It had been one day since Alaric left the academy premises. He knew where his exact destination was and it still took him a whole day. He had rented a room from a hotel and whatever amount of money Alaric had left could only last him for two more days before he was left bankrupt.
But that was enough for him though. Bloodstones had reduced in their quality as one got stronger and thus the currency used was Origin Stones. Origin Stones were commonly used because many people were between the Cryptic Plane and the Salvia Plane.
Alaric entered Binary City with only one aim in mind and he knew for sure that he was going to be rich soon. There was a reason he chose Binary City after all. On his way, he had come to know a few interesting things.
He did not reduce the size of his Perception range at all. He maintained the 100 meter radius around him and everything his eyes could see were painted coloured in his mind. Even if it was just a glance. But that was not the most shocking though.
For humans and animals, it was different if he had not seen them and decided to use Perception. When there was a living thing, he would see the human or creature's shape but the difference would be that they would have an green yellowish colour in his mind.
Once he laid eyes on them, they would gain colour. By the time he reached Binary City, it was already evening and the sun would be setting soon. He stopped as he contemplated on where he was to go and have his accomodation.
He glanced around and he picked a random hotel. He walked inside and stood at the receptionist.
"How much is the accomodation?" Alaric asked the female receptionist who gave him a scrutinizing look.
"A thousand Origin Stones a night," she spoke her voice plain with no emotion at all.
"Does that account for the meals?" Alaric asked somewhat expectant. After another scrutiny, the lady replied.
"Yes. The thousand origin stones are for the low class rooms. If you want a higher standing, you can pay 3,000," the lady continued.
One could think she was weak but she was actually in the early stages of the Salvia Plane. What she was scrutinizing Alaric for was because it was hard to believe that the kid wearing sweatpants could afford the accomodations for their hotel. She wanted to ask if he was serious but the serious look on his face spoke it all.
She sighed as she handed him a key or rather call it an array plate. Alaric could not help but be intrigued by the array plate. But he realized just how simple it was. It appeared to be complex on the surface but he knew just how simple it was. He turned around and looked at the main room where there were seats around tables all over the room.
There was a set of stairs near the receptionist that led to an upper floor and he could also see another floor above it. He first wanted to get to the room assigned before he left for a while, he felt a cold glare behind though there was no killing intent behind it.
"Are you planning to go without paying first?" She asked as Alaric turned and scratched the back of his head. He really was absent minded.
He smiled at her as he paid and when he looked at the balance in his storage ring, he could not help but sigh. It was only left with a few thousand bloodstones and ten origin stones. He steeled himself as he walked towards the stairs. He reached the first floor and he decided to test the array plate as he attempted to climb the second floor.
He was met with a huge resistance and he could not even land his foot on the first step. He smiled at that as he concluded the use of the array plate that was no more than two fingers wide. It appeared that let alone the second floor, it was impossible to climb the first floor without the array plates.
It was a clever way of using arrays and he could not help but commend the creator of such array. It appeared there was an array that exerted pressure on the stairs. It was impossible for anyone to even dream of climbing the stairs without an array plate.
The purpose of the array plate was to nullify the pressure. The array plate Alaric had could only nullify the pressure up to the first floor and that was its limit. He could make a few tweaks on it to allow him climb the second floor if he willed it but he decided to he a good person. Not to mention he wad being observed.
When he reached the first floor, the array plate glowed with a number. A6. It appeared that that was his assigned room. He walked towards the room as he opened it by placing the array plate on the lock and the door opened on its own.
The receptionist on the ground floor shook her head when she saw him try to climb the second floor. She then continued with her work as though that was a common thing that usually happened. Few minutes later, she saw the kid walk out and head outside the hotel.
***
Alaric stood at the roadside staring at the setting sun. He was in need of some information and he knew that this was the best time to search for it. He walked aimlessly and saw different Guild buildings.
He attempted entering one but he was blocked and that was when he learned that he required a guild license. That would be a great place that he would manage to find the information he required from.
Alaric was not a fool though. He knew that fists spoke louder that words. The larger your fist, the larger your say. Had he been powerful, none of those guilds would dare stop him at all. Thinking to this point, he could not help but clench his fist. He was going to have to increase the size of his fist.
He walked aimlessly and it was getting dark as time went on. Even the street lights seemed to have been lit at the moment. It was then that at one streetlight post, he saw a guy wearing a cowboy hat that blocked his face.
The person had black hair and he was wearing a black mage robe. When Alaric reached him and was about to pass him, the person removed his hat and cleared his throat. On the side of his mouth was what appeared like a toothpick. He turned to the side spat on the road then spoke to Alaric.
"It seems that you are lost," he started. Alaric turned to look at the guy with common looks and brown eyes. He truly appeared somehow charismatic. Then the guy continued after Alaric remained silent. "Maybe I can help."
"Maybe what I need you can't help me with it," Alaric said with a knowing smile.
"Humph. Aiyaa, who know the ins and outs of the city more than I do? If there is anything you want, be free to ask me," the guy said.
"Funny how you expect me to trust you when you did not even introduce yourself," Alaric again gave that knowing smile.
"My bad. My bad. I actually forgot something so important. You can call me the Binary Eagle, he who see everything in the city from a higher dimension," the guy spoke triumphantly.
"Ha!" Alaric chuckled when he saw the guy show the gesture of open arms. There really were mad men no matter the market, was all he could conclude.
"You can also call me Diego," the guy said after he saw the hints of humour in Alaric's eyes. He really was being looked down upon by a kid in the Cryptic Plane. He was already in the Master Plane at the Seventh Stage already. Still, he chose to be calm.
"So Diego it is," Alaric said as he introduced himself too. "Call me Charles."
"So, Mr Charles how can I help you?" Diego asked emphasizing the 'mr'.
"I have travelled far to reach this city and I heard that it has the biggest auction house in the region. I have a treasure worth hundreds of Essence Stones if I am lucky but I have been looking for the auction house to no avail. I also do not know about the procedures to follow there. I was wondering whether you could be of help as you say, Binary Eagle?" Alaric spoke as he showed a helpless look.
It was true he was looking for the auction house but the problem was that he had been searching for a while yet he had not seen it let alone heard anyone mention it. Now that he had someone to take advantage of, why would he let the chance slip.
Diego smiled when he heard that. After all, Binary City was larger than Origin City. This was because Origin City had a whole academy in it thus lost some space but for Binary City which of the same size but was occupied with building all over but no academy... As a visitor, getting lost was easy as swallowing water.
"The auction house huh?"