Sword God in a World of Magic

The outside world didn't look much different from the basin. It basically only had fewer trees.

There was still a lot of snow everywhere, and the majority of trees were conifers.

One difference of note was the general changes of elevation. The basin had only had mountains around it, and the inside of the basin had been rather even.

In contrast, the outside had far more mountainous terrain. Hills stretched across the landscape, and Alex could see some mountains.

Alex hadn't been to Alaska on Earth, but he assumed that Alaska would look a bit like that.

In the distance, Alex saw a small village.

The village was built on the side of a hill, and he could see around 100 houses made of stone.

Obviously, it was a rather small village.

"That's Coldew Village. You can ask for directions to Warrior's Paradise there," the guard said.

"How did you know that I want to go to Warrior's Paradise?" Alex asked.

"The Duke wrote in his letter that you wanted to join his academy. By the way," the guard said as he remembered something. "You might want to stay at Coldew Village for a while and earn some money."

"Money? Why?" Alex asked.

"The yearly exams for the academy have only recently finished. You either need to wait about eleven months or get some money for a special exam."

Alex didn't like what he had just heard.

This really was bad timing.

"Money, huh?" Alex said.

The guard laughed. "Yep, money is always a problem. It doesn't matter how powerful you become or what job you have. You always need money," the guard said.

I

gold coins,"

bit surprised. "That doesn't

coins are a gold coin. One average apple costs one copper coin. Do the math

did the math, and he took

gold coins were equivalent

20 cents on earth. So, five apples were the equivalent of a

pay around 10,000 dollars

a lot

it so expensive?"

Second, if you want the academy to hold a test for only one person, you better not be a weakling. Strong warriors can earn a lot of

means more money, and the more money you have, the less it's worth in your eyes. A weak warrior that can't earn any money will think that this is far too much money, but a strong

Alex nodded.

quite a

hating the fact that he had to

about earning money?"

guard said. "However, Coldew Village is famous for its Ice Wood. Ice Wood comes from a tree called the Dripping Cold Tree. The Dripping Cold Tree absorbs a lot of Mana and converts it to Ice Mana, which is then stored in its wood. Ice Mages

said, "you say I should get some of that Ice

"Get a sled and a ton of Ice Wood. Transport it to Warrior's Paradise and sell it to a woodworker. That should be

to get my hand on a ton of

and there are plenty of beasts that make issues. Ask the mayor for any troublesome beasts and kill them. Say you want to be paid in Ice Wood,

thought and nodded. "That should work.

guard answered, but then, he extended his right index finger to show

thing in mind," he said. "There are a lot of bandits around. It's

an early death because you feel pity for someone that just tried

took a deep

Earth

already killed a human before, and

thought about killing a human, but he knew that

strength alone, and such a

kill someone for more