Mage And Wolf
Chapter 240

Chapter 240: Chapter 240

"There’s a red dragon run Orphanage in town. Tiny here is one of their hardest workers, cleaning sidewalks for the casinos." The White Priestess informs me.

Looking at the token, it holds the energy roughly equivalent a quarter of a grade 1 monster core. If the spell can use that, it would make for smooth operations of the store here in the Demon run Outpost.

"I’m not good with Demon currency, what’s that worth?

"About a Silver Coin in Dragon Currency?"

Alright, that’s more than I initially expected, but much less than the energy equivalent in Monster Cores. A silver coin is worth about a hundred dollars American, if anyone still used them. Maybe the difference is because of the niche uses of the energy? Cores are used for all sorts of things, but these coins are best for demons and certain types of cultivators.

[Hey Karl can the spell use these Tokens?] I ask him through the mind link shared by mates so the boy doesn’t hear and he nods.

"What about cake? We’ve got everything here to make a chocolate cake, plus you can get something for dinner." I suggest and the boy nods enthusiastically.

"Shania, can we have cabbage stew tonight?" The boy asks hopefully, looking at the White Priestess.

"Sure, I’ve got all the ingredients. With this much money I can even get you a chicken for the stew." She smiles back, loading flour, cocoa powder and the other ingredients for cake onto the counter before going to grab the vegetables.

Her husband ducks into the back room and creates a large plucked chicken from the newly created spell, putting it into a plastic bag and setting it on the counter by the other goods. There is really quite a lot of stuff here, she’s definitely giving the Orphanage a discount on their groceries, but I’m assuming this is what’s needed to feed them all.

"You’re pretty strong but this might be a bit too much for one man to carry, how about I give you a hand?" Karl asks as the boy looks dubiously at the collection of food on the counter. At this point it weighs almost as much as he does.

"I would appreciate it, thank you High Priest." The boy replies formally with a bow and Karl packs almost all of it in his storage rings, leaving the boy the chicken and a bag of cabbages to carry.

The two head out right away, leaving me to say our goodbyes to the shopkeepers before chasing them down the street. They’re discussing the ’manly virtue’ of physical strength so I hang back a ways, not wanting to interfere in their bonding time by having the boy notice I’m far stronger than either of them, being a physical cultivator.

Looking at the prices of goods in the shops we pass, most things are five times what they are in Arcana, where they’re available at all. That must be the point where it becomes more worth it to close up shop and go find them yourself, at least in the minds of the local vendors. The market for trinkets with assorted benefits and leather clothing is doing well for stock though, both being imports from the Demon Realm. The population boom is taking up everything else as fast as they can obtain it.

It’s not a long walk to the Orphanage, clearly marked with the sign of the Red Dragon and the sounds of combat training ringing through the air. Most of these kids won’t be soldiers, but merchant’s guards and Casino security, an improvement in lifestyle for certain, as both are very well paid jobs with high requirements of their applicants.

The Matron sees the pair of us escorting Tiny home and she comes out to greet us with a smile. "Shania warned me that you’d be coming. Thank you for your assistance with the groceries. How much did she load him up with today?"

"Just cake materials and ingredients for chicken vegetable stew." I laugh as Tiny leads Karl to the kitchen to put down the day’s haul. The kids taking a break from training are giving us curious looks, both due to our rank and the fact we’ve come to visit the Orphanage at all. Other than employers and instructors, not many visitors come to see them.

The Matron takes me on a short tour of the common areas, pointing out the kids studying and the ones cultivating or training for combat. The technique is rudimentary at best is my first impression, but having so many Immortal Realm level techniques in the memories from Elder Po my standards might be biased.

The red dragon prefers to be called Ma, and she’s very proud of her success. Along with these kids, she’s got another dozen still out for apprenticeship work until later this afternoon.

There’s only about fifteen kids currently here in total, they’re just loud enough to seem like many more. Four are sparring right now, with the guidance of two men in security uniforms.

"How about I go help them out while we wait for the others to return?" I ask, indicating the fighters. Karl is already busy helping the mystic cultivators with their techniques and waves off Ma’s look offering to rescue him.

"Are you up for it? They’re quite strong." She asks, clearly looking at my size and not my cultivation.

"I’m a physical cultivator and an Assassin of the Shadowed Blade Sect, if I can’t deal with a few children I deserve what I get." I laugh in response. The kids heard that and they’re almost as excited as their instructors, who have a much better idea what that means, to see what I can teach them.

"Today, I would love to give you a few pointers on restraining an opponent without injuring them or being injured yourself."

They all grin, some eager to learn, some more eager to get to grapple me.

"Who would like to play the part of the belligerent customer that needs to be escorted from the premises?" I ask the eager crowd and one of the instructors, a minotaur looking Demon nearly 2 meters tall steps forward.

"It is best if they learn with the greatest contrast, yes?" He smirks and assumes the stance of a staggering drunk and angry man looking for a fight, playing the part to perfection.