6 Chapter 6

Sighing quietly, Autumn cast a grateful look towards where Serenity disappeared before walking into the crowd. Her small figure wove in between people as merchants called out their wares.

"Fruits! Exotic Fruits from the south!"

"Get your potions, elixirs, and magical remedies here! We have them all!"

Autumn wandered around, awestruck by the large mass of things. In her previous life, she had taken great joy in collecting little trinkets, and this was no different.

'Ooh, I wonder what kinds of fruits they have here...Even though I am technically carnivorous, it doesn't mean I can't eat fruit...right?' Autumn stopped at the fruit vendor's stand, peering at the strange assortment of brightly colored fruits.

"Hello! Are you looking to buy?" The vendor asked with a big smile.

Autumn shook her head, "Just looking," she replied.

The vendor nodded, turning away. Autumn took her time, examining various fruits in wonder. Autumn had no intention of stealing or buying any fruit, even if they intrigued her. Autumn was mainly worried about the strange effects the fruits might produce, having no way of knowing about them. Even if they caused her no harm, snatching unneeded products at will would only attract trouble.

With a mellow sigh, Autumn turned away, scanning the crowd for her first victim. The surroundings in this world looked somewhat medieval, everything looking like it was taken straight out of a fantasy novel.

Using her acquired memories, Autumn deftly pickpocketed a few of the 'richer' customers, only taking a few copper coins at a time.

Currency in Everlife consisted of copper, silver, and gold coins. Copper coins were the most common, with the majority of the people owning them. Adventurers commonly used silver coins, with slightly wealthier non-adventurers only possessing 1 or 2. Gold coins were a rarity, only seen in the higher ranks of adventurers. Wealthy non-adventurers with strong backing, like nobles, also possessed gold coins, most likely the savings of past generations. 100 copper coins were equivalent to 1 silver, and 100 silvers made a gold coin.

Autumn continued to relieve the people of their coins until she had about 1 silver. Heading towards a seemingly run-down shop, she walked the door. A bell chimed above her head, alerting the owner of her arrival. This was a map store, generally used by new adventurers.

Glancing around the dusty store, Autumn tilted her head, questioning, "Why are there no customers? I would assume maps are extremely useful."

A slight chuckle was heard as an old man pushed his way through a pair of doors near the back of the shop.

"That's because the academy isn't recruiting. Most of the young adventurers have already purchased a map."

Autumn nodded her head in understanding. "Anyways, I've come to purchase a map. I've recently started traveling, so I was wondering if you had any maps outside of Leafwind Continent?"

"Hmm..." The old shopkeeper rummaged through piles of wrinkled paper. "Here we are, I do believe this will suit your tastes." The shopkeeper passed a yellowed out paper to Autumn.

Unfolding it, Autumn studied the map. "Perfect! How much is it?" Autumn was delighted, as not only was it extremely detailed, but it included the 4 major continents, Leafwind, Silversky, Dawnbreak, and Flamefall.

"79 coppers."

"Here." Autumn waved her hand and a pile of coins appeared on the counter. The shopkeeper blinked, not expecting the short, black-robed individual to possess a storage item.

Upon taking in the shopkeeper's surprised look, Autumn realized that her pendant's storage ability shouldn't be used carelessly. Quickly grabbing the map, Autumn waved goodbye and walked out of the store.

If one had looked closely, they would have noticed the small fold of parchment vanishing in the hands of a small, cloaked figure.

'Now,' Autumn thought as she realized the true purpose of coming to the city, 'I need to buy some clothes.' Autumn was still donning the bloodstained clothes from before, and luckily none of the ordinary humans had scented it.

Autumn quickly hurried towards a vividly decorated shop. Through the window, there were many racks of clothing in which many people were browsing through. A staircase led to the upper floors.

Walking into the shop, Autumn was immediately greeted with polite smiles. The workers knew better than to question the customers as sometimes adventurers frequented their shop, often coming in various guises. The small child-like figure might as well be a strong adventurer, one that they couldn't offend. Additionally, the workers who were quite used to the scent of blood easily picked it up on Autumn.

"I need a few sets of clothes," Autumn said, "Preferably something like I'm currently wearing."

"Of course. We'll be right back."

Autumn nodded, casually browsing through the racks of clothing. 'I don't know why I'm looking through this stuff,' Autumn thought, 'Half of this doesn't even fit me.'

"Excuse me?" Autumn was tapped on the shoulder by a worker. "I've brought a few sets of clothing, which would you like?"

Looking at the simple black clothing in the worker's hands, Autumn randomly picked two sets which included shirts, pants, and a few undergarments. Holding the items in her arms, Autumn pulled a simple black cloak off the racks before bringing the items to the counter.

"30 coppers," The clerk said gruffly.

Carefully counting the coins in her hands, Autumn winced before cautiously asking, "Could I give you 12 coppers now and the rest later...?"

"Sorry, but we don't do those kinds of transactions."

Autumn sighed, preparing to put back a set of clothing.

"Wait, I'll help pay for the rest." A voice rang out beside Autumn.

Autumn tilted her head, shocked. From her general understanding of currency, the lower classes had to save for months to get that much. 'No lower-class human would give out 18 coppers that easily,' Autumn pondered, 'Only the middle and upper classes can afford to do so, but why?'

Nonetheless, Autumn did not reject the goodwill, handing over 12 coppers to the clerk. Autumn then turned towards the person who helped her, saying her thanks. The hooded figure, similar in height to Autumn, nodded in response.

The figure walked towards the exit after purchasing their own goods, with Autumn following behind as she had no more things to purchase.

As she swiftly walked past the figure, eager to get out the city that reeked of humans, the hooded figure leaned towards her and whispered, "I can smell the blood on you. Are you a Spirit Animal? Your scent is strange."