Thorn City

Thorn City.

The number one city in Blackwater Province, once the capital of the Blackwater Kingdom.

Located at the intersection of the Cyber River and the Kavran River, it was the second-largest port city in Blackwater Province. There was an endless stream of merchant ships traveling between Platinum Province and Blackwater Province every day.

Not only was Thorn City developed in the shipping industry, but it also had the best Elementium Silver mineral vein on the continent. Selling refined Elementium Silver to mages all over the continent every year could accumulate a huge amount of wealth for the city's ruler.

The various geographical advantages created Thorn City's prosperity, but it was also because of this unique advantage that the scheming and war that had enveloped this city for thousands of years had never ceased. Therefore, some people called this city the 'City of Silver and Blood.'

On the city wall, a flag patterned with a dragon and a golden rose fluttered. The former was the symbol of the Riel Empire, and the latter was the emblem of the current ruler of Thorn City, Duke Simon.

When they entered, William and Liliana were stopped by the guards. Liliana originally thought that they would undergo routine interrogation such as their identities and was about to produce her papers when she unexpectedly saw the other party take out a bounty notice with a man's portrait printed on it.

"Duke Simon has personally issued a bounty. The thug, Cass Durant, is the former chief of the Bramble Mercenaries. He has already killed 27 innocent citizens. Please inform the nearest guard immediately if you see this person." the black-armored Bramble Guard said to them seriously.

"Killed 27 innocent citizens…"

Along the way, Liliana was secretly dumbfounded, but William didn't pay much attention to the bounties. Instead, he took in the city sights.

Thorn City had changed drastically from William's memories. The entire city had been widened, and the former moat had become an inland river for transporting goods in the city. The originally curved city wall had also been changed to look like the fort he had seen in a documentary.

Of course, the Rose Palace built at the highest point of the city didn't change much. It was just that some of the city walls were dyed with a layer of green moss by time's corrosion.

The greatest difference from William's memory was that not far from the Rose Palace, a tower in the style of elven architecture had been erected.

The entire tower was built of chalk, and the body of the tower was inlaid with a constellation pattern outlined by Elementium Silver. The top of the tower flickered with deep magical light.

Liliana introduced when she saw William staring at the tower, "There are a total of 24 Astral Lighthouses on the continent. They will light up alternately according to the location of the constellations based on the seasons, ensuring that 13 lighthouses are in operation at any time to maximize the flow of Astral World magic into Currere. This is also the foundation for the operation of Astral Laws."

With that said, she seemed to have thought of something and immediately asked, "Wait a minute… You said that you were coming to Thorn City to do something, right? I didn't ask you what you were here to do. You're not really going to demolish this Astral Lighthouse, are you?"

The other party finally retracted his gaze from the lighthouse and looked at Liliana.

"No, it's not the time yet. I'm only here to investigate something and buy some Elementium Silver."

Although Liliana was very concerned about the fact that 'it's not the time yet,' she suddenly became interested when she heard that he planned on buying Elementium Silver.

"Elementium Silver? My friend has the means. Do you want me to help do the introductions? How much do you want to buy? I can give you a discount if you buy more than 500 grams in one go."

"About 15 tonnes."

The expression on Liliana's face froze.

"Do you know how much Elementium Silver costs on the market these days?"

"I still have some money," William said casually.

In the game, gold coins didn't count toward the weight of his backpack, so the money he earned remained with him. As the number of places he needed money for in the later stages of the game decreased, and the remuneration he received from Quests increased, the number of gold coins he had accrued prior to quitting seemed to have exceeded eight digits.

After he transmigrated, the four-dimensional backpack in the game became a portable space. As long as he used the Spatial Rift, he could open it and retrieve something from it. According to his estimation, if he took out all the gold coins in his backpack, they would probably be enough to cover a few football fields.

It was also at this moment that William suddenly realized a problem he had ignored previously.

Could the gold coins from 1,000 years ago still be used?

…

Liliana looked at the gold coin he took out and fell silent for a long time before speaking.

"I'm starting to believe that you just woke up from a thousand-year slumber… Don't you know that banknotes are used in the Empire these days?"

"Banknotes?"

William looked at the bright golden banknote that Liliana had taken out with a strange expression. There was a denomination, a serial number, and the dragon emblem of the Riel Empire on it. There was even a watermark that could be verified through refraction.

He looked at the banknote and then at the medieval-styled city.

"Why are you guys able to develop so quickly only in this aspect?"

As for Liliana, she fiddled with the gold coin she had taken from William. As an archeology student, she could tell at a glance that this was the official currency of the Kos Empire from a thousand years ago. In that era when the gold standard was practiced, such gold coins were circulated across the continent.

"But as a coin from more than a thousand years old, it looks too new. There are no signs of wear and tear."

"In other words, it's not easy to offload them on the black market?"

"It's not convenient to sell it as a cultural relic. It will be suspected of fraud."

Liliana said, "Moreover, the sudden influx of hundreds of thousands of 1,000-year-old currencies on the market will draw too much attention."

William added as if he was talking to himself, "Then, what if I melt the gold coins into gold? How much is the price of gold?"

Liliana looked at him as if he were a prodigal son.

"It's one to five, and each gold riel is worth five grams of gold. However, it's a waste to sell cultural relics as gold."

"Since we can't use it anyway, it's better to make use of the trash… Oh right, where do you plan on going next? Back to Arcana University?"

With that said, Liliana's mood sank again.

"I'm going to the Adventurer Association to return those people's identity tokens before…"

At this point, she realized what William meant.

"You don't need me to continue being a guide?"

William nodded.

"Be it going to the black market or elsewhere, it's not suitable for you to follow me. Let's part ways here for the time being. I'll visit Arcana University when I have the time. See you then."

As he spoke, he turned to leave when Liliana stopped him from behind.

"Wait, Mr. William…"

Liliana didn't know how to voice her question when she saw the other party turn around.

"I guess you're asking if I can tell anyone about you?" William looked at her and said.

"I personally don't recommend you say anything."

"In order not to expose your identity?" Liliana asked.

"For your own safety."