The Ashen Dominion
Chapter 41 - Trade

Chapter 41: 41 - Trade

Khan and Brock explained to me what magic is after I asked them about it.

And as it turns out...

’They’re exactly what I thought they were.’

A few people can control and manipulate a mysterious energy that exists all over in this world called [Aether].

’Why can’t they just call it mana? It’s basically the same thing.’

Moving on, not everyone can control Aether.

Although—

Everyone has it in their body, flowing like a river through their veins. This mysterious energy is said to be present everywhere.

That’s why Aether is believed to be—the breath of the gods.

And those who can control it... are called mages—or the chosen ones.

’Yeah, cliche.’

Mages can make impossible things possible with Aether.

They can summon fire, lightning, water. They can manipulate earth, nature, and much more.

And they call it magic.

Mages can literally do whatever they want as long as they have enough Aether and talent.

People in this world sees them as humans closest to gods.

And there are only a few of them, about one in ten thousands.

So all in all, if ranked in gaming terms—

[Traits] are uncommon, [Skills] are rare... And [Magic] is epic.

And as far as I know...

’I hit the rare.’

I smiled when I thought of that.

...

...

*****

"Your skill is still just starting to bloom. You need to practice using it and make it stronger."

Brock said to me as he, Khan, and I sat on the ground. I was in the middle.

"How do I train it?"

I glanced at him and asked.

Then, with a casual shrug—

"Just use it frequently and get used to it. As you learn how to control it, you’ll be able to make it stronger."

Brock explained—it was obvious he was speaking from experience.

"Mhm. Got it."

I replied to him, nodding my head.

I took a mental note of that.

Then, after a moment...

"..."

I grew curious about something.

And unconsciously...

"Is [Intimidation] a strong skill?"

I asked that.

"..."

"..."

Khan and Brock just looked at me after hearing my question. And realizing how it sounded—

"Ah, my bad. I didn’t mean to doubt its capabilities."

I said quickly.

Then immediately—

"I just thought veteran fighters and strong people can probably emit murderous intent too. So basically, can’t everyone acquire [Intimidation] by just getting strong?"

I followed up with that.

"..."

"..."

Brock and Khan remained silent.

A few seconds passed. Then—

"KAHAHAHAHAHA—!!!"

"Haha, you’re smart, kid."

The two of them suddenly burst into laughter.

"...?"

I just tilted my head at them.

And after a few while—

"Hah..."

"Fuuu..."

They finally calmed down.

"That’s right, kid. Our skill isn’t really that special if you think about it. Anyone can emit strong murderous intent once they reach a certain level."

Brock confirmed, nodding.

But then—

"But that doesn’t mean it’s weak."

He added, smirking.

And before I could even ask what he meant—

"With our skill, we can produce much stronger murderous intent. I mean, look at you. You’re nowhere near the level to do that on your own—but with the skill, boom... just like that."

Brock explained that.

"With it, you can trick your opponent into thinking you’re stronger. And actually, I only found this out after training the skill with Khan... our skill can cause hallucinations in our targets."

"Just use it properly, and it’ll be a very useful one."

And then he added with a shrug.

"..."

I stayed silent for a moment after hearing his words.

’Hmm...’

I thought about all the things I could possibly do with the skill I now have.

I ran scenarios in my head. A lot of them.

And not long after that...

"Yeah, it’ll definitely be useful."

I mumbled that, a slight smile forming on my face.

And following me—

"Of course it is... Skills wouldn’t be such a big deal to everyone if they weren’t useful."

Khan said beside me.

I turned to him. And silently—

’Fair, I guess.’

I agreed to what he said.

...

Anyway, we continued talking as we sat in the ground.

...

*****

"What? You want to keep it a secret that you have a skill?"

Khan asked, repeating what I told him and Brock just a second earlier with widened eyes.

And without hesitation—

"Yeah."

I replied to him.

"But why? You’ll get special treatment if the boss knows this."

Brock followed with a question.

"..."

I looked at the two of them. They were waiting for my response.

I trust these two, including Jin who’s currently out. So opening my mouth...

"I’ll hide my skill and train it to be stronger. That way, my opponents won’t know about it—and they won’t see it coming when I use it in the match."

I casually said that.

I actually have another reason besides this—I just don’t want the boss and the guards to know I have a skill. It might be handy for me in the future.

But I didn’t share that part with Khan and Brock.

Moving on...

"Hmm, that’s true."

"I get it."

The two responded, understanding why I planned to keep my skill a secret.

And after that—

"Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone."

"Yeah, kid. Just go wild out there, haha!"

They told me that.

"Thanks, misters."

I thanked them.

Then—

The three of us continued talking. It was already a bit late, but we were waiting for someone.

It was obvious who it was.

...

...

And finally, after an hour or two—

Creak—

The metal bar gate opened...

Tap—

And Jin stepped inside the copper place.

"Hm?"

He immediately noticed us staring at him as soon as he got in.

"Hey!"

"Yo, mister."

"Welcome back."

We signaled him to come and join us.

And Jin didn’t waste a second...

"Meh, whatever."

He just approached us and sat beside Khan.

We exchanged greetings when he got here.

We also asked Jin what happened to him in the silver prize room.

He just told us nothing much, and that he enjoyed his sweet time there. So we let it go.

Then—

"What were you guys talking about before I got here?"

Jin asked that with a straight face—he wasn’t really curious, just asking to keep the conversation going.

Though—

"Hehe..."

"Heh..."

"Haha..."

The three of us let out a small laugh after hearing him.

"...?"

"You guys okay? You three look stupid."

Jin said, looking at us all confused.

And with smug smiles on our faces—

"Well, earlier... About skills and stuff... Kaiser... Then..."

We told Jin what happened earlier—about me awakening a skill, and how it all went down.

...

...

...

And after hearing the whole thing—

"What?!"

Jin exclaimed in shock, his eyes wide open, staring at me.

"Are you serious...?"

He asked in disbelief.

And shrugging my shoulders—

"You bet we are."

I answered confidently.

"..."

Jin became silent. He couldn’t find any words to say.

Except—

"Congrats...?"

He even mumbled that like a question.

We just laughed at him and the three of us continued boasting about my skill to him. It’s just me who awakened a skill... But Brock and Khan looks more excited than me.

*****

Anyway...

The four of us stayed seated, talking about the event yesterday, my skill, the prize rooms, and everything else.

Random stuffs, really.

Then, out of nowhere—

"What did you get from Barnus?"

Jin asked me that.

"Oh, right..."

"We’re curious."

Khan and Brock followed.

"..."

I looked at the three of them.

"A bottle of alcohol. That bastard didn’t have much except that."

And I just said that.

"What about you?"

I asked back to Jin.

And Jin, with a bored expression on his face...

"I took Hans’ greatsword. He didn’t have anything else worth taking. It’s in my room right now."

He declared that.

"Let us see, take it here!"

"Yeah, we want to see."

"The alcohol too!"

Brock and Khan followed excitedly.

"..."

Jin and I looked at each other. It was obvious in our expressions—we both weren’t happy with what we got.

And so, with a small nod of our heads...

"Wait here, guys."

"I’ll go get it, misters."

We stood up and went to get the items from our rooms.

Jin and I were trying to see if Brock and Khan would be interested in trading with us.

...

...

Not long after—

Tap—

"I’m here again."

I came back to where Brock and Khan were waiting, holding the bottle of alcohol in my hands. Jin wasn’t back yet.

Anyway, as I sat back down...

"Ohhh, that looks expensive."

I heard Brock say, staring at the bottle.

A smile appeared on my face after hearing that.

’A potential customer.’

"What kind of alcohol is that?"

Khan asked, eyeing the bottle curiously too.

’Another one.’

I thought.

And while holding back my smile—

"I don’t know, it just says [Celada] on the label."

I mumbled that. I could still read it even though it was written in a language that wasn’t English.

But then, hearing my words...

"What? You can read?"

Brock asked that.

"Hm? I thought you were clueless about the world. How come you can read?"

And then Khan followed up.

"..."

I immediately went silent at that. My head racing fast, thinking of an excuse.

Then while keeping a poker face, and with my shamelessness—

"I taught myself how to when I was roaming around in the streets all day back then."

I declared that without stuttering.

"Huh?"

Khan frowned at my answer, raising a brow.

"I know. I’m such a genius, right?"

I said.

And before the two could even say anything—

"I’m back."

TAP!

Jin finally returned!

"Hm?"

"Oh, Jin."

The attention immediately shifted to him... And to the massive sword that he was carrying with both hands!

’Phew... Got away with that.’

I was relieved. He was really on point with that timing.

Anyway...

"Oh..."

Staring at the greatsword in Jin’s hands—

"That’s cool."

I unconsciously muttered that as I looked at the plain silver blade that was as tall as me, and the handle wrapped simply with cloth for grip.

I imagined myself swinging it around.

"Oh... That alcohol looks nice too."

Jin mumbled back, glancing at the bottle in my hands.

He’s probably thinking of drinking it.

"..."

"..."

The two of us looked at each other, silent.

"...?"

"Kid? Jin?"

Khan and Brock looked back and forth between us, confused by our reaction.

We just ignored them.

And then, after a few seconds of thinking...

Also impulsively—

"Wanna trade?"

I asked that to Jin.

And Jin, unexpectedly—

"Sure. I want to drink too tonight."

He accepted without hesitation!

"Sweet."

I muttered.

"...?"

"Huh? What?"

Khan and Brock were confused as fuck to what just happened.