Mark was certain that Big would surrender and pay the stall owner for his trouble, but instead, Big looked ready to attack him.
Although Mark didn't feel genuinely threatened, he sensed the danger and tensed his muscles, preparing to dodge Big's strikes.
Big glared at Mark and threw a powerful punch, generating strong winds that shocked everyone on the ground.
Except for Mark, who quickly pushed the stall owner to the side to keep him safe.
"Shit! That was close. If I hadn't been prepared, that would have hit me..." Mark said as he regained his footing.
"Big? Are you sure about this? Just give up now if you don't want to be in the infirmary."
"Who are you to call me 'Big'? You're the one who's going to the infirmary, not me," Big retorted, summoning an axe from his bracelet. With a deep breath, he charged at Mark.
Mark raised his palm and locked eyes with Big. As Big approached, Mark declared, "Fireball!" Big crossed his arms defensively in response.
"Huh! Sucker, you fell for it!" Mark exclaimed, summoning a hoe from his bracelet.
He hooked the hoe around Big's ankle and yanked hard, causing Big to topple backward.
A loud bang echoed through the area as Big prepared to stand up.
Mark locked eyes with him and swung the hoe at Big's forehead, turning it at the last second so that the smooth side of the metal made contact.
Big was knocked out, a look of shock and fear frozen on his face.
"That was easy..." Mark remarked, wiping his forehead.
He turned to the stall owner, who was still half-buried in a nearby bush. Mark offered a hand. "Sorry… about earlier."
The owner blinked, confused by the apology. Mark had just saved him.
He took Mark's hand and stood, studying the young man.
"White long sleeves… leather shoes and pants? Light green eyes? Light brown skin? That's a rare combination…"
"He doesn't look like someone who could knock a man out in under a minute... but he did, and barely broke a sweat."
As Mark looked away, clearly uncomfortable, the owner realized he'd been staring too long.
"Ah, sorry about that," he said quickly. "And… thank you for stepping in."
"No problem. But could you maybe stop looking at me like that?" Mark replied, still avoiding eye contact.
Silence.
"Anyway, please come over and I'll give you some of my goods." The owner obliged Mark as a way to thank him. Not wanting to be rude, Mark decided to take on what the owner would give.
As the stall owner made his way to his stall, Mark looked back and thought; "Are we leaving Big there on the ground?"
But seeing everyone ignoring the giant man lying on the ground and not minding him, Mark decided not to mind it as well.
Sitting down, Mark looked around the stall to see what he could sell and what kind of man the stall owner was.
Mark didn't help the owner with a thought of reward, but he simply did it because he wanted to. Now that the problem is solved, he needs to make sure that the victim is really a victim.
And if he somehow helps the cause of the problem, Mark will decide to face the consequences of his actions and pay the price for it.
'A grill, huh? Then Big over there caused that for this only...' Shifting his gaze to the trash, he found a dozen sticks in it.
"So he ate all of those and didn't have money to pay for it, when the points system didn't allow him to?" Mark sighed. "He's not playing the victim then —Good."
After a moment sitting down, the stall owner made him a couple of rabbit horn skewers as thanks for saving him. Before Mark grabbed a piece, he looked at him and asked, "Aren't you afraid that guy would wake up and cause trouble again?"
"Oh, that. Please don't worry about it, I already called security, so please enjoy your meals."
"Security? How come they aren't here yet?" Mark asked, seeing no one coming near them.
Looking back at the knocked-out Big, two people who looked like mages were standing beside him; they waved at Mark and gave a thumbs up before disappearing with Big.
"Teleportation!?" Mark mumbled. Looking back, the owner was silent for a moment.
"... Aren't they a bit late this year?" the owner whispered to Mark.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Last year, when someone caused a problem, those students would come right away, before anything could happen. But this year, even after I was held to the collar, they didn't appear... If you didn't help me out, I probably would have gotten hit by him."
"Last year, was the event or this enrollment phase, go like this too?" Mark asked, curious about something.
"What do you mean by that?"
"As in, last year, was the first trial the same, and was there a two-and-a-half-day vacancy until the next trial?" Mark said with a firm voice.
"Last year? I don't think so. The trial last year was a Maze clearance competition, where each participant was placed into a maze and given five hours to complete it. The very next day, a new trial was scheduled." the owner replied.
"By his words, it seems that this very moment is a trial itself. The students who are acting like security guards are now late, and the two-and-a-half-day gap makes this year feel unusual. At this moment, a trial is being set, and the requirement to pass it is—good behavior? Really?"
Mark was unsure about this theory of his, but knowing himself, whose theories are never off and sometimes true, he didn't dismiss it entirely, but decided to observe quietly on the side.
•••
"These taste good." Mark thought as he ate the skewered rabbit. "There's barely spices, but the magical essence of these rabbits makes them good."
"Mana" is the essence of magic in the fantasy series. This makes up most of the world-building that unifies the world itself, thanks to this existence, the idea of magic can exist, and monsters can roam the surface of the world.
It's also the reason why the skewered rabbit Mark tastes good for him, even though it only has salt as spices.
Mark, whose world has changed from normal Earth to a fantasy-like world, has already tasted animals that have mana in them, though they are rare and exclusive to the rich.
Mark has only tasted them for a few years after the Demon Lord appeared on Earth, but now? This exclusive food is now treated as a normal delicacy in this world he is in.
Eating all five skewers, Mark tapped his pocket and pulled out a silver coin to pay for them.
This way he can pay for the food and know how much a silver coin is and know the exchange rate of them.
"Please don't pay, this is my way of thanking you." The owner replied, pushing away the money given to him.
"Then, can I ask you questions if you won't accept money?" Mark questioned the owner.
"Sure, as long as it's not money." The owner replied with a smile.
"Then please tell me where I can stay for the night for cheap? What's this point system? Where can I buy armor and weapons for cheap? How much is a silver coin and a copper coin, how many copper coins are a silver coin, and what is the nearest dungeon to level up?"
"Too many questions." The owner thought.
"First, let's go with the points system, since it can also solve the rest of the questions." He pointed his finger at Mark, who agreed with him.
"One, the point system is the amount of points you obtained from the trial you cleared this morning. Now listen carefully since this is a long explanation."
"Of course!" Mark replied clearing his ears.
"Using these points, you can use them to pay for everything in here. That is paying for food, weapons, armor, a magic item, and everything this place has. The academy would pay the price of the things you have used it on. Understand?"
"Yes, so these points I earn, can be used as money without using my money then."
"That's right. So you can pay for the hotel room using those points of yours and buy anything you want with them. But remember this, every point is one silver coin; be careful with your spending."
"Alright, I understand now with the points system," Mark said, nodding.
"Then for the hotel room... We're currently on the west side of the city: Laragan. The city is used yearly when enrollment comes. Since we're on the west, go to the east side of the city and you'll find an apartment complex with ten floors. Don't worry about paying for this, since you, as a participant, can get a room for free." He paused to gasp for air.
"We're in the west. Apartment's in the east. Got it."
"For armor and weapons, it's on the south part of the city, you'll find a crossroads, and go to the left side, remember, the left side."
"South for the weapon and armor, this is good since I don't have to use my money to pay for it."
"That's right." The owner replied back on his words. "Now for the exchange rate of money, this is simple. You need 50 copper coins for one silver coin. And 100 silver coins for one gold coin. Another currency is not known to many people, making them think it's a fraud; that is the 'Nar' coin. You need 20 of these for one copper coin."
"I see, so the exchange rate goes like this; 20 nar coins for a copper coin, 50 copper coins for a silver coin, and 100 silver coins for a gold coin. Thank you for this."
"Yes!" The owner said, crossing his arms. "Now for the dungeon, just go down the weapon shops and you'll find it."
"Thank you again for this sir!"