Chapter 295: Sonna

"It’s because of this." The Merchant pointed toward a small object near his neck before continuing, "It’s an item that runs on Faith, although it can also be made to operate using Magic. I’ve heard that creating a magical version requires Divination Magic, but that’s difficult to produce, so Faith-based translators are much more common."

The other alien soon returned with the requested book. It was thick and slightly larger than an ordinary textbook, with a dark brown cover that looked like it had been made from several layers of hardened leather. Strange silver lines covered the surface, forming interconnected patterns that reminded Alex of runes, although he couldn’t understand their meaning.

The alien placed the book on the counter before returning to his work. The Merchant pushed it toward Alex, and Alex reached out to pick it up.

"Take it. It costs 1,000 Origin Coins, but Sonna made me promise that I would give the first item to the genius Mage I found for free. That said, the System wouldn’t allow something like that, so you still need to pay one Origin Coin."

"Sonna will bear the cost for me?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow. He wasn’t expecting a powerful organization he had never even heard of to spend money on him simply because he was a Mage.

"Yes. They’ll have to pay far more than 1,000 Origin Coins because they’re technically breaking one of the System’s rules, but as I told you before, there are very few Mages in the Land of Origin. Because of that, the Monarchs treat every promising Mage like a precious child."

Alex thought about it for a moment before accepting the book. He opened it and flipped through several pages, expecting the strange writing to be completely meaningless, but he quickly realized that he could understand what he was reading. The words were unfamiliar, yet their meaning came to him naturally.

The Merchant noticed his expression and explained, "The translation will remain active for one week. After that, you will have to come back here and restart the translation feature, or you can learn the language yourself if you prefer."

Alex nodded as he continued looking through the pages. "What language is this?"

"Mirisi. It is the native language of the Trotha Kingdom, which is one of the places where Mages are still relatively common," the Merchant answered. Alex nodded again and returned his attention to the book.

He believed that he could probably obtain the translation from another Merchant too if necessary, but he decided not to ask about it for obvious reasons.

Alex flipped through a few more pages before asking, "Where will you appear next?"

"I will try to purchase land in this area. The reason Merchants are appearing all around the world right now is because we are scouting the place. Once the scouting period is complete, the System will hold an auction, and the highest bidder for each piece of land will get the right to establish a shop there," the Merchant replied.

The Merchant added, "By the way, I’m Jackel."

"Alex Mercer," Alex replied. He looked around the shop before turning his attention back toward Jackel. "I also need information about the Apocalypse and what is going to happen in the future. I’m willing to pay for it."

Jackel’s expression became slightly more serious. "I can’t give you much more than what I have already told you. The System strictly prohibits us from revealing information about Integration, which I believe is what you call the Apocalypse."

Alex remained silent, waiting for him to continue. Jackel seemed to consider his next words before speaking again.

"That said, Monarchs will soon appear. They normally don’t pay much attention to Mages, but I believe you might be different because of the rate at which you are developing your magic is quite fast. Be careful with whom you choose though, and train as much as you can right now. After Monarchs appear, the other Ascenders—"

Blue lightning suddenly flickered around Jackel before striking him directly on the head. A loud crack echoed through the shop, and Jackel nearly fell from his chair as smoke began rising from his body.

Alex stared at him in surprise. "What was that?"

"System restriction," Jackel answered while reaching beneath the counter. "I was trying to tell you as much as I could without crossing the System’s restrictions on information about Integration, but I ended up giving you a little too much, so the System warned me before I could finish."

He pulled out a small container that looked like an ointment and began applying it to his forehead. Jackel seemed more annoyed than injured, as though being struck by lightning was an inconvenience he had already experienced before.

’It was probably a warning shot. If he does it again, System might act seriously,’ Alex thought.

Before Alex could ask anything else, Dobe suddenly came running toward the counter. The young alien was shouting something in his own language while his three eyes were filled with worry, and he immediately grabbed Jackel and looked him over.

"I’m fine," Jackel said, trying to calm him down. "It was nothing serious, so you don’t need to worry."

Dobe continued speaking while holding onto him, and one of his tails began glowing faintly.

Alex wasn’t sure whether that was simply a normal reaction for his species or an expression of concern, but it seemed obvious that Dobe was worried about Jackel. He waited until Dobe had calmed down before speaking.

"I also want to sell some items," Alex said.

"The corpses of those Wild Orcs?" Jackel asked.

"Yes," Alex replied with a nod.

"Finally. Those were the reason I appeared in this area in the first place. They were all killed rather easily, so at first I thought some Rogue had done it, but I guess that was you," Jackel said with a chuckle.

"Yes," Alex admitted.

..

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