Chapter 107: Mana in Nebraska
Eight o’clock in the evening... Omaha, Nebraska.
Cain and Lucy, having just stepped out of the glowing dimensional portal, stood in a location relatively removed from the clamor of the city’s main thoroughfares and congested clusters, where tranquility and silence wrapped the venue.
They were by no means within an utterly isolated zone, but rather within a balanced, serene neighborhood providing them, first, a fine location to emerge from the dimensional portal, and second, a new and suitable opportunity to resume attempting to sell a piece of gold and jewelry in their possession absent rousing grand suspicions.
Fortunately, no one caught sight of them here during their smooth exit from the dimensional portal, which stood in itself as an encouraging initiation. Yet now, they required initiating anew the journey to search for a jewelry shop or currency exchange willing to accept this precious metal and convert it into paper currency or financial notes enabling them to reside and initiate life within this world.
They strolled side by side upon the dark sidewalk, Cain stating in a hushed tone: "I reckon the notion of generating cash via selling this gold and these magical objects has devolved into the supreme dilemma of our journey... Do you share my view?"
Lucy offered an agreeing nod, contemplating the surrounding structures, as Cain appended: "Furthermore, I reckon we must contemplate an alternative choice... another source to procure cash."
Lucy stated in tranquil analysis: "The supreme dilemma rests in our desire to secure the highest possible profit margin to acquire our necessities... Attempting to sell legendary or strange items in our possession might attract the attention of authorities or merchants in a far grander and vastly more perilous fashion."
Lucy gazed at Cain’s face, which appeared in a state of profound focus and deep contemplation as his exhausted eyes scanned the street while they continued walking together.
Abruptly, Lucy halted, pointing with her finger toward the corner of the street: "Look over there... That shop appears somewhat ancient and deserted... We might inquire of its proprietor and persuade him to accept it at a slightly reduced price for ease of transaction, yet I merely fear he might lack sufficient cash to purchase a precious piece."
Cain gazed in the direction she indicated; there stood a small shop bearing a worn wooden sign inscribed in ancient script: Eyan Family Gold and Jewelry Shop.
Cain exhaled a heavy sigh, knowing not whether this shop would truly diverge from the remainder of the wretched shops they had queried previously, or if it would serve merely as a fresh waste of time.
Cain stated, continuing to walk beside her toward the sign: "I reckon... seeing as we have breached our prior vow and employed our supernatural power to cover up the truck incident, we might now cease acting as ordinary humans and abandon the notion of sleeping tonight in any case... or proceed to a deserted venue or a remote house on the periphery of the city to await the passage of night to resume our plan in the morning."
Lucy turned toward him rapidly, replying in a firm, defensive tone: "No! We have not breached the vow yet! We remain bound to it... Have you forgotten that I informed you previously that a true violation of the vow occurs solely if we employ our power in a situation capable of resolution via ordinary human means? Yet we employed our power out of dire necessity within a catastrophic situation wholly incapable of resolution absent magic! Therefore... we have not breached the condition of the game, and we can persist as humans!"
Cain exhaled a light, mocking sigh, gazing at Lucy, who walked beside him in her precise disguise.
He abruptly recalled her former appearance when she disguised herself previously as the maid Maxi, back when he genuinely assumed she was coming to liquidate and slay him within their former world... Those days were saturated with tension, a matter entirely divergent from their current romantic and strange posture within the streets of Nebraska. He wondered inwardly whether she, too, experienced discomfort or embarrassment regarding those ancient, hostile memories between them.
Cain stated, shaking his head: "Very well... We may query this individual as our final attempt today, whereupon we shall alter our plan entirely and seek another method to procure cash."
Upon reaching the exterior door of the ancient jewelry shop, Cain pushed it with his hand, the wooden door emitting a sharp, grating screech... It was an ancient door inlaid with a polished, meticulously cleansed glass pane.
Inside lay shelves of aged ceramic and simple wooden benches. At the long marble counter in the center stood a young man wearing medical spectacles and a sports shirt bearing the "Nike" logo, engrossed with his smartphone... The moment he noted the door’s screech and their entry, he slipped the phone with a swift motion into his trousers pocket with his hand, turning toward the couple and smiling a warm, welcoming smile: "Welcome... How may I assist you two tonight?"
Cain stepped forward toward the marble counter, stating calmly: "In truth... I wished to inquire whether you purchase this variety of precious stones and jewelry?"
Cain retrieved from his coat pocket a piece of pure diamond; it was approximately the size of a grape, featuring a stark, clear color interlaced with a subtle trace of faint whiteness that sparkled and glinted with captivating reflections beneath the shop’s dim lighting!
The diamond’s aura instantly captured the young man’s gaze behind the counter, prompting him to extend his hand in awe, taking it from Cain to contemplate it with close scrutiny.
The young man stated, turning it over with hesitation: "Hmm... I know not, in truth... Wait a brief moment, I shall fetch the testing device and return immediately."
The young man passed through a small rear door, returning mere moments later bearing a portable tester for diamond hardness and purity. Grasping the diamond with his thumb, he positioned the sensitive probe of the device against its pristine side.
The device emitted a smooth chime, and the young man’s eyes widened: "It appears genuinely real! Hmm... It appears extraordinarily lavish... From whence did you two obtain a rare piece of such pristine volume? I personally cannot afford purchasing a precious object of such high value!"
Cain replied with fabricated sorrow and a convincing expression: "In truth... this piece rested at the center of our wedding ring, an heirloom bequeathed to me by my grandmother... Yet we fell into a suffocating financial crisis, our house was foreclosed upon, and we found no option before us beyond detaching the diamond and selling it to save ourselves."
The man gazed at Cain while listening to his words, which overflowed with sorrow and plea, contemplating the luster of the piece with emotion.
The young man stated gently: "Your words truly touched my heart... In any case, I shall not burden you two with requesting proof of ownership or official complications to accept it, yet as I stated, I possess not its full price in cash... The sole option available to me is to grant you a ring featuring a stone of lesser weight and value from the display here, and hand you the remaining difference in cash."
Cain and Lucy exchanged a fleeting look of relief and happiness; at last, they located a resolution to the dilemma!
Cain stated with a smile: "This offer appears excellent and highly fair to us!"
The young man nodded in agreement, yet as he casually touched the pristine diamond piece with his fingers, he experienced a strange, warm energy and tingling coursing from the stone into his fingertips!
That strange chill and vibration prompted him to handle the diamond with caution; he then leaned down and retrieved from beneath the wooden counter a mysterious detector stone coated with small protrusions that glowed with a vivid, suspicious purple hue!
The moment he positioned Cain’s diamond atop the surface of that strange detector stone...
The detector stone flared with a sharp, brilliant purple radiance that filled every corner of the dim shop!
That sudden flare terrified the young man behind the counter, prompting him to yank his hand back immediately and step backward while gasping in absolute terror and astonishment, gazing at the diamond resting upon the table in panic!
The young man muttered in a trembling voice, elevating his panicked eyes toward Cain and Lucy: "This diamond... is charged with Mana!!"
Cain and Lucy froze in their tracks in utter shock!
And Cain’s astonishment was supreme beyond dispute; for how could an ordinary human within a deserted shop upon Planet Earth possess knowledge regarding the concept of magical Mana?! He recalled not in the slightest that Planet Earth contained a single atom of Mana or that its inhabitants knew anything regarding magic!