After entering the store, Gen followed Andy to a table in the back, and when he got in front of it, Andy pointed to one of the chairs and said, "Please sit down."
Gen then sat down on the chair in front of him and put the backpacks on his side.
Andy then asked, "Would you like something to drink?"
And Gen said, "Water, please."
"Sure, just a moment."
He then called another attendant who was nearby and asked him to bring two glasses of water.
Andy then said, "Where are you going?"
And Gen said, "I'm planning to go to the Sand Ruins."
"The Sand Ruins!? Mr. Gen, I'm sorry, but in this case, the rental price is going to be extremely expensive. The Sand Ruins is an extremely dangerous place, so the chance of losing the rented camel is very high."
"I understand, but I'd still like to hear the price."
"Okay, give me a moment, please. I'll be right back."
Andy then stood up and walked towards the front of the store, disappearing from his view.
When he was alone, Gen began to look around the store. You could see all kinds of people around, from merchants to adventurers.
Seeing this, Gen began to think, 'Renting camels is really profitable. We are completely dependent on them to move long distances in the desert. How much do they make in a day?'
Gen thought about this for a while until the other attendant came back with two glasses of water.
Gen took his glass to drink and then thought again, 'I hope it's not too expensive. I have accumulated 100 silver to make this trip. I have already spent nine coins on the necessary supplies and used five to escape from Lina.'
In the middle of his thought, Andy came back with a piece of paper and sat down again, saying, "I talked to the boss, and he gave me these terms. First, I need to know how long you intend to rent the camel. The maximum is one week, but you can renew that time at any of our stores around the desert."
Gen then said, "Okay, I'll rent it for a week then."
"Okay, and what kind of camel do you intend to rent? We have the bigger and sturdier one, which is great for long trips without stops. We have the smaller and faster one, which is great for trips from one city to another, and we have our best camel, which performs as well as the other two in its specialties but costs more than the other two put together."
Gen stopped to think for a while, but unfortunately, he already knew the answer. He had prepared himself for three years precisely because he knew he would need the best camel for this trip.
"I'll have the best camel."
Andy wrote it down on a piece of paper and then said, "The most expensive camel rental for a week will cost you five silver coins, but since you are going to a very high-risk area, you need to deposit the camel's value, just in case it gets lost."
And Gen said, "And how much will it cost?"
"Seventy silver coins."
"Seventy coins!?"
"Yes, but as I said, it is only a deposit. After returning the camel, we will return your money. We're just covering ourselves in case something happens to our camel."
"Hm, got it. Ok then, I'll make the deposit."
Gen then took his pouch from his waistband and started taking out silver coins and putting them on the table until he had seventy coins.
Seeing all those coins on the table, Gen felt a pain in his chest and thought, 'Seventy silver coins, that's almost two years of work going at once!', but then he thought, trying to calm himself down, 'Calm down Gen, it's just a deposit. When I return the camel, I will get my money back. It's just a deposit. It's just a deposit.'
Andy counted the coins and asked Gen to stamp the paper with his ring, which was one of the functions the ring had.
Each ring has a symbol chosen by its owner as a stamp, and these symbols are unique. Gen's symbol was that of a spear pointing upwards. It was a simple symbol, with only four strokes composing the design, they being the shaft, the base of the blade that went beyond it, and the two sides of the edge.
After collecting this, Andy stood up and then said, "Okay, it's done. Come with me, Mr. Gen. I'll take you to your camel."
Gen stood up, took his backpack, and followed him outside. As he walked out the door, Gen found himself in an area where the camels were.
He then continued to follow Andy until they arrived at his camel, and then Andy said, "This is one of our best camels, Mr. Gen. It is almost ready to go. We are just putting the support for your luggage."
And Gen said, "No problem. I want to buy a few things in the meantime."
"Sure, what are you looking for?"
"I would like a map, water, and a portable hut. The map has to be of the region of the sand ruins and as detailed as possible. I'll need water for a week, and the hut can be the best you have."
"Ok, I will ask someone to bring your water and the portable hut, but in the case of the map, I will have to check if we have one that fits your requirements. I'll be right back."
"Ok, thank you".
Gen put the backpacks down and waited while Andy returned with the map.
After a few minutes, he came back with a map in hand and said, "Mister Gen, this is the best map we have of that region, see if it fits what you are looking for.", and then he gave the map to Gen.
Gen then opened the map and started to look at it.
It was very detailed and covered a little more than just the ruins area, but two things were bothering him, and he decided to ask Andy about them, "The map itself is very detailed, but I have some doubts, two actually."
"The first is that I can't find the ruins on this map, and the second is that I don't know what these symbols mean.", said Gen, pointing to a symbol of an eye with the number three inside its pupil.
On the map, there were several of the same symbols, only the numbers on some of them changed.
After hearing Gen's doubts, Andy said, "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Gen, I thought you had seen other maps of that region before and just wanted a more detailed one, so I didn't explain that. The reality is that no map of that area shows the ruins."
"What? Why is that?"
"The problem is that the ruins are only sometimes in plain sight. In the past, when they were first sighted, thousands of adventurers went in their direction intending to explore them, but none of them could find them. Some stayed there for more than a month looking for them and never saw them. After that, nobody talked about it anymore, and many started to consider them an urban legend."
"However, a few months later, another person saw it, but most people took him as a liar, mainly because the place where he said he saw the ruin was different from the place where it was first seen."
"After that, over time, several people said they had seen the ruins, and almost always the place changed. Because of that, people came back to believe that the ruins exist and began to believe that it moves, probably by the effect of some essence, which is why many believe the ruins are an ordeal of an essence."
...
An essence ordeal is a test created by awakened people to make it easier for normal people to understand the creator's essence.
The test is composed of trials that are based on the characteristics of the essence in question, and usually, after passing all of them, the person awakens the essence.
All of the trials that have been found to date are extremely old, and no one currently knows how to do them.
Some people think that the technique of making trials has been lost, and others believe that the people who have tried just need to be stronger.
...
Gen then said, "I heard that the ruins are an ordeal, so I'm going there. I didn't imagine that it was speculation rather than something certain, much less that the ruins are not in a fixed place."
And Andy said, "This is something quite common. Many are confused about this issue. Do you have any more questions, Mr. Gen?"
"No, I'm keeping this map. How much is it all?"
"Well, the hut will be eight hundred bronze coins, the map five hundred, and the water two hundred. That's one silver coin and five hundred bronze coins, but since you spent seventy silver coins in our establishment, I can give you a discount of five hundred bronze coins, totaling one silver coin."
"Thanks-, wait! I didn't spend the seventy coins. They are just a deposit!", said Gen, a little distressed.
"That's right, sir Gen, the seventy coins are just a deposit. Just return the camel within a week, and we will return your money."
"... Ok.", said Gen, still a little uncomfortable, and then immediately took a silver coin and gave it to Andy.
After receiving the money, Andy handed the map to Gen and said, "Come with me, Mr. Gen. Your camel is ready."
Gen then picked up the backpacks from the ground and started to follow him.
When they arrived, Andy said, "We have already put the hut and the water that you asked for. All you have to do is load your backpacks, and it will be ready to leave."
Gen then approached it and started to hang his backpacks around the camel. When they were all on, Gen took the rope tied to the reins and guided the camel to the exit accompanied by Andy.
As they reached the exit, Gen said, "Thank you for your service."
And Andy said, "Thank you, Mr. Gen, good luck on your journey."
"Thank you."
Gen then walked the camel towards the city gate.