"An allowance?" Lucius questioned.

"Yes, Aether crystals can also be used as a currency. In fact, it is the chief mode of exchange between different kingdoms since everyone can use them. While the gold and silver coins can still be used after being melted down and engraved gain." Kiana explained.

Lucius nodded at her explanation and wondered how much it cost. From what he knew, the rates of the coins were rather simple, being in denominations of one hundred.

i.e. 100 copper coins were equal to 1 silver, and 100 silver equal to 1 gold coin.

"How much are Aether crystals worth?" Lucius questioned.

"The current going rate is about Ten gold coins for one Aether Crystal. It has been fluctuating lately though since the war was on going. But once the armistice is finalized, it is likely to become stable again." Kiana answered.

"I see…" Lucius muttered as he compared the values.

For one or two copper coins one could buy some bread, while for five copper coins one could buy an entire meal.

Cheap clothes that peasants wore would cost about fifty to a hundred copper coins while those that the nobles wore would go anywhere for a few tens of slivers to even a gold coin.

Weapon costs were relative to their use and cost a minimum of one silver coin at the least all the way to hundreds of gold coins for a good one.

As for the Artifacts, they were seldom bought using gold coins and one needed to use Aether crystals to obtain them. The prices of the Artifacts depended on the rank of the rune that was used to make them, along with the other ingredients and the cost of labor.

"How much does this lamp cost?" Lucius asked curiously.

He knew that the lamp was relatively simple for an artifact and should be on the lower end of the spectrum.

"The lamp costs about five Aether crystals." Kiana answered.

"That's… kind of expensive, isn't it?" Lucius questioned.

"Well… it is for commoners, I suppose. But not for us, besides it does not have any operational costs, unlike normal lamps that need oil or candles. The lamp can absorb the ambient Aether and recharge itself like all the other artifacts." Kiana answered.

'Hmm… so it's renewable and can go on for a long time. They're similar to the magic lamps from my past life or the solar powered lights I suppose.' Lucius thought.

"Wait, you said leftover allowance. You mean there was more?" Lucius questioned, feeling curious.

"Yes. I think you used to get five Aether crystals a month but since you left, there haven't been any new ones given yet. You took the remaining crystals with you when you left for the battlefield." Kiana answered.

"Now that I think of it, I should inform your mother to restart the allowance." Kiana said, as she held her chin.

"That would be good. I could buy a few things that I want." Lucius spoke.

"Oh? What is it that you want to buy?" Kiana questioned.

"I want to get some rune crystals," Lucius replied.

"Rune Crystals? What are you gonna do with them?" Kiana questioned, feeling confused.

For a normal person, there wasn't much use for a rune crystal unless they were going to sell them. Only the artifices could turn them into artifacts and make them usable. This made it a very lucrative business and thus many people wanted to do it.

"I want to test some things, and experiment," Lucius answered.

"Hmm… I suppose there is no harm in that. Though I think it would be better if you consult master Kain about this. I don't know much about artifact production but I've heard that some rune crystals can cause accidents if handled wrongly." Kiana replied.

"Alright, I'll keep it in my mind," Lucius spoke before the two of them headed down to eat breakfast.

Same as yesterday, there were only the two of them there as Count Gabriel and Lady Lita had already left to do their tasks. Once they were done, Lucius went to the library to wait for Kain to arrive.

"Why is he late today?" Lucius wondered.

"He could have been delayed by some emergency work. He has more than ten students under him who are all artificer apprentices. And there may be some things that they can't do on their own since Master Kain is the Rune beast expert for the Artificers guild of our city." Kiana explained.

"I see. He's a rather busy man it seems, I should free him of this task quickly." Lucius spoke.

"That's up to you. But I think he rather likes teaching you." Kiana replied.

Since Kain was not here yet, Lucius searched the library for a book on minerals and ores. He eventually found more than ten books on it that were all huge. It was hard for him to find information about the Trivonite Ore.

Since he had decided that the first person whose gift he would be testing on is Kiana, he needed to know where to get all the materials for. He would not have a problem with the Aether crystals, but the Trivonite ore and the Rock Bee rune crystals were still an unknown factor.

Eventually, Lucius found one book, that had a summary of the ores and minerals. There he found the information about the Trivonite ore.

——

Trivonite Ore: An ore from which Trivonite is refined from. The ore is found in iron ore mines but is quite rare. Trivonite is used in the production of high quality armor and weapons.

It has great flexibility but its heat tolerance is less. It melts at a lower temperature than Iron and needs an expert smith to process it.

——

After reading the entry Lucius thought that getting this ore shouldn't be as difficult either. Since it was ore and not refined Trivonite metal, the quantity should be sufficient.

'Now the only thing left is the Rock Bee Rune crystals…' Lucius thought and then saw the door of the Library open.

Kain was the one who had walked in, but he was now limping.