The town was more military than I had expected. The defensive layout of the buildings made sense, given it was a frontier outpost, but I’d been hoping for more of a mercenary atmosphere. My first few minutes in the town made me feel like I’d walked into an army camp.

I was surprised at the extensive use of wood as building material. Surely they had realised the possibility of concrete and such? I tapped on a nearby wall and blinked when a marble sensation came back.

~Huh. Magic wood.~

I didn’t get good directions to the trade district until my third time asking. The first two would probably have been more dedicated to helping if I’d shown some skin, but a poncho was hardly the most flattering attire.

Whatever. It hid my arm, or lack thereof, in the folds and kept out the evening chill. It was unlikely there was anything interesting to steal here, and I wasn’t exactly on the prowl for anyone.

Seeing the shadows lengthening, I picked up the pace. I really needed to sell something before everyone packed up and went home. I’d thought I could rely on seedier night transactions if I got in too late, but the rigid patrols and scattered uniforms were quickly chasing that hope from my mind.

As I turned the corner, I saw a long well-kept street. About half of the many large doors were closed, with people cleaning up in front of a few more. I hurried down the road, but the store I needed was among the closed.

I was about to walk back down to search again when I spotted a small open door. There was a blue crystal and grey ingot emblazoned on the door, shifting between a black outline and full colour.

Inside, it was dim and cramped. Thankfully it seemed like the place I needed, with precious gems taking up a few shelves, while metals were piled behind the counter.

When my eyes adjusted to the change in light, I saw the storekeeper snoozing in a corner. I rapped loudly on the counter.

The short man’s eyes snapped open. He focused on me, then shot out of his seat like he’d been electrified.

“Hello! What can I do for you today?” He gave me a plastic smile as he rubbed his handed together.

I shrugged the backpack of my shoulders, catching it with my hand as it swung round on my arm. I placed it on the counter and reached in after a brief fumble with the ties. I pulled out a couple of blue veined rocks, reached in again and took out a shimmering uncut ruby.

As I dumped the bag on the floor, I looked at him and said, “How much for these?”

The plastic smile had become a bit more real after I took out my things. His eyes danced between the three stones.

“The ruby I can buy for 800 silverettes,” he said slowly, “but this blueforge ore, I’m afraid it isn’t worth very much. At most 600 for the pair.”

I snorted. I’d met a lot of cheats in my life, but this man was treating me like an idiot.

“Like hell they’re worth 600. Do you think I was born yesterday? I’m offering you high quality blueforge ore, which comes without the astronomical transport and tax costs you’d normally pay this far from the Blueforge.”

“High quality? At best I make a semi decent sword from this, and then who knows if it’ll even sell well. Most people here already have their own weapons.”

“Hah! This is a frontier, weapons break all the time. I bet you’ll have people kicking down the door to get at this.”

“Even if that could happen, I still need to consider the manufacturing costs and such to turn a profit. I can give you 1500, but not a coin more.”

“1500? They’re worth twice that, and you’d still make a profit.”

After some more haggling, we finally settled on 2100 silverettes for the blueforge ore, giving me a total of 2900. Not a bad start for a new world. I sent a silent thanks to Anisibon. I hated owing favours, but the lamia goddess had been the most practical way to set myself up.

The storekeeper looked surprised when I asked for it in cash, then got a crafty look in his eyes. “I’ll count them!” I yelled as he moved to the back.

It was an empty threat, but hopefully he didn’t know that. I couldn’t count out nearly three thousand pieces of metal, I’d be here all night. If it wasn’t for magic wallets I wouldn’t even be able to carry it.

He came back holding a small grey pouch. I tossed it in my bag and was about to leave when I noticed a small alert in the corner of my vision.

Nearby energy source.

I grew excited at the thought. Another item to accelerate my enhancement! Luckily I was facing away from the shrewd shopowner, so he didn’t see my excitement flash across my face.

I switched into energy vision and examined the shop. The brightest concentration of colour showed up underneath the counter; a glowing red beacon in my eyes. Nearby was a dimmer light that swirled with a variety of colours.

“You wouldn’t happen to have any magical stones, would you?” I asked offhandedly. No need to seem too interested.

“10,000 minimum,” he replied flatly. I nearly leapt over the table and strangled him. I might be new to this world, but if a couple of chunks of the most magically receptive ore was only worth two thousand-odd, there was no way a stone stuffed with some magic was even near ten thousand.

“Never mind then,” I shot at him, and stalked out of the place.

A few hours later I was walking out of the hotel in muted grey clothing. If the little sneak was determined to be a bald-faced cheat, I had no qualms about relieving him of certain necessities.

I retraced my steps to the trade district, stopping in an alley and climbing up the side of the building. My perch was a bit further from the target than I would have liked, but I had to accommodate a missing arm and so chose a building with lots of visible footholds.

Thankfully my strength and gymnastic flexibility hadn’t been reduced in my younger body. I’d been worried that I’d lost all my muscle memory, but the helmet hadn’t gone so far as to actually reverse time, just rejuvenate my body.

As I lounged on the roof of the building I scanned the small shop. There was a veneer of light over the whole building, but I wasn’t experienced enough yet to determine what was a trap and what wasn’t. As I pored over the building, I suddenly noticed a problem which set me to mental swearing.

Since I was looking at pure magic, my vision wasn’t stopped by things like walls; a perk I fully planned to exploit. In this case, it showed that all the pinpricks of light on the ground floor were about the same brightness. The one I’d been aiming for had completely overshadowed the rest earlier, meaning it wasn’t there now!

~Damn it! And I was looking forward to sticking it to the little–~ My thought cut off as I noted a four-man patrol turn the corner. One of them, of all things, was actually looking up. What kind of over-eager discipline was that?

Disappointed and sullen, I slunk across the roof and returned to the hotel. The receptionist had been changed while I was out, and the new man stared irritatingly at my missing arm until I glared at him. After that he just snuck looks out of the corner of his eye until I made it to the stairs.

My room was exactly how I left it, but out of habit I checked all my things. Out of further habit I then hid the most important things, leaving a few silverettes in the bigger bag. Finally, I flopped onto the bed and fell asleep.