Arcane Era-Chapter 76: To Sarvos (Part 1)

Processing the Armaments took quite a while, especially since Theo decided to add a second Armament—one from the Standard Grade section.

It was a dark gray hooded cloak that granted camouflage abilities to its wielder. It was ranked Standard Grade despite having such a useful ability because the Ne’sh Capacity of the Armament was low, and despite allowing for visual stealth, it couldn’t eliminate things like sound, smell, etc.

In essence, the covertness it offered was immensely flawed.

"Are you sure you want to buy this? It’s going to cost you, you know?" Kamara asked with a raised brow.

"Yeah... I’m sure." He responded, smiling at her. "I have money."

He had been rewarded 1 Platinum Arca for his efforts in saving Shen Ak’ashi, and while he had spent a bit of the money purchasing the Divine Chronicles of Antiquity, there was still a lot of money left.

’The Divine Chronicles cost 5,000 Arcas, which means I have 95,000 Arcas left.’ He smiled, calculating everything within a moment.

Arcas were the currency accepted across all Nations. They were coins that could be divided into four equal parts, each representing a quarter. They could also be merged together due to the magnetizing effects of their sides.

How the currency worked was quite simple.

There were all kinds of Arcas, which connoted different values. The base color was White, and a single coin of that represented 1 Arca. After that was Blue, which stood for 5 Arcas. Red stood for 10 Arcas, Purple was 20 Arcas, Green was 50 Arcas, Silver was 100 Arcas, Gold was 1,000 Arcas, and finally... Platinum.

A single Platinum coin held the value of 100,000 Arcas.

That was a lot of money!

To put it into perspective, an average commoner family only earned a total of 50 to 200 Arcas a month. Even Merchants and Traders only usually made 1,000 Arcas per month, with successful ones reaching a profit of 5,000.

Nobles were better off in the world, yet the average monthly income for most Nobles was around 50,000 to 70,000 Arcas. Granted, this was only accounting for the average, as there were quite a few who earned hundreds of thousands of Arcas.

Still, this went to show just how valuable a single Platinum Arca was.

Most people would never be able to lay eyes on it from the moment they were born to the point at which they died.

Even in the Ak’ashi Guild, it was still a big deal!

Combat Staff got paid per mission, and for Cadets the standard pay was around 500 Arcas per mission. For Experts, that number was bumped up to 3,000 per mission, while Masters got paid 10,000 per mission. Even Captains, like Kamara, only received as high as 30,000 on average.

The Zenith were the only members who earned as high as 100,000 Arcas, or 1 Platinum Arca, per mission.

In essence, Theo’s earnings were equivalent to the highest in the Guild.

He was immensely rich!

"This Armament costs 50,000 Arcas, sir." The receptionist told him, causing his body to tremble at the sound of those words.

"Ma?"

"The Standard Grade you wish to purchase, Ashen Hood Armament... it costs 50,000 Arcas."

"B-but what about the discount?"

"The discount has already been applied, sir." She replied. "For a higher discount rate, you need to amass higher merits, but it appears here that you have not amassed any yet."

"Ohh..."

"Would you like to come back after amassing merits to make your purchase? Please note that there is very little guarantee that this Armament will still be present by the time you return."

"I see..." Theo nodded meekly, slowly fishing out half a Platinum Arca from his pocket to pay.

His mood had instantly plummeted, and his face seemed drained of all color as he made the payment. So many different thoughts rushed through his mind, but he tried to rationalize his decision so he would have no regrets.

’I knew Armaments cost a lot, and I had already steeled my mind for it, but still...’ He shuddered, swallowing his saliva.

To think about something’s cost and to experience that cost oneself were two separate things.

Theo realized it during this transaction.

"Pffft!" His friends and even Kamara were snickering at him, making fun of his dumbstruck expression, but he chose to ignore them. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Arlet nodding with a slight hint of respect, but that didn’t make him feel better in the slightest.

In fact, after thinking about how much he had left, Theo felt worse.

’From 100,000 Arcas... I only have 45,000 left.’ It was still a lot, but compared to his previous wealth, Theo suddenly felt rather poor.

And all of this was simply for purchasing a Standard Grade Armament.

What about Regal Grade? Or Imperial Grade?! Theo couldn’t even begin to imagine how much they would cost!

"Here you go, sir. Your purchase has been recorded and registered within the Guild, which means you are authorized to use it. Also, if there are any defects or problems with this Armament, you may return to this place for complaints within a month. Depending on the severity of your complaints, we may return your money or swap out this Armament with a different one of proportional value."

"Really?" Theo’s eyes lit up almost instantly.

His scheming nature began to imagine ways for him to exploit this system. However, he didn’t have to imagine for too long, as Kamara’s next words quickly burst his bubble.

"The complaints must be valid and reasonable. They have a very strict and methodical way of finding out what truly happened to their product, so if you think you can somehow cheat the system, think again."

"Ahh... but I wasn’t thinking about anything like that." Theo quickly retorted back, his eyes displaying innocence.

"Sure, you weren’t." She rolled her eyes.

Theo felt more embarrassed, so he simply took his merchandise, putting it on that very moment while also covering his face with his black mask. Everything fit him perfectly, and he had no choice but to say he was satisfied with his purchase.

So what if it cost a lot of money?

’If I need an Armament, I should get it.’ He sighed. ’Sarvos isn’t a place I should take lightly at all.’

"So where to now, Miss Kamara?" Liyah asked their leader, who was still grinning at Theo.

She shrugged mildly before responding. "Maybe we can get something to eat, my treat. After that, we’ll head to the port. Is that fine with everyone?"

"Yeah!"

"For sure."

"It’s cool."

"Okay." Theo was the last to reply, but after he realized taking Kamara by her offer meant less money being spent by him, he quickly jumped on the wagon.

"Great! Let’s go!"

The five left the procurement facility and sought out the nearest restaurant in the Outer Court, before eventually getting a R’ac to take them to the port.

**********

"Here, at long last!"

Kamara’s hands were on her hips as she energetically looked at the relatively large ship that stood right in front of her and the rest of the team. It was definitely not the biggest ship in the port, but it had considerable mass that made Theo and his teammates look like cockroaches in comparison.

The port was very busy this late afternoon, as it was nearing the time for boarding.

Not just people were boarded onto the ship, but also goods of all kinds. The ship was a transport vehicle that was responsible for the delivery of goods en masse, hence the produce were regarded as top priority.

"I’m guessing Sarvos is only going to be a stop, and not the final destination, seeing as there are so many goods being unloaded on the ship." Theo asked calmly.

"Hmm... well, not exactly." Kamara responded. "We’ll be stopping at Roehel, and then we’ll have to travel the rest of the distance on land."

"Seriously?"

"It can’t be helped. Sarvos doesn’t have its own port. Ranial would have been a great choice, but there’s currently no ship heading in that direction, and considering the urgent nature of our business... we’ll have to take what we can get." She answered.

"Does that mean we’re stepping into Roehel?" This time it was Kaycee that spoke, his eyes clearly flashing with excitement.

He had heard so much about the Great Nation, and it had always been his dream to go there one day. Since Roehel was famed to have the greatest marketplace in all of the Mainland, and was the central authority in trade, the influence of this superpower could not be overstated.

"Not really. We’ll be dropped at one of their ports, and we’ll board a direct ride to Sarvos. You’ll barely get a glimpse of the Nation."

"But we’ll still get to see something, yeah?"

Kamara sighed, shaking her head as she noticed the boy’s unceasing exhilaration. "Just don’t get your hopes too high. The port we’re heading to is on the outskirts of Roehel. Makes it easier to get to Sarvos."

"Noted, ma’am!"

"Just call me Kamara..." Her brows twitched as she maintained a smile.

"Miss Kamara, how long will this trip last?" Liyah spoke up next, her tone curious but also wary.

Unlike Kaycee and Theo, she had done a bit of traveling with her sister and knew how long and exhausting it could be. Ak’ashi Guild was largely inaccessible, isolated from the rest of the world in the Mainland. That meant traveling away from it—depending on which Nation one was headed to—could take as little as two days, to an entire week.

Spending so long at sea was a little dangerous for Liyah, who usually developed seasickness after prolonged exposure to the sea.

"Our journey should last three days at sea. Then, for the rest of the journey... I’d say a few more days as well. We should arrive at Sarvos within a week, though."

"Okay..."

"So, any other questions?" Kamara looked at the four, her eyes especially fixed on Arlet, who had been completely silent the whole time. However, he showed no reaction and continued to stare at the ship with a stoic expression.

Theo silently observed this and said nothing.

’Arlet’s family is from Roehel, yet it doesn’t seem like he cares much about the place. I guess what he told me back when we were imprisoned together is true...’ Other than that, Theo had other thoughts coursing through his mind.

For example, just how drearily long this trip was going to be.

’Back when I was with the Zenith, I didn’t really notice the distance because we teleported, and we also ran through the night at full speed, not to mention the fact that we used that airship to reach the Ak’ashi Guild within hours.’

Yet, using a ship took days.

The inconvenience involved in traveling was starting to dawn on Theo. As special as their team was, he highly doubted they would have access to airship technology to make their travels much faster and easier.

’In any case...’ Right as Theo was thinking this, a blaring sound rushed from the ship, signaling everyone that the time for boarding had come.

And so, he eliminated his previous thoughts and stepped onto the ship.