Chapter Five
New Year 1256... Honestly, keeping a year system in this world is a silly thing to do, because there are no seasons. Everything in the Chaotic Region is chaotic, while the Safe Zone is perpetually comfortable.
However, time still needs to be recorded, otherwise it's impossible to record what has happened. So, the time it takes for the sun's disk above the safe zone to complete one revolution is defined as a day, fifty days as a month, one hundred days as a season, and four hundred days as a year. This is the year-counting system of this world.
The Sun Wheel is a nearly circular rotating disc that can be seen when you look up in Anteiku. It appears to be about the size of a washbasin on the ground, but it is actually estimated to be thousands or tens of thousands of years old in diameter. Its shape is irregular, resembling a blade covered with serrations.
Its surface is covered with jet-black patterns.
In the scriptures, God calls it the sun, and allows it to shine its light and heat upon the world from directly overhead.
That's actually not a good thing. Legend has it that it was one of the weapons of the gods in mythology. When fully activated, it could turn the entire world into a sea of fire. It's something that would destroy the world once it was used.
However… it seems to have been damaged by some demon, forcibly stopped halfway through its activation. The cracks on it are probably some kind of seal. It sounds like a bad thing, but in fact… without that seal, according to the scriptures, it would have shattered into countless arrows of light, simultaneously collapsing into the ultimate darkness—the moon wheel. After the sun wheel ignites the entire world, the moon wheel will shatter completely, forcibly destroying this world that the god created from the chaotic space.
And what should have been an eternal flame became somewhat malfunctioning due to this destruction... specifically, it would go out when it was about two-thirds complete. The entire world would then be plunged into darkness. That period was called night by the people here.
Hmm… honestly, we shouldn't ask too many questions about those things, and most people who live in this world are pretty easygoing. Seeing this dreadful thing spinning round and round in the air, some genius suddenly suggested, "Should we use it to keep track of time?"
As it turns out, this was indeed a good suggestion.
The new year is calculated using the aforementioned method of timekeeping, with the beginning of the year 1256 years ago marked by a great battle. That battle was between the clergy of God and the contractors of demons, and the clergy's victory restarted the yearkeeping system, which had been interrupted by chaos.
As for the time before that… we can only estimate it roughly, because in such a chaotic world of constant warfare, it was impossible to record time; it was too disorganized, and each region recorded it differently. Therefore, after the great decisive battle, unification occurred. This marked the beginning of a new era.
In short, today is the 5th of the second month of the third quarter of the new year 1256, a very normal day for the past thousand years, and there isn't even a major event worth recording on this day.
But the atmosphere in the city was very nice today. There were guys wearing tattered straw hats playing strange instruments and singing on the street. After whistling at the guy pushing a triangular cart on the street, they took the food he was given out from him in a wooden box.
Except for a very few cities, food in most cities was centrally controlled and distributed daily per capita. These were crops grown in safe zones, and because they were extremely limited, this method was the only way to ensure a minimum standard of living.
The guy wearing the straw hat was eating the food from his lunchbox and couldn't help but feel a little happy because today's meal was finally a bit salty.
A month ago, the city ran out of salt, making it impossible to supply the city's daily needs.
Salt isn't exactly a high-class commodity; it's a necessity of life, but you'll get sick if you don't have it for a long time.
However, salt is not produced here, so we can only wait for outsiders to bring salt to sell, and therefore we have to use salt according to the minimum standards.
So after enduring a month of bland boxed lunches, that guy arrived, bringing a whole cartload of table salt.
In the square in the middle of the city, a large crowd had gathered. A man with a cane was opening buckets one by one next to a carriage and then using a short sword to check for any quality problems.
"Twenty barrels in total." Yak patted the bamboo cage in the carriage behind him. "I'll give you a discount, fifteen real gold coins."
Opposite him was a man who looked quite old, with many wrinkles etched on his forehead and deep-set eyes. He looked at Ark with a hint of wariness: "Eight coins, eight coins are enough for you to earn."
As he spoke, he closed the lid in front of him and gave the person next to him a look.
“Old man, you’re going a bit too far with your bargaining.” Ake’s expression was one of helplessness. “I’ve already crossed a chaotic region, and I’m exhausted. Can’t you give me a little more for my trouble? Twelve coins, that’s the lowest I can go.”
"The cost of twenty barrels of salt is one counterfeit gold coin." The old man frowned slightly. "You're asking for too much. Ten real gold coins is already a lot."
"Okay, okay, I know I was greedy," Yak said helplessly. "But ten is too few."
The old man looked very angry, repeatedly tapping the ground with his cane, clearly displeased with the man in formal attire in front of him.
In this world, gold and silver coins are the primary circulating currencies. Because copper is a usable metal, there are no copper coins. The cheapest currency is called mixed coins… or scrap coins. As the name suggests, these are currencies made by mixing in random scraps. Then there are genuine and counterfeit silver coins, distinguished by adding different proportions of gold and silver to the mixed coins.
Actually, it has a very long and tongue-twisting name, something like the Audratorimi Universal Merchant Currency. Come on, such high-class names shouldn't be used here, so it's mostly called something like "rotten board."
In short, one thousand worthless coins are equivalent to one counterfeit silver coin mixed with a little silver, and ten counterfeit silver coins are equivalent to one counterfeit gold coin mixed with a little gold. The monetary value of pure gold and silver is not fixed; strictly speaking, no one can make pure gold and silver coins, only relatively more so. Moreover, it's rare to buy anything with these coins; they are usually sent to blacksmiths to be forged into commonly used coins.
Therefore, a real gold coin is a very large unit, enough to buy a decent horse.
"If you are too greedy, God will punish you." The old man took a deep breath and rubbed his temples.
“At least so far, God hasn’t done anything to me.” Ark shrugged expressionlessly. “But you guys are in trouble.”
The old man knew what trouble he was talking about. There were tens of thousands of people in the city who consumed a lot of salt every day, but they were out of salt.
After a period of silence, the old man seemed to have aged even more, his back hunched even more. He waved his hand, indicating that the matter was settled. Then he turned and walked away shakily, without looking at Yak's face again.
A cheerful whistle came from behind him; it was Ark, who had made a fortune. He then took out the headdress with the little expression from his pocket and put it on. A cheerful smile appeared in the gem.
The person who came to pay was a boy who looked about the same age as Yak. Unlike the old man, he couldn't hide his emotions well. He threw a bulging money bag at the smug guy with a deflated expression.
But Yak didn't even turn his head; he caught the bag of money with his other hand, tossed it a few times in the air, and then leaned it against the carriage full of barrels.
After the transaction was completed, each coin had to be verified by teeth to confirm its authenticity. Who knew if these guys would try to fool people with gold-plated items? Fortunately, the people here were relatively honest, and Ark easily left his teeth marks on them. After checking the last coin, he skillfully flicked it high into the air and caught it. Then he put it into the bag at his waist and stretched contentedly.
This trip was truly comfortable. We didn't encounter anything particularly horrific along the way—no monsters, no major natural disasters—it was a very smooth journey. We even happened to arrive during a resource crisis, which allowed us to earn a considerable amount of money.
Originally, this truckload of salt would only sell for five... oh no, originally, selling it for three would have been considered lucky. But this time the profit was so great that Yak couldn't help but regret not transporting two fewer truckloads.
He's an old businessman; he's been in the business for far longer than it seems, perhaps even longer than that old man has lived. After a while, anyone in that business will inevitably pick up some of that money-grubbing stench.
“Ark… I think you’re going a bit too far.” A hoarse voice came from inside the bamboo cage as Ark helped carry it.
The sudden sound startled Yak, causing him to drop the item on the ground.
"Oh my god, you scared me." Yak put the bamboo cage down at his feet and picked up another one at random: "My bad, I forgot you were still in there."
"It's alright... but you're asking for way too much. I think one would be enough for us to make a profit." The guy in the bamboo cage brought up the matter persistently: "After all, we're safe on the road."
“But if I lower the price, we’ll go hungry,” Yak whispered to the creature in the cage. “Keep your voice down too. You haven’t gotten your identification yet. If you’re discovered, you might get kicked out.”
“We’re asking for way too much money, you know, this city…” The guy was a bit persistent, still bringing up the matter.
“I understand, I understand. I know it’s unethical to charge a high price when people are most short of salt. But I didn’t add any sand, and the salt is all high-quality; you can’t even feel a lump the size of a fist.” Yak patted the cage: “Do you want to come out for some fresh air? According to our agreement, two of them are yours. You can go and buy something you like.”
The cage then fell silent. Yak shrugged helplessly, took two real gold coins from his pocket, and slipped them through the gap in the bamboo cage.
"Hey, don't just stand around, come help me move the salt!" Denos, who was carrying a bucket of salt, yelled at Ark, "Damn it, can't you switch to selling potions or gems? Those things are much easier to transport!"
Denos had his reasons for complaining; the weight of this bucket of salt was considerable. He was, after all, a scholar, a man who could fight with mere words. Physical strength had never been his forte.
"Huh? Are you kidding me? How many people do you think can afford gems and potions?" Ark yelled at him, "The profit margin on those things is too low, not to mention that if you come across something big on the road and have to throw it away, you'll lose even more money."
"Stop talking nonsense and come move the stuff." Denos didn't want to talk to Arkdo. This guy had a lot of witty and convoluted ways of speaking, and it was giving him a headache.
The amount of salt in that bucket was quite large, which made his slightly loose cervical spine feel a sense of possibility that it might be broken.
Yak wanted to say something more, but there was someone else behind him.
"Um... do you need my help?" Suddenly he felt his clothes being tugged, and when he turned around, he saw Lady looking a little hesitant.
“No need, go lie down.” Yak stacked the two buckets of salt together, picked them up and said, “You can’t use one hand, go rest in the car first.”
Then, he slowly turned his head to look at Lady, and raised an eyebrow, realizing something was wrong. The woman's skin had become even paler, and beneath the bandages, several dark lines were faintly visible.
"Damn it, aren't you in the coffin?" Yak put down what he was holding, his head aching. "Come here."
Lady was clearly frightened and seemed to want to back away, but she didn't dare to go far.
Yak grabbed her other shoulder and pulled her towards him, then pulled a folding knife from his pocket and slashed open a bandage.
The original wound has turned completely black, showing no signs of healing and even tending to reopen.
Lady was clearly frightened by her own wound, and her voice suddenly became tearful: "What, what happened?"
“Denos, you handle the unloading.” Ark took a small black stone from his pocket, made a cut on it with his folding knife, and it immediately turned crimson as if it were on fire. Then he stuffed a handkerchief from his pocket into Lady’s mouth, and before she could struggle, he pressed the stone into her wound.
The next moment, wisps of white smoke rose from the wound, along with groans of excruciating pain... but because his mouth was gagged, only muffled sounds could be heard.
Lady fell straight to the ground, the intense pain causing all her muscles to spasm. If Ark hadn't been holding her down, she would have rolled around on the ground several times.
"Are you alright?" Denos asked, watching as Ark roughly bandaged his wound and put it on his back.
"It's become a black wound." Ark answered succinctly: "Old man, are there any priests here?"
As he said this, he looked at the old man beside him, a hint of anxiety on his face.
“Someone has been corrupted? Then go to the west of the city and look for them. There’s a church there.” The old man raised an eyebrow, looking at the girl on his back who was struggling in pain. “Heh, you’d better hurry, or the demon will eat her.”
“She doesn’t look appetizing,” Acton paused, then said, “but you’re right, I should hurry.”
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