Volume 1: Stranger in a Strange Land Chapter 14: City of Thorns
City of Thorns.
The largest city in Blackwater Province and once the capital of the Blackwater Kingdom.
Located at the confluence of the Seber River and the Kaflan River, it is the second largest port city in the Blackwater Province. Every day, there are endless merchant fleets traveling between the Platinum Province and the Blackwater Province.
Not only is the shipping industry prosperous, Thorn City also owns the best source silver veins in the entire continent. Every year, selling refined source silver to mages across the continent can accumulate huge wealth for the rulers of this city.
The above-mentioned geographical advantages have made the City of Thorns prosperous, but it is also because of these unique advantages that the conspiracies and wars surrounding this city have never stopped for thousands of years, so some people call this city the City of Silver and Blood.
On top of the city wall, a flag with a giant dragon and a golden rose pattern intertwined was flying. The former was the symbol of the Riel Empire, while the latter was the family emblem of Duke Simon, the current ruler of Thorn City.
When they entered the door, William and Liliana were stopped by the guard. Liliana thought it was a routine questioning of their identities and was about to take out their ID. But she didn't expect the guard to just take out a bounty with a man's portrait printed on it.
"A bounty order signed by Duke Simon himself. The thug Cass Durant, former leader of the Blackthorn Mercenary Group. He has killed 27 innocent citizens. If anyone sees him, please report it to the nearest guard immediately."
The Thorn Guardian in black armor spoke to them sternly.
"Killed 27 innocent citizens..."
Liliana was secretly shocked along the way, but William didn't care much about the bounty order. Instead, he looked around the scenery in the city.
The current Thorn City has changed a lot compared to what William remembered. The entire city has been widened a lot, the former moat has now become an inner river for transporting goods within the city, and the original curved city wall has been changed to the bastion shape that he had seen in documentaries before.
Of course, the Rose Palace built at the highest point of the city has not changed much, except that some of the city walls have been covered with a layer of green moss due to the erosion of time.
The biggest difference from William's memory was that there was a tall tower with an elven architectural style not far from the Rose Palace.
The entire tower is built of chalk, and the tower body is inlaid with constellation patterns outlined by elemental silver, while the top of the tower shines with a deep magical glow.
Seeing William staring at the tall tower, Liliana introduced it.
"There are a total of twenty-four Star Lighthouses on the continent. They will light up alternately according to the positions of the constellations in different seasons, ensuring that there are thirteen lighthouses in operation at all times, guiding the astral magic power to flow into the human world to the greatest extent. This is also the basis for the operation of the Star Law."
As she spoke, she seemed to remember something and asked immediately.
"Wait a minute... You said you were coming to Thorn City to do some work, right? I never asked you what you were here for before. You're not really going to tear down this Star Lighthouse, are you?"
Hearing this, the other party finally withdrew his gaze from the lighthouse and looked at Liliana.
"No, it's not the right time yet. I came here just to investigate some things and purchase some source silver."
Although Liliana cared a lot about the words "It's not the right time yet", she suddenly became interested when she heard that he was planning to buy source silver.
"Source Silver? My friend has a special channel. Would you like me to introduce him to you? How much do you want to buy? If you buy more than 500 grams at a time, I can give you a discount."
"About 15 tons."
The expression on Liliana's face froze.
"Do you know how much one gram of source silver costs in the market now?"
"I still have a little money."
William said lightly.
In the game, gold coins are not counted towards the weight of the backpack, so the money he earned was always on him. As the game progressed, there were fewer and fewer places where money was needed, and the rewards for the missions he received increased. Before the game was about to be closed, it seemed that the number of gold coins had almost exceeded eight figures.
After the time travel, the four-dimensional backpack in the game became a portable space, which could be opened by using the [Space Rift] spell to take things out. According to his estimation, if all the gold coins in his backpack were taken out, they would probably be enough to cover several football fields.
It was at this time that William suddenly realized a problem that had been previously overlooked.
Are those gold coins in his hand, which are from a thousand years ago, still useful now?
…………
Liliana looked at the gold coin he took out and was silent for a long time before speaking.
"I now really believe that you have just woken up after sleeping for more than a thousand years... Don't you know that paper money is used in the empire now?"
"Paper money?"
William looked at the bright golden banknote Liliana took out with a strange look. The banknote she called "Golden Riel" was printed with the denomination, serial number, and dragon emblem of the Riel Empire. There was even a watermark that could verify its authenticity by refracting light.
He looked at the banknote and then at the medieval style of the city around him.
"Why do you have such rapid development in this area alone?"
Liliana was fiddling with a gold coin she had taken from William. As a student of archaeology, she could tell at a glance that it was the official currency of the Kos Empire a thousand years ago . In that era of the gold standard, this kind of gold coin was circulated throughout the continent.
"But for a coin that is more than a thousand years old, it looks very new and shows no signs of wear."
"So it's hard to sell on the black market?"
"It is not convenient to sell it as a cultural relic, as it will be suspected of being fake."
Liliana said.
"And it would be too ostentatious for the market to suddenly flood with hundreds of thousands of coins from a thousand years ago."
William added to himself, and then said.
"What if I melt the gold coins into gold? What is the current price of gold in gold riels?"
Liliana looked at him as if he were a loser.
"One to five, each piece of Jin Ruier is equivalent to five grams of gold, but it's a waste to sell cultural relics as gold."
"I can't use it anyway, so I might as well make use of it... By the way, where are you going next? Going back to Offa University?"
After these words were spoken, Liliana's mood became depressed again.
"I have to go to the Adventurer's Association first to return the ID cards of those people, and then..."
At this point, she finally realized what William meant.
"You don't want me to be your guide anymore?"
William nodded.
"Whether you go to the black market or somewhere else, it's not suitable for you to go with us. Let's separate here for now. I will come to visit Offa University when I have time. See you then."
He said as he turned to leave, but Liliana called out to him from behind.
"Wait a minute, Mr. William..."
Seeing the other person turning around, Liliana didn't know how to ask her question.
"I guess you want to ask if I can tell others about your situation?"
William looked at her and said.
"I personally don't recommend you tell anyone."
"In order not to reveal your identity?"
Liliana asked.
"For your own safety."
