In this world, there word disaster stars was not that hard too understand, to simply put it, they are beings who invade each continent by breaking through the dimensional barrier of the world and terrorise it.
They are bizarre, alien creatures with their sole purpose either being to rule the continent or devour it whole, in Golds world such things would have been called Eldritch beings beyond human comprehension, there was no difference between a Tier 10 god and a disaster star as they were almost the same but that is where the similarities stop.
Disaster stars are beings with bizarre and horrifying abilities that could very much polluted the world or it's inhabitants, sometimes even both if some people were not careful, they are beings who can manifest their physical forms upon reality unlike the gods.
Remembering that she herself was a 'Fledgling Disaster star'. Goldie was not all that surprised, wasn't Gold an Otherworldly bring that descended upon her body? And wasn't his so called bizarre ability this gacha that steals the abilities of the disaster stars and stuffs them into cards. Honestly she wondered what would have become of her if she hadn't fused with her alternate.
Maybe he would have become the second disaster of the first continent also known as the eight disaster and cause irreparable damage. In fact that might have likely happened as knowing gold which was now herself would be drunk on such power and would have done something reckless. Men were such creatures after all, well sometimes.
As she was contemplating on that, she didn't notice the Gatekeeper who was looking at her strangely, it was a woman with white car ears atop her head and had a large fluffy white tail with countless black spots on it. The woman was holding a large spear that had a hole in the spearhead where a blue orb like mechanism was suspended.
"Little girl, quickly get out of the portals parameters before you get ripped apart by the Spatial currents." The woman spoke in a somewhat passive tone.
Hearing her words, Goldie was instantly broken out of her thoughts. Goldie looked down and saw that her disguise was broken which she did not find surprising, she stepped out of the portal and thanked the Gatekeeper.
At the moment she didn't need to be disguised, as she was far away from the first continent.
She stepped fully onto the cobblestones of the City of True Freedom, the sun of the Third Continent feeling warmer, the air less oppressive than in Victorise. Her cleric disguise was indeed gone, leaving her as the small, ten-year-old girl with platinum pigtails and startling golden eyes—the perfect target for anyone looking for the "Fledgling Disaster Star."
The Gatekeeper, the Tier 5 spear-wielding cat-kin, merely gave her an amused glance, used to the strange arrivals the intercontinental gate brought.
Goldie knew she had mere minutes before her conspicuous appearance drew the wrong kind of attention. She wasn't running from family now, but from the general sense of disorder and opportunism that permeated every world.
Her eyes, however, weren't on the crowds or the bustling market surrounding the gate. They were fixed internally on the shimmering, newly unlocked banner.
Just like the first one it resembled a green haired ruby with green eyes and a star covered with thorny vines on her palm, the vines seemed to have covered her entire arms in a large intricate tattoo.
Goldie appreciated her Green Witch self, not only were her hair green and tied to a ponytail, there were countless flower ornaments decorating it, giving her more inspiration to make something.
She is quite literally stopping herself from puncturing her skin with her nails and use her skill to create a card blueprint right here and now but she does not want to take that risk so she began to formulate a plan to get herself a building she can use for a shop.
Her current budget could get her a mid sized shop but that would bring in too much attention and she would just be wasting her "funds" for no reason at all. They were probably a lot of small shops with a living quarters around Artemis.
First she needed to get information about Artemis itself, the people she should be friendly with and the people she should be enemies with. If she was going to start a business she would have to develop the mind of a merchant.
Goldie walked towards a shop and entered, by the counter a woman with deer horns who was cleaning a potion bottle looked up and saw Goldie walking in.
She gasped and spoke with concern in her voice. "Little girl, are you lost? Where are your parents?."
The woman's brown eyes looked at Goldie worriedly, the woman was tall and looked to be 2 ft even but it was not a surprise as some Beastkin do have absurd growth spurts, the woman has Hazel looking hair and she was wearing a relatively normal looking dress.
Goldie sighed at her reaction but the next moment composed herself. "I'm not lost Miss, I'm just here looking for information. I am a newbie that just entered this continent."
The Reindeer lady looked at Goldie once more and hesitated, she was wondering whether to believe her or not but as she looked at the girls serious expression she gave in immediately. "Ah but shouldn't you be with a guardian?, You have not even reached level fifte—."
"I'm level 20 actually and my guardians have allowed me to wonder on my own, I came here for new opportunities." She cut off the woman, obviously she was starting to get annoyed by her questions.
The Reindeer woman awkwardly laughed. "S-sorry, it's just that children without guardians can get stolen by the slave traders or sent to the orphanage by the Shrine of Artemis, if you don't want that to happen, you can go register to the guild and gain an identity card."
Goldie nodded at the woman's reasoning. "Thanks for the heads up and i will, now then can I ask where I can purchase small shop with a living quarters?."
The Reindeer woman was confused to as why a ten year old kid would ask her such a question. "There is someone selling his Five buildings away from here, why did you ask such a question?."
Goldie rolled her eyes at the woman's probing. "Isn't it obvious, I wish to establish a business." She then did a small courtesy our of respect for the elderly and also a way of introducing herself. "My name is Goldie Droyar, nice to make your acquaintance."
The Reindeer woman obviously had doubts at what a 10 year old could do to run a business all on her own. "Ahem well that's a nice name, my name is Freya and I own this shop, I am a Potion master so if you need any potions, you can surely come to me to buy some."
"I'll take that offer, potion masters are a noble profession, very well, i shall take my leave now miss Freya." Goldie once again did a small bow and walked out of the shop.
Freya wondered if she should go about and stop the girl from getting into trouble but surely no one would leave their child unsupervised....right?.
Goldie stepped back onto the bustling street, her mind already calculating the logistics of the purchase. Artemis was a city that breathed a different kind of air than Victorise. It was humid, smelling of damp earth and blooming night-flowers—a direct influence of the Green Witch's lingering essence on the continent.
"Five buildings away," she murmured, counting the storefronts.
She passed a blacksmith's forge and a shop selling enchanted leathers before stopping in front of a narrow, two-story structure that looked like it had been losing a battle with a very persistent ivy plant for several years. The windows were grimy, and the wooden sign hanging above the door was blank, swaying precariously on a rusted chain.
Standing out front was a stout, elderly Dwarf with a beard braided into three distinct sections, each tied with a silver ring. He was currently swearing at a stubborn lock.
"Excuse me," Goldie said, her voice small but carrying that innate Droyar authority. "Are you the one selling this... charming establishment?"
The Dwarf turned, squinting through thick spectacles. "Charming? It's a death trap, lass. The roots of the Great Trees in the city center are starting to push up through the basement floor. I'm moving to the Second Continent; at least there the rocks stay where you put 'em. I'm Barnaby."
"Goldie. And I'm interested in the price," she replied, ignoring the "lass" comment.
Barnaby let out a gruff laugh. "Interested? You look like you're interested in a dollhouse. But fine. 800 gold coins, or 80 Magic Crystals. It's got a storefront, a cellar—though watch the vines—and a living space upstairs."
Goldie winced internally. 80 Magic Crystals was a significant chunk of her remaining travel funds. She had the coins, but she needed to maintain a budget.
"I'll give you 60 Crystals and a 200 gold coins." The price was within Barnaby's offer so he had no complains when she proposed it.
For the next hour Goldie had to sign some legal magical documents to place the building under her name, of course it wasn't successful and after that Barnaby left her to her new home.
After he left, Goldie took the keys and went outside, then she locked the door, her destination was the adventurer guild to go register for an identity card.
Walking there was not a hassle and as she opened the door, everyone inside turned towards her almost simultaneously. The staggering number of races mixed in the crowd was surprising but this was Artemis so it wasn't unprecedented.
Goldie ignored their gazed and walked up towards the receptionist who was actually a Highland Elf. The elf stared at Goldie for some seconds before clearing her throat. "Uhm little lass, this place is the adventurers guild, are you perhaps lost?."
Goldie rolled her eyes and stared at the woman seriously. "Are you suggesting i lacked direction?, why would I be lost if I had a purpose here."
Everyone in the adventurers guild were amused when they heard the little girls retort. The Highland elf's wings which where atop her head flapped gently. "Then...what is your purpose."
"I came here to register at the guild and obtain an identity card and I would also like to register for a shopping permit." Goldie replied in a confident tone.
The Highland Elf was at first stunned at the girls bluntness before she composed herself and seriously assessed her. "You need to be level 20 to gain an identity card and you would need to list what you are selling, let it be approved by the Guild and pay for the fees in three months, if you have an adventurers ID then you would have to atleast take up a mission every week and complete it, there is also the monthly tax of owning a shop and also some other financial services, are you sure you have the will to have such qualifications?."
Goldie took in that information seriously, she was sure to fill in a lot of paper work later but atleast she can safely start her business if it went through. "No problem."
Seeing as she agreed with no hesitation in her face, the Highland help couldn't help but admire the little girl. She hurriedly took out a crystal orb suspended four metallic legs and an ink like mechanism under it and also a small table.
The Elf placed a rectangular sheet of metal under the pen mechanism. "Place your arm onto the scanner and it should create an ID for you."
Goldie didn't hesitate. She stepped onto a small stool to reach the counter properly and placed her small, pale hand onto the cool surface of the crystal orb.
A hum resonated through the room, the metallic legs of the device vibrating as the orb pulsed with a soft, analytical blue light. The pen mechanism underneath began to dance across the metal sheet with a rhythmic, scratching sound.
[Scanning Mana Signature...]
[Analyzing Soul Level...]
[Level Confirmed: 20.]
[Class Detected: Card Maker.]