Rui spent a few days with the Quarrier Orphanage as he took his time to settle in. The Quarrier Orphanage had grown a lot thanks to the number of adults working in the orphanage that had grown since Rui was a child as well as Julian's funding and support. Rui got his own room in the Quarrier Orphanage, which was certainly something he needed. Although he loved his family dearly, he had become extremely accustomed to privacy in the Martial Academy and was not willing to go back to the dormitory halls if he could have avoided it.
Even in his previous life on Earth, he had valued his privacy immensely. In the early years of his second life, he had willingly tolerated the dormitory hall because of the fact that he was still a child. But now he was a contributing adult and he had the right to his own room. His being a Martial Artist was also quite helpful in that Martial Artists had a special status in human societies.
After a few days of getting acclimatized to living in the Quarrier Orphanage, he had decided it was time to resume his mission undertaking. He headed over to the Martial Union headquarters early in the morning that day, looking for missions.
"Excuse me." Rui addressed a staff member after having reached the commissions' department. "May I gain access to my inbox of personal commissions?"
"Of course." She replied. "Is there something wrong with your accounter?"
"My accounter?" Rui frowned. "What's that?"
"Ah, you aren't aware." She surmised. "An accounter is a device that allows you to access your account at the Martial Union that allows you to access the information pertaining to you in the Martial Union such as your profile, data on the missions you've completed, your inbox, and other aspects of you as a Martial Artist. It also allows for easier communication between you and others to contact you whether it be from within the Martial Union or clientele interested in contacting you. It's not mandatory or necessary, but generally, Martial Artists with a need to have quick and easy access to this information purchase one."
"I see." Rui's eyes lit up. "Where can I purchase one?"
"You can purchase them at the commercial wing of the Martial Union." She replied.
"Thank you."
Rui immediately headed to the commercial wing. It was an entire chunk of the Martial Union, extending over a wide area. There were various sections within the commercial wing selling all kinds of products for Martial Artists including potions, garbs, masks, monoculars, and other tools Martial Artists generally carried or used when completing missions.
"Wow." Rui murmured. He felt as though he had entered one of the gigantic shopping mall complexes from Earth. "Guess this won't be the last time I come here."
From this point on, he would need to purchase his own supplies by himself from the shopping wing. No longer would things be handed to him on a silver platter.
"Excuse me." He addressed one of the support staff members in the digital device section of the commercial wing. "I'm looking for an accounter."
"Of course." She replied. "What kind of an accounter are you looking for?"
"My knowledge of the devices is extremely shallow, but I would like one with longevity and high functionality in the basic features of an accounter. Meaning I can reliably access my profile and inbox and contact people reliably at all times. However, I do not require any additional features."
"Understood, in that case, I would recommend the SM-16 to you." She brought out a box with a product in it. "It's part of the standard model series developed by the Martial Union itself specifically meant for its reliability in the basic features that it has. It's one of the most common no-nonsense type digital accounters that allow you to rely on it at any time."
Rui nodded. "How much does it cost?"
"About ninety-three gold coins and seven silver coins." She replied. "About two thousand four hundred and forty Martial credits."
Rui winced at the price, before slightly shaking his head. This largely confirmed what he had always suspected about digital technology based on esoteric resources. Fifty-three gold coins were an immense sum for a single digital device. A single gold coin was worth ten silver coins and a silver coin was worth a hundred bronze coins.
The lower echelons of the Kandrian Empire earned and spent bronze and silver coins. Middle-class citizens earned and spent silver and gold coins whereas only the upper class of society could really afford to splurge ninety-three gold coins on a single digital device such as an accounter of this sort.
This reinforced the fact that the cost of production of digital currency was high, too high for it to be viable for mass production. It was quite likely the cost of the esoteric compounds that allowed for the digital device to function were valuable and uncommon. This was really the only plausible reason why it cost nearly a hundred gold coins for a digital device that, on Earth, wouldn't have cost him more than fifty dollars.
Once he made the purchase, she quickly set up the device and registered him into his account, and showed him how to use it.
The display technology was not nearly as refined as the display technology of Earth, but it served its purpose. It was a little choppy and rough compared to high definition display technology of Earth.
"...And this is how you view your inbox." She finished her explanation. "It runs of energy cells that need to periodically be replaced. It is recommended that you purchase an extra cell and keep it on your person at all times so that you can easily replace it if the cell dies during an important time. It has a warranty of three months so be mindful of that as well."
"How much does the cell cost?" Rui inquired.
"About twenty-five gold coins." She replied straightforwardly.
"..."
