A ship sailed through the endless dark blue waters towards the central continent. In the deck, Lana leaned against the wooden planks supporting her head with crossed hands.

When she boarded the ship, she was very excited and passed the first two days walking around and talking to everyone she deemed interesting, but now she was completely bored.

With one week of travel ahead of her, Lana's mind was set on hating the sea and all sea travels. When traveling on land, she would keep her mind occupied by the changes in the landscape and enjoy the freedom, stopping in new places and meeting people.

The long-time fantasized trip ended up being the opposite of what she expected.

Besides Lana, other passengers also came up to the deck to pass time and appreciate the view. A man at her left side was being particularly disgusting. The middle-aged man wearing expensive clothes was stuffing bread and pieces of grease meat into his mouth, almost half of his meal fell to the ground but he didn't seem to care.

Other than the man's lack of basic manners, she was annoyed by his wasteful behavior. Even in the prosperous States of Democracy, meat was expensive and mostly consumed by the wealthy.

The man looked at her, probably because she didn't hide her disgust, and made a contempt sound. Before she could respond to the action, something strange happened, a piece of bread disappeared from the plate held by the wealthy man's servant.

Lana looked around, but nobody aside from her seemed to have noticed. Then, she saw a grey-robed man standing alone on the other side of the deck, quietly eating a piece of bread.

She stared for a couple of minutes, without understanding what happened. Finally, her expression changed from confused to enlightened before she started walking towards him.

“Sir, are you a Mage?”

Arthur was enjoying a delicious bite of the bread when he heard the girl's question, he couldn't help but choke. While recovering and trying to push the food into the right place, he looked warily at her trying to understand how she had discovered him.

“How... Why are you asking?”

“Oh... So you're a Mage! Why did you steal from that disgusting and repulsive man?”

She couldn't understand why a mighty Mage would steal food from someone.

“That... You! Don't go around accusing people of stealing! You could get someone arrested...”

Lana became even more confused, why was he panicking? Actually, why was he even talking to her? When she met other Mages they wouldn't even spare her a look. She looked carefully at his clothes and the bag near his leg.

“I'm sorry, let's just forget what I said... Sir Mage, may ask why are you wearing such shabby garments and where are your servants?”

Arthur's expression became complicated, he started pondering if he should keep talking with the nosy girl.

.........

“Hmm... So, you're a Spellcaster Apprentice traveling to the Serion Kingdom to earn enough money to pay for an apprenticeship under a high-level Spellcaster? How about your previous Master? You had a Master, right? Or else how did you become an Apprentice?”

“Ahen... You're annoying! Of course, I had a Master, but he... He...”

“He died?”

“No... He tricked me...”

“I came from a poor village and I had to sign a ten years servitude contract to become an apprentice under him. In exchange, he promised to teach me and help me advance to Enchanter, but he lied! I serve him for ten years and he only taught me things that would help me serve him better...”

“Oh... I bet it was awful... I'm so sorry...”

Arthur looked at her suspiciously, somehow the girl didn't seem sincere.

“So... Sir Mage, you're looking for work in the Serion Kingdom... I guess it's a good idea, the Mages there have a lot of money... Anyway, how are going to find a job if you only know usele... non-combative spells?”

“That's...”

Seeing the Mage struggling to answer, Lana felt a strange satisfaction.

“Sir Mage... How can call you? I'm Lana by the way... So, I might have a way to help you...”

Again, Arthur looked suspiciously at the strange girl, but, in the end, he chose to listen to her.

“You can call me Arthur... How would you help?”

“So, Mage Arthur… You see, I'm Merchant, and even though you don't know many... usual spells, I might have a use for your services…”

Arthur looked at the girl from head to toe, she didn't look like a Merchant. Also, she didn't seem to be wealthy, wasn't she looking down on him too much?

“Hmm... And how much would you pay me?”

Arthur asked her trying to put a superior air and not look too desperate. To someone seeing their interaction, they would look like friends teasing each other.

“That... It might be a little complicated... I said that I'm a Merchant, and I am, but I'm just starting and I have limited funds... But don't say no yet! I have an uncle living in the Serion Kingdom, he's a big Merchant in the Eastern region, he can help me if needed...”

“But, before you answer, I have a good proposition! You don't actually want money, I mean you obviously need money to live and whatnot... What I mean is that you want money to get an apprenticeship and advance... So, what if I help you advance?”

Arthur looked at her, astonished by the girl's boldness and naivety.

“Lana... Your offer sounds nice and all, but I don't think you can help me advancing... Do you even understand Spellcasting?”

“I know some things... Of course, I'm not a Mage, so I don't know any spells, but I know how to get things done! And if I say that I'll help you, you can be sure that I will! Don't look down on the power of a Merchant’s connections, Arthur! While we aren't powerful and skillful like Mages, how many Mages would exist without our ability to gather and trade resources?”

Lana was right. Aside from knowledge, the most important thing for Mages was access to resources. Somehow, Arthur thought that the girl in front of him seemed much more reliable now.

“Ahh... Lana, don't get me wrong, you don't really look like a Merchant... You look... too young?”

“It's okay... I'm used to hearing that... Sometimes I even feel... ”

Lana lowered her voice and a hint of sadness appeared in her expression like she remembered some unpleasant memories.

“That's not important... Anyway, I've been preparing to be a Merchant for quite some time. Do you know how we have schools to teach occupations in the Democracy? I study under a retired Merchant for three years... Today, you might laugh at me, but a few decades from now I'll become a Merchant Queen!”

Surprisingly, Arthur didn't want to laugh. The girl's goal was indeed, very utopic, but the way her eyes shined and the certainty in her voice made him want to believe her.

Arthur remembered the time when he saw Sorcerer's Island for the first time… He was 15 and full of dreams, he was in love with magic but he only ended up with a broken heart.

‘Maybe I was like her... Wouldn't it be good to feel like that again?’

“Ahen... I respect your passion... The way you talk about being a Merchant, It's really...”

Lana could only cough embarrassed.

“I'm not sure why I'm telling you this, but I have two reasons for becoming a Merchant... The first is a selfless one, my sister was born with a rare disease and lost her ability to walk when she was five... When we finally got a healer to exam her, she said that only a life Evoker could help my sister...”

“I see...”

Arthur could understand why she wanted to become a Merchant. To move a Life Evoker she would need thousands of gold and really powerful connections. The only chance for a common person to get that was becoming a Merchant, a really powerful one.

“My selfish reason is also related to what happened to my sister. I'm tired of being powerless... We live in a world of magic and wonders, but I can't do anything, I can't change anything... I want power, Arthur! Not power to step on common people or to enslave others. I want power to be anything I want, to help others and to enjoy this world to its fullest!”

Arthur was confused, why did he believe in her? Why did he believe she would succeed? He was a rational person, he experienced firsthand what being naive would cost, but somehow the girl convinced him, maybe because she opened up to him.

‘Did I get him?... ahhh... Stay calm Lana, stay calm. Don't let him see your intentions! Don't ruin the moment...’

“Mage Arthur, please believe in me! I promise to help you advance in one year!”

“What? One year?... That's very good... No, it's almost impossible... ”

“During this time I would cover all your expenses... Food, a place to sleep...”

“Really? That's... Let's just do it! I agree!”

“Deal! Just a moment, I'll arrange the contract and we can sign it...”

“What!? A contract?”

Arthur's head started spinning. He remembered the time he signed the contract and ended up being deceived by his ex-Master.

“Mage Arthur, stop thinking strange things... It's just a contract, I'm a Merchant, we use it all the time... You just need to read it before signing. The contract serves to protect the two sides, protect your interests...”

He looked doubtfully at her.

“Ok... I'll read it before judging...”

Arthur impatiently waited for her to draw the contract.

Contracts are drawn in Truth Slates, a magic material used to bind the signing parties to an agreement. The Slates are crafted from a Soul Tree and to use it, one had to create the statements before signing it with spiritual energy.

Lana, like all well-prepared Merchants, carried at least a dozen of Truth Slates, even though they were expensive. She took out the gold thin slate and placed her hand over it. The process was pretty simple, she just had to touch it while speaking the contract's clauses and they would appear carved in the Slate.

“I will provide the contracted with food and shelter. The contracted will serve me for ten years. If I do not provide a method for the contracted to advance from Apprentice to Enchanter in one year, this contract shall be terminated immediately... I agree”

Arthur starting choking with air, he couldn't believe what he heard. He took the slate from the seriously looking Lana and read it to confirm.

“You... How can you?... You're kidding, right?... Ten years? You're mocking me... I was forced to serve that evil Mage for ten years and now you...”

Lana was laughing so hard in her mind that she almost couldn't repress it.

“Breathe Arthur, breathe... What is the problem? Look at the third statement. If I don't provide you with an advance method the contract would be invalid... If I give you a method, what would you do? Would you still work for me once you become an Enchanter? How much do you think would cost me to get a valid method? You said that you can't do much, but I'm agreeing to take care of you and spend my efforts to help you advance... Aren't you being unfair to me? You said that I won't be able to help you, so just look at it as winning a year of free expenses...”