"Panting"
The only thing she thought about was what might lie ahead. They could be the knights of the royal family or the guards of the slave market. Only upon reaching the place would he know what the correct answer was. However, he kept thinking about whether he should really go or not, since, upon careful reflection, there were advantages and disadvantages.
He was unsure whether to go or not, but I kept running.
The first disadvantage would be that I would get lost in this world and not know much, at least for a while. However, if he started wandering around different places, he would eventually be better informed about the situations and places on the continent.
The advantages of reaching where the knights are would be that I would possibly have more security, a better life, information about this world, and I could even study more advanced magic and reach greater heights with my power.
"I have to go, I have nothing to lose, so..."
I looked at my tattoo, or rather, my ancestor, which was attached to my arm in the form of a tattoo and could transform into a meter-long black and purple sword just by putting a little mana into it.
"Lord... Encrid, you say you were a dark wizard, don't you?"
"..."
"That's right, why do you ask, successor?"
"I was thinking about something. Up ahead there are knights from the royal family and I was wondering if you would be able to teach me magic and accept me as your disciple, you know?" I asked, since I wanted to know something that could be very beneficial to me, but until now I had never said it.
"Of course I accept you as my disciple, but it is better that you go with the knights, although they may hate you for being a commoner."
Positions in this world vary between nobility and commoners. Nobles have ranks, while commoners are simply vagabonds and poor.
"Why would knights hate me?"
"Since ancient times, knights have always hated commoners. I don't know why, but it has always been that way," Encrid responded without much to report.
Although the history book of the continent did not mention anything about the hostility of knights towards commoners, Encrid finally answered one of my long-standing doubts. The nobles, as always, are the ones in charge in the world of the commoners, and the knights hate them for some reason I don't know.
"Sigh."
I continued running and left the conversation on pause. If it was true that knights hate commoners, he would only know once he arrived. But what if that happened?
"If that happens, I don't care. I just want to get to a city and start the wizard's path." I thought without much to say.
That was all he wanted: to be the strongest wizard and, after that, to live in peace... and maybe have a family and possibly children...
"What are you thinking, successor?" Encrid spoke suddenly.
I left my thoughts and was a little embarrassed. It was the first time he thought about love; Maybe it's because of this body with feelings, because in my past life I didn't have feelings or emotions, I was like a loner.
"I-it's nothing."
"I see, I understand you. I wanted that too, but I couldn't because I ended up in this state."
In that state... then someone left Encrid like that. Although I don't know how strong Encrid was in the "age of darkness", I didn't know if he was saying real words or just bad jokes.
"It's them," I murmured as I saw Luna and Gloriana talking to a knight in the distance. I recognized him immediately by his white armor with some yellow outlining and his large sword. He looked like steel but felt like mana from the sword.
It looked like a magic sword. I don't think it was just mana, although the mana in that sword was very little and weak. Maybe it was so he could last longer.
I ran and finally reached where the two were talking.
"They're...fine," I said. As if he were a lost child and his mother was looking for him, Gloriana rushed towards me and hugged me tightly.
"Hey, you shouldn't do this, a princess..."
She looked up. Her eyes were full of concern; It must have been because all this time I was the only one who spoke to her and protected her from danger.
But she felt a look, something like a threatening intention. I looked up and saw the gentleman. He seemed to be some leader, as he was the only one with different armor than the others, with black outlines instead of yellow, suggesting a higher rank.
Then I remembered the talk with Encrid about the hostility of knights towards commoners. But how did he know that I was a commoner? Could knights detect a commoner like some kind of radar? He was staring at me, but I looked down and tried to ignore him. His gaze was directed at me, and I think I know why.
"Princess, you should let me go. The knights of your family are watching and can think about other things."
She looked up and met my eyes. Her face looked embarrassed, and I understood it, since I had also felt that emotion not long ago.
"S-sorry," she replied, walking away from me quickly.
From her acting and her face, she was very embarrassed, but it was understandable to me...
That's when Encrid joked.
"I see, so she's ena..." Without letting him finish, I pinched her moon-shaped tattoo.
"N-no, wait, it was just a joke."
That's when I discovered a way to shut this guy up...
***
-Change of scene.
The sound of wooden wheels rubbing against the rocky ground echoed in my ears. She was in a horse-drawn cart, surrounded by knights on horseback. There was a while of gossip between Gloriana and the knight. Gloriana insisted that I accompany them to the continent's imperial city, Mengrana.
The knight, named Josephine, insisted on not bringing a commoner. At that moment I wanted to hit him for belittling me, but I couldn't do anything against a true gentleman who I didn't know how strong he was. If he was a fifth circle, I would definitely give him a good hit, but I'm hardly first circle.
He found me inside the wagon, adorned with luxurious jewelry and very rare leather seats. Some parts looked like gold because of their color. Next to me was Luna, and in front of me, Gloriana.
"How awkward," I thought.
The silence was evident. We didn't know what to talk about, we barely knew each other, and he had a bad relationship with Luna. On the other hand, Gloriana was different, but for some reason she avoided looking at me or speaking a single word to me.
Of course, I could talk, but I didn't know what topic.
"Sigh."
I took a light sigh and spoke to Encrid.
"Mr. Encrid, can I just call you Encrid?"
"Yes, whatever you want. I don't care what they call me," she replied without hesitation.
"So, Encrid, how strong were you before?"
I wanted an honest answer and for him to tell me something important, like getting information out of him without him realizing it.
"In the world of normal magicians, those who do not use different magic and only use elemental magic, have no limits, but it is more difficult for them to search for an answer to increase their power."
"..."
I didn't understand almost anything, but I kept listening.
"Whereas dark mages like me don't have that limit and our power increases simply by absorbing mana."
"But what does that have to do with my question?"
Could it be that she realized that she wanted to get information out of him? Although it was very likely, I couldn't tell if she really knew, so I stayed silent and listened to what she said.
"Here comes your answer. A darkness mage, as I already mentioned, has no limits. Therefore, if an ordinary elemental mage reaches the ninth circle, he will have a hard time finding a way to surpass that power," he mentioned.
He means that a normal mage who uses mana like everyone else has that limit and doesn't know how to overcome the ninth circle. Although he understood what he meant, he still hadn't given the complete answer.
"Now here comes this: magicians of darkness can surpass the ninth circle simply by understanding the principles of their own mana. Therefore, I was the so-called legendary magician of the tenth circle, the most powerful magician in history."
He finally responded. The book of magic mentions magicians who discovered a power beyond the ninth circle, but for unknown reasons, no one has been able to confirm whether a tenth circle exists. But with this answer from this ancient magician, those doubts were resolved.
It was the answer he wanted. Although I would like to know more about wizards, their origin, and how powerful they became, I put those thoughts aside. Still, he would leave it for another time, since he did not know this world completely.
"Dry sound."
The crisp, cold air of the snowy biome was refreshing, but at the same time uncomfortable. I looked out the window; It seemed like we had come down from a big mountain. We were now on a flat part of the mountain, which explained the cliff I had seen from the window of my old room. It was all a mountain, but how big was it?
I turned my gaze and it met Luna's. Her lips parted the instant we looked at each other.
"I... I apologize for leaving you behind on that occasion... I'm sorry."
"..."
She apologized, although it took too long for an apology that he could have made much sooner, instead of remaining silent.
"Okay, I know it was to protect Gloriana, but... don't worry, it's over. So just forget it."
New thoughts were now entering my head: to be someone happy and emotional, and to have more rational thoughts. These are feelings I always wanted to have and finally got them thanks to this body.
Luna looked at me uneasily. Her face was half red, probably because of the icy environment and how cold she was. I looked at her hands and saw that they were shaking.
Was it really the cold that made her shiver or just a joke to get attention?
But then, what did that half-red face of hers mean?
"Boy, even though I didn't have the chance to find love, it's very easy to know what a woman is thinking when she makes that expression," Encrid said.
"..."
"Sigh."
"So... isn't it better not to think about that? I'm still a child," I thought.
I turned my gaze to the window. We had already come down from the mountain and the weather was beginning to change to a warmer, summer-like climate. The cold disappeared quickly as we advanced. I didn't know how long it would take us to reach our destination, but we had barely gotten off the mountain and I was already very bored.
"We'll be arriving at a small merchant town in a few hours," Luna said.
"Is it a city that is only dedicated to commerce and business?" I asked for.
"That's right, this city provides food to several nearby cities," Luna said.
That meant that that was where foods like stale bread, water, and that black apple that contained a small amount of manna came from.
But then, why weren't the merchants suspicious of this type of purchase? Because to feed hundreds of children they had to buy or negotiate with merchants to obtain large quantities of stale bread and that apple that could also be very expensive.
"Come to think of it, what is the currency in this world?" I looked at Luna, who seemed to know many things, besides that anyone in this world should know about money.
"I have a question, what is money called and how does it work?"
"..."
He looked at me indifferently, as if to say, "Didn't you know you were an idiot who doesn't know anything?" That's what her face said. But it's true, even in this body's memories I didn't know about money, and I don't think I even knew what money is, so it's a very important question for me right now.
"Sigh."
"They are called coins. There are variations and each one of them has a different value. There is the copper, silver, gold and crystal currency. The crystals have an equivalent of more than a thousand gold coins," he said.
"So, the silver coin is equivalent to one hundred copper coins? But how difficult is it to obtain crystal coins?" I asked for.
"Crystals... well it's a little difficult to say, but it's a currency called crystal. They're actually a very rare material, which is why they're more expensive than gold," he replied.
So that means that one hundred copper is equivalent to one silver, one thousand silver is equivalent to one gold, and one thousand gold is equivalent to one crystal. But what those crystal coins look like I could find out at any time. For now, I'd leave it like this...