Chapter 10: 10. City of Avalon
Normally the hardest part was the actual means of transportation to any destination for me. All public transportation had a magic identifier system, similar to the suitcase Eris lugged around, but allowed money transactions based upon each individual's account which was linked to the government's system. The kingdom of Illnor was run strictly by the government for most monetary transactions.
Even I had an identifier, one of a no-mage, whose status in society was lower than slaves. Five was the oldest age everyone would manifest their magic by and at that time were processed into the system. This was also the main reason why I needed to save up money.
I needed enough currency on hand to exchange for money within Illnor. This sack of gold coins provided just that as they maintained their worth in any civilized society. I wanted to avoid Eris being flagged as a missing slave and as for me, I've had no luck, no matter how much I tried to harness the dark power I used earlier, it was to no avail. Not even a single fragment of memories from a past life was remembered.
I also wanted to avoid my no-mage status being brought up and possibly barring me from travel. Complications that caused headaches even thinking about, which is why I had preparations made with a contact who would allow us to bypass any checks.
I handed over his asking price of thirty gold coins which was an amount I was hurt to see disappear even if stolen as all that remained was seventy gold coins and ten gold worth of silver I saved up. The thirty gold coins bought us seats in the fastest gravity train enhanced by magic formations. The normal boarding price for our destination was five gold coins per person, so that guy made a ridiculous killing off of us.
The express train had very minimum stops along various major cities equaling a total trip time of eighteen hours. These trains were special as they could travel as far and fast as international airplanes. I switched the setting of the window to sleep mode changing the passing scenery to a black windowpane.
Looking to my right I saw a bunch of snacks and wrappers on the tray in front of Eris, some even half-eaten before she fell asleep. She seemed at peace as her head rested on the side of my arm, so I let her be and also fell asleep.
"All passengers, welcome to Avalon station. Local time is 7 AM with a wonderful forecast of partly cloudy sunshine. Please be ready to disembark from the train as this is the end of the line. On behalf of Royal Express, I'd like to thank you for joining us on this trip and we look forward to seeing you again in the near future. Have a nice life!"
The farewell message woke me from my slumber as Eris returned to her seat after using the restroom. I switched the window back to its setting to view the outside. We had just entered the city perimeter; large skyscrapers went past as our speed drastically decreased the closer we got to the train station. My excitement couldn't be hidden as this was the first time I saw buildings fifty floors high and taller all around.
We found our way off the train and past the crowded mobs of people. Digital banners and signs displayed a welcoming message for arriving visitors. "Welcome to the start of better reincarnations." This message displayed my happiness for wanting to come here as I saw Eris in an unpleasant mood.
"Eris have you been here before? You seem awfully familiar and aren't as impressed as I am." There were many hotels and inns around the train station, five that were within my line of sight.
"Yes, I don't like cities very much." Eris nodded her head.
I didn't press her for answers, but nevertheless, in my excitement grabbed her hand, leading us at a fast pace to a decent-looking hotel to stay at for the time being. We passed by many carriages drawn by various magical beasts, ones' I'd never encountered before and was amazed at the clear distinction of class based on who had the rarer monster. I stopped at the sight of a fancy looking hotel.
Wyatt Hotel was the name the door guard said as he ushered us into the revolving doors. Beams of morning sunshine lit up the vast marble flooring of the lobby. Off to the sides were the check-in counters, luckily enough this seemed to be a slow morning. I walked up to the receptionist with Eris following closely behind rolling her luggage.
"Good morning, Sir. How may I help you today?" The receptionist gave us a warm smile. I replied in kind asking for any available rooms and prices. Out of the options given from a penthouse suite to a one-bedroom with queen sized beds, I decided on one bedroom, two beds.
Whether it was the strict competition between the surrounding hotels and inns, the price was surprisingly cheap at fifteen silver a night or discounted price of one gold coin for a week. I paid the one gold coin to cover for a week's stay, plus two extra gold coins to expedite and skip the identification process.
I denied the porter since I did not want to feel like wasting money for tipping. The room was nice and tidy as I had expected. Eris and I placed our belongings beside our own beds and started unpacking some essentials. I felt icky after that long train ride and hopped in the shower for a quick wash.
Eris said she would shower later at night, so I pulled up a pamphlet showing all the nearby activities to do and places to eat. Today I wanted to relax and keep an eye out, tomorrow the real search for a job can begin, for now let's eat something!
I showed Eris a listing for a nearby pizza joint. She neither agreed nor disagreed and simply followed along with what I wanted to do. I was quite fine with that and stored the rest of the money we weren't going to use today into Eris's suitcase for safekeeping.
The pizza place was easy to find with an interesting conversation from the seats nearby grabbing my attention as we ate our food. We overheard two tables down, talking about their gym and new magic instructor. Something to do with an unorthodox method of training and that it had become fun for them to visit the gym again.
Lots of talk about the surrounding monster hordes increasing and the need for more trained magicians to help cull their numbers. I thought this might be a good chance for me to practice and learn how to use my powers, so I made up my mind to visit after we finished.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone