The Market (1)

Technically, he was only able to access two facilities, the library and the training grounds.

There was not even a mess hall or a community gathering place that he had access to.

This was too isolating, especially for new members. Silas didn't believe that there was no community for new members because not having one was incredibly foolish. Most people, no matter how capable, always need a sense of community. Suppressing that need didn't cultivate strength—it bred detachment, and in time, inefficiency. A system that overlooked something so fundamental was, at its core, flawed.

And he was proven right. 'Training ground' was a broad term in nature. Rather than a place to train, it was better to define them as personal, isolated, or otherwise, spaces that are granted to members. These training grounds were originally public spaces created by Keystone itself to train its members. This was where they got their name from. Now, more than seventy percent of the training grounds are member-owned

That means that a member can turn his training ground into anything he wants. After exploring for just ten minutes, Silas found what he was looking for.

At the North-West of the Training grounds was a market, responsible for trade between members and fostering community. The first thing Silas thought of as he looked at the market was how ordinary it was.

It looked like a normal market, with small shops and stalls on either side of a main road, a classic style for a market. The second thing Silas noticed was how empty it was.

Other than the stall and shop owners, Silas could only count 73 customers. Silas was extremely curious about this market, so he went up to a one-stripe stall owner and asked, "Greetings! This is my first time here. Can you please tell me some information about this place and Keystone as a whole? "

"Ah. So you are one of the comers," said the stall-owner in return with enthusiasm. "I am told that this year's initiates were one of the best in this century. What's your name? "

"My name is Silas," replied Silas with a warm expression. If one didn't know him already, they would think he was the kindest soul in the universe.

"Oh. I know you. You can call me James. " He responded cheerfully.

Curious, Silas asked, "You know me."

"Yeah. Arthur mentioned you," James added, "he said to take care of you if I ever meet you."

Silas mumbled in response, "Of course, it's that guy."

"Arthur told me that you passed the Spiral Chamber on the first try, even though you know nothing about this place. " James continued.

"Is that a big deal? "

"Of course, only one percent of the people in Keystone have ever passed the test on the first try. And most of them already knew what the test was about and had prepared beforehand. "

"Is that so? Can you tell me more? " Silas asked humbly. James seemed like a nice guy who would answer his questions, so Silas didn't hesitate to ask.

"Sure. No problem. Let me give you a tour. I'll tell you everything I can about this place, and in return, I want you to do something for me. " James stated in the same cheerful voice.

"What is this favor? " Silas asked, showing a little caution.

"Nothing much. You just have to do me a favor in the future. "

Then, James placed his hand in front of Silas, clearly wanting a handshake.

Silas didn't know much about magic contracts, but he predicted that this handshake was some form of one. This made him hesitate. He didn't want to be involved in something that he clearly didn't understand. But in the end, he decided to shake James's hand.

His reasons for doing so were threefold. First of all, it was stated in the booklet he received about Keystone that 'members were not allowed to harm each other'. Silas didn't believe that an organization like Keystone, which had such strict control over information flow, so much so that it was literally starving him of it, would not be able to manage its members.

Secondly, Silas may be an ordinary human right now compared to the mage standing in front, but he was still confident of his reading skills. He was confident that the man in front was faking his enthusiasm, but he didn't mean any harm. He wasn't completely confident because he didn't understand the role magic played in this.

Thirdly, he understood that magic had rules. He didn't know much, but he knew that it was impossible to enforce a contract that he didn't agree to. He got this information from Terra. Magic contracts were one of the reasons why mages were more in demand than any other profession, despite their weakness compared to other professions.

As Silas had guessed, James was indeed trying to take advantage of Silas, but he didn't intend any harm. James knew that the man in front was talented, so he simply wanted to do him a small favor now to cash in a big one in the future.

After the two shook hands, James led Silas through the market as he began explaining. "This is the general market. I know what you are thinking, why is it so ordinary looking? The reason is that this is only for observer and disciple stage members.

This market works through the barter system. If you want something, you have to produce something of interest for the seller. Terra's currency is also accepted in the market, but the conversion rate is ridiculously low, so I suggest you don't use it unless you have a lot of it."

This got Silas curious, so he asked, "If Terra's coins can't be used, what can be? "

James replied without missing a beat, "Favors and promises mostly. Information can also be used.

In actuality, information and achievement points are the main currencies in Keystone, but as you know, achievements will not be available to use before the adept stage. And there is almost no transaction of information between two mages of the same rank. So, we use favors as the currency mostly. "