Chapter: Jobs?

Rugrat talked over breakfasty about the different things that they had learned.

Erik helped Rugrat learn the mana manipulation spell and he set to opening his mana gate in his wrist as well.

Rugrat had been researching different skills, there were reams of them, from heavy and light armor, to cooks, farmers, sneak, mercantile, woodsmen and so on.

Many people unlocked multiple skills, but trying to level them all was a waste of energy.

The main path that most used was building up different skills that compliment one another and the way that they fought and their needs.

Rugrat wanted to pick skills that would augment his abilities learned as a marine sniper and then other skills that would support that, such as being a smith to improve and maintain his weapons with the materials available in the ten realms.

Erik's mind went a bit differently. If he was able to focus his effort in increasing the strength of his body,that with his healing abilities would make him damn hard to kill, he would be able to keep people off of Rugrat as the other supported him with long range support.

Erik didn't want to have to learn how to fight with a blade or a two handed , he was a decent shot and he had been in a number of different fighting clubs.

He could use his rifle at range, his fists in close range. He was also drawn to alchemy, the thought of making powerful concoctions,the fact he could rely on himself to make body cultivation and mana gathering aides excited him. It gave him a challenge, something that he wanted to overcome.

They had some eighty coppers, which was seen as pretty good, most farmers might earn two silver every month on average.

When they had been checking stores, looking for more or larger storage rings, they'd been left in shock.

They had Mortal grade Minor storage rings that could hold one meter square of goods and were sold for three silvers, a Mortal grade simple storage ring, had two times the space, but they cost thirty silvers. This was seen as a great expense that only the nobility or well to do idols could buy. The traders in the area didn't get these rings due to their high cost, instead choosing to move with their carriages stuffed with goods.

Unless Erik and Rugrat wanted to reveal their odd background, they needed to gain an income in Chonglu before they returned to where they'd buried their gear.

"We've got to get jobs," Erik said.

"I was already checking out some of the smithies, there are some places looking to hire and if I was able to get a few smithing technique books then I could increase my ability quickly," Rugrat said, revealing why he was so interested in the smitheries in Chonglu the last day.

"Technique book?" Erik asked, missing something.

"Basically you open them and they upload their information into your mind. magical memorization," Rugrat said.

Just this by itself would be earth shattering back home, here it was a well known fact.

"Though they're expensive, the rarer and more powerful, the more money needed to acquire them," Rugrat warned, seeing the light in Erik's eyes.

Erik let out a grunt, his hopes dashed as he continued to eat his breakfast slop.

"If I'm working at the smiths, what are you going to do?" Rugrat asked.

"Heal people. I can rent a stall for twenty coppers a day, people want to have a check up, I can do that for two coppers, they want me to heal something. I'll barter with them," Erik shrugged, he didn't want to make money off of people's misery, but seeing the condition of people in Chonglu and those that were waiting outside the healing houses, there was a demand among the poorer citizens.

Under his care he'd make sure that they had the best treatment with no problems that might appear later, like a bone that was only partially healed as the healer wasn't willing to spend their mana on some poor person offering all of their savings as it wasn't the high bounty one might get from working on a noble that had a training accident.

"Well it looks like we have a plan," Rugrat said.

It wasn't long until they were back in the city. they entered right in the morning, the two of them separating and making a plan to meet up at one of the inns later.

They'd looked into communication devices and the sound talismans they'd found cost five silvers each.

Erik went and found one of the city civil servants that was off to the side of the marketplace, though there were stalls that ran through the city, there was a dedicated market square where most sold their goods or services.

"What do you need?" The civil servant asked in a bored voice as he looked up from what he was writing. Erik glanced down and saw that he could read what he was writing as he smiled at the civil servant.

"I would like to rent a stall for the day," Erik said.

The man frowned and looked over Erik.

"Twenty three coppers," He said, holding out his hand.

Erik's smile turned a bit forced but he couldn't really argue.

He took out the coins and passed them to the civil servant.

He pulled out a piece of wood with a number on it.

"Here's your pass, return it by seven tonight, look for the stall location on the map," The man waved at the map on the side of the stall. the money was split, twenty going into the collections as three disappeared skillfully into the servant's ring as he continued to write on the scroll.

"Thank you," Erik said and looked at the map. He was off at one corners of the market.

He headed off for the stall.

He found that it was surrounded by people selling animal feed and different large farm implements.

The stall wasn’t anything much, a few chairs and a simple table with an overhead covering.

He took out a piece of wood and a brush with ink. He remembered what he had seen o the healer house's doors. He changed the wording a bit and looked to his neighbor.

"Excuse me, can you read this?" Erik asked.

The person frowned, starting to look angry.

"Sorry I'm not from around here," Erik said, trying to patch over whatever he had done wrong.

The man let out a huff, still looking angry.

"Not many people can read around here, best to get a crier to tell people your goods," The man said.

Erik looked around, people were yelling out their goods, adding to the market's atmosphere, now it made sense.

"Thank you, do you know where I might be able to hire a crier?" Erik asked.

The man looked Erik up and down.

"I have a cousin that could do it, eight coppers," He said.

"Two," Erik said.

The man 's eyes thinned as he pressed his lips together.

"Best I can do is five."

"Three and I won't tell him," Erik said.

The man's face split into a grin as he held out his hand. Erik smiled and dropped three coppers into the other merchant's hand. "Pleasure doing business with yah, name's Oliks."

"Erik."

Seeing people coming towards his stall Olik quickly made the coin disappear and he called over a teenager, quickly talking to him and pointing at Erik and then going back to his tall to greet customers.

"Mister Erik, my cousin Olik said you had some work for me," The boy said with a smile, a number of his teeth crooked as he showed signs of a rough life.

"What's your name?" Erik asked.

"Vand."

"Well Vand, I'm looking to sell healing. Simple ailments, two coppers, larger ailments depends on the case and resources," Erik paused for a moment. "Tell people that I won't charge them unless I have cured them."

Vand looked at Erik with a quizzical look.

"Are you one of them healer types?"

"Yes," Erik nodded.

"The healing houses kick you out or summin'?"

"No, I'm not from around here so I'm not part of the healing houses," Erik smiled.

"Oh," Vand nodded.

"Alright, so two coppers for minor ailments, more for major, you'll only pay if you get healed."

"That's it," Erik said.

Vand nodded seriously, his lips moving as he said the sentence over and over again, memorizing it.

"Seeing the determined look in the boys eyes Erik nodded to himself.

"I think I've got it, I'll do my best mister Erik," Vand said with a goofy smile.

"Very well, I'll be here," Erik nodded.

Vand hurried off as Erik checked out his stall in greater detail, he moved his chair in front of his stall, putting the sign up on the stall's countertop . He leaned back in his chair, taking in the market as he looked at ease. People threw a few glances over to him, their brows pinching together.

Those in stalls around him were working hard to sell their goods and draw more paying customers. Erik was simply sitting there as if enjoying the sunny day, wasting his twenty coppers rental fee with no worries.