บท 9: Mirage City
The ring in his hand was now an insurance for gold coins. He made sure the quality will not deteriorate any further by storing it instead of wearing it on one of his fingers. That is one of his reason, the other is because he does not want to wear something that can make him recall any memories for his wife.
Discovering he has the strange ability to know the potential selling value of an item, Brian immediately used it on other items in the room. The masked man did not mind any of his strange gestures and just went back to reading his book.
The second thing Brian tried to use his Appraisal ability at is the beaten-up thick book the other party is reading. Even without the ability, he recognized that the book was created long before he was born. However, after ten seconds or so of staring at it, there were no changes. He then turned to other things in the room to avoid any misinterpretation.
His eyes are now on the dining ware near him. The poor cup, plates, and even the steel knife showed their own box of details. Every one of them has a rank of F in their potential which does not surprise Brian at all.
Doing his own experiment, Brian somewhat understood the condition for the Appraisal ability to work.
The first condition is the distance between him and the object of interest. Only things that are within his arm's reach can be observed using Appraisal. The next prerequisite is the duration of observing the item. He should be focused on it for at least five seconds before the floating words pop out.
He can also stop his Appraisal anytime he wants by simply disregarding those he does not find interesting. This was to avoid the description of the items popping out of nowhere in everywhere he looked.
'The Appraisal skill might have some limitations like using it on artifacts with unknown origins but for now, I can observe everything here somewhat.' Brian concluded.
He was back to where Paia was sleeping when he finished his experiment. Out of curiosity, he also tried using it on her. It did not work as expected. Instead, the System told him, <My job is to help the User in earning gold coins, but I also have professional standards. I don't sell people like slaves in any circumstances>
Slaves are actually a thing in this world. It was even legal to conduct a business with one. The only positive thing from the disturbing fact is that there are strict regulations on how owners can handle their slaves. Although, there will always be people who do not care about the law.
Brian sighed in relief now he knows he will not be forced to go on that path.
Paia was still asleep, so he returns to where he started. None have changed during the time he went and observed everything like it was a piece of artwork in a gallery.
There was a change actually and that was the book being read is already closed. The masked man, who has not given his name yet and will not be anytime soon, began brewing his own drink in the small corner where you can somewhat call it a kitchen.
It did not take a long time before he brought two wooden cups and served one for Brian.
"So, what are you going to do now?" He asked Brian as he sips his tea.
Being asked a question out of nowhere, Brian seems taken aback at first but still calmly answered, "We are leaving Auzeweth… I and my daughter cannot have a peaceful life here."
"Oh, you still think this is Auzeweth?"
"It's not?" Brian raised his eyebrow having a hard time believing in what he just said.
'It has been three days since I was out. If it was not for the current situation, it was definitely possible to move away far from Auzeweth. But under the eyes of Laurefort, that can only be a dream especially if they want to ensure I am dead… He said a while ago that Asti was already under their skepticism, so I doubt they will let my most loyal servant move around the empire easily.'
"That old man making me do everything... I guess I'll explain it to you."
After whining a little bit, he gestured to Brian to follow him. Brian who still has a lot of questions going on his mind cannot help but silently hoping that he would get the answers. Both then went outside where the sun's glory can be completely seen.
What sight greeted Brian was something he can never imagine in both of his lives. It was a bustling road although not to the point like those back in his home. The architecture of the many buildings might look weird, but it was still acceptable. Brian would still think that the masked man beside him is lying if not for the people who were greeting one another as they pass by each other.
Rather, it was not people…
"This place is what you call back in your empire as Mirage City, Well a part of it at least… Your people in the empire do not really know how vast the land here is so I am not really sure what your empire labeled as Mirage City."
"Bu- But Mirage city is covered in mist that is why it is called the Mirage City." Brian contradicted like he still cannot believe what he was seeing.
"That location where your people went to excuse your death is just one of the entrances for this continent. If I am not mistaken, you'll need at least 15 days to reach from here to there with a mount."
Mirage City. Known to be one of the forbidden places in the Empire because 99% who enter it, does not come back. Despite that, there were still a lot of people who wants to try their luck going in because of the resources they were able to get from it. From unidentified magical creatures that could fetch a high price in the market to minerals that can be smelted into a great weapon, there were a lot of temptations for entering Mirage City.
When a person views it from the outside, they can only see mist seeping into the sky that resembles an illusion when near it. It was impossible to see what was on the other side which means it also relies on luck whether the person going in or not will leave with a treasure or their life intact.
Those details were the things that were written in the records depicting the dangers of Mirage City. It is also the reason why the noble families in Auzeweth can easily dismiss the reason for Brian's death... With great risks come great rewards.
Now as someone who is an outsider, being told that this place was the Mirage City that he knows of, it was difficult for Brian to comprehend. More difficult than accepting the concept of reincarnation.
"There's someone actually living in that house." A hoarse male voice out of nowhere broke Brian's thought.
"You must be our new neighbor huh. Did you really rent or purchased that run-down house? You should have come to look for better and safer houses even though it is cheap. I can even help you look for one if you're not familiar with the place."
Looking over the source of the concern, a two-meter creature filled with fur walked towards them. Brian's memories flashed as he observed their neighbor. This neighbor of theirs was very familiar to him.
Dark grey fur that is at least the size of his fingers, two pointy ears on top of his head that could hear the littlest details, and fangs that can pierce human flesh like it was steak.
Those are the characteristic of the fierce Dire Wolves he encountered in many of his adventures. There was even an incident last time where almost half of his army has been killed or injured because they were ambushed by the said wolves in the night. Although, during that time, he was just a normal member of the army and not the captain.
The only difference between the creature in front of him and his memories is that this two-meter Dire Wolf has the ability to speak human language and stand on two legs while wearing clothes as a human would.
"Oh, you're a human… You must not have understood me." The Dire Wolf bowed down apologetically even if the other party does not realize what it was doing.
"Ah, sorry about that. I was just surprised." Brian replied hurriedly.
"Woah! You can speak our language! That's unusual for a human who just recently came here."
It was not only the Dire Wolf who was shocked, the masked man beside Brian also saw him like he did not expect it. And for the record, the masked man understood what the Dire Wolf was saying, but he was just too unbothered to reply.
'They have different language? How did I understand what he was saying and speak words that he understood?' Brian too did not expect himself to communicate properly.
<System: In concern of the User's worry, the System is built with an automatic translation mechanic. Since communication is the key towards the success of a merchant, and with how Amazing the Amazing System is, it has provided the free benefit for User to not worry be troubled by it>
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