"One hundred percent purity! This is a Purewhite Etherstone!" Charlie’s voice cracked from shock.

  In his more than ten years working here, the highest quality Ether crystal the whole branch had ever come across was ninety-three percent purity, and that one had belonged to a knight of the lord rank. Back then, the financial advisor who had been assigned to that contract received such a large commission that people in the branch whispered about it for weeks.

  An Ether crystal of perfect purity was known as a Purewhite Etherstone, or sometimes as the alchemist’s stone. These rare crystals possessed unique effects that ordinary ones did not have. They could only be found from medium or large Ethermines, or were condensed by beings of epic rank or higher.

  "The standard price for Purewhite Etherstone is fifteen Rhoos per gram. This piece weighs twenty-one point sixty-two grams. How would you like me to exchange it, into Aurions and Rhoos?" Charlie asked, his hands trembling and his voice struggling to stay steady.

  Luther did a quick calculation in his head, and when the final number formed in his mind, his mouth fell open.

  Aaron’s heart was pounding as well. Even though his family was wealthy and he had a trust fund of his own, that didn’t mean he was crazy rich or anything. After all, he was still just a fifteen-year-old boy. A single Ether crystal like this was worth several years of his allowance.

  "We also want to sell another piece," Aaron said, pulling out another one. "Please exchange half into Rhoos and the other half into Aurions."

  Charlie rubbed his forehead, feeling like he might need blood-pressure medicine right away.

  "The total weight for both is thirty-nine point eighty-seven grams. The total exchange amount will be three hundred Rhoos and twelve hundred Aurions. Please sign here to complete the transaction."

  From his drawer, he took out a sheet of pale brown paper with dark gray writing on it.

  "This is a Plutus Contract, a type of magical covenant. You must read carefully before signing," Acher said, letting out a long yawn.

  "Feeling better now? Hungry yet? We’ll go eat. In a bit?" Luther murmured, running his fingers over the raven’s feathers.

  "Don’t act like I’m a kid! Back in my prime, I wasn’t afraid of anyone," Acher grumbled.

  "I know, I know. Acher’s the best," Luther replied with a faint smile.

  Aaron read each line twice before signing his name in the bottom-right corner. As soon as his pen left the paper, a gray flame burst from the signature, spreading until it devoured the whole contract, leaving nothing but a faint pile of ash.

  "Excellent! The transaction contract is now under the protection of the God of Wealth. Please wait just a moment."

  Charlie placed the two Ether crystals into a small wooden box lined with velvet, closed it, locked it, sealed it with a living layer of purple enchanted wax, and then stepped out of the room. When he returned, he was carrying a small black leather case. He set it on the desk and unlatched it to reveal neatly stacked piles of coins, separated into two distinct types.

  Aurions were metal coins about the size of a quarter. They were coated in Ethergold, a magical alloy created by forging pure gold together with powdered high-purity Ether crystal in a specific ratio. One side of the coin bore an engraving of a sword and a staff crossing over each other, while the other side displayed a blazing torch.

  Rhoos were also round coins, but one and a half times larger and twice as thick, coated in Arcgold.

  Magical currency wasn’t just for trade; it could also be used to cast spells, restore magic, perform rituals, and serve many other purposes. After minting, each coin was sealed with an enchantment to prevent the magic inside from leaking. Breaking that seal and using the stored magic was one of the way to spend them.

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  If the seal was no longer intact, the value of the coin would drop at least in half, depending on how much magic was left. Most places only accepted coins that had never been tampered with. Besides that, once used, their metal shells could still be recycled as magic-conducting material for blacksmithing or enchantment work.

  Charlie was smiling like a groom on his wedding day when he asked:

  "Would you like to deposit part of this into an account? Which bank are you using?"

  "Hmmm… we don’t actually have an account with any bank," Aaron admitted. "We just awakened not long ago, and today is the first day our family has brought us to a supernatural market."

  "I see. Having a bank account and depositing the funds will be far more convenient and much safer than carrying such a large amount of valuable coins," Charlie said. "Would you like to open an account at Plutus Bank then? We have many branches across both Blue Gaia and Green Gaia. Also, since you’ve just completed a transaction worth more than three hundred Rhoos with us, opening an account will automatically qualify you for a Gold Card."

  Are you serious? Freshly awakened and already gifted two Purewhite Etherstones? Whose spoiled young master is this? Treating kids like this is just going to spoil them, Charlie thought.

  "Sure, please set it up for us," Aaron said without hesitation.

  Following Charlie’s guidance, Aaron and Luther then opened a joint account at Plutus Bank and received two pure Arcgold cards. Then, they deposited almost all of the coins from the leather case into the bank.

  When they stepped out, the two boys were still dazed, almost unable to believe what had just happened.

  "Never thought those little stones could be worth that much," Aaron said. "You’re rich now, Luther."

  “We’re rich,” Luther corrected. Aaron had never been hesitant about spending money on him. "Mine is yours. We’re brothers."

  "Alright, what’s mine is yours too!" Aaron beamed, swinging an arm around Luther’s shoulder.

  The truth was, both of them were only children, so they didn’t know that siblings rarely treated each other like that. Sometimes, just sneaking a single cookie could be enough to turn your brother or sister into a hangry chihuahua.

  Acher picked up Luther’s Plutus card and kept it between his talons.

  "So even the magical world has these now. The world truly has changed."

  "There weren’t banks before?" Aaron asked.

  "There were," Acher said. "But just very few of them, and even fewer that could be trusted. On top of that, only the largest cities had them, so depositing or withdrawing money was not convenient at all. Back then, many people just carried all their valuable stuff with them, so if you killed someone, well… you basically inherited their fortune, heh heh heh heh."

  Aaron and Luther:

  “…”

  "Let’s get something to eat. I’m hungry," Acher said.

  “What you want to eat?” Luther asked.

  “Let’s go to the Scylla noodles place that you talked about.”

  “Yayyy!” Aaron cheered.

  After another ten minutes of walking, they arrived at one of the main goals of today’s trip: the Shadowink Ramen restaurant.

  It was a two-story, circular building that jutted out over the sea by around four hundred feet, with its own private bridge leading to the entrance.

  The second floor was open to the air, allowing diners to eat while enjoying the wind and taking in the sweeping view of the horizon and the ocean.

  Even though the restaurant was huge, by the time the three of them arrived, it was already packed to the brim. On top of that, a long line of people was still waiting outside. The servers, dressed in black uniforms decorated with blue-and-white octopus tentacle patterns, glided between tables, carrying plates and bowls in every direction.

  It took them about an hour for a table to become available.

  "What kind of business is this? I’m starving here! You should’ve just worn the cloak and gone straight into the kitchen to eat as much as you want," Acher complained, feathers fluffing in irritation.

  "I’ll get you. As much as you want. A lot," Luther replied, running his fingers through the raven’s feathers to calm him down.

  Luck worked in their favor despite the wait; they were given a table on the second floor with a stunning view. By the time they sat down, the sun was sinking toward the horizon, painting the vast ocean and the distant skyline in brilliant shades of orange and gold.

  "This is amazing!" Aaron took in a deep breath, letting the salty breeze fill his lungs. "The climate here feels so nice, it’s just like Hawaii. If we were in Boston right now, it’d already be freezing. But… why is no one swimming at such a beautiful beach?"

  "The waters of the Tranquil Sea can get the cold all the way down to your bones," Acher explained. "This place was built in the shadow world, also called the Dark Side, an unmoving, silent reflection of the material world, and it’s hundreds of times larger than reality. Back in the ancient days, many magical villages, cities, and even legendary kingdoms were built here when the Origin became too crowded."

  Aaron and Luther both listened with full attention.

  "Even though the shadow world was crawling with dangerous monsters, and it was easy to get lost in here, the intelligent species still managed to carve out vast territories here. This world was once unimaginably prosperous," Acher continued. "Everything began to change when world-shaping was invented. Although the Dark Side wasn’t abandoned right away, it gradually became emptier and emptier as creatures started migrating to outer worlds, following their gods to new lands.”

  "Anyway, this place looks much more peaceful now; shadowkin monsters don’t seem to be as common as they used to be," he added.