Chương 20

The city's walls were only about twenty feet high. Two guards were stationed at the gate, both at the mid tier-3. It wasn't exactly the kind of security he'd expect from a city surrounded by the monsters of Emerald Forest. Renna showed a badge and paid a copper coin. The guard took it and looked at Ethan, who was peeking through the open gates.''Badge of identity?'' the guard asked impatiently. Stunned by the view, he still managed to answer without turning back.

''I don't have one.'''' Outsiders pay a silver for entry,'' the guard said while checking him out more carefully but still with bored eyes. Thankfully, he had 3 gold, 4 silver, and some copper coins he got from Alice's pouch. He took out a silver coin and passed it to the man as they entered. One of the Free Forest Cities, Ehrendil, was nothing like Ethan had expected. He somewhat anticipated wooden houses that were in harmony with nature, as this was once an ancient elven city.

But after hearing that the city had changed hands many times and now many races lived together, he thought maybe it had something like medieval architecture. What he found was downright beautiful chaos. The whole city followed a minimalist design. Small and simple houses with gardens at their back lined next to each other in perfect symmetry. Ivory and olive green dominated the city, while the wide roads were plain earth brown, completely free of damage or dust. He touched the wall of the house beside him.

It was smooth like plaster, yet somehow more organic, almost as if it were brimming with a subtle life force. The frame is definitely the work of earth mages, but there is something else on it. What is this texture? It also smelled like a flower; the whole city had a pleasant smell coming from the buildings. Renna rolled her eyes.

''Let's go, already! Unless you want to lick the walls as well?''''Do they taste good?'' he asked, lifting an eyebrow. She looked at him for a few seconds before shaking her head.

''I can't tell if you are serious or not. Come on, the commercial area is in the center of the city. If you don't have a flying artifact, it'll take us an hour to go there.'' And that was the chaos he talked about. As if the bustling streets filled with all kinds of people weren't enough, countless flying shuttles passed just above the houses. Some were giant ships with gorgeous designs, while others were little more than fancy carpets or even chairs. And then there were people flying around on their own.

Most of them were hiding their cultivation, but they all had to be at least tier-5 to have [Mana Flight]. There have to be thousands of them, for god's sake! After not seeing a single tier-4 beast for a long time, Ethan was starting to feel like a big shot. But in this city, a random passenger could kill him with ease. It's like the damned spider all over again. I hate this feeling of vulnerability, he thought and followed Renna, savoring everything he saw and trying to stay as low-key as possible.''

Never seen a monster-blood?'' Renna asked, seeing that Ethan was glancing at a man with cat ears and a tail.'' Do you mean monsters can breed with humanoids?'' he asked, marveling at all the different races. He did fight against beastkins in Inane Cultus's temple, but those were shadowy beings, nothing like the real people over here. Renna looked at him strangely.

''Were you living in a cave or something? And what humanoid? It's called an anthropoid. Humans and their arrogance…'' She snorted before explaining.

''Any beast could take an anthropoid shape at tier-9. After that, they can breed with any of the enlightened species. Their offspring are often ostracized, depending on where they live, but you shouldn't look down on them. The first three generations or so can use their bloodline skills and have the advantages of both races.'''' Fascinating,'' he stated, looking at a girl with green, glossy scales who heard and winked at him.

As they passed through alleys, Ethan realized that elves and humans were in the majority while monster-blood and dwarves were in the minority. They kept walking toward the center of the city. The bustling streets only got more crowded, and the residential areas turned into shops. When they entered a street with an overwhelming smell, Ethan guessed that it was the Alchemist's street Renna had talked about. Over his shoulder, he gave her a look.

''Little devil, are you an alchemist apprentice or something?'' Unexpectedly, she looked distressed this time.

''Not yet. I'm considering my options. Don't worry, I'm guiding you to the shop I work for. You can find alchemists there.'' Ethan didn't pry for more information. He also relaxed a bit more as the people on the ground were mostly tier 1 or 2. He understood that the ones flying above were the top dogs, while everyone on the ground was striving to join them. He was still a bit uncomfortable about the concept, though.

If a tier-8 psycho throws a few rank 3 skills from above, let's say [Magma Nova], they could kill tens of thousands of people before a tier-9 authority comes over and stops the bastard. The constant feeling of vulnerability was a part of city life. All he could do was suck it up and get used to it.'' There.'' Renna pointed to a small shop.

''Ask for Sima and tell her Renna sent you.'''' Alright, wait for me here. I still need a guide in the city,'' he said and flipped a silver coin to her. The girl was slightly stunned, but Ethan passed through her before she said anything and entered the shop. The shop felt more like a perfumery, filled with colorful bottles and fragrant scents. Two customers were checking the shelves, and a human girl stood behind the desk, looking at Ethan with a smile.

Ethan approached the desk while his eyes were roaming the shop.

''Hi, I'm a friend of Renna. She told me to ask for Sima?'' The girl's smile fell, and she went to the room behind her. This time, an elf girl came with the same smile.

''Hello. Welcome to the Plenty Potions. How may I help you?''''Just wanted to sell these.'' He placed his herbs on the counter.

''Oh, do you also buy monster cores? I got some of that as well.''''Of course, everyone buys monster cores, but alchemists always pay the best. As for the herbs, I can give you 6 silver since you are a friend of little Renna,'' she said as she checked the herbs. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Ethan unloaded his pile of cores on top of the desk.

''Awesome, I got kind of a mixed bag here. Help me out, please.'' Sima's perfect saleswoman smile turned slightly wry.

''Long hunting trip?''''You have no idea. It felt like ages,'' Ethan replied idly and started to look for shelves as well.

''So, Sima, do you have any elixirs that would give permanent strength or agility?''''Oh, those only appear in auctions as the last item from time to time. It's not too hard to make them, but ingredients are just too rare,'' she said, a little taken aback.

''Are you from the Union by any chance?'''' No, but not from anywhere near here for sure. How about the potions? How much do you charge for them?'''' 2 silver for a low-grade. A gold for medium ones, and 10 gold for high-grade ones. Health, mana, and stamina are all the same. Same prices everywhere in Ehrendil,'' she answered, still counting the cores. Ethan knew that a gold coin was ten silver or a hundred copper. Yeah, too damned expensive for constant consumption. But it's a must to have for emergencies.

He still had a few left from his latest robbery but planned to stock up some more. Lifting her head from the bloody core pile, Sima seemed happy to finish the gory business.

''120 tier-1, 98 tier-2, and 47 tier-3. The tier-3's are for 2 silver each, and the others are 2 and 5 copper each. In total, 16 gold and 7 silver.'''' Same price for all? But there are early and peak ones among them.'''' For the cores below tier-5, that doesn't matter. You can ask any shop in the city. This is the best offer you'll find,'' she said confidently.'' Alright then. Give me 5 low-grade potions of all kinds as well.''

After all the questions and uncertainty, he looked at his wealth in his ring and found almost 15 gold coins in total. He was still going to buy himself daggers and skills. There was also the need for money to get accommodation and food. Life in a free-forest city seemed too expensive. Leaving the shop, he found Renna chatting with other kids. With the herb basket clutched in her hand and in her yellow sundress, she looked like any other kid on the street. Ethan [Blink]ed next to her, messing with her hair.

''Little devil, I think Sima gave me a good deal. You've earned a dinner treat. But first, we need to find a skill shop and a blacksmith.'' The kids flinched, but Renna kept her composure. She huffed the hair in front of her face, lifting her chin.

''Of course, the deal was good. After I take you to the best places in the town, you'll see that a dinner treat is utterly insufficient for my services.'' As he followed Renna, Ethan checked the locations of the biochip users. One of the three had disappeared a week ago. It's probably related to the teleportation gates Oliver talked about. The other two should know that I have come to the city. Why are they not coming toward me? he thought, puzzled.

'Ani, how far away are the closest two biochip users?'

'Two and three miles toward the northeast.'

'Hmm, can you make me a mini-map that shows the biochip users in a hundred miles with me in the center? Like a radar or GPS? And make it appear on the lower right side of my vision with my command?'

'Yes, please choose a vocal and mental command for the task.'

'Minimap,' he decided before questioning Renna.''Say, what's in the northeast two or three miles away?''''Northeast? That's the slums. You can find cheaper shops there, but the quality never matches the downtown,'' she said, tilting her head.

''I thought you were new to Ehrendil?'''' I am. A few friends of mine should be there. I'll go see them once we are done with the shopping.'' As they walked and chatted, Ethan saw a fancy flying boat descend to the front of a brothel where both male and female workers welcomed the young cultivators with flair. When the doors of the establishment opened, Ethan heard the best music he'd heard in his life. It hooked straight into his soul.

If he were to compare, he'd put the unfamiliar genre somewhere between western swing and jump blues. The instrumental music alone touched something deep inside him. And he could've sworn that he heard a low rhythmic bass coming along. They'd better invent something to record songs. Only after feeling the pull of Renna on his cloak did he notice he was standing in the middle of the road with eyes closed.'' Seriously, you are like a kid who lost his parents.

If you travel the slums like that, they will rob you blind!'' she complained, all the while dragging him to the biggest shop he saw so far.

''There,'' pointing to the shop, ''you can find all kinds of skills, but they are average at best. So find something that suits you best and don't get cheated.'' Nodding, Ethan entered the place while thinking it would've been best to buy skills after getting more information. That didn't mean he had to wait to satisfy his curiosity, though. Inside, he found comic store vibes. A crowd of young people were debating with passion in front of the stone tablets.

There were short descriptions for every one of them, and they were protected behind some kind of glass, likely not possible to touch them without buying first. He didn't see anything like void or space among the categories, but there were ones he never imagined, like beast taming skills, stamina-based skills, or elements like metal and blood. He checked everything like a kid in a candy shop until he noticed a short line of young people waiting to test their elemental talents.

Joining the line quickly, he started observing the others. After paying a silver coin, a 15-year-old boy sent his mana to a fist-sized orb. The orb turned grayish white and a single word appeared on top of it.'' Average talent in the wind element,'' the shop worker said. The boy bit his lip at the result, but didn't seem too upset. When it was Ethan's turn, the shopkeeper seemed a bit surprised, likely because of his age, but said nothing.

He paid the silver coin, placed his hand on the ball, and sent his mana eagerly. It turned to a powder blue, and two words appeared at the top: Below Average.'' Huh… that's not water. I think I saw that one before, but let me check to be sure,'' the employee said with narrowed eyes and walked back to the counter to check out a book. Don't tell me that's void, he thought with ridicule.'' Oh, it's void.'' Son of a bitch.

With a mental nudge, he stored his cloak in his ring, and the color changed to black with low talent. Removing his mana before the guy was back, he donned his cloak once again, his face grim. Below average void talent with the help of the cloak, and the second best is shadow with low talent. Awesome. The employee turned with a sympathetic look on his face.

''Sorry, void skills are very rare, and we don't have a way to check if you have other talents. I guess you have to find out what's best for you.''''Yeah, thanks, I guess. Do you know where the best place to cultivate void aspect mana is?'' he asked downheartedly.''That's a tough one,'' the employee said with a frown. An old man waiting in line with his grandchild answered from behind them.

''A dying pocket world. Find one old enough to have ripples of space. If I'm not mistaken, there should be one close to Serene Depths.'' That lifted his spirits somewhat.

''Oh, thank you, sir. I'll check it out,'' he said to the old man, who smiled and nodded. He spent half an hour looking for shadow and stamina-based skills, but there were so many options, and the prices were too high. One of the popular ones was priced at 10 mana stones. Curious, he asked the guy next to him what that meant.'' You know… the crystallized mana that is worth 10 gold for a piece,'' the guy replied with an expectant look.

Thinking back to the 2 weird stones he'd found in the goblin caves, ''Do you mean this?'' he asked, showing one of them in his hand. The boy's eyes hardened.

''Are you mocking me?''''Oh, no. I didn't know what these were called. Sorry,'' he said with a tight smile and made his way out of the shop hastily. Damn, that's 20 gold right there. My wealth just went up to 35 gold. And that's not counting the monster parts and the weapons. I'd better sell everything and check out the library first instead of wasting my money on cool-looking skills or annoying the locals with my ignorance.