Dual Realm Exchange System

The Trade and Commerce Guild produced an entirely different impression from Rosewood’s other major guilds.

The Adventurer’s Guild was loud, crowded and vaguely industrial, full of armed people moving in and out with monster parts, quest notices and the occasional fresh injury.

The Mage Association was the exact opposite, an opulent den of magical elitism where servants brought chilled drinks while wealthy spellcasters discussed contracts on enchanted couches.

The Trade and Commerce Guild though, was quiet, clean, and efficient.

Stephen dropped Damian before a broad six-story building near Rosewood’s commercial district, where wagons constantly entered through separate inspection gates while pedestrians flowed through the main entrance.

"Try not to spend everything you have left, My Lord," Stephen advised with a grin.

"I am literally going there to earn money." Damian pointed out with a roll of his eyes.

"That confidence is how they get you." Stephen offered with a sagely look.

Damian glared at the unserious fellow before walking away.

Once inside, he quickly understood the Guild’s purpose.

Merchants were certainly present here, but they were only one category among many.

Workers carried sealed crates between departments, wealthy buyers waited with suspicious jewelry they wanted verified, shop owners carried documents, foreign traders presented cargo manifests, and several people who looked like ordinary citizens queued with individual items beneath their arms.

This guild was less a merchant association and more several institutions mashed together.

It registered businesses, inspected imported goods, certified products for legal sale, and appraised valuable merchandise.

It also verified origins, safety standards and commercial claims.

Back on Earth, Damian would have needed to deal with business-registration authorities, customs agencies, product regulators and specialized inspectors depending on what he intended to sell.

Here in Valoria though, someone had apparently decided bureaucracy was easier when everything involving commerce lived beneath one roof.

The building was divided accordingly.

[Commercial Registry & Licensing Wing.]

[Goods Appraisal & Valuation Wing.]

[Import Inspection & Customs Wing.]

[Trade Arbitration Wing.]

[Weights, Standards & Certification Wing.]

Damian followed the signs toward Commercial Registry & Licensing.

Unlike the Mage Association, nobody materialized beside him to offer fruit juice and personalized service.

After all, pure commerce did not care whether you felt welcomed, but only cared whether your paperwork was correct.

He eventually reached a long hall lined with counters and discovered that several were empty.

At the final occupied station, an elderly man with thinning grey hair had apparently surrendered to the morning and fallen asleep with his arms folded over his chest.

Damian tapped the glass.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The old man’s eyes snapped open.

"Huh? Yes! Naturally! I was merely contemplating several complex applications," he declared immediately.

Damian looked at the faint mark on the man’s cheek where it had been resting against his sleeve.

"Of course."

The old fellow squinted at him for a second, then chuckled without embarrassment.

"At my age, young man, one learns that shamelessness is simply confidence with experience. Business registration?" he questioned pleasantly.

"Yes. New business and general sales authorization," Damian replied.

"Excellent. Sit down before somebody competent notices I’m awake."

Damian laughed and took the chair.

The man’s nameplate identified him as Senior Registrar Benedict Hale.

Despite his initial state, Benedict became remarkably professional once he began working.

"Personal identification first, followed by profession, financial credential, intended trading categories, business structure and any institutional sponsorships you possess," Benedict explained as an enchanted slate illuminated before him.

Damian handed over his Adventurer Guild Card.

Then, after some thought, his newly acquired Mage Guild Ring.

Benedict inspected both.

"Copper Adventurer, Journeyman Mage... Baron of Magic?" He read before glancing upward.

"And you only registered with the Mage Association today?" He asked with surprise.

"Yup." Damian affirmed with a nod.

"Interesting." The old fellow chuckled with amusement.

Damian then supplied the final unusual detail. "I am also a registered Otherworlder."

Benedict’s eyebrows climbed.

Unlike seemingly half of Valoria, however, he did not leap out of his chair or immediately summon someone important.

He merely stared at Damian for three seconds before whistling.

"Well, that explains several oddities in your file."

"You’re taking that rather calmly." Damian noted with surprise.

"Young man, I once registered a Dwarven brewery owned jointly by three brothers who had legally declared one another dead during an inheritance dispute while all three were standing in front of me. An Otherworlder is interesting, but considerably easier paperwork." Benedict Hale stated with a wave of his hand.

Damian immediately liked him.

Benedict pushed the Adventurer Card aside and tapped the Mage Guild Ring against his slate.

"We’ll anchor your commercial registration to the Mage Association identity rather than the Adventurer’s Guild."

"Why?" Damian inquired with a puzzled look.

Benedict shook his head. "The Adventurer’s Guild is excellent, but deliberately general. Their members could be mercenaries, hunters, herbalists, explorers or maniacs with swords. The Mage Association, meanwhile, is fiercely protective of its own."

The old man leaned forward and lowered his voice slightly. "If a trade dispute ever becomes political, bureaucratic or expensive, being listed first as Baron Damian Baines, Journeyman Mage, will encourage people to reconsider how badly they want to annoy you."

Damian blinked. "That sounds like advice you’re probably not supposed to give me."

"Correct." Benedict acknowledged with a slight nod.

Damian stared at the old man seriously. "Thank you."

"You’re welcome." The old fellow chuckled genially.

Their remaining conversation continued in much the same fashion.

Damian registered himself as a sole proprietor under his own name for now, with authorization covering magical goods, consumables, tools, travel supplies and miscellaneous imported merchandise.

For the source of his stranger products, Benedict advised him to use the legally accepted designation of [Proprietary Otherworlder Merchandise] unless some future item specifically required disclosure.

It confirmed lawful possession without forcing Damian to explain an entire supply chain nobody could independently verify anyway.

Eventually, Benedict produced a thin metal-and-crystal license plate.

[Provisional General Mercantile Permit.]

"Provisional until your first merchandise batch passes certification," Benedict explained while sliding it through the opening. "Head to Goods Appraisal and Valuation. Once they approve your declared categories, the permit activates automatically."

Damian accepted it. "Anything else I should know?"

"Yes. Never argue with Customs before lunch, never accept the first valuation from somebody trying to buy the item they are valuing, and if anyone from Trade Arbitration says the words ’simple mediation,’ cancel your afternoon."

"Noted."

"Good lad."

............

Goods Appraisal and Valuation was significantly busier.

The department had three separate queues.

One processed imported commercial shipments, another handled ordinary citizens seeking appraisals of individual purchases, inheritance goods or suspicious items, while the third dealt specifically with commercial certification.

Damian entered the last, and its efficiency remained impressive.

He registered his permit, received a numbered token and waited less than fifteen minutes before being directed into a private examination room.

Two junior appraisers waited inside beside a large scanning platform.

One was a middle-aged woman named Carla Merrin, while the other was a younger man responsible for recording results.

"Place the first intended commercial product upon the platform and explain its claimed function," Carla requested professionally.

Damian smiled.

He had deliberately left several things out for this round.

No Qi Nourishing Pills nor any Qi Acceleration Pills, and absolutely nothing that openly manipulated Experience.

Those were strategic resources until Damian understood Valoria much better.

Instead, he retrieved a Grain Avoidance Pill.

"This provides full basic nutrition and suppresses hunger for approximately seven days for an ordinary humanoid," Damian explained.

The younger recorder stopped writing.

Carla stared at the tiny brown pill.

"...you say seven days?" She asked again slowly.

"Approximately." Damian nodded.

"...with one pill?"

"Yes."

Her expression clearly communicated that she thought Damian was starting his commercial career by lying.

Still, she placed the pill into the scanner, and a blue light swept over it.

The magitech machine hummed, then stopped.

[Confirmed: Complete basic nutritional support.]

[Estimated ordinary humanoid duration: 6.8–8.1 days.]

Silence.

The young recorder leaned toward the display, and Carla ran it again, but the same result came back.

"This scanner was serviced four days ago," she muttered.

Damian resisted smiling.

An elderly appraiser in green robes was summoned from the adjoining department.

The man introduced himself as Master Appraiser Hollis and possessed the Skill <Identify Item>, which Damian immediately recognized as a specialized professional ability rather than the spell he had recently acquired.

Hollis examined the pill personally, and his casual expression disappeared.

"It is genuine. The nutritional density is magical rather than physical, but the body receives ordinary nourishment without obvious enhancement or harmful stimulation." he confirmed slowly.

Carla’s posture changed immediately. "How would you value it, Sir?"

Hollis considered the question. "The nearest equivalent would be preserved enchanted expedition rations. A seven-day package normally costs between twelve and eighteen Silver depending upon weight and quality."

He glanced at the pill. "This weighs almost nothing, requires no preparation and cannot spoil normally. Its commercial certified value will be set at twenty Silver per pill. Any potential military or emergency procurement value would be higher."

Damian remained completely still.

Twenty Silver for one measly Grain Avoidance Pill?

Brother, he had purchased two thousand of the damn things!

His brain immediately supplied the number.

That was a gross income of four hundred Gold from just one product category.

’Okay... don’t smile like a criminal.’

The second item was a Light Body Talisman.

"This temporarily reduces effective body weight and movement burden, improving speed and jumping ability without directly raising Agility," Damian explained.

Carla had learned her lesson and no longer looked openly skeptical.

The scanner confirmed Damian’s words while Hollis examined the talisman personally afterward.

"Hmmm... the closest comparison would be Common grade mobility charms or low-grade movement potions," he remarked.

He shook his head with a sigh. "Most comparable products offer narrower effects and last less reliably. I place it at fifteen Silver for a conservative retail valuation, perhaps twenty-five in Adventurer-heavy markets."

Damian had six hundred of them, so even using fifteen Silver, that was ninety Gold!

Next came the Purification Talisman, which Damian explained carefully.

"It removes most mundane bacterial and viral illnesses, minor poisons, low-grade curses and several weak magical debilitating effects. It becomes much less reliable against powerful supernatural diseases and curses."

This time, Carla actually laughed nervously. "M-Master Hollis?"

"...I heard him." Hollis responded seriously, realizing that trouble was afoot.

The scanner activated, and immediately, every person in the room stared at its findings.

Hollis used <Identify Item>, then used it again.

In the end, his expression became difficult.

"This is a disposable purification effect approaching several minor church services compressed into a single activated item."

The room became very quiet.

"What is the nearest equivalent?" Damian asked innocently.

"A commissioned Lesser Purification from an accredited church or qualified healer typically ranges from one to three Gold depending upon the condition and urgency," Hollis replied.

"This is weaker against specialized supernatural afflictions, but requires no caster and can be stored."

The Senior Appraiser thought for several seconds.

"I’d say its certified commercial valuation would be one Gold and fifty Silver each."

Damian had eight hundred, so that was twelve hundred Gold.

His heartbeat increased slightly.

Oh boy, this was getting disgusting.

The Warning Array came next.

Compared with curing diseases, an alarm formation sounded almost mundane.

Then Hollis understood that a party could establish a registered perimeter, sleep simultaneously and receive immediate warning when unapproved living creatures crossed it.

"Equivalent permanent camp wards require a Mage, Runesmith or enchanted equipment," Hollis explained.

"Disposable Alarm Scrolls are cheaper but much narrower. Five Gold per complete formation set is reasonable."

Two hundred sets in his system space meant one thousand Gold.

Carla had stopped looking at Damian like a first-time merchant, and now looked at him like a mobile treasure vault.

Then Damian placed the Spirit Gathering Array onto the platform.

Hollis frowned before Damian even finished explaining.

"It gathers ambient supernatural energy and raises local mana density within the active formation area, improving spellcasting efficiency, natural recovery, enchanting and mana-dependent work."

Nobody spoke as the scanner activated, its lights brightening.

Then one warning appeared.

[LOCAL MANA DENSITY INCREASE DETECTED.]

Hollis surged forward and personally shut the formation down.

"Do not activate this casually indoors," he said sharply.

"Sorry." Damian apologized noncommittally.

The old appraiser stared at Damian.

"This is Common to you?" He asked seriously.

"In its original classification, yes." Damian affirmed with a smarmy grin.

"...wherever you obtained this has a very different definition of Common." Hollis could only say speechlessly.

Eh, that was fair.

Hollis spent nearly ten minutes examining the formation plate.

"The closest Valorian equivalent is not an ordinary item," he eventually explained. "Mage Towers use fixed mana-gathering architecture, specialized runic installations and expensive elemental reservoirs. Even a weak permanent gathering chamber can cost hundreds of Gold to establish."

Damian’s breathing slowed.

"However, this formation is portable, weaker than a true Mage Tower installation and dependent upon an external power supply," Hollis continued.

"My conservative certified valuation is... seventy-five Gold!"

Damian had one hundred of them, now valued at seven thousand five hundred Gold.

Nobody in the room said anything afterward.

Damian looked at the little formation plate, and the formation plate looked back innocently.

He suddenly understood that he had walked into this building functionally poor and was going to walk out holding commercial rights to merchandise worth more money than he had spent throughout his entire first life.

And these were merely the Common Shengyuan resources he had chosen to reveal.

Hollis slowly lowered the Spirit Gathering Array.

"Lord Baines." He called with a deep tone.

"Yes?"

"I would strongly recommend you employ professional security before publicly advertising the volume of inventory you possess." Hollis advised sincerely.

Damian’s expression became serious, feeling that this was indeed excellent advice.

The remaining products were processed more cautiously.

Golden Shield Arrays received a certified valuation of eighteen Gold each against much more expensive fixed defensive enchantments.

Formation ink was valued well above ordinary magical inscription ink because of its exceptional conductivity.

Even the humble Cleansing Talisman earned respectable certification as a cheap travel and domestic convenience item.

By the end, Damian’s mercantile profile contained enough approved categories to operate a rather bizarre shop.

There was food, medicine, travel aids, security formations, magical infrastructure, and inscription materials.

Basically, if a cultivator considered something boringly commonplace, there was a decent chance some Valorian would throw money at Damian for it.

Carla completed the final certification.

The provisional plate in Damian’s hand flashed.

[General Mercantile Permit Activated.]

[License Holder: Baron Damian Baines.]

[Registered Commercial Categories: Magical Consumables / Talismans / Formation Devices / Travel Supplies / Inscription Materials / Otherworlder Merchandise.]

Damian inspected the accompanying explanation.

Interestingly, the permit did not care much about where he sold.

A permanent shop? Allowed.

Temporary market stall? Allowed.

Festival bazaar kiosk? Allowed.

Mobile merchant cart? Also allowed.

The regulation followed the registered merchant and certified goods rather than a single storefront.

Individual cities could still charge location fees, rent or local taxes, but Damian did not need to register a brand-new business every time he changed streets.

That was wonderfully sensible.

He thanked Carla, Master Hollis and the increasingly shell-shocked recorder before returning through Commercial Registry.

Benedict spotted him immediately, the old registrar glancing at the fully illuminated permit.

"Well?"

Damian smiled. "Apparently, I’m not as poor as I thought."

Benedict laughed. "The best kind of wealth is discovering you already owned it."

Damian couldn’t argue with that.

He left the Trade and Commerce Guild beneath the afternoon sunlight with forty-three fewer Gold in his bank account than he had possessed that morning.

Yet strangely, he no longer felt poor.

He stood on the steps for a moment, staring at the commercial district stretching before him.

Then Damian slowly smiled.

The Mage Association had shown him exactly how expensive power could become.

Fortunately...

Shengyuan had just shown him how he was going to pay for it.

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