Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Bank

After eating a meal in the morning, I found Rayla at the Polaris Bank. 

The process to open an account was easy, but the reason more people didn’t have one was due to the fact that you needed to open an account under the name of a verified business. 

Those in the black market evaded taxes in just about every way. Since most currency was tangible and because nobody in the black market wanted to pay taxes, it was difficult for the kingdom to enforce it. 

But this also meant that banks which didn’t enforce tax laws were rare, since they were an institution that could be easily and formally attacked by the kingdom. 

There was a slew of issues that these banks had to deal with, and as a result, they only accepted clients who were verified by a company that worked in the black market. 

Of course, the Polaris Bank was even more strict. Not just any black market company could do business with them. But Plex had enough of a reputation to get just about anything apparently, so his company and employees could register with this prestigious institution. 

The Polaris Bank was nothing to joke about. According to Rayla, it handled enough money to rival the entire kingdom in sheer monetary throughput. That was because the richest people in the black market let their finances be handled by this bank. 

Naturally, this made Polaris an even heavier behemoth than I initially thought. 

The place wasn’t overly luxurious, but it still looked like a palace when I walked into it. 

Marble floors inlaid with gold, huge hallways adorned with paintings or statues, and the most courteous clerks I’ve ever interacted with. 

Rayla carried with her the proven identity of the company. Plex’s delivery service was formally known as Divine Distribution. It even had a crest, which was one of the things required to prove the identity. 

After that, it wasn’t long after that I was able to open an account. And I was a bit surprised by their system of profit. 

Basically, I had to pay a certain amount of money to buy a certain sized account. For the lowest tier, they would store 500 gold bullion for me, which was 500 thousand coin. And it would cost half a percent of the total storage, 2.5 gold bullion, every month in order to keep the account open. 

It was yet another bill on top of Maxwell’s, but nothing I couldn’t handle. Considering my pay, I was still profiting amazingly. 

Plus, that wasn’t considering the perks of being a client of the Polaris Bank. 

After opening an account, I immediately deposited all the spare coin I had on me. 

With last nights profit of 25 thousand coin along with almost a month worth of working…

“33,228 coin has been deposited into your account.”

That’s what the clerk told me, and the number had me giddy for a bit. 

Rayla giggled from beside me as the clerk left to finalize things, causing me to be curious. 

“Hey, how much to you have stored?”

“Do you really want to hear that number?”

“I do.”

“Hmm… Close to 30 million coin.”

“Hah?”

I gawked. 

That was 30 thousand gold bullion!

I asked with anticipation.

“Does this job really make you that much?”

“God no. For a while I was in the military which made me quite a bit more after I hit the high ranks. And when I left I was referred by a friend to work at the Clockwork Association. I made even more there before eventually settling in Plex’s company. So while I still make decent money, it’s nothing amazing.”

“Wow…”

I slowly nodded as my mind drifted. 

How old was Rayla? She looked young, no older than 30. But her words told me that she had many years of experience. 

And considering that this world was full of magic, it wasn’t crazy to think that lifespans were longer. Kind of like the mythical elves that could retain their youthful appearances even at old ages. 

I suddenly wanted to ask how old she was, but that wasn’t very tactful. 

“So what are you? 60?”

Instead I guessed, earning a snide smirk.

“You’re going to do great with girls when you enter the Magisterium.”

“I happen to be a blunt person, especially when I know that you’re probably more like half that age.”

“Hm, something like that. At the very least, I’m not that much older than you.”

“I’m 22.”

“...Really?”

This time she looked at me with surprise. I scratched my roughly shaven chin that betrayed my age. I often got told that I looked older than I was. 

So when I smiled at Rayla, she scoffed and smacked my chest.

“You kids these days.”

“Hey now, You’re not that much older, right?”

“Shut up. I make more money than you.”

“Oh no, my fragile ego…”

We laughed a bit until the clerk came back. 

“Here you go, John Cooper. The money has been stored and your Card has been prepared. Here.”

The clerk handed me a card. When I felt it, I realized how unique it was. 

The border of the card was made of gold metal, and its body was like a window that revealed a flowing black film. 

On this film, I could see the symbol of the Polaris Bank. The clerk explained how to use it.

“All your money is stored within this bank, but through this card, you can retrieve any amount of your money, at any given time, and in any denomination. So if you desired, you could pull out 33 gold bullion, 330 gold coin, 3300 silver bullion, or 33000 silver coin. It all comes from that card right there. Simply tap the symbol and designate how much you wish to retrieve.”

“Oh.”

Doing as he said, I tapped the golden symbol with my finger. Then, four sliders appeared. 

I designated a single gold bullion, and with a confirmation, the black film fluctuated. 

“You can simply dump out the coin or reach in and pull it out.”

“Oh!”

I smiled as I reached into the black film, feeling the coin and pulling out the bullion. 

“Cool!”

“As your company is a Platinum level client, you have been granted a Gold level account and card. This means that not only can you retrieve your coin, but you can also deposit your coin simply by inserting it into the card at any time. And should you deposit more money and reach the next level, you would be granted a Platinum level card that comes with even more functionality.”

“Right. Thank you very much.”

“It’s my pleasure. If you require anything else, just let me know.”

The clerk left as I continued to play with the card. 

It was amazing how I could simply throw the coin in and out of the card. It was literally a portal for my money. 

Magic is amazing. 

Rayla smiled as my playful attitude.

“Alright, be sure you put all your payments straight into that card when you get them. You don’t need to get robbed and lose everything. Also, it only works with your specific Crest, so don’t worry should other people get ahold of it.”

“Oh, even cooler.”

With that, the two of us left the bank. Our next stop was the warehouse. 

There, we only found Plex who looked much better than yesterday, yet still beat up. He smiled at us. 

“Hey, you two. Have fun at the bank?”

“This card is cool.”

“Yes, it is. And you’ll be using it plenty today. Your jobs are on the table. All of them need to be done by morning.”

Walking over, Rayla and I saw 8 sheets on the table. All of them required us to head to a location, grab an item and our payment, and deliver the item to the auction house. 

For these jobs, our clients were located all across the city. Some were close, some came from the Foudner’s Market, and others were farther away. 

I could already tell it was going to be a long night. 

“We should get started.”

Rayla sighed while scooping up the papers. 

Our warehouse was located just outside the city center, putting us right in between the Black Spider and Founder’s Markets. 

Making a quick decision, the two of us decided to handle 3 of the jobs that came from the Founder’s Market. 

Of course, they were also the most dangerous. 

Anything going to the auction was a valuable item, and these items were most vulnerable while in transit. So us delivery men, while neutral and immune in the black market, were often targeted by those who didn’t care. 

Being neutral and immune simply meant that, should we kill those from, let’s say, the Clockwork Association after a deal gone wrong, we wouldn’t be systematically hunted. Conflicts were always considered personal and wouldn’t escalate. 

But again, there were those who simply didn’t care. 

We ran into a few of such people after we had picked up our third item. 

While crossing through an alleyway, Rayla and I were suddenly surrounded by 4 men. Two carried swords while the other two seemed to be warlocks. 

I smiled and sighed while looking at the leader. 

“Hello, gentlemen. How can we help you?”

“Drop those packages.”

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“Oh, sure thing. Here’s the first one.”

*BANG*

An explosion rang out as I fired my flintlock. The man in front of me froze for a few seconds before falling to his knees, a large hole now in his chest. 

I turned to the others with a smile. 

“Who wants the second one?”

“...”

They were silent for a moment before running off, disappearing from our sights. 

Rayla chuckled as we continued walking. 

“How bold of you.”

“After escaping from the Trenches yesterday, I’ve become severely desensitized. Besides, killing one and scaring three off is better than making them think they have a chance and having to kill all four. Still, I’d rather not have to at all.”

“Yea, I understand. But that’s just how the black market is. Don’t feel guilty.”

She pat my back, and we continued on our way. 

Fortunately, everything after that was uneventful. Perhaps we got lucky, but we delivered everything to the auction house without a hitch. I also got paid another 14 thousand coin even after dividing the profits with Rayla, putting my total savings at nearly 48 thousand coin. 

With that, another day ended. 

……

…

The following day was yet again filled with package deliveries. 

Rayla and I only exchanged a few hostilities with some unsavory individuals. And while the fights generally ended quickly, Both of us did end up exchanging blows. 

That hurt like hell. I had plenty of wounds that were still in the process of healing, and getitng punched or kicked only ended with my stitches getting broken. 

After killing several and scaring off the rest, we finished our deliveries, headed to the hospital, and got fixed up. 

Not even those difficulties could put a damper on our mood though. 

I didn’t know what it was, but Rayla and I continued to have fun with each other. The jokes were smooth, the topics kept flowing, the banter was witty. 

We just clicked. The two of us seemed like best friends even though we had only known each other for a couple days. 

Of course, there was still plenty we didn’t know about each other. It was hard keeping myself from eluding to Earth, and although Rayla had told me something about her former occupations, she never spoke about it in more detail. 

And I could tell that she had something to hide. I noticed the few times that we got on the topic of relationships. She often poked at how I had no girlfriend, so I would poke back, as I naturally didn’t see a boyfriend or husband with her. 

She played it off, but I could tell how her mood went down. That only happened once, and I tactfully never touched the topic again. 

Not that she stopped telling me to go get a girl. While we walked, she would often scout some hot ladies, mention how big their boobs were, and tell me to talk to them. I would always refuse, of course, but it was still funny. 

So another day passed, and finally, it was time for the auction. 

……

…

The Black Spider Market was always flooded during the day of the auction. Thousands of people would flood in from all over the city, even from beyond the city, to be here for the auction. 

After all, while it wasn’t the biggest auction in the kingdom, it was definitely the most valuable. 

But this month’s auction was in a weird spot. 

The auction following the big quarterly auction was always smaller since the most expensive items were just sold off. That would usually mean that there were little people. 

But there weren’t. In fact, Rayla told me that the number of people was rather high. 

There was only one reason for that, and the man himself had messed with me while in the Trenches. 

As the dress code was strict, I ended up spending close to 3000 coin on a nice suit. Rayla had helped me pick it out just before coming to the auction house. 

It was a simple black suit with gold threaded embroidery and designs. My white shirt was covered with a black vest, and Rayla had me buy a large trench coat. Apparently that was the style here.

All the clothes were supposedly enchanted in some way, allowing them to fit to the user. They were also built with attack resistant fabric. The trench coat could eat an entire spell and keep me safe. 

Though, these features were still limited. As things got more expensive, people stopped tracking prices by coin and more so by gold bullion. So while I could buy a coat and clothes that were defensively amazing and had awesome features like self cooling and cleaning, they would cost a few dozen gold bullion. 

That was for another time. 

I felt rather amazing as I walked with Rayla into the auction house. We eventually found Plex and the rest of the company before heading to a suite. 

It was a suite bought by the Tavera Family. There, I once again met the patriarch. 

“Goodness John. How many people have you killed in the last month? You feel very different from the newbie you were when Plex first found you.”

“The two dozen new scars on my body would agree with you.”

I smiled as we shook hands. The older man in front of me stroked his whitening beard after separating. 

“Say, how did things go at the Polaris Family? I haven’t heard anything.”

“Amazing, actually. Maxwell is an… interesting teacher, but what he teaches is good stuff. His Call had saved my life a few tiems now.”

“Wait, Maxwell? Albarain?”

“Yea. That’s who I was taken to.”

“...”

The Patriarch frowned before turning and looking at Plex. 

Plex shrugged while muching on some snacks that a maid had brought around, causing the Patriarch to shake his head. 

“I see. Well, if its Maxwell, you can’t go wrong. Get as much out of that man as you possibly can.”

“He’s getting as much out of me too. I mean, nearly 4 thousand coin a week just for lessons.”

“Heh, its really far more valuable than that. But I will agree that he’s a shrewd man.”

“Who are you calling shrewd?”

We suddenly heard a voice, turning to see a tall man draped in navy blue robes. 

It was Maxwell, and his presence shocked several people, including the Patriarch. 

“Maxwell? I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I had no plans to stop by, but my delinquent student has been missing classes.”

The summoner approached with a sharp eye, looking me over before huffing.

“Getting into fights?”

“It pays for your classes, so yea. I’m sorry I’ve missed recently, but work has been literally kicking my ass. Now I know that I’ll be busy during the auctions.”

“I figured. Well, battles will help with your communions anyway. In fact, maybe you should get into more. Hmm, you.”

Maxwell suddenly pointed to Plex, who hummed in confusion.

“Send this kid to whatever jobs you have in the Trenches.”

“What?!”

“That place is a good training ground. As lawless as it is complex.”

“Bwahaha!”

Plex started laughing as my face fell. 

“Now way in hell am I going back to that hell hole! Especially not with the shitty weapons I have now.”

“Yes, you’ll need to be stronger, attain better summons. So here.”

Maxwell reached into his pocket and took out a large crystal and a small book. 

I took both as he explained. 

“Follow the formations in the book and use that White Crystal to cultivate your Crest to the next Authority.”

“...I thought you couldn’t do that without the Magisterium.”

“They’ll overlook it if it’s just one or two levels. It might even help you since you’re a bit too old to be entering as an Authority One.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll omit this weeks pay, so don’t come back until you get your second Authority. Remember, the faster you advance, the higher the chances of your survival. And Plex, if I find that he isn’t in the Trenches, I’ll be paying you a visit. Do not inhibit my teachings.”

“Hehe, yes sir.”

Plex chuckled evilly as Maxwell turned to leave. 

Rayla pat my back in sympathy. 

“It was nice knowing you, John.”

“Shut up. I should take you with me.”

“No thanks. I’ve paid my dues. And hey, the jobs for the Trenches at least pay well. Contrary to what people believe, those gremlins are rich.”

She laughed as I contemplated how difficult the coming days were going to be. 

Not long afterward, the auction began. 

“Ladies and Gentlemen, it is time to officially announce the beginning of the 4th monthly auction.”

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