Jake and Crypt made it to the border of the town. The walls rose high—ten feet, made of carved stone. The gate was open, and three guards stood there wearing steel armor, their swords hanging at their sides.
There were a few people entering the town. Their carriages were checked by the guards before they were allowed in. Jake watched closely to be sure they didn't ask for any form of payment, but it seemed they did.
People that had been in the town before showed some sort of identification and were allowed in, while new people paid two silver coins, then wrote their names down before they entered.
"It seems we need to pay before we can enter, and I don't have any money," Jake said.
[Stupid, this is why you should check the system more. You have an inventory, and when you killed Crypt, you got his storage ring. There should be some money inside there.]
"Then why the hell did you not tell me?" Jake asked.
[Because I can't be bothered to give you information that you didn't ask for. I'm going to sleep.]
"Urghh, that's the only thing you know. Whatever," Jake said. He opened the system interface and checked his inventory, and he saw the ring there.
"Ooooooh." It was made of gold with certain engravings on it. He took it out of his inventory. The ring was larger than his finger, but when he put it on, it reduced in size to match his finger.
He looked at the ring, not sure of how to enter it. "System, how do you see what's inside this?" he asked, but the system gave no reply.
"Master, focus on the ring," Crypt suddenly said. Jake looked at him and nodded. He focused on the ring, and his consciousness was pulled inside.
It was an empty vacuum, a void that could hold an immense number of things. He saw piles of things just floating around inside the ring.
He saw piles of swords, spears, and different weapons, talismans, some artifacts that he didn't know what they were, and a pile of gold coins, along with some gold coins with a green crystal at the center.
There were also hundreds of books—no, hundreds was a small amount—it was at least a thousand books there.
"Crypt was really rich," Jake said. There was a smile on his face because his major problem of money had just been wiped away now. But there was one issue: there were only gold coins here.
He was no mathematician, but he knew a gold coin should be far more than a silver coin. But he didn't have a choice now.
He grabbed one of the gold coins and came out of the ring. By this time, it was almost his turn in the line. The guards saw him and Crypt. One looked at Crypt for a few seconds before speaking.
"Are the both of you new here? If so, you have to pay two silver coins each," the guard said.
Jake showed the gold coin and asked, "Will this cover?" The guard's eyes lit up immediately when he saw the coin. He grabbed the coin as if Jake would take it back if given time.
"Definitely, sir. Please write your name here and head on in," he spoke enthusiastically. Jake took the quill and wrote his name along with Crypt's. He made sure not to write his surname.
The guards bowed to both of them before they walked in. The second guard that was there noticed the behavior of the first and decided to come ask what happened.
"Riker, what's got you acting so good? Did those two tip you?" he asked.
"A tip is an understatement," he said and pulled out the gold coin. The second guard's eyes lit up when he saw the coin. "A whole gold coin? Who could they be to simply give us a full gold coin?" the second guard asked.
He looked at the name on the paper and didn't see any surname, so he ruled out nobles. But they could also be hiding their true identities.
"The kid is dressed weird, it doesn't look like clothes from around here. And as for the warrior with him, he gave off a very cold and suppressive aura. There is no way they are normal," the first guard said.
"That aside, what's my cut from the money?" the second guard asked.
"What do you mean cut? I got this on my own."
"Oh hell no, no way you are trying to take a full gold coin for yourself," the second said, already stretching out his hand to grab the coin.
[.....]
The inside of the town was as he imagined it—filled with different buildings, some towers in the distance as well. The roads were made of stone, and though they had seen better days, they were still functional.
The people were moving about doing whatever they had to do, going about their business.
Jake was already thinking about what to do when a small kid rushed toward him. She was a small kid with bleached white hair and eyelashes, pale skin, and a frail body. Even her eyebrows were all white, and her eyes were an abnormal light grey color.
She looked no more than 11. Her sack-like clothes were very dirty, her pale skin stained from what looked like black soot.
"H-hey," she stuttered. Jake felt she was just some homeless kid wanting to beg, so he instinctively pulled out a gold coin and handed it to her.
She stared at the coin, her eyes shining, but she didn't take it.
"Im-im sorry, I don't want your money for free. You are new in this town, so maybe I show you around and you pay me?" she asked, looking down at the ground.
'Huh? She refused free money? She wants to work?' Jake thought. He didn't know why, but he felt driven to take her offer. She struck a chord in his mind.