Krune roamed around the capital city first, enjoying the sights as he ate the numerous treats sold in the restaurants, thinking to himself, 'Gehen has already developed the culinary dishes of the place. All of them are made using the local product, so they're unique and a specialty of this place.'
He then approached the institutions installed in one section of the city. They had been named guilds. There was the Explorer Guild, whose only task was to head into uncharted lands or into the depths of the ocean to explore and note down the details.
The Mercenary Guild existed for people who didn't wish to be tied down by an organization. They took up various hunting and escorting jobs and were paid with enough Tier 1 Development Spheres as monetary compensation.
As Development Spheres also allowed one to improve their abilities, it had tremendous value. When Krune asked around, he came to know of a concept called inferior money. This inferior money was a minted metal that allowed one to keep tabs in shops and restaurants.
After all, one Tier 1 Development Sphere was enough for a person to eat three meals in a restaurant. So, in such cases, inferior money was used to keep note of the tab. To prevent this system from being abused, Gehen enforced a rule that inferior money was only useful at the shop or restaurant that minted them.
This rule prevented anyone from making money out of this factor. Similarly, it also helped create a system of change that was necessary for microtransactions.
"To have created so many things in such a short time. Just who was he while in the God Realm?" Krune muttered to himself. While passing by, he noticed how the people treated Gehen with the respect befitting his position.
It made it seem like they had forgotten about their cultivator past and had wholly become mortals.
Krune then came across a Trading Guild, a Mining Guild, a Fishing Guild, and other types of guilds. Finally, as he roamed around, he even came across an academy to teach the young. And, it seemed a lot of people had gotten used to the place, married and even had kids.
Academies popped up all over the Empire. Just in the Tertiary Landmass alone, there were around 10 academies. With that, every Kingdom had at least 3-4 academies. As for the villages, they only had small schools that taught them the basics.
Krune looked at the name of the academy, reading it aloud, "Imperial Academy."
He looked inside, noticing students wearing their uniforms, bearing bright expressions as they roamed around the campus to attend different sessions. The oldest of the lot seemed to be around 15 years old. And, this age limit would only increase with the years.
Upon inquiring around, Krune realized that the teachers in the academy were part of the Teachers Guild. And, they had a transfer system installed. Depending on their performance, they were transferred accordingly between the various academies. Some counted as a promotion while others counted as a demotion.
As the Imperial Academy, it represented the best of the best. After peering in from the entrance, Krune observed for some time before leaving. He didn't have the permission to enter it, and he didn't wish to disturb Gehen for something so small.
'Just based on the numerous things happening in the place and beyond, Gehen should be swamped with work,' he thought, entering the Mercenary Guild to see how things were faring.
[Kill the Saw-tooth Blighter: 20 Tier 1 DS]
[Bring an intact corpse of a Sonic Radar without its passive ability being lost: 600 Tier 1 DS]
[Capture 20 Stringed Monkeys from Primary Landmass No. 38: 400 Tier 1 DS]
[Bring a young master with you and make him obtain a passive ability: 1 Tier 2 DS]
DS was the short form for Development Spheres. It seemed everyone was habitually using it, another difference he noticed. As cultivators, they always said a name fully, no matter how long it was. But as mortals, the same people shortened everything. It was an abstract display of their changed mindsets. Cultivators had time on their hands while mortals didn't.
There were all sorts of missions lying around. With that, Krune noticed how there was a crowd that was constantly exchanging for missions the moment they were posted. The missions were written on large wooden boards and hung in a banner of sorts. Once they were claimed, they were swapped with another.
Considering there were around 300 such boards spanning one side of the wall, it was apparent just how chaotic the place was. They were divided into tiers based on difficulty. Plus, it seemed ranks had been installed for every guild.
It was a simple star-based rank, with the lowest and highest being one and five stars, respectively. Krune then visited the Blacksmith Guild, for a moment feeling like he was back at home. There was a large reception at the front as weapons of all sorts were displayed.
They, too, were ranked by stars, ranging from one to five. Krune looked at their prices, for a moment frowning as he noticed even a one-star weapon cost around 20-30 Tier 1 DS. A three-star weapon reached as high as 1000 Tier 1 DS.
Krune approached a counter, asking a blacksmith seated behind, flashing his Whale Tooth Dagger, "How much will this sell for?"
The blacksmith glanced at it, saying, "A Sonic Radar's tooth. The condition isn't pristine, but it still maintains its sharpness. It would sell for 60 Tier 1 DS."
"Per dagger?"
"No, both."
Upon hearing it, Krune's eyelid twitched as he thought to himself, 'I have been using them for so long. To think they have such low value now.'
Thinking back to the Mercenary Guild rewarding 600 Tier 1 DS for an intact Sonic Radar corpse, Krune realized that this price for the Whale Tooth Daggers was reasonable. Rather, the blacksmith had given him a concession since he seemed like a new customer.
He then showed his sword, asking its price, "How much would this cost."
"Give it to me," the blacksmith said as he took it, analyzing the sword.
Krune thought as he saw the blacksmith's actions, 'This guy is an expert.'
He then wondered, 'The Seamstress did upgrade it using her abilities. So, it's stronger than a normal Sonic Radar's teeth. I wonder how much he would quote for it?'
As he was thinking, the blacksmith soon responded, "It seems a couple of passive abilities have been used to upgrade it. Though, it is too old and has already suffered numerous internal damage. It doesn't have much life, despite being stronger than a regular Sonic Radar's tooth. You will get 220 Tier 1 DS for this."
"Very reasonable." Krune nodded with a sigh before asking, "Are there any weapons made from a Sonic Radar? Better than this one."
"We do." The blacksmith nodded, shouting towards his side, "Rikka, bring me some three-star Sonic Radar swords."
"Coming!" A teenage girl shouted as her figure flashed a little before heading into one of the rooms behind, looking around for the respective weapons.
"I'm curious." In the meantime, Krune took the time to converse with the blacksmith, "If a three-star weapon is stronger than my sword, how do you create four-star and five-star weapons?"
"Using our passive abilities, of course." The blacksmith nodded as he replied, "As weapons are of prime importance, the Emperor has invested heavily. He has created a set of five passive abilities that create a synergistic effect while creating weapons."
He raised his hand, showing three fingers, "There are three such sets. The first set is termed the upgrading set. All five passive abilities in this set create an effect to upgrade the strength of existing material. The one you requested for has been created in such a manner. The second set, on the other hand, is a forging set. This set has five passive abilities that allow us to process various materials and forge weapons, armors, and other types of equipment. Last but not least, the final set is a creation set. It consists of five passive abilities that allow one to expend their stamina to create a weapon. Usually, weapons created from this set have inferior abilities and are then upgraded by blacksmiths having the upgrading set."
"But..." he continued, "This set also has the advantage of being able to create new weapon varieties with a bunch of special traits. So, they have their use."
'Just like the Seamstress's Coral Wave. Using that and her Heat Radiance, she's able to create any item she wishes,' Krune thought, 'Even though Frozen Blood has its uses as a mortal, it's useless when I become a cultivator. Instead, an ability to create special materials would be tremendously useful even when I become a cultivator.'
'That would be better in the long run,' he thought before asking, "Can you tell me the five passive abilities in the creation set?"
"Sorry." The blacksmith shook his head as he answered, "Only when members achieve a certain level of contribution can one gain access to such information. If you join our guild and work your way up, I'm sure…"
The blacksmith suddenly stopped talking as sweat began to drip from his face, soon drenching his clothes. His body trembled as his eyes darted to a tiny fish with a long needle that was now slowly moving around Krune's neck.
The Cloud Whale was less than 10 centimeters in length. But upon seeing it, the blacksmith understood just what was happening. And at the same time, the surrounding people also witnessed it, stunned into silence as their bodies remained rooted to their spots.
"It's not for free. I'll pay you accordingly," Krune said with a smile. "I could ask Gehen, but this is too inconsequential for that. Plus, I'm only asking you the basic information for them, not asking you to give them to me. Understand?"
"Y-Yes." The blacksmith nodded, telling immediately, "In all three sets, four passive abilities are the same. Only one passive ability changes in the set, determining which set it is. In the creation set, the core passive ability is called Bubble Wrap. It creates a sponge-like material that we then process using the remaining four Passive Abilities to create weapons."
'So, it's not an independently useful passive ability. I don't have any other passive abilities to refine it. It's useless for me.' Krune sighed, retracting his Cloud Whale, placing his Whale Tooth Sword and the two Whale Tooth Daggers as he said, "Sorry if I scared you. I just don't have enough time. Consider the daggers as my compensation. As for the sword, I'll sell it."
"Thank you.." The blacksmith only relaxed now as he wiped off his sweat.
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