Chromie's Day (Part 2)

Speaking of fresh Devilsaur meat.

It was Zutona's most popular food among the trolls.

Devilsaurs were a special kind of creature. They had originally been members of Azeroth's many tyrannosaur species, but after spending years in regions with abundant magical activity, they gradually developed magical traits. Their hides gained powerful magic resistance and could be made into magical equipment; their flesh contained active magical energy that could make whoever ate it stronger; and they grew larger and fiercer as well.

In Azeroth.

Devilsaurs were not limited to Un'Goro Crater. Other places with active magical energy could also produce Devilsaurs. However, Un'Goro Crater was undoubtedly the region with the most Devilsaurs, and ever since the trolls arrived, the Devilsaurs there had suffered terribly.

First, the Devilsaur Queen had been slain by the legendary party that escorted the trolls. Then the trolls discovered that Devilsaur meat was not only delicious, but also made their bodies stronger and their minds sharper. Under the chieftain's leadership and organization, they formed large hunting parties that ventured deep into the forest to capture them as food for the tribe and city.

Devilsaurs were powerful, but they were still beasts, and solitary ones at that. Faced with prepared troll hunters, they fell one after another.

Basically.

Every troll in Zutona received a fixed monthly supply of this special food.

The deliciousness of Devilsaur flesh and the energy it contained made it Zutona's hard currency. The trolls loved eating it as if they were addicted...

Chromie loved Devilsaur meat too.

But unlike the other trolls, she simply loved it because it tasted good. The tiny bit of energy contained in the meat was useless to a guardian dragon like her.

The Sandblood Trolls had sometimes been so hungry in the desert that they could only chew sand. After arriving in Un'Goro Crater, they had gone from beggars to tycoons overnight when it came to food. Meat, which they might not have eaten even once a month in the desert, was freely available here. The beasts in the forest were almost inexhaustible, breeding and growing at an astonishing rate.

Even a kind of desert rabbit the trolls had brought from the desert, when left to graze on the grasslands covered by the chieftain's statue, could grow to edible size in half a month. In the desert, it had taken at least half a year. No one knew why. If they were not slaughtered, they could even grow as large as trolls, though much fatter...

After coming here.

The trolls' main food consisted of the meat of all kinds of beasts, fish from the great river nearby, wild vegetables from the forest, and most importantly—Light Fungus.

This food blessed by the Loa was the only crop cultivated in Zutona. It was incredibly magical. Its tiny, powder-like seeds could grow as large as a troll's head ten days after being planted. Once harvested, roasted dry, and ground into powder, they could be made into delicious bread and all kinds of pastries.

If they were harvested three days after planting instead, the mushrooms would only be as large as a troll's finger. Made into soup, they tasted so delicious that trolls could swallow their tongues.

Chromie's favorite dish was Devilsaur meat stewed with small mushrooms! She swore it was the most delicious food she had ever eaten.

Small mushrooms grown for three days, together with meat, were used to make grilled skewers. They were currently the most popular snack in all of Zutona. On her way home, Chromie bought several skewers, her little mouth greasy as she ate with great delight.

Wait?

What did Chromie use to buy them?

Of course, money.

But Zutona's money was not the gold, silver, and copper coins used throughout the outside world. It was a currency that could only be used in Zutona.

Chromie used an internal currency proposed by the chieftain. At his request, Zutona's witch doctors and several priests who had just converted to the gods Tona and Tiu imprinted dinosaur hides, cut and washed with voodoo potions, with the unforgeable marks of the Loa. These served as tokens for the town's sole circulating currency.

These tokens were called Aztek Coins. At present, there were only five denominations: one, five, ten, fifty, and one hundred.

From the day they arrived in Un'Goro Crater, the chieftain had issued an order: all collective troll output, including the spoils of hunting, gathered resources, manufactured goods, and all production materials, belonged to Zutona City Hall.

City Hall provided the trolls with various benefits every month, including food, housing, clothing, and protection. The young trolls received the greatest attention. They only needed to study and did not need to work to receive everything.

Every adult troll, meanwhile, had to work. Working trolls received a certain wage each month, paid in this currency that could only circulate within the city. With Aztek Coins, trolls could purchase goods at stores opened by City Hall.

In other words, aside from the stipulated benefits, the town had its own circulating currency. Naturally, the more dangerous and arduous the work, the higher the wages.

Take Chromie, for example. She was currently serving as the chieftain's maid and received twenty Azteks a month. That was considered the lowest wage tier, but she was only "ten years old," so it was already a high income for her.

Aztek Coins had considerable purchasing power. According to the rules, one coin could be exchanged at City Hall's grain store for enough Light Fungus powder—made by grinding Light Fungus, much like human flour—to feed an adult troll for a day.

Ten Azteks could even buy a pound of Devilsaur meat. Of course, this was a troll pound, another unit of measurement proposed by the chieftain. One troll pound was equivalent to 1.5 human pounds.

The highest-paid troll in town was the old witch doctor, Zangar, whom the chieftain had appointed as Zutona's city lord. His monthly salary was as high as one thousand Azteks, making him the troll Chromie envied most right now.

As for the chieftain.

He did not draw a salary.

Chromie had once secretly wanted to forge Aztek Coins. She did not need many—just an extra hundred or two each month. That would let her eat much more delicious food! But she discovered that while she could forge Azteks that looked and felt identical, the moment a troll prayed to the Loa to verify them, the counterfeit coins were immediately exposed...

The currency carried the power and marks of the Loa. Wherever the Loa's power was present, real and fake could easily be told apart.

Over the past year.

Under the chieftain's constant instruction and Zutona City Hall's favorable policies, some quick-witted trolls had already opened private shops. Chromie's favorite barbecue shop was one of the best among them, and its business was thriving.

Ugh... There are still twenty days left this month, and I've spent my last coin. I even owe Auntie Rom another three coins. Ugh... Ten skewers for one coin is way too expensive! Why can't it be a hundred skewers for one coin...

And these trolls are so stubborn! Why can't they accept gold coins? If they did, I'd buy up all the grilled meat!

Chromie thought gloomily.