The spread of the core classification system changed more than the market. It changed the behavior of adventurers across the frontier. With clearer prices they hunted smarter. They avoided areas with declining beast populations. They planned routes based on expected value rather than rumors. Injuries decreased. Profits increased. The region became more stable than anyone remembered. But stability in one region often created instability in another.

In the capital city of Eldergate the Royal Mana Bureau recorded a troubling pattern. Mana shipments from the western frontier were rising at an unusual rate. Prices in the north were falling slower than expected. Reports from merchants mentioned a new standard created somewhere in a small village. And adventurer guilds in two provinces told the Bureau that they changed their hunting patterns based on something called the Dustfall Chart. The officials did not know what that meant. But one thing was clear. Someone was influencing the mana economy and it was not the kingdom.

So the king sent an observer. Not a knight. Not a mage. A scribe named Darin Holt known for noticing hidden patterns in numbers. He arrived in Dustfall without announcing himself and observed the village from a distance. He watched adventurers line up in front of Alan. He watched them compare cores using the class chart pinned to a wooden board. He listened as merchants discussed price stability. To him this looked like the early formation of a guild. A powerful one.

After two days Darin approached Alan while he updated the price board. You are the one they talk about he said. Alan looked up with no fear. Who is they. Darin gave a small smile. The people whose jobs you are disrupting.

Alan wiped chalk dust from his hands. I only brought clarity to the market. Darin shook his head. Clarity can be more dangerous than chaos. Chaos hides things. Clarity exposes them. When prices become predictable so do weaknesses. And the kingdom does not like its weaknesses exposed.

He introduced himself as a royal observer. Adventurers listening nearby grew tense. Alan stayed calm. He invited Darin to sit. He explained the purpose of the board the classification system and the agreements with adventurers. Darin listened quietly taking notes.

When Alan finished Darin asked one question. Do you understand what you have created. Alan hesitated. I created fairness. Darin shook his head. You created a mechanism that influences every guild army and merchant route connected to mana. That means you influence the kingdom itself. Even if you did not intend it.

He pointed at the S and A class listings. If these prices fall the kingdom’s enchanted supplies become expensive. If they rise too fast the army’s mana budget collapses. Every spell requires mana. Every mage depends on a stable flow. You changed that flow. Alan felt a weight settle on him. He never intended to affect politics. But politics did not ask for permission.

Darin continued. I should report that this village is forming an unregulated mana guild. A guild with influence across the frontier. But I will not report that yet. I want to understand your intentions. If you seek power the kingdom will shut this place down. If you seek fairness perhaps we can find a way to cooperate.

Alan answered honestly. I want information to be free and prices to be fair. I want adventurers to survive. I want merchants to stop cheating. The kingdom can have peace if the market is stable. Darin studied him for a long moment. You speak like someone with no desire for power. That is good. But power will come to you anyway. And people will try to seize it from your hands.

Before leaving Darin gave a warning. The kingdom will not act yet. But they are watching. Be careful who you trust. Especially adventurers who suddenly want to help.

Later that afternoon Ressa approached him. We heard that man works for the king. Do you think trouble is coming. Alan nodded. Trouble will always come when people feel threatened by change. But that does not mean we stop.

Dustfall continued to grow but Alan now watched the sky as much as he watched the numbers. He felt the kingdom’s attention like a faint pressure a distant weight. He also sensed something else. A presence he could not name. Shadows moved differently near the edge of town. Unfamiliar faces watched the price board. Some adventurers asked too many questions about where cores were stored.

Three days later it happened.

Near sunset two armed strangers entered the village. They wore mismatched armor and tried to look like tired adventurers but Alan immediately knew they were not. They carried themselves like hunters stalking prey. They approached Alan’s stall and placed a bag of high grade beast cores on the table. We want the price for all of them right now the taller one said.

Alan examined the bag. The cores were real but stolen. They glowed inconsistently and still had dried blood on them. He looked up. If you want a price you should clean them first. The shorter stranger grabbed Alan by the collar. Listen boy. You pay now or you pay later. We heard you keep a stock of cores somewhere in this village. You will show us where.

Ressa and her team appeared instantly. They stood between Alan and the strangers. The tall one sneered. So the rumors are true. This village protects its little guildmaster. Ressa crossed her arms. And we will protect him again if needed.

The fight was brief. Ressa’s team forced the strangers to retreat into the woods. Before leaving one of them shouted back. You made enemies boy. People who profit from chaos will not let you control prices. Alan felt the truth of those words cut deeper than any threat.

That night the village elders held a meeting. Some wanted to shut down the price board to avoid danger. Others feared that Dustfall would become a battlefield between merchants and criminals. Alan stood before them and made his case. If we stop now chaos returns. Adventurers die. Merchants cheat again. The frontier collapses. But if we continue and stay united we can build something that protects everyone.

The room was silent. Then the elder known as Old Rae nodded slowly. We stand with the boy. Dustfall supports the board.

Outside the meeting hall Alan stood alone under the cool night air. He looked at the price board illuminated by lantern light. It seemed fragile like a symbol waiting to be broken. Yet it also felt stronger than steel because the village stood behind it.

He whispered to himself. If the kingdom is watching and criminals are hunting then I must grow faster than all of them. I must learn more and build more. This village needs stability. The adventurers need fairness. And the world needs a system that cannot be twisted by greed.

The next morning he updated the prices with steady confident strokes. A new chapter had begun. Dustfall was no longer a forgotten village. And Alan Grove was no longer just a boy with a notebook. He was becoming the center of a struggle that would shape every corner of the mana economy.

He did not seek power. But power had come looking for him.