Elena Virelle found herself carefully wiping down the worn wooden counter of the apothecary with a slightly damp cloth, her sleeves rolled up and the late morning sunlight trickling through the wavy glass windows. Dust motes floated like lazy fairies in the sunbeams. It was her third day working under Master Joreth, and while she hadn't brewed any potions yet, she had managed to memorize most of the names of herbs, their uses, and where they were kept in the backroom. That counted as progress, right?
Today, however, something shifted. Instead of assigning her another round of sweeping, sorting, or re-labeling old bottles that smelled like mildew and regret, Master Joreth placed a thin ledger in front of her.
"Elena, take a look at the week's earnings. Tell me if anything seems off."
She blinked. "You want me to do the numbers?"
He raised an eyebrow. "You said you were good at counting. Time to prove it."
Suppressing a small burst of pride, she flipped the ledger open and began scanning the entries. It was clear, albeit cramped, listing daily sales, potion costs, and ingredients purchased. A healing salve went for 8 copper crowns. A stamina draft? 12. One order of anti-itch cream sold at a bulk discount for 20 copper. A handful of silver crowns exchanged hands over the week, but mostly copper. By her calculations, they'd earned about 2 silver and 74 copper crowns in total.
She hesitated. "Shouldn't the stamina draft bring in more? We sold five, but only got 50 copper total. That should be 60."
Master Joreth grunted. "Ah, sharp eye. That was to Old Man Boren. He bartered half a sack of wildshade in exchange. A fair trade, since wildshade's in season and I need it."
Barter system. Right. Not everything was pure coin.
"Still," Elena muttered, "You could have charged him 10 more."
Joreth laughed. "You gonna tell that to Boren? Man's deaf in one ear and stubborn in both."
As the conversation veered off into grumbles about stingy old villagers, Elena made a note in her mental ledger: potion pricing wasn't rigid. You had to factor in relationships, scarcity, and haggling skills. The system here was far more fluid than the digital commerce she was used to.
She found herself fascinated. She wanted to know more—not just about herbs, but how much people paid for magical items, what a journeyman alchemist earned, and how she could survive independently in this world.
After work, she tucked a few leftover bread heels from the kitchen into her satchel (with Mistress Lemma's permission), and wandered toward the small town square.
It was busy, as usual. Stalls hawked dried meats, cheap jewelry, handwoven cloaks, and spell-scrolls of questionable quality. Elena passed a fortune teller in rainbow shawls yelling about fate and chickens. She did a double take when she saw a young man trying to peddle an obviously fake enchanted sword by smacking it against a watermelon.
"Buy this beauty! Cuts through anything—fruit, enemies, expectations! Only 1 gold crown!"
One gold crown? Elena nearly choked. That was the equivalent of 100 silver, or 1000 copper crowns. Enough to live on modestly for two months. She wondered who would fall for such an outrageous price.
Unfortunately, someone did. A traveling merchant, perhaps too drunk or too gullible, pulled out a heavy pouch.
Elena sighed. There really was one born every minute.
She passed by a bookstall next, and that's when her curiosity took over. She spotted a thin volume titled "A Beginner's Guide to Common Professions in the Kingdom of Selvarra" and picked it up.
"How much for this?"
The merchant, a teen girl with too many bracelets, glanced up. "3 copper."
"Can I trade two copper and a piece of dried ginger root?"
The girl narrowed her eyes. "That depends. Is it spicy?"
Elena grinned and handed it over. "Try it."
A nibble later, the trade was sealed.
Later that evening, she flipped through the booklet under the flickering lantern in her attic room.
---
Excerpted Notes from Elena's Reading:
Alchemist Apprentice:
Starting pay: 5 to 8 copper per day.
Potions sold independently can earn 10-20 copper per basic batch.
Required: Basic literacy, safety knowledge, and semi-functional eyebrows.
Journeyman Mage (Registered):
Pay: 1-3 silver crowns per minor contract.
Required: Registration at a mage tower, arcane test, and fee of 10 silver.
Healer (Blessed or Herbalist):
Pay: Varies. Simple treatments fetch 10-30 copper. Major injuries, up to 1 silver.
Requires certification or village trust.
Mercenary (Low Rank):
Daily Rate: 1 silver + spoils.
High risk. Often low hygiene.
---
Elena folded the book and stared at the ceiling. Compared to this world's economy, she was... poor. She had maybe 12 copper to her name, a borrowed room, and a half-eaten loaf of bread.
But she had knowledge. Or at least, the beginnings of it.
Tomorrow, she would ask Joreth how to brew a stamina potion herself. She might even try bartering for more books. Maybe she could sketch out a long-term plan. Like... becoming a licensed alchemist. Or understanding how the kingdom's guild system worked.
She also had Liora.
Though the knight hadn't appeared for a few days, Elena still remembered the kindness in her eyes. They weren't exactly friends yet, but the brief connection had planted a seed.
This world was strange. But maybe, just maybe, it didn't have to stay unfamiliar forever.
---
[End of Chapter 11]