The Greatest Sinner

Evan's words, surprised Zak, but after a while, he said with a broad smile on his face: "Well, if you think it's for the best, I don't mind. With your current skills, you're a hundred percent able to get into the Academy of Magic. So, go ahead, just get back in time."

Zak was confident in Evan and he knew for a fact, that Evan wouldn't chill out too much. So he didn't mind the young man`s decision. Zak couldn't influence Evan's decision anyway, and he was well aware of that.

In the short month he had spent with Evan, Zak had realized that Evan didn`t back down from his goals, and his determination knew no bounds.

The young man only nodded in response.

Zak took a sip of wine and said: "Evan, if you want to live alone you need money and I can give you what you need, just say."

Zak was rich, very rich and strong. In one month, he had spent more on Evan alone than a common man made in ten years, but to him such spending was absolutely insignificant.

Evan was about to say something, but he was suddenly interrupted by Marcel.

"Wait, you are my guests, which means I am responsible for each and every one of you. Moreover, I think it would be good if I gave the winner of the sparring an extra prize personally from me."

Marcel spoke slowly and calmly.

After these words, he pulled out of his pocket a small, rectangular black card with a gold border.

Evan didn't know what it was, but Fien and Zak were surprised to see the card.

"AHAHAHA, Marcel, it looks like I'm going to owe you." Zak said it, laughing.

Marcel smiled slightly and put the black card on the table right in front of Evan.

"It's one of my cards that I use rather infrequently. There's not much money left on it, but I don't think you'll be disappointed. You can use it until you spend it all."

Marcel spoke as if the card were some kind of insignificant little thing he didn't mind giving away. If an ordinary man or a merchant of average means had heard Marcel's words, they would have fainted from his generosity.

Evan took the card from the table and bowed slightly in gratitude. He was ruthless to those who went against him, but he remembered help and kindness forever. Evan understood that Marcel had given him something incredibly valuable.

"Thank you, but unfortunately I don't know how to use it." Evan had been very little time in that world, and he hadn't extracted anything worthwhile from the memories of the body's past owner.

All Evan had managed to see was a prison, a poor village, and Zak`s manor. For all the other magicians, using a card was a trivial thing, but not for Evan.

Marcel looked at Evan puzzled, but Zak quickly explained it to him.

"I picked him up over a month ago from a very perilous and backward place, so it's no wonder he doesn't know these things."

Marcel nodded and said slowly: "Okay, I get it. Then I guess it`s a good time to tell you all about it."

Marcel pointed to the card and continued: "There are banks in all of the big cities, including Mossy Vulture. There, as you understand, you can keep money, but to avoid carrying sacks filled with coins on your back, they invented these cards."

"You just give the bank the coins, and it puts them on the card, and with the card itself you can buy anything. As soon as you spend any amount, it's instantly deducted from the card thanks to a special spell."

Once again Evan was amazed by the magic of his new world.

<Unbelievably, they found a use for magic even in such mundane things. It's just genius.>

"Mr. Marcel, how do I know how much money I have on my card?" Evan asked quickly.

Marcel smiled: "It's simple, you just have to pour some mana into it and it will activate itself. You'll see all the information you need on the back of the card. Also, for security reasons only the owner can use it, but I've already cast the right spell so you have full access now."

A seemingly simple card, but how complicated everything really was. A few spells and a whole system to make it work right, even though there were far fewer magicians than ordinary people.

It wasn't that surprising. Unless you're some kind of merchant, there was almost no chance of getting rich. Whereas finding a poor magician was harder than finding a needle in a haystack.

Evan took a card from the table and his "Warp" came into motion. Mana flowed directly into the card, after which numbers and symbols began to appear on the back of the card.

Looking at the card Evan involuntarily wondered, <Five hundred gold coins... I wonder how many is that?

He had used this world's money once before - when he escaped from prison and rented a hotel room in a poor village, then he had only spent two silver coins. At that moment, Evan thought that Warden Aron had quite a lot of money. However, when he saw the number on the card, he began to realize that they were probably ridiculous numbers.

In addition to the gold coins, there were also blocks for copper and silver coins on the card, but their number was zero.

Evan did not ask how much money he had been given, in any case he would soon find it out for himself.

The young man put the card in his pocket.

Zak and Fien had eaten almost everything, but there was still alcohol. So after everything was solved with the card, they continued talking on various topics and it was until the morning.

...

At sunrise, all of them, besides Fien, headed for the hot springs. There were separate bathrooms for the women in Marcel's manor.

After that, it was time to leave, but Zak decided to stay here for a while longer, so Evan went to the city alone. Marcel wished Evan all the best, and Fien looked at him silently.

Evan could have gone back to Zak`s manor and continued his training. But he made the decision to be alone until he left for the Academy of Magic.

"Okay, the first thing to do is to find temporary lodging, and to see what's even interesting in this city."

Evan didn't know at all how Mossy Vulture was set up. He could certainly ask Marcel for a map of the city, but Evan liked exploring cities and finding interesting places on his own.

Evan's most important goal was to study magic. But since he was about to leave the Mossy Vulture, he wanted to get all he could out of this city.

The money he received from Marcel could help him considerably in that endeavor.

"So, where should I go?" Evan had already left the district where the huge mansions like Marcel's estate were located. Except that, he didn't know any other places in the Mossy Vulture.

After thinking for a while, Evan decided to go to the main square, because it was the center of the city, which meant that the best stores were there.