Nox's POV:
"That old geezer can go eat a load of shit!" I mumbled in frustration as I made my way towards the nearest town.
I swam across an ocean of trouble to get here, just so that old geezer doll could shame me for being late, when he was the one who got the time wrong in the first place.
"Maybe I should go wreck that playboys castle again! Maybe if I beat his ass hard enough, he'll take down my bounty!" I muttered to myself as I entered town.
I had pulled up my hood and changed the color of my hair and mask just to be safe, in case I was spotted by some bounty hunters. It's not my first time being unfairly branded a criminal, so I knew not to flaunt my mask all over the place.
"Hm?"
I passed by the group gathering in front of the noticeboard in the center of town, as I made my way towards one of the street stalls selling miscellaneous rocks.
"I'll take that rock over there!" A young guy said to the vender.
"That will be one low-grade sir! Do you want me to open it? It only costs a gold teal!" The stall owner asked.
It is called 'Rock Gambling'. It's a game of chance that's prevalent on this continent. It is a game of chance where people bet on a type of hollow rock called a 'geode' and get whatever might be inside it. Geodes are one of the more likely places you could find a decent grade magic stone, as it sometimes acts as a container for small pockets of elemental energy which over time will solidify into magic stones.
"No thanks!" The dude said before smashing the rock with his bare hands.
"It seems like it was a dud! Would you like to try another one good sir?"
The average concentration of elemental energies rises in sequence with the number assigned to the martial continent. It's the reason why there are thousands of people ascending to the realm of nascent soul every year on the 2nd continent, while at most only one person per decade makes that leap over on the 1st, not counting the ones I created artificially last year. It is also the reason why you're more likely to win at this game here than if you played over on the 1st continent. It's the reason why it is more popular here than on the 1st continent, as you can usually find at least one stall like this in most towns or cities on the 2nd continent.
"I'll take that one!"
Though magic stones are the most common prize you can get in this game, it is not the only one.
*Smash*
"Eww! What's with all the slime? It's all over my hand!"
Occasionally, certain beasts or insects use it to hide their stuff. It can be anything from valuable herbs to raw meat, but in the case of the guy trying to wipe the sticky slime of his hands, it can also be a safe place to hide their unborn offspring.
"It seems like there was an egg inside that one!"
"Egg? Is that what this goo is from?"
"What a shame! Beast eggs can go for a lot these days! If only you had paid for the extraction fee, you might have hit the jackpot, good sir!"
"Seriously! Damn it!"
"How much are they sold for?" I asked.
"Hm? Young miss, do you perhaps want to try your luck! If fortune smiles on you today you might become richer than you ever could have imagined!"
"Sure, but could you answer my question?"
"Eh?"
"How much can I sell an egg for on the open market?" I asked, getting a little annoyed at the guy for forgetting my question over his dumb sales pitch.
"Well, I'm no expert on the matter, but I once heard someone sold a rare grade magic beast egg for 3 mid-grade magic stones!"
"Then I want this one, that one, oh and this one!" I said, trying not to reveal the joy in my tone as I went on a shopping spree.
As an expert geologist, monsterologist as well as my sixth sense that can practically see through the darn things, I could accurately pinpoint which rock had an egg inside it.
"Hm?" As I was about to end my shopping spree of rock eggs I could sell on the perfectly legal animal slave market, I noticed a strange geode.
It was pitch black in color, with a flat surface. The reason why it piqued my interest was because it was blocking my magical ex-ray vision.
"I want that one!" I said, as I reached out for it.
"This one please!" Some pretty boy said doing the same.
I suddenly found myself in a predicament. Some shmuck is trying to steal this wonderful mystery box away from me.
"I said, touched and saw it first! It's mine!"
"Young lady, you already have so many rocks, can't you show some restraint and leave some for the rest of us!" The schmuck said while pointing at the pile of dirty eggs I was holding in my other arm.
"Restraint is for people with a problem, and you're about to have one if you don't let go of my hand!" I threatened, as I wasn't keen on holding hands with someone else's kid.
"Hehe! You sure about that?" He said, releasing his qi.
If my research on nascent souls is correct then I'm pretty sure this dude is in the yellow stage of the nascent soul, meaning he is in the 3rd stage of the realm. The average nobody here usually stays at around red or orange stage until they die, while those with talent and/or resources are the rare few who reach this stage. Which explains why everyone is staring at us.
"Mhm! Mhm! Yeah, I'm sure I could take you baby face! Now run along before this gets ugly!"
Apparently, the aging process slows way down for certain parts of the body once you reach the nascent soul, and it continues the higher you go. It's probably why most nascent souls walking the streets here look at least middle-aged, while rich and talented people like this schmuck look like they are still teenagers even when they're older than some of those geezers surrounding us.
"Cocky girl! Do you not know who I am or are you just that arrogant?"
"Well, you don't know who I am, so we are even! Now scram before I kick your ass!"
"Dear customers, please don't fight! Miss, since you already have so many! Can't you just be generous and give this one to the young sir?"
"Generosity is for suckers with more than they know what to do with! I on the other hand don't have that luxury, so sorry old rock peddler, but I'm gonna smash this rich kid's face in! You can send him the bill for the collateral!"
"HAHAHA! You're a funny one! I'll let you live, but that rock is mine!" He said swiping the thing out of my hands.
"That's not a rock baby face!" I said, as I had already moved it into my storage space while he wasn't looking.
"Wha-!"
*Boom*
The thing he had swiped out of my hands was a small explosive I had swapped the rock with. And it seemed like this guy's lightning qi lit the fuse shortly after grabbing it as it exploded in his face.
"Okay, so it was one low grade per rock right! Here you go! See ya, wouldn't want to be ya!" I said in a hurry as I wanted to get out of here with my basket of eggs intact.
"HOLD IT!" The soot-covered baby face grabbed my wrist.
Unfortunately, it's never that easy.
"HOW DARE YOU ATTACK ME IN SUCH A COWARDLY WAY! HAVE YOU NO SHAME?"
"You should probably wipe that racism of your face, before judging someone else!" I said, pointing out the black soot covering his face.
"*sigh* Die!" He said, before unleashing the torrent of electric farts that leaked out of his pores and shot towards me.
"You mind not farting your qi in my face? It's kind of annoying!" I said as I used my spirit magic to stop him from killing the unborn goldmine I just scammed out of some old guy.
"Hm? So, you can withstand my lightning blast technique! Impressive, but that won't save you!" He said as I watched his thunder sweat technique zapping everything around us indiscriminately.
"NOW TAKE MY-!"
"KNOCK IT OFF YOU TWO!"
Just as the baby face was about to do something, some other baby-faced guy came to give us a noise complaint.
"Keep out of this Puja! This girl needs to be taught a lesson!"
"Restrain yourself Jai! You have already caused enough damage don't you think?" The less violent baby face said, pointing out the scorched street we were standing in.
"Tsk! Fine, let's go girl! This great man will teach you some manners outside of town! Huh?"
It seemed Mr. thunder sweat didn't notice me swapping my wrist with a baguette while he was distracted by the other guy. I got to enjoy listening to his angry ranting from the next street over, while I walked away with a smile under my mask.