See that shiny skyscraper with the glowing logo? That’s a megacorp. Price paid: backstabs, bribery, and biometric soul bonds! That walled-off turf with the spray paint and the drones? Gang territory! Price paid: bullets, blood, and bragging rights! And that abandoned alley with the guy chewing glass and yelling at pigeons? That’s his now. Price paid: unknown! But probably teeth.

Here’s the thing, chummer: everyone climbs something. A trash pile, a corporate ladder, a mana spiral. Doesn’t matter. They all paid to get there. But what you need to figure out is what currency you’re spending. Time? Trust? Sanity? Pieces of your actual, physical body? Whatever you’re after in this world…power, purpose, pizza…it’s gonna cost you. The trick is knowing the exchange rate before you sign the dotted line.