As they enjoyed the food and drinks, they began dividing the profits. The total came to 250,000 gold coins and 50 Black coins. Jasper received his share of 125,000 gold coins and 25 Black coins. Since Jasper didn't have his own bracelet, Barry let him keep the extra one the old man had given him.
However, Jasper had never used a Dimensional Bracelet in his life, so he had no idea how to operate it. He hesitated to ask Barry, since such things were probably common knowledge among Awakeners. But he had to learn eventually, so he finally decided to ask.
"How do I bind this bracelet?" he asked vaguely, since he already knew what the word Bind did.
"You have to infuse your mana into it. Then it will automatically bind to you," Barry replied while counting the Black coins for the third time.
"Infuse the mana…" Jasper muttered.
Mana could only be accessed by people who had awakened their trait. That was the fundamental difference between the awakened and the unawakened.
What should he do now?
He couldn't feel or gather any mana inside his body.
Should I try the Blue Stone?But would it even produce mana?
Jasper doubted it. Although the Blue Stone had given him tremendous physical strength, he wasn't sure if it possessed energy similar to mana. Still, he had no other choice but to try using its power to activate the bracelet.
He focused his mind and tried commanding the stone to send energy into the bracelet on his wrist.
Nothing happened.
He felt no change in his body, and the bracelet remained the same.
What should I do now?
Without a Dimensional Bracelet, carrying such a massive amount of money would be like throwing gold into a river. Even inside the village people were willing to rob others, and if he left the village and ventured into the wilderness, he couldn't even imagine the kind of dangers waiting there.
So Jasper concentrated harder and tried again to command the Blue Stone.
Suddenly, he felt the Blue Stone inside his head glow brightly.
Encouraged by that success, he commanded the stone to generate more energy. Soon the glow around the stone expanded, becoming twice as bright as before.
Then he issued another command, directing the energy toward his left hand, where he wore the bracelet.
The energy moved through his muscles and veins, flowing directly toward his wrist.
When it reached the bracelet, he ordered the energy to enter it.
It did.
In the next moment, the bracelet flashed with a bright glow.
Boom!
Suddenly Jasper saw something appear inside a strange mental space.
The gold coins lay there in a pile, and beside them rested a box.
Joy flooded Jasper's heart.
He could see the contents of the bracelet. More importantly, he could feel them.
He immediately thought about the box appearing in his hand.
Tick!
The box instantly materialized in his palm.
Jasper quickly glanced around, worried that someone might have seen the box appear from nowhere. But then he remembered he was inside a private room, and Barry was still completely absorbed in counting the Black coins.
Relieved, Jasper opened the box to examine the mysterious coins.
He picked one up and placed it on his palm.
The coin was roughly the same size as a gold coin but felt slightly lighter. Looking closely, he noticed an effigy engraved on the surface.
It resembled an animal.
A three-headed peacock.
The design looked like a peacock, but each neck branched into three separate heads.
When he flipped the coin over, he saw a single word engraved on the other side.
Hwing.
Barry had mentioned that name earlier.
Other than that, the coin seemed ordinary.
After examining it, Jasper placed the coin back inside the box and closed it.
He then thought about returning the box to the bracelet.
Immediately, the box vanished from his hand and reappeared inside the mental storage space.
The problem of carrying valuable items was finally solved.
It had already been more than three hours since he had left his family. Jasper planned to buy some food for them from the tavern. Soon he ordered similar meat dishes along with a few other items and asked the attendant to pack them.
"My family will be waiting for me. I should take my leave," Jasper said once the order arrived. He turned to Barry, who was still staring at the box.
"When will we meet again?"
The question pulled Barry out of his thoughts.
"Oh right… you're traveling with your family?" Barry asked in surprise.
"Yes. We're planning to settle in a different town. So if you give me a place to meet you, I'll come there once I'm ready to travel."
Jasper briefly considered where he might stay. Now that he had money, he could travel much farther away from Gruoce Town. He quickly abandoned his earlier idea of settling in Aught Town.
"Which town are you planning to move to?" Barry asked after a moment of thought.
"I haven't decided yet. Somewhere safe and convenient."
Jasper only knew the names of a few large cities and towns. He would have to travel and search for a place where his mother and sister could live peacefully.
"What do you think about Rican City? It's one of the biggest and safest cities," Barry suggested.
Rican City.
Jasper had never heard of it before. That meant it was probably far from Gruoce Town. He tried to recall whether he had ever heard the name.
"How far is it from here?" Jasper asked cautiously. If it was too close, he would have to reject the suggestion.
"It's a bit far. It would take about a month by normal carriage," Barry explained.
Privately, Barry was worried Jasper might reject the idea. Rican City was actually his hometown, and when Jasper asked for a rendezvous point earlier, Barry immediately thought of suggesting his own city.
He feared that if Jasper disappeared somewhere else, he might never see him again. But if Jasper moved to Rican City, he wouldn't have to worry about losing the chance to team up with him again.
Meanwhile, Jasper sank into deep thought after hearing the distance.
A month-long journey would be perfect.
It would put enough distance between him and the Bernardi family. And now that he had money, traveling such a distance wouldn't be difficult.
After a moment of consideration, Jasper made his decision.
He would travel to Rican City, leaving behind Gruoce Town, the place where he had been born and spent the first fifteen years of his life.