Perytos wore a small frown on his face; he’d always found goodbyes odd. He left many people in his life. His friends at the village, as well as his family- He hadn’t had the chance to say goodbye to any of them. Maybe that’s why he felt so burdened. Maybe, just maybe, it would lessen if he put to words what he’d been feeling.

  Anyway, it was not the time for this.

  They entered through the royal wooden gates of Titan’s grasp. People flowed on both sides, going out of their way to walk around them. No one knew how to act, yet a goodbye was inevitable.

  Herman finally built up his courage; he turned to face them clearly. Perytos was surprised to see a tear forming in the old man’s eyes. Even more shocking, their de facto leader of the entire trip hugged them both tightly.

  Through overwhelming emotions, Herman quietly whispered to them. “I-I just want to let you know boys, that You're like family to me. You're good men, in a world like this such things are rare."

  The retired warrior pulled back and looked into Perytos’ and Callum’s eyes one by one. "Make sure to treasure that. Life can give you power and wealth beyond comprehension, but goodness of the heart can only come from within."

  Perytos tucked the valuable piece of wisdom in his mind.

  With a nod directed at them, the wise old man Herman departed on his carriage. There was just one thing left to do.

  Allys had been standing in place with a poker face as her only expression. Only when her grandpa departed did she approach them.

  She gave Perytos a nod full of respect; it was enough. The gesture managed to convene mutual respect between the two. They had grown much closer than the cold welcome he received; he would even dare to say she was a friend to him.

  Allys’ face turned crimson red. She blushed, but a shake of her head covered the warmth rushing to her cheeks with brown locks.

  "Grandpa can be a bit intense at times, but he reads people very well."

  She walked up uncertainly to Callum and handed him a sealed letter into his trembling hand.

  "I like you Callum, I really like you. Spending so much time with you under one roof assured me of that. Your humor may be dry at times-" At that Mercel scoffed under his breath- "But you still make me laugh often. The letter has directions to my family’s home.”

  She pulled close and kissed the frozen-in-place Callum on the cheek. "Don't be a stranger."

  With a shy wink of her grey eye, she was gone. Allys blurred into the constant stream of passer byes.

  "Did that really happen?" Callum asked with wide eyes and an excited tone. "Or have I fallen into an illusion and am currently locked inside my mind as a huge spider eats me.”

  Mercel wheezed louder this time, almost like a laugh. Perytos transcribed for his companion: "Yeah, no for you to find a girl the spider's venom must have been especially potent.”

  Perytos looked Callum directly into the eyes as he said in a chilling, haunted tone: “You'll wake up any moment now. The venom has stopped working. Your legs are already gone. Just wait a few seconds, it’ll be all over.”

  Both stared at each other in a stalemate. One waiting for his reality to collapse while the other tried to hold in his laughter. After a few tense moments Callum pinched his arm and sighed loudly in relief.

  Meanwhile, Perytos was laughing his ass off. He wheezed through the tears of mirth.

  "I can't believe you fell for that. How bad are you with women!"

  Callum's face scrounged in irritation. "Yeah yeah, have fun at my expense. It's just my dignity, I can recover." Having realized something, however, he instantly lit up like a magic lantern.

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  "It WAS real."

  After a second bout of laughter, Callum managed to finally stop Perytos from laughing.

  Despite all their laughs and giggles, they were a bit lost. None of them had ever been to the capital.

  They started walking in a random direction, with only the occasional kind people as their guides. They were hoping to find an inn to hold them for the night.

  A heavy, certain weight clung on Perytos' shoulder. The eroded trident he got from Stanford had been lying in the carriage their whole trip; it was too damaged and bulky to be used properly. He'd hoped someone could restore it in the capital, but alas, until they found the funds he would carry it as a deterrent. At least he looked cool with it hanging from his shoulder... He abandoned the thought- There were more interesting things to think about.

  Walking through what was probably the market district, Perytos saw various amounts of weird wares and eccentric behavior.

  Merchants hawked their wares, scouting for potential customers; alchemists brewed their potions and poultices in the open, yelling about how they were able to turn lead into gold. The steady clinking of a blacksmith hammer spilled out of a nearby shop. It all turned into a steady stream of noise and joyous chaos.

  At one of the stands they saw something that caught their eyes.

  A short kobold with light green and yellow scales shouted in the air. She held threaded dreamcatchers and amulets from her hand like puppet strings.

  "ENCHANTED TALISMANS, PROTECTION FROM MIND ATTACKS, AMULETS DETECTING INFIDELITY. CATCH YOUR DREAMS AND UNLEASH THEM ON YOUR ENEMIES! YOU NEED IT? WE'VE GOT IT. MAGISTRUM-CERTIFIED CRAFTED GOODS AND ARTIFACTS!!!..."

  Honestly, all the yelling got on Perytos' nerves, but he couldn't deny the woman's grit. Her shouts covered every single merchant around them, and she didn't even blink twice at the dirty looks she got from fellow peddlers. And it was darn effective too! Customers from all around were drawn in as if magnetized by her voice, especially the last part about magistrum certified crafters caused the most upheaval.

  Perytos decided to investigate; he tapped a nearby person, asking them politely. "Excuse me madam, but could you tell me why is being from the magistrum such a big deal?"

  The old, well-dressed matron took pity on him, seeing he wasn't from the city. "The magistrum is one of the main scouts for talents. If they decide to certify one of their crafters, it means they do a damn good job. Now, dear, excuse me. I have a feeling my husband's cheating on me, and that amulet just looks so stylish..."

  With his mouth wide open Perytos stared as the woman casually walked up to the overworked lizard women who was managing five clients at once; her hands were blurring at the edges as steam exited from her ears. Coins exchanged hands rapidly: Glimmers and even Twinkles were treated like change.

  "Are you seeing this?"

  "Yes". Callum replied with awe.

  They shared a long look. Perytos filled away the path to the stand for when they had more money. Walking away to find some lodging for the night, he thought: Soon, just when we can afford it.

  The thing was that Epision’s currency was mostly uniform. In a world of many races, city-like states and countries, it should’ve been surprising. But concentrated efforts by influential individuals assured a common currency. It also helped the coins had practical use besides just being valuable.

  The money was made from literal pieces of someone's soul- Crystalized and primed to be used. This made it so that should anyone have the need to replenish their Soul Spark; they could just assimilate the money at their disposal.

  And since in this world everything was about skills, replenishing Soul Spark was vital. There were five denominations, based on the potency of the soul belonging to the person making the coins. It went as such:

  Flickers were for tier ones. They held relatively low value, and most people used them as change.

  Glimmers were for tier twos, the average currency for the common man. And since most people reached only this tier in their lives, it was perfect for everyday use.

  Twinkles were next, often used by nobles, and for higher transactions such as buying houses or valuable artifacts.

  After Twinkles, there were Glints. These medium sized, glinting ethereal coins were very valuable and were made only from high tier souls. If one stumbled upon a king's hoard, it was expected to see at least a few of these.

  At the top were the impossibly rare- Embers. Only the strongest of souls could manage to produce them. Even King Amadeus himself probably couldn't manage a deed like that. Due to this, even a single Ember could start wars.

  The truth was that wealth could drive people of all kinds crazy. Especially when it directly contributed how fast you can use your skills, which were the defining thing in the world. Someone with blacksmithing skills was useless if they had used up their Soul Spark, but with just a few Glimmers they could supercharge their soul and gain levels in their precious skills.

  Unfortunately, this led many men to ruin; countless tales spoke of people who struck metaphorical gold, only to consume it all in an attempt to grow their skills.

  And there was only one thing that could result from overtaxing the soul. Something that everyone knew, ranging from children, to knights, to adventurers and mages, and more.

  It was not financial ruin- It was a more sinister disease. When your soul collapsed under strain onto itself. When reality fought back, turning you into a monster.

  When you succumbed and became Corrupted