(Gavin)

I need to replace my sword, but I need more money for that, first. I could replace it now, but the silver and a half that I have won't get me a decent sword. We never really looted stuff in Talorn, and I'm regretting that now.

It means that if I want quick money, I need to grind it out against the money slimes in the fields again. Zack told us to take a few days off, and said that if we do leave Maelnor, to stick to the fields – avoid the woods.

According to him, there are still a few monsters in them that can hurt us while we'd be helpless against them, so he wants us to stay out of the woods unless he or another stronger Adventurer is with us.

Luca disappeared shortly after Zack left this morning, mumbling about lights and water, Braden went to get some training advice from Brandon, and Max went to go do whatever he does when he's given freedom to do whatever he wants, so it's just me now.

I'd rather have Luca come with me, since he can heal while I focus on attacking, but I do have Heal, myself. It costs me 13 Mana at Level 6, and the Tier 1 Blade Skills cost me 50 Mana, while I have 400 Mana.

So as long as I don't take too much damage, I should be fine. If my estimates are correct, I can handle all Copper Slimes and probably the first 3 Levels of Silver Slimes. No Gold Slimes or higher, though.

If I come across one of those and it attacks, I'm running. My armor is trash, now, and I gave it to a smith for it to be scrapped. It had far too many dents and holes to be useful anymore.

Here's hoping my sword will hold up long enough for me to earn enough for a better sword. I'm surprised it held up this long, since it probably wasn't meant to be used with Blade Skills as much as it was. For my next sword, I want it to be one that's designed to work with Blade Skills better, so that it holds up better.

That, and has a higher durability, and one whose resilience to blood and such is stronger than this one's. This one's resilience faded away completely while we were in Talorn. I suppose it wasn't meant to be used that much in that short of a time frame.

Taking a deep breath and centering myself, I step through the northern gate and into the fields where we normally train. Most of the slimes here are the Copper Slimes, and at a glance, I can't spot any Gold Slimes or higher.

Zack probably came out last night and brought their Levels and types back down with his blade. Or, well, blades, since he has a ton of them.

I frown as I draw my sword, staring at its dents and nicks that I couldn't get out. I'm still not sure Zack's advice about taking on Mystic Knight before mastering Knight was the best idea, but did it anyway. Now, I'm feeling stupid for doing it.

"Wind Blade," I push those doubts from my mind, then charge the nearest Copper Slime, cutting through it with ease.

I don't need to use Blade Skills to kill them, since the Blade Skills will still do little or no damage to them, but I want to work on Leveling Mystic Knight, too. My Strength alone will allow me to kill these things.

That won't give me Mystic Knight Experience, though. Zack did have a point about it giving me more Intellect and Wisdom, which are things I need for my apparent fighting style.

As soon as that Copper Slime is dead, I move on to another, managing to kill fifteen before Wind Blade runs out. I'm about to trigger Wind Blade again, but pause. The purpose of using the Blades right now isn't for extra damage, it's for the Mystic Knight Experience.

Maybe I should use the other Blade Skills, so that I can Level them up, too? Should I try to learn another Blade Skill as well? One of the Tier 2 ones might be useful to have at some point, and I should start working on that now, too.

I'll think about that one after lunch.

"Flame Blade!"

Fire sheathes my sword, and I charge the nearest Copper Slime, attacking it and continuing my training.

Only another hour and a half passes before I have to call it quits – my sword is destroyed. Thankfully, I have plenty of money now that should help me purchase a new sword, so I return to Maelnor and walk to the business district.

There aren't many people here, but it still feels a little crowded. According to Zack, when he first arrived, the streets were almost empty, so to him, it feels packed having all these people here. But other Cities have far more people than Maelnor does. We have only around two thousand, and that's apparently built up over the last few months in preparation for the war.

Peter and Mama Bear said that inner Cities have anywhere from a hundred thousand to five hundred thousand residents. That's a lot. Supposedly, some of the Cities around the Royal Capital have a million or more.

I shudder at that thought. No, thanks! I like the quieter feel of Maelnor. It's tranquil, and I like that.

As I enter a shop that sells swords I can afford, I spot that girl Zack likes, but won't go out with. Um… Kylie. She stopped by this morning and talked with Zack for a little bit. Max teased Zack after that, and Zack just smacked him in the back of the head and told him to finish eating his food.

Then as Max ate, Zack smacked him again and told him to stop that. I guess he was doing that beastborn-speak thing to be annoying.

Right now, though, Kylie's just lounging against a building, wearing the same outfit she had on when I first saw her. Could be a different one. Most of Zack's outfits looks the same, though he does have some variety to it.

She clearly wants to go on a date with him, why does he refuse? We're able to take care of ourselves now, Zack, you don't need to watch us at all times. She's pretty, she seems nice, and she clearly likes you while you like her.

My team's leader is really frustrating.

Tearing my gaze away from her, I enter the shop and look at the weapons for a few minutes before approaching the counter.

"Hello," I greet the clerk.

"Hello," he responds. "How can I help you, son?"

"I'm looking for a new sword," I set my old one on the counter. "In this style, no greater than twenty silver in cost."

My actual budget is eighteen, but I want to try the haggling that everyone else on the team seems adept at. Even Max can supposedly haggle up a storm, he just chooses not to.

"Any requests?" The man asks.

"Erm," I think for a moment. "I do need it to be able to hold up while Blade Skills are being used. I just took on Mystic Knight yesterday, but have been using Blade Skills a fair bit before that. That's probably part of why that sword was destroyed so fast."

"I see," the clerk picks up the old sword and examines it for a few moments, then steps out from behind the counter and moves about the shop, picking up three swords and setting them on the counter. Then, he goes into the back and returns a few minutes later with four more swords. "Here we are, son. Each of these swords meets your requirements and sit at various prices from five silver to thirty."

I look at the tags, the ones he brought from the back are between twenty-five and thirty silver apiece. He probably brought them out in case the twenty-silver limit was only the preference and not the actual budget. Zack mentioned that's a common tactic, but he also said it usually means they're willing to haggle, even if not down to the stated limit.

I examine the various swords, picking out two of them. One is twenty silver, and the other is twenty-five. There's a sixteen-silver sword that I will get if I can't get either of these two into my budget, but I would rather have either of those, especially with the information he gives me on them. Both will hold up better and longer.

The twenty-five silver sword is seven above my limit, though, so I don't think I could get it down to my budget. If I try to haggle it down, I would have to start with the offer below my budget, which would probably seem like I'm trying to cheat him out of the sword.

"This one is nice," I indicate the twenty-silver sword.

"What that means," a cheerful voice says beside me, and I jump to the side, staring at Kylie, who was not there a moment ago. When did she enter the shop? I didn't hear the bell ring to indicate someone else entered. "Is that he actually wants this sword."

She picks up the twenty-five silver sword I want, then touches the tag and reads it.

"Shame it's so expensive, though," she looks at the vendor. "Did you take so long in the back so you could put higher-priced tags on them?"

Maybe she's the right sort of crazy for Zack. Why are you attacking the clerk?

"I had to locate the swords," the clerk tells her. "Twenty-five silver is the going price for that sword."

"Sure it is," she says. "I bet it's really only worth twelve and a half silver, at most. You're just trying to charge double for it."

"I'd be willing to lower the price," he says. "But not that much. Twenty-two silver."

"Twenty-two?" She scoffs. "I've seen cheaper swords with better craftsmanship. Not only that, but this sword doesn't have a fuller. Doesn't that lighten it without affecting its integrity? So this sword is also heavier."

"With the System," the clerk says. "The weight of something as light as the sword isn't as important. No warrior would notice."

"I'm sure he would," she said. "If he spent all day swinging it fighting monsters. Every little bit of weight feels heavier every second in combat, you know. This is even more true if you've been fighting awhile already. Thirteen and a half silver."

"I can drop it down another silver," the clerk tells her. "But the weight difference doesn't matter that much."

"How many people have tried out this sword?" She asks. "You let Gavin try it out, and he used Wind Blade. It's used already. Fourteen and a half."

"We properly care for all swords here," he tells her. "And adjust their prices accordingly. That sword has only been tried out a couple of times. Twenty."

"A couple of times," she scoffs as she looks at me. "He just means it's been tried out less than fifty times, and never against a target. The fact that they 'properly care for all swords' means that they've probably resharpened it before already. Definitely not a new blade, eh?"

She looks at the clerk again.

"Fifteen."

"Nineteen."

"Fifteen and a half."

"Eighteen and three-quarters."

"Fifteen and three-quarters."

"Eighteen and a half."

"Sixteen."

I guess they're done arguing and are just stating numbers, now.

"Eighteen and a quarter."

"Sixteen and a half."

She jumped up half of a silver on that one, but only did a quarter before. Why?

"Eighteen," he tells her.

"Sixteen and three-quarters."

They haggle a few more times, resulting in a price of seventeen silver and fifty-two copper.

I set the sword I was holding down and pay the clerk, then he removes the tag from the one Kylie was negotiating down, before handing it to me. I fix the scabbard to my belt, thank him, then leave, Kylie walking out with me.

"Thanks," I tell her.

"No problem," she smiles. "You looked indecisive, and I knew that haggling probably wouldn't go anywhere for you."

"I couldn't have done that," I admit. "My budget was only eighteen silver and thirty-seven copper. I wasn't going to ask for that much lower, and would've had to have asked for even more. You just started at half… and you kind of attacked him."

"That's how real haggling works," she says. "But the trick is to know which attacks are acceptable. And Gavin? He probably paid ten silver for that sword, at most. Anyone who will haggle with you has likely paid no more than half of its price, if even that much."

"Why are they charging so much?" I ask.

"Several reasons," she answers, before pulling a pair of silver tags out from under her shirt, worn on a chain. "Deeper into the claimed territory of the Boundary, these tags have more meaning. Out here, not so much because the focus is on actually getting people equipped to deal with the threats."

"What is that?" I ask, and she starts walking, so I follow.

"Adventurer Tags," she answers. "They cost twenty of their respective coin to attain, and you can't skip. It costs twenty copper for copper tags, twenty silver for silver, and so on. Zack is gold, I think, but he can become platinum if he wanted."

"He can afford twenty platinum?" I ask, then shake my head. "I can see gold, because he has a sword made of some rare metal that he got from a lucky incident, so it probably costs a bit. Platinum, though?"

"It wasn't just one incident!" She laughs. "All or most of his armor and weapons are made with Spook Ore. A rare drop from Spook Slimes and Spook Goblins, but a guaranteed drop from the Spook Master, the Special Boss of the Spook Days. It allows them to absorb magic."

Like our knives. He supplied the thing that causes this?

"Zack had had several of those incidents, Gavin," she tells me. "He isn't poor. He doesn't actually care that much about it, especially since the tags don't matter out here."

"So what's their purpose?" I ask. "Other than saying someone has money?"

"Discounts," she answers. "Prices start lower in a lot of places – most shops don't tag the items in the back, but even items in the front get lower prices for higher tags. Someone with a platinum tag could probably have gotten that sword for copper if the shop were elsewhere in the Boundary."

"But then wouldn't he lose money?" I ask.

"Yes," she answers. "But a platinum also probably wouldn't have bought that sword, unless it was for a student or apprentice. They will also haggle down from the price they're given, if they're even given one. So say a sword costs ten diamond. A platinum would probably start with only ten or twenty gold, and maybe pay one or two diamond, at most. That creates a decent loss, which is made up for by those of us at lower ranks."

"How many platinums are there?" I ask. "The Boundary has billions upon billions upon billions of people, I heard. It's a lot?"

"No," she answers. "From what I know, nearly every platinum with actual combat ability to match it – that is, those who earned those platinum tags rather than simply inherited the money for them – is here in Maelnor right now, and most of them are in the Dark Order."

"Dark Knights?" I ask.

"Dark Knights, Priests, and Paladins are highly sought-after," she nods, tucking her tags back under her shirt. "As a result, they earn a fair bit of money. At the same time, however, they also spend a lot of money. Do you know of the Fallen Hunters?"

"Six Dark Knights and four Paladins," I nod. "Who hunt Fallen Adventurers. They make diamond and platinum off the bounties for them."

"Yes," she says. "And they also spend platinum quite often to repair or replace their equipment. Sometimes, a single hunt can completely destroy what is worn by them. And they also split the winnings among all who fought. Ten platinum split ten ways is only one, and they might all need to have repairs done."

"Which is why people at higher ranks receive huge discounts," I realize the point. "So that they can more easily afford to repair or replace their gear so that they can continue to fight the strongest without having to worry about grinding out the money against weaker things, which could take them months or years."

"Exactly," she says. "Which is why the tag system exists. A shop like we were in likely wouldn't see anyone higher than silver or gold. The tag means that you've been able to afford that. For an actual Adventurer – someone who actually goes on hunts and such – it means that they've been able to save up that much while spending a lot to keep their gear current and in usable condition. It may have taken them months – or even years – but they managed it."

"And that means," I say. "That unless they got lucky, then they've probably been spending a lot of money already."

"Exactly," she says. "Someone at silver has probably been pushing hard to save that much."

"What about you?" I ask. "You were born here in the Boundary, weren't you? That means you didn't have the System until you turned thirteen, so you can't have had it more than a few months, but you're already silver."

"I only became silver a couple of days ago," she laughs. "And I turn fourteen in a couple of months. We do a live training exercise once or twice a week, and I got lucky a couple of days ago and managed to kill a Bounty Beast goblin. Nothing like Zack's first one, but its ten-silver bounty, plus the loot, plus my savings, was enough for me to buy the silver tags. And Gavin, I could have fought against the slimes in the fields to earn it."

"Oh, right," I feel stupid for forgetting about the slimes. "So it isn't worth it to get tags?"

"Not if you're out here," she shakes her head. "This is the frontier, the final line of battle. Gear is already discounted at the higher tiers, regardless of tag. Only things made of certain materials aren't being given hefty discounts, and that's because they usually weren't sold at a heavy profit in the first place."

She looks at a forge we're passing by, and I realize it's Jackson's, the guy who makes Zack's gear.Ha

"Like the stuff the Master Blacksmiths work on now," she frowns. "Though no one knows what they're working on at the moment."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"While you guys were gone," she tells me. "Several Master Blacksmiths came in from elsewhere with a group of Adventurers, and then all of the ones here in Maelnor suddenly shut themselves into Jackson's forge. They have a secret project they're working on, and there are at least two of them guarding it at all hours. No one knows what it is. No one's been able to buy something made by a Master Blacksmith or have them repair gear that only they can repair as a result. No one even allowed into the forge."

As if to prove her wrong, Zack exits the forge and walks in the opposite direction from us.

"You saw that skull necklace he was wearing?" She asks as she tries the door, though it doesn't budge.

"Silver on a black cord," I nod. "With emerald eyes. It doesn't match the rest of his outfit, and seems a little out of place on him. I guess it's because it's a skull."

"It belonged to the first Bounty Beast he ever killed," she tells me. "He kept it as a trophy."

"Oh," I say.

"What was he doing in the shop?" Kylie frowns, then shakes her head and starts walking. "He probably nearly broke down the door, so they let him in."

I can see him trying to do that.

"Wouldn't they just chase him off?" I ask.

"No," she answers. "Zack has a few rare resources of his own, so it's possible they let him in to buy some from him. And I'm not talking Spook Ore or Frost Ore."

She doesn't elaborate, so I guess she won't tell me.

"Let's go get something to eat," she tells me. "You buy, since I got you that discount."

My stomach rumbles, confirming its own state of emptiness.

"That is fair," I say. "Why did you help me, though?"

"I have a free day today," she tells me. "And when I mentioned it to Zack this morning, he asked if I'd keep an eye on the smith shop for a few hours. He knew you'd be there to replace your old sword, and knew that you probably couldn't haggle right, so asked me to give you a hand."

"Oh," I say. "Thanks."

"No problem!" She grins. "There's a sweet pastries stand near here that Max likes, let's go to that!"