to Essairyn, saying, “Take this as well. Think of these as parting gifts rather than as more repayment for helping us.”

Opening the lid, Essairyn saw a few palm-sized jars of spice, two healing potions, and a perfume bottle of the first fragrance that she had tested. Touched by their considerate gifts and Chona remembering her favorite scent from Choerin, Essairyn beamed, stowed the box away, and gave her sincere thanks yet again.

“Are you leaving so soon?” Crestfallen, Gerran mumbled while shuffling his feet. “I wanted to show you Leia’s candies…”

“Now, now.” Chona wagged her finger and stooped down to the child’s height. “We must let the pretty lady go; she’s on an important mission.” She knew that they would likely not see Essairyn again. Sol’h’meyr was vast, and Chona’s intuition told her that Essairyn would be going far, in more than one sense.

Gerran pouted and tugged Essairyn’s pant leg. “Visit us in Cerinalle one day, okay?”

“What? Do you have a crush on the young miss, Jerry?” Banran suddenly teased from behind as he joined his wife and son to say goodbye.

“Wha––!!” Gerran flushed and stomped his foot. “I do not! Magic is just cool!” The little boy would never admit Essairyn was forever etched as a hero in his memories.

Heartily laughing, Banran patted his son’s head and joked, “Mages age slowly and live long, so if you come back in ten years, I wouldn’t be opposed to you marrying my son!”

Essairyn coughed embarrassedly while Chona roughly elbowed her husband and looked at the girl apologetically. “Ahem.” She cleared her throat. “Please take care, Essairyn. It’s was a pleasure meeting you, and I hope to hear good things on the grapevine about you yet!” She winked and leaned in for a hug.

After returning the warm embrace and saying goodbye, Essairyn departed, quickly vanishing into the vibrant throng. Akari had left earlier to avoid casting any suspicion onto Essairyn and would converge later at the Academy.

As Essairyn leisurely made her way to the town center, she contentedly took in the multicolored array of shops sprawling three kilometers deep into Reisparte. While she planned to save most of the money because she already had enough provisions to last some time, her gaze drifted over the unique wares for anything attractive.

And sure enough, a glint of green caught her eye. Stopping at a booth selling gemstones, she admiringly gawked at small, lustrous jewel in the most brilliant hue of emerald that she had ever seen.

“This little beauty caught your eye, eh miss?” The shopkeeper inquired with a crafty smile.

Essairyn bobbed her head enthusiastically, barely even registering the merchant’s face due to staring so intensely at the gem. Deep lime green was one of her favorite colors. It had a beautiful richness and mysteriousness to it that reminded her so vividly of life.

“It’s a very rare and special jewel imbued with great magic! A real treasure worth fifty eleuars, but it’s not for sale.” He wagged a sorry finger.

“However, you can buy one of these jewels instead.” He pointed to a shallow basket of dingy virescent jewels below the glass case. “They’re the same stone. All these need are a little shining with some magic, and it’ll look just like this one. And once it’s shined up, you can use the great magic locked inside! Simply wear it, and your body’s natural magic will unlock it in no time!”

Essairyn raised her eyebrow. She sensed no magic coming from the green jewel or the darker ones below. If they held any magic, then with this large amount of jewels she should’ve felt at least a trace. But despite her suspicions, she still wanted this sparkly stone for herself.

“I’ll take this one.” She selected a teardrop shape from the basket.

“Good choice,” cheered the shopkeeper. “Just two eleuars, miss.”

As Essairyn considered whether that was a good deal, she recalled Gerran saying that his favorite candy, Jelly Gems, cost a hathe pynce. So, doing some quick mental math, she deduced that that this dull stone was far overpriced based on dubious claims.

But, she didn’t want to cast aside the prospect of a shiny green jewel so soon. Carefully inspecting the teardrop, she noted that while it didn’t contain magic, it did intake some magical aura emanating from her fingertips. And upon trickling some magic into the stone, she observed a slightly improved appearance.

However, she wasn’t keen on spending two eleuars, even if it could become the jewel in the glass case. Essairyn also had no way of verifying the vendor’s claim and whether fifty eleuars for the final product was a fair assessment.

Is he trying to scam me? He couldn’t possibly know I’m a traveler, right? Essairyn’s clothes weren’t too out place compared to the exotic and novel fashion of some passerby. But she couldn’t be certain as these peddlers were bound to have a variety of cultural knowledge in the apparent melting pot of Reisparte. Let’s start small and pretend we’re bargaining…

“Ahem.” Effortlessly extracting a large silver coin from her magic cache, she cooly presented it to the merchant. For a moment, he had panicked upon realizing that the girl was a mage. But seeing the proffered coin, he gave a disgruntled look and crossed his arms, hiding his relief.

“I said two eleuars, miss. But fine, I’ll give it to you for a hathe eleuar, okay?” He stated gruffly.

Essairyn blinked, wondering if this shopkeeper had been trying to cheat her after all. But not letting her confident facade fade, she modified her haggling strategy by offering him even less.

“One synde.”

Surprised at her continuing to bargain, the merchant frowned. “A hathe eleuar is the best I can do.”

“One pynce.”

Whamming his palms on the counter, he shouted, “One pynce?! How could you make such a preposterous offer!” Leaning closer, he said, “You’ll get a hundred times your investment at a hathe eleuar. I’m being generous with this price!”

Undeterred, Essairyn shot back. “If it’s that good of an investment, then why didn’t you ‘shine’ them all up and sell them? How come you only have one for display, huh? What if you’re lying and these are nothing more than useless knickknacks that’ll never look like that one!”

Reddening slightly at the unraveling of his scheme but knowing full well that the girl was only bluffing by now, he scoffed and waved his hand. “A real mage would know the value of this stone.”

Essairyn bit back a scowl at his insult. “What’re you insinuating?”

Sighing dramatically in annoyance, he shrugged. “A beginner like you can’t even recognize a mana stone when you see it. All mana stones have to be purified before they can be used to store vast quantities of magic. I’m nonmagical, so how can I possibly purify all these? I was lucky a mage friend of mine gifted one to me after I shared my discoveries in the mines.”

In the background, other vendors indistinctly shook their heads, knowing that the girl would be wrapped up in his blatant lies like all the other poor victims. Most ignorant customers fell for his fiction cleverly mixed with some well-known truths.

But Essairyn persevered, guided by her nagging inkling that something wasn’t right. “Then, you were lying. They’re not imbued with magic at all! So, you won’t mind if I test those claims and purify it here and now?”

The sly merchant guffawed, holding his belly in delight at his imminent success. Revealing the truth of the mana stone was not a slip up but a part of his plan. “Then if you are truly a mage, and not some scam artist trying to fool me with fake magic tricks, purify it for everyone here to see, and then you can have it for a pynce!”

Checkmate. Essairyn grinned and lifted the teardrop in the air, gesturing she was up for the challenge. Then, she cupped her hands around the stone and closed her eyes, concentrating magical power into it until she felt it trembling.

As she opened her eyes and hands, a dazzling light radiated the space, shocking everyone nearby including herself. Hastily, she slapped her palms back together, sealing the light until it faded through the crevices between her fingers. Why the heck did it make such a huge light?!! She internally smacked herself for being so careless after being cautioned multiple times to not reveal her magic. I thought I could handle this quietly and leave since I probably won’t be back here. But now I caught everyone’s attention…

Frozen in disbelief, the merchant stared with his mouth hanging wide open. That variety of mana stone was the hardest to purify, taking an enormous amount of magic equivalent to the vast quantity it could store. Even rank B mages opted for cheaper alternatives because the enormous capacity was generally unnecessary. As he shook himself back to his senses, a daring idea cropped up in his cunning mind. This seemingly uneducated but talented mage could make him rich.

Although the merchant said nothing, Essairyn could distinguish the schemes running rampant across his beady eyes. So, Essairyn whipped out a pynce and shoved it forward, intending to drop it and walk off wordlessly. Her mind was screaming to scoot as far away from the scene as possible.

But before the copper coin could touch the counter, a hooded man appeared on her left, catching the pynce in his long fingers. At his sudden approach, she nearly flinched. Essairyn had not perceived his presence in the slightest as he drew near. His steps and aura were silent and natural like air impalpably drifting.

“Another mana stone swindler?” A dulcet, low voice thrummed by her ear as the man leaned forward and addressed the shopkeeper. “While you should make good on your proposal, an ayvirdizite not purified is merely a useless pebble.” He straightened and turned toward Essairyn, handing the coin back to her. “It’s not even worth a pynce.”

Indeed, the displayed jewel had taken the shopkeeper several years to purify, and that was after he received it partially purified from a trade with an adventurer. He originally thought he was scammed. But after purification, he acquired many more not yet purified, and it soon became his scam.

“That said, it’s important to support the ‘honest’ traders of Reisparte and keep the markets thriving. So, we can’t leave you with nothing, now can we?” Smiling tepidly, he flipped a smaller copper coin toward the bewildered merchant who reflexively scrambled his hands in the air trying to catch it.

“Good day, miss.” He tipped the brim of his hood toward Essairyn and strolled away with a graceful gait before the merchant realized that the coin was only an eythe pynce, one eighth of a pynce. Compared to the synde worth sixteen times more than a pynce, and a quarthe eleuar worth four more than a synde, the swindler suddenly found himself at a deficit more than five hundred times less than his final offer before giving the purifying challenge.

Taken aback by the whole situation that ended before she could register what happened, Essairyn ignored the quietly fuming merchant and jostled through the crowds after him, grasping the teardrop to her heart.

“W-wait! Hold up a moment! Sir!” She waved an arm, striving to catch his attention above the droves of people. The hooded man with a travel-worn appearance halted and turned around at the sound of her voice.

“Yes, my lady?”

Essairyn stuttered-stopped in her steps. “My who?” Her eyebrows arched; she hadn’t expected him to address her even more politely. “Uh––” She pressed a light finger against her temple, wondering if he had called her that because she had said “sir” first.

“I wanted to thank you for helping me,” she slowly began, trying to discreetly distinguish his face from underneath his dark hood. “I had a feeling he was trying to cheat me, but I didn’t know that even a pynce was too much.”

The man subtly bowed his head. “Of course. You are welcome. These traders will spin all sorts of stories to sell you something.”

Essairyn narrowed her eyes. Strangely enough, the hood concealed everything in darkness except for his softly smiling mouth and sharply defined chin. While deep shadows couldn’t be easily cast outside due to this world having no sun, it bothered her that he was basically faceless except for under his nose.

“Um, you are…?” She tentatively asked, unsure if he would reveal his identity in such an anonymous getup.

The man paused, considering her question. Reisparte’s vendors would often try to deceive newcomers, so it wasn’t uncommon to hear hubbub regarding disgruntled customers. But after catching the tail end of the conversation and witnessing her startling magic, his body moved on his own to help her.

“…You can call me K.”

“Kay? As in K, A, Y?” Essairyn quickly covered her mouth in surprise. The letters she had spoken sounded weirdly different. Mystified, she pondered why English sounded more unnatural than Sol despite the former being her native tongue. Is it because of the automatic translator making it harder to speak English on purpose?

Until now, she had communicated without thought to the specifics of the language spoken. The understanding had come almost innately to the point of where she simply assumed it was English, and a filter changed it to Sol for others. She hadn’t talked on the subject in depth with the Andelrins, so Essairyn only realized now that the words exiting her mouth was pure Sol despite her mind thinking in English.

Reading her discombobulated expression, the man chuckled a deep mellifluous vibrato. “So, you are a newcomer to this world. However, it’s not unexpected after that scene. No wonder you almost got duped. And to answer your question, it’s just K.”

Hearing English from another’s mouth oddly intrigued Essairyn. To think that the auto-translate can help you differentiate a specific letter in the English alphabet from a basic phonetic sound… It’s like I’m hearing it in cursive…

“How beautiful…”

Gasping at having murmured her thoughts out loud, Essairyn blushed faintly and spluttered, “I was talking about the letter K. Speaking specifically in English sounds somewhat beautiful.” She coughed. “Anyway, I’m Essairyn. It’s nice to meet you, K.”

“Likewise, miss Essairyn.”

Reaching an endpoint in their brief conversation, Essairyn fumbled about her mind for a new talking point, for an odd ambivalence vexingly swarmed her heart. Even though their meeting was fleeting, he felt uncannily familiar. But the more she tried to grasp the impression, the more enticingly it danced away. Regardless, something pulled her to not let this chance encounter become ships passing in the night.

“So, where are you headed, Essairyn?” The man caught onto her drift, relieving her of tension. Or perhaps, he was simply being courteous again to a new traveler lost on her path.

“To the regional Academy of Reisparte. I don’t know where it is exactly except that it’s somewhere in the middle of town.”

He nodded and extended his arm out in front of them. “I can show you the way.”

Essairyn hesitated, second-guessing whether to trust him despite his spontaneous kindness. But quelling her inner fretting, she decided to follow him. As long as people surrounded them, there was no need for her to be overly cynical.

As they walked through the marketplace, he pointed out various specialty wares.

“This dried fruit comes from the orchards of As’glyfe, a territory within As’eryt. They export their bounty of produce mainly to the Southern Province of As’pyze. Since you said you liked the fruit from this world so far, you might like this too.”

Handing her an olive green slice, he watched the girl nibble curiously. As her face lit up at the tangy taste, he said, “Good, right?”

Essairyn nodded furiously and gave a thumbs up to the thrilled vendor who quickly packaged a bundle for three pynce.

“It’s a little expensive, but that fruit’s got no deal being that delicious.” Essairyn babbled as she paid the vendor. “I honestly wasn’t expecting much because of its color and being dried, but it’s still so tender. Thank you for sharing about it!”

The man tipped his head to a side, smiling. “The people of As’glyfe take great pride in their cultivation. So you can easily tell an authentic product from an imitation. But…” He gestured toward the bundle being carried under her arm. “Aren’t you going to put that away in your magic cache?”

“Oh,” she murmured, repositioning the package of fruit under her arm. “I don’t have any more space in the magic cache until I expand it. Although, I could sell some of my wood carvings for space even if they’re not that good… ”

Mindful of the amount of magic needed to purify ayvirdizite, he knew that the size of her inventory must be considerable, even for a new traveler. Though, she had not shared when she arrived in Sol’h’meyr. So, he couldn’t be certain on the extent of her magical proficiency. As he pondered this, Essairyn asked about his profession.

“You seem to know a lot about magic, so are you also a mage? You look kinda like an adventurer, though…”

“Hmm…” The man debated briefly within his conflicted mind before opting on a distorted bit of the truth. “I suppose you could call me a mercenary.”

Seeing her surprised expression accompanied by a trace of doubt, he chuckled. “You need not be concerned. What I do depends solely on the tasks given by my master. Right now, I’m on a reconnaissance mission and meeting an old friend at the Academy to discuss related matters.”

“I see…”

“If you want, I can help you sell your items?”

Brightening, she accepted his assistance, and he quickly found a suitable buyer. While Essairyn’s carving skills were middling, the high quality of the wood bumped up the price.

“Your designs are unique–– rather interesting creatures you sculpted here––and I can fix them up prettier, too. So if you ever make more and manage to improve your skills, you know where to find me, young lady.”

Essairyn beamed and gave her thanks to the shrewd, middle-aged woman. Certainly, if she ever came back to Reisparte, she’d consider returning to this wood crafts stall. But she wouldn’t be carving for a while now that she was out of the Spirit and Demon Forest which had filled her with artistic inspiration.

Exiting the marketplace for the heart of town, Essairyn also asked him where Leia’s Candy Parlour was, intending to surprise Gerran the next time the Andelrins visited there. Upon hearing that it was on the way to the Academy, Essairyn decided to make a quick stop with K’s consent.

Ding! Plink, plink. Airy wind chimes greeted them as they walked inside the darling shop suffused with honeyed scents wafting deliciously throughout the small space. Eye-level shelves were neatly lined with assorted candies loose in mason jars or packaged in clear-topped, ribboned boxes.

Walking to the counter where a young girl was standing behind, Essairyn inquired if she knew a little boy named Gerran Andelrin. The cashier chuckled when she heard Jerry’s name and directed them to the specific isle holding his favorite candy and flavor.

Picking up a colorfully labeled tin, Essairyn hummed. “Jelly Gems: Berry Citrus — strawberry and raspberry hard candies with soft honey and lemon centers. Wow, these sound really good.” So, she took another for herself before heading back to the counter to pay.

However, before she made it there, another tin, labeled, “Goldmine — chocolates with crunchy honey bits,” caught her eye. Sucking in her breath, she mumbled excitedly as she took it from the shelf. “I don’t remember the last time I had chocolate…” Stacking her three tins together, she looked over at the mercenary waiting patiently by the door.

“Do you want anything?” She lightly called out to him, gesturing to the candy. Seeing him shake his head, Essairyn faintly frowned in disappointment. So far, K hadn’t accepted anything she had offered in gratitude for all his help.

But just as she was about to turn away, a small head popped up from in-between a thick cluster of jars by the window. Recognizing the familiar furry face, Essairyn’s eyes popped open in pleasant surprise.

“Akari,” she whispered as she slunk toward the spirit fox. “I thought you were laying low and heading to the Academy. What’re you doing here?”

Akari pawed the glass jars forlornly. “Well… Jerry really liked this shop, so I was curious and came here to kill time.” At the sight of a child coming close, Akari dipped her head back down and hissed, “I just hadn’t expected so many kids running amok, so I resorted to hiding and kinda…got stuck.”

“What do you mean? Can’t you just leave?”

“Erm…” Akari narrowed her eyes, thinking back to her recent trauma. “These grimy little kids with their sticky hands petting me over and over…” She snapped through gritted canines. “Never again, I barely made it this far out…” She shuddered and wrapped her tails around her body. “One kid squeezing me was enough, but multiple? Hell no!”

Essairyn stifled a snicker and said, “Gotcha. I guess Jerry hugged you that night?”

Akari nodded, understanding the girl was referring to the demon ambush while sleeping. “Grabbed me and used me like a sob pillow is more like it. But I guess I can’t blame the poor boy. He didn’t touch me again; although, I didn’t really let him…”

For all of Akari’s grousing, Essairyn knew that the fox had cared enough about the little boy’s feelings and listened to his incessant rambling if she found her in Leia’s candy shop of all places.

“Anyway…” Akari flicked a sharp look toward K. “Who’s this random guy? He seems rather suspicious if you ask me… I smell human and––”

“So this is your friend you told me about?” The man quickly interrupted Akari, making the fox glower distrustfully.

“Ah, yes, I hadn’t told you she was a spirit animal, though. We decided to move separately in Reisparte because she and I together would probably attract more attention than us alone.”

“Good call. It’s unusual for a spirit to accompany a human. But, spirits roaming the outskirts of Reisparte isn’t too uncommon.”

“So then.” Essairyn turned to Akari who grudgingly withdrew from staring at K. “Is there anything you’ll like while we’re here?”

The fox’s eyes darted about before she indifferently tapped on a nearby jar of sour candies. But her tails, swishing in a slow, fervent manner, gave her restrained excitement away.

Grabbing a medium-sized container in order to conserve extra space for future necessities, Essairyn brought her items to check-out.

After paying, she asked the shop girl if she could pass a note to Jerry when he visited. Given a scrap of paper, Essairyn wrote a message to enjoy his favorite treat and then handed it back along with a tin of Jelly Gems. Since she couldn’t rationally refuse the Andelrin’s generous gifts, she figured she could express her thanks once again with this gesture.

Exiting the shop, the odd trio briskly made their way to the Academy in order to not keep K’s friend waiting too long. But just as they rounded the corner of the street where the school was located, a loud commotion broke out from behind.

“A man just fell from the sky!” A passerby proclaimed to the surrounding people as he stomped past.

“Is it another traveler? They sure have been appearing frequently.” A woman commented to her friend as they hustled by.

At the mention of traveler, Essairyn sent a visual sign to K indicating, “you go ahead, I’ll meet up in a jiffy,” before rushing over to the growing congregation in the middle of the street.

“He landed in the middle of town no less!”

“It’s a wonder he didn’t injure his back falling. Perhaps because he’s a traveler?”

“Aww, the poor boy looks so confused. He’s rather cute, don’t you think?”

Nudging her way inside the gaggle of onlookers, she spied a young man in the center who looked to be around her age. He was sitting on his rear and rubbing his lower back as if in pain. Seeing this, Essairyn recalled her own fall experience and giggled.

“It’s uncomfortable, isn’t it?”

He looked up in surprise, searching for the voice that seemed to relate to his bizarre situation. Whipping his sandy brown hair that messily yet handsomely framed his angular face about, vivid chestnut eyes locked onto light ocher that shimmered with a lavender glint.

Essairyn nodded reassuringly at the young man with a light honey complexion that complemented his ruggedly boyish looks. And taking in his powder-blue button-down, dark navy jeans, and tan boots that screamed her generation and Earth, she grinned ecstatically and stretched out her arm.

He blankly stared at her hand for a moment before uncertainly extending his own. She grasped his hand as soon as it was within reach and quickly tugged him to his feet.

“Come on!” She exclaimed as he stumbled on his first step.

“H-Huh?” He stammered as she dragged him away from the crowd.

“I’m a traveler too! The name’s Essairyn.” She grinned back at the boy as they raced away. “What’s yours?”