“I think I am going to risk it with the sword core,” Asher said after lifting his head from staring at the table for a little over a minute. Asher knew that he could potentially get screwed by taking the sword core but if he got a bad ability then he could just keep buying sword cores until he got a good ability, as long as he was able to find more and as long as they weren’t too expensive, pulse there couldn’t be too much harm from having a rare core as his first core. If he chose a common core he might stunt his future prospects.   

“I figured you would say that you look like someone who has been living off his luck,” the director said with a sigh, then with a shake of his head he pushed up off the table standing and started walking over to what appeared to be the main counter of the cafe. Asher quickly stood up using the table for leverage as well, and followed behind him trying to figure out what he was up to. The director walked up to the counter and by raising two fingers which was what Asher assumed was etched into the corner of the table. Asher assumed that it was their table number letting the waiter know what ticket to look at.

  “That will be one silver and seven copper coins please,” the waiter said after taking a look at what Asher assumed was a list of the drinks they had ordered, the price didn’t seem so bad to Asher who had about twenty gold to his name, but at the same time that might be a lot for a normal citizen. The way Greg had attacked him for even one gold burned in his mind, adventures seemed to make plenty of money depending on their skills, but a normal person clearly didn’t make that much. The director just silently handed over the coins and with a nod they were walking out of the cafe. 

“I could have paid for the drinks you didn’t have too,” Asher said as they exited the cafe, he didn’t mind getting a free meal, he didn’t think there was anyone who did, but the director had already helped him so much he wouldn’t have minded paying for it. Even if it was a small thank you for the help he had provided. The director just chuckled as they walked, shaking his head back and forth, his dark hair swooshing from side to side. 

“You get transported to another world and the thing you're worried about is paying the tab?” Nick asked while laughing, he just continued walking back in the direction of the service counter where they had gotten the list of available cores, Asher could only follow closely behind, confused and waiting for some sort of explanation. He would have taken a step back if he wasn’t afraid of getting lost in the huge area. After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the counter they had previously gotten the list from, the woman who had been there before was gone and had been replaced by a new girl with long brown hair, light skin and freckles dotting her nose and cheeks. 

“Welcome back director, Rebeca said you would be coming back, did you and this young man come to a decision on what cores you would like?” She asked as the director handed the stack of papers back. She took them with both hands and tapped them lightly on the counter, then with expertise quickly placed them in a small basket off to the side. The director just laughed and stepped to the side making way for Asher to walk up to the counter. 

“I would like to purchase the sword core, but I am missing a little bit of cash, is there any way I can offer the owner seventeen gold?” Asher asked the receptionist as he walked up, he expected that if other people were able to bid on cores that hadn’t come in yet then he would be able to make an offer on others that were up for sale. He wasn’t sure if this was commonplace but he hoped that no one would get too upset from it. The receptionist just smiled while she brought out the binder and began looking through it, after a second, she seemed to find what she was looking for. 

“Understood, if you just bring out the gold then I will go get the core for you,” she said after tapping her finger on a single line. She then closed the binder and put it away, Asher could only stare at her with disbelief, he had definitely offered too much, it made sense that someone would have set a lowest amount they would accept, and if the sword core wasn’t popular like the director said then the person selling this core probably set a fairly low bottom line for it.

Asher could only kick himself in the foot, he was stupid by saying such a large amount first instead of going for a lowball, if he had gone for the lowball and had gotten close enough to the lowest amount possible then he wouldn’t have to worry about equipment or food while he was still getting settled here.

“I am waiting on payment for a core I just sold, is there any way you can use that money?” Asher asked while pulling out the other 7 gold from his inventory, by now he had gotten very good at opening and closing his inventory without making too much noise, the system took a mumble which saved him from having to scream aloud that he was from a different world. 

“Can you give me your name and the core you sold,” the receptionist said while reaching down to grab a different binder, this one was massive and instead of being bound in black leather was bound in brown leather showing the age of the binder. She brought it up and opened it to the first page. Asher could only assume that this was a most recent sales binder, and if it was, he wondered how far back the records went. 

“Asher Gentry and a bear core,” he said the moment the binder was open. The receptionist just nodded and started going down the list, after three or four people she stopped and started tapping the line. After a second, she just sighed and put the binder away, then with her other hand she grabbed a piece of paper from under the desk and slid it to Asher. 

“This is a contract that states that if the ten gold isn’t given by the other party, then you will be liable to pay it back. I will just need you to sign here,” she said tapping an empty space at the end of the page, Asher picked the page up and pretended to read it, stealing a glance up at Nick to see him nod back. All Asher could do was sign the paper and hand it back, his signature a scribble in fear that it would let someone trace his origins. 

“Perfect, we will have the core ready for you in a moment,” the receptionist said after taking the other eight gold from Asher. After she had counted the gold making sure everything was there, she disappeared through a connecting door, presumably to go grab the sword core. Asher could only sit in anticipation, looking at the director every now and again for confirmation that she was coming back, he would just simply nod at him or ignore him each time. 

After a few minutes the woman walked back out the door she had disappeared in but this time she was carrying a wooden box, similar to the one he had placed his bear core in. The woman walked back up to the counter placing the box down in front of Asher, then without saying anything grabbed a handkerchief and a needle from under the counter and placed them next to the chest. 

“You will need to poke your finger and let a small drop of blood fall on top of the chest, it will bind with your blood and mark it as taken. If we don’t receive the money from the other party or you are not able to pay it then this will serve as proof that you took the core,” she said, gesturing for Asher's hand. 

Asher nodded while allowing her to grasp his index finger and then with little effort poked in deep enough that a drop of blood had already pooled on the surface. She let his hand go and he carefully raised it above the chest letting a drop fall down on the lid. 

Blue runes similar to the unlit pentagram runes he had seen when he first arrived, began to shine the moment his blood came in contact with the lid, then after a few seconds of shining the light dimmed down and a click echoed through the hall, letting Asher know that whatever defensive measures that might have been installed were deactivated. Asher picked up the handkerchief and whipped the blood off his finger before setting the handkerchief down and opened the lid.