Gray continued walking toward the city.
The massive black walls grew larger with every step, and the closer he got, the more clearly he could see the crimson runes carved across the ancient stone.
Several demons stood beside the entrance, wearing dark armor and carrying long spears.
Unlike the merchants outside, these demons weren’t relaxed.
Their eyes constantly moved across everyone entering the city, checking their identities and making sure nobody tried to sneak inside.
Gray didn’t pay much attention to them.
He simply walked toward the gate.
But the moment he was about to pass through...
"Stop."
One of the guards stepped forward.
Gray stopped.
The demon looked him up and down.
"Entry fee."
Gray blinked.
"Entry fee?"
"Two Demon Cash."
The guard held out his hand.
Gray stared at the demon’s palm, at the city behind him, then turned back at the guard.
’So there really is an entry fee.’
He reached into his spatial ring.
He didn’t have any Demon Cash, but he did have plenty of other resources.
Gray thought for a moment, then decided to test something.
A small crystal appeared between his fingers.
It was transparent and faintly glowing with blue light.
It was none other than a low-grade mana crystal.
Gray casually held it toward the guard.
"Does this work?"
The guard’s eyes immediately widened.
His pupils shrank.
The demon standing beside him also froze.
"A-a-a Mana Crystal?!"
Gray raised an eyebrow.
The guard stared at the crystal as if Gray had suddenly pulled out a Divine Artifact.
"T-this is too expensive! We cannot accept something like this!"
Gray’s expression became slightly confused.
’...It’s only a low-level crystal though.’
He looked at the crystal in his hand.
It was something he had barely cared about back in the human world. There were plenty of these things in his spatial ring.
’Are Mana Crystals that precious here?’
Gray lowered his hand.
"Are they that precious?"
The two guards exchanged glances.
The first guard hesitated.
"You really don’t know?"
Gray shook his head.
"I’m from a rather isolated tribe."
That seemed to explain everything.
The guard looked at the crystal again before sighing.
"Mana Crystals are extremely valuable in this city."
"Why?"
"Because of our location."
The guard pointed toward the city.
"This city is one of the furthest civilized cities from a Nether Portal."
Gray’s eyes narrowed slightly.
’A Nether Portal.’
So that was what the demons called the portals connecting the Underworld to the human world.
The guard continued.
"Most cities closer to the Nether Portals have regular contact with the human world. Merchants travel between the two sides, resources move freely, and human goods aren’t particularly difficult to obtain."
He pointed at the crystal in Gray’s hand.
"But here?"
He shook his head.
"Human resources are extremely rare."
"Gold coins, mana Crystals, magic items, potions, even ordinary human weapons. All of them are worth far more here than they would be in a city closer to a Nether Portal."
Gray nodded slowly.
"So you’re saying the further away from a Nether Portal you are, the more expensive human resources become?"
"Exactly."
The other guard finally spoke.
"A low-grade Mana Crystal in this city is worth around ten mid-grade Mana Crystals if you compare prices from a city closer to a Nether Portal."
Gray’s eyebrows rose.
"Ten?"
"Yes."
The guard nodded.
"Sometimes even more, depending on demand."
Gray looked down at the small crystal again.
’That’s ridiculous.’
A low-level Mana Crystal was practically worthless compared to the resources he had obtained during his time in the human world.
And yet...
Here, one was worth ten mid-level crystals.
’So the economy is completely distorted because of supply.’
Gray nodded thoughtfully.
"Interesting."
The guard looked at him strangely.
"Interesting?"
Gray ignored the question.
He had already started calculating.
’If human resources are this expensive here, then I could potentially make a ridiculous amount of Demon Cash simply by selling things from my spatial ring.’
He had plenty of Mana Crystals.
And several resources that would probably cause an economic crisis if he casually pulled them out in public.
’But I shouldn’t do that.’
Standing out was the last thing he wanted.
What he needed was information, not attention.
Gray placed the Mana Crystal back into his spatial ring.
"Then where should I go if I want to exchange human resources for Demon Cash?"
The two guards looked at each other.
The first guard scratched his cheek.
"There are several places."
"Which one is the safest?"
"The Black Market?"
Gray’s eyebrow twitched.
"Black Market?"
"Don’t go there."
The second guard immediately shook his head.
"Especially not if this is your first time in the city."
"Then where?"
"There are official exchange houses inside the market district."
The first guard pointed toward the main street.
"You’ll find one near the central market. They specialize in exchanging human resources, monster materials, Demon Crystals, and other valuables."
Gray nodded.
"Good."
He paused, then added casually.
"As I said, I’m from an abandoned tribe. We had access to the human world before, but our territory is extremely far from this city."
The guards listened carefully.
"This is my first time traveling this far, so I don’t know much about how things work here."
The two demons exchanged another glance.
This time, their expressions became much less suspicious, and just then, their eyes slowly moved over Gray’s appearance.
His black hair, crimson eyes, horns, his especially pale skin...
And most importantly...
His enormous black wings that fully explained what species he was.
An Incubus, a rare and attractive species.
The first guard nodded slightly.
"That explains it."
The second guard also nodded.
"Yeah. Incubus tribes aren’t exactly famous for traveling."
Gray smiled.
’They bought it.’
The first guard finally stepped aside.
"You don’t need to pay."
Gray blinked.
"I don’t?"
"Consider the Mana Crystal explanation enough."
The demon waved his hand.
"Besides, two Demon Cash isn’t worth taking a Mana Crystal from an outsider."
Gray nodded.
"Thanks."
He walked toward the gate, but before he passed through, the guard suddenly called out.
"Hey."
Gray stopped.
"Yes?"
"If you’re looking for an exchange house, go straight down the main road."
He pointed deeper into the city.
"Follow the red lanterns. The central market is impossible to miss."
Gray nodded.
"Understood."
"And one more thing."
Gray looked back, just to see the guard grinning widely at him.
"Don’t let anyone scam you."
"I’ll try," Gray laughed.
’Demons are surprisingly friendly, huh?’
Gray walked through the city gate and followed the guard’s directions, keeping his eyes on the red lanterns hanging above the main road.
He wasn’t in a hurry.
There was no reason to rush.
For now, he had one simple problem to solve.
Money.
’I’m going to need Demon Cash.’
Gray looked around as he walked.
The streets were packed with demons of all shapes and sizes.
Merchants stood outside their shops, shouting at passing customers, while carts filled with monster materials moved through the streets.
Clang!
A blacksmith struck a sword with his hammer.
"Fresh Iron Horns! Two hundred Demon Cash for a bundle!"
"Buy my healing potions! Three for fifty!"
"Get your roasted Blood Boar here!"
The entire street was noisy.
And strangely enough...
It felt normal.
’This place really is a civilization.’
Gray had expected the Underworld to be nothing more than a land filled with monsters fighting each other.
Instead, he found merchants arguing over prices, children running between shops, travelers carrying bags, restaurants packed with customers, and guards standing at every important road.
It was almost like the human world.
Almost.
Gray continued walking until he spotted a large building with several crimson lanterns hanging above its entrance.
A black sign was placed over the door.
[Crimson Exchange House]
’This should be it.’
Gray stepped inside.
The moment he entered, the noise from the street became much quieter.
The building was much larger than it looked from outside.
Several demons were standing behind long counters, checking materials and exchanging coins.
A few customers were waiting in line.
Gray looked around before walking toward the shortest one.
A female demon sat behind the counter.
She had long dark-red hair, two curved horns, and golden eyes.
She looked at Gray, then her gaze quickly scanned his appearance. Her expression didn’t change much, but Gray noticed the slight pause.
"First time here?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"You’re staring at everything."
"...Fair."
The female demon smiled.
"What do you need?"
"Demon Cash."
"We do exchanges."
"I know."
Gray reached into his spatial ring.
The woman immediately raised a hand.
"Wait."
Gray stopped.
"What?"
"Don’t take anything out yet."
Gray raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"Because if you’re new here, you probably don’t know how the exchange works."
She pointed toward a small board beside the counter.
Several exchange rates were written on it.
"Different materials have different prices. We inspect everything before giving you Demon Cash."
Gray nodded.
"Also, don’t try to sell everything you have at once."
"Why?"
"Because the price changes depending on supply."
Gray smiled.
’So the guards weren’t exaggerating.’
The woman continued.
"If you bring in a hundred low-grade demon horns, we’ll buy them, but the price per horn will drop after a certain amount."
"Supply and demand."
The woman blinked.
"You know about that?"
"A little."
"Then you’re smarter than you look."
Gray’s smile disappeared.
"...What does that mean?"
She laughed.
"I’m joking."
"Right."
Gray sighed.
’Why does everyone here like teasing people?’
The woman leaned forward.
"So, what are you selling?"
Gray thought for a moment.
He couldn’t exactly pull out something too valuable.
If he wanted to remain unnoticed, he needed to start small. He reached into his spatial ring and placed five low-grade Mana Crystals on the counter.
Clink.
The woman’s golden eyes immediately focused on them.
She picked one up, and her expression quickly changed.
"Pure Mana Crystal."
"Yes."
"Human origin?"
"Yes."
She looked at Gray.
"Did you come from an isolated tribe?"
Gray nodded.
"Hmm..."
She examined another crystal.
"These are good quality."
"How much?"
She placed the crystal back on the counter.
"500 Demon Cash."
Gray’s eyebrow twitched in surprise.
"Five hundred?"
The woman looked confused at his surprise.
"Ah... I’m not too conscious about the value since in my tribe we would trade in numbers and now in value," he quickly explained.
"Then let me explain."
She pulled a small black coin from beneath the counter and placed it beside the crystals.
The coin was dark crimson.
A strange energy moved inside it.
"This is one Demon Cash."
Gray picked it up.
The moment his fingers touched it, he felt a small amount of Demonic Energy flowing through the coin.
The woman pointed at it.
"One Demon Cash is the basic unit."
She placed several more coins on the counter.
"Ten Demon Cash is a small coin bundle."
She then placed a larger coin beside them.
"One hundred Demon Cash is a Demon Silver."
Gray nodded.
"And Demon Gold?"
"Ten thousand Demon Cash."
Gray’s eyes narrowed.
’So the currency system is simple enough.’
The woman continued.
"Most ordinary people use Demon Cash. Demon Silver is used for larger purchases. Demon Gold is mostly used by merchants, nobles, and powerful cultivators."
"Got it."
She pushed the five Mana Crystals toward herself.
"For these, I’ll give you five hundred Demon Cash."
Gray stared at her.
"Five hundred?" he repeated.
"Yes."
"One Mana Crystal is worth one hundred Demon Cash?"
"In this city, around that price."
Gray nodded slowly.
’So the guard was right.’
The woman looked at him.
"Do you want to exchange them?"
Gray smiled.
"Yes."
She took out a small scale and checked the crystals one more time.
After confirming their quality, she counted out five larger coins.
Clink. Clink. Clink.
She pushed them across the counter.
"Five hundred Demon Cash."
Gray collected the coins.
They were heavier than he expected.
He placed them into his spatial ring, then he thought for a moment.
"Wait."
The woman looked at him.
"Hm?"
"How much would I need to live here for a month?"
She smiled.
"Depends on where you stay."
"An ordinary inn."
"Food included?"
"Preferably."
"Then around three hundred to five hundred Demon Cash."
’Hmn... just perfect then,’ Gray nodded inwardly.
"Thank you." Gray stood up, ready to leave.
The woman leaned back in her chair.
"You’re welcome."
Gray turned around.
"Wait."
He looked back and saw her smiling at him strangely.
"If you’re staying in the city, remember one thing."
"What?"
"Don’t trust anyone too quickly."
Gray remembered the guard.
’Funny.’
He smiled.
"I’ll remember."
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