The next chapter will most likely close out this arc and begin the Civil War arc with a time skip of about 2 years. Everyone is basically waiting for King Caligula to die before they make their move and I don't want to draw it out though I probably could, with some supplementary chapters after.
This is mainly a look around a much more successful city that isn't a crapsack city to show that the world doesn't suck. It's just Antium that sucks.
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Anzio was a much larger city than Antium. The center of the city was a castle the size of Antium itself. From there, it sprawled outwards in every direction. Walls divided sections of the cities. A large river ran through the city and turned into a river delta where they built numerous farms to take advantage of natural irrigation. At the outskirts of the city was the marketplace. Numerous merchants from throughout the region sold their wares there. The city of Antium felt like it was a small outpost compared to the size of Antium.
The first thing Garnet did was lay a Teleportation Summoning Circle just before they entered the farming area. It was best to not lay them too close to town. Someone could find them and another mage could probably remove them.
"How did this city get so big?" Ruby asked.
"Their King pays people to do certain jobs," explained Duke Wellington. "These people handle everything in the city."
It was government bureaucracy or government investment. Officials were probably tasked with certain jobs to complete. If done poorly, it results in corruption like what happened in Antium.
"Why isn't there corruption like there is in Antium?" Garnet asked.
"That's because only people who pass the test can work in the government," said Duke Wellington. "A noble title is meaningless other than for free travel."
"What about Anzio Academy?" Garnet asked.
"Anyone can get in if they pay the fee or pass a special test," said Duke Wellington. "Most nobles just pay the fee."
Along the way, they passed by a big building that was not marked with any labels. "What's that?" asked Ruby.
"That's the Guild building," said Leeroy. "I used to work there, but they basically put up official requests and people can accept them. If they can do it, they get paid."
It was government sponsorship of quests. The city of Anzio used government sponsorship in order to address its problems. It gave former soldiers or travelers something to do to make money. If Garnet was going to travel, she would need to work in places like that. However, a city needs to be fairly well off and wealthy in order to do something like that.
"Do Guild buildings exist in all large cities?" Garnet asked.
"Most," said Leeroy. "The cities have a lot of problems and people just submit requests along with how much they want to pay. As long as people do that, something like a Guild building will exist."
"Where are we going?" asked Ruby.
"There," said Leeroy pointing to a large building off in the distance. It was North of the castle. It was visible from the distance. A large grey building that sprawled outwards.
As they headed to Anzio Academy, there were numerous guards spread throughout the city.
Name: Calvin
Level: 20
Class: Knight / Baron
Sub-class: None
Stats: High Vitality
Name: Sarah
Level: 20
Class: Knight
Sub-class: Knight
Stats: High Strength
The few that Garnet looked at were much stronger than the ones in Antium as well. It seemed like all people employed by the government was based on a meritocracy rather than connections. "They employ women as well," said Garnet.
"Yes," said Duke Wellington. "It is rare as women are usually relegated to house duties, but they are based entirely on individual performance. Even if you are the son of a Duke, you have to show you can do it."
"But most women are expected to marry before the age of 25," Anna added. "If not, they pressure you to sign up for arranged marriages."
"How do they afford all this?" Garnet asked.
"An income tax on everyone who lives or works in the area determined by the city," said Duke Wellington.
It would generate a lot of gold. In Riley's world, every government did that to varying levels of success. In some places, it led to massive corruption. However, the government could certainly raise enough money to afford everything.
They passed through several more walls before they entered Anzio Academy. The school itself occupied the entire Northeast corner of the walls within the city. "All of this is the school?" asked Garnet.
"Yes," said Leeroy. "The government pays for part of this too."
A government that invests in its people. However, people needed to either pass a test or pay up to afford to go to this school. This was where Ruby was going to be staying for a while. The wealthy nobles could afford to send their children to school, which gave them an advantage, but if someone poor saved their money, they could earn themselves an important government job and change their family's conditions for the better. "How long does someone attend this school?" asked Garnet.
"Long enough to pass the civil service examination," said Leeroy. "If you can do it in two years, you stay for two years."
"What is their success rate?" asked Garnet.
"I would say about 80% after ten years," said Duke Wellington. "Most people make it, but many return to their homes to inherit the land of their parents to manage. Only a few stay with the city and work as bureaucrats for the city."
In other words, they train people and get first dibs on them as well if the city wants them.
They headed into the administration building. Although the outside looked great, the inside was different. It was in much poorer condition. It was mostly for appearances and the school did not go crazy on decorating. If it was in Antium, someone probably would have lined the inside of the building with marble or something crazy.
Duke Wellington showed his card and took out a bag filled with gold coins. It was the enrollment fee for Ruby. "Be good now and listen to Leeroy," said Garnet.
"Okay," said Ruby. "Please come visit often."
"I'll try," said Garnet. "I know I haven't been around long, but I will not disappear."
"I know," said Ruby. "You promised."
Garnet raised out her pinky and Ruby did hers as well. It was the pinky swear that Garnet had taught her. "I'll miss you," said Garnet as she hugged Ruby. She did know what else to do.
"Are you ready?" asked Duke Wellington.
"Yes," said Ruby.
"If anything happens, tell Leeroy or one of the teachers at the school," said Duke Wellington.
"Okay," said Ruby.
For a child, she was obedient. Most children would be crying, but Leeroy was staying with her and she was used to not having a mother around and her father being away on business, so it was nothing new. Leeroy took Ruby away to the residential building and they were gone. Garnet felt something empty, as if part of her disappeared, but she knew that she could at least visit often and fairly easily. It would be a priority for her.
"So what now?" asked Garnet.
"What did you think of the city?" asked Duke Wellington.
"It was very different," said Garnet. "It would be great if Antium could turn out like this."
"That's my plan," said Duke Wellington. "But it will not be easy."
"So why did you want me to come so badly?" asked Garnet.
"I'm going to negotiate with the King to establish trade," said Duke Wellington. "And I just wanted you to see the city."
"Can I come?" asked Garnet.
"Nope," said Duke Wellington. "They won't even allow any of my guards to come with me and Anna brought you to go shopping."
"Alright," said Garnet.
"We're going to get you some clothes," said Anna.
"Clothes?" asked Garnet. "Why clothes?"
"They have highly skilled tailors here that can make magic clothes," explained Anna. "You don't want to be tearing your clothes every time you fly do you?"
"No," said Garnet.
Anna and Garnet headed through the city to reach the artisan district. This was where most of the stores were. Each of the stores specialized in different things. There were blacksmiths who made everything from kitchen tools to armor. The one they stopped in front of it had a sign with yarn hanging from it. It was probably the picture for a tailor. The outside featured some clothes that were made by the tailor. Inside of the store, there were numerous different fabrics on display along with pictures of different design.
The man who ran the store was fairly old. He had a white beard and dressed entirely in black and white, something that resembled a suit, but was not quite one.
Name: Peter
Level: 50
Class: Clothier
Sub-class: Designer / Patternmaker / Enchanter / Alternationist / Dressmaker / Cutter / Stylist / Runesmith / Embroiderer
He had a ridiculous number of sub-classes that all supplemented his main class. It was the first time Garnet saw someone like him, but it was proof that he was good at what he did.
"I'm here for eight custom orders," said Anna. "Full outfits that include shoes and clothes."
"Eight?!?" shouted Peter. He immediately got up in surprise.
"Yes," said Anna. "Seven for her," she said pointing at Garnet. "And one for me."
"I'll need to take your measurements and then you choose your fabrics and custom orders," said Peter. "Only then will I be able to tell you the price."
"That's fine," said Anna.
Peter went to the back and took out measuring tape. He worked with Anna first. She was 172 cm tall. He then proceeded to take the other measurements. Bust, waist, and hip before finishing. "Okay, go choose the fabrics or designs that you want," he said. "Your turn," he said as he turned to Garnet.
It was Garnet's turn now. She never really bothered to check in the past. She was almost 160 cm just under. 82 cm, 70 cm, 94 cm. "Okay, you can go choose the fabrics you want," he said.
Garnet went to join Anna. "Anything you like?" asked Anna.
"I'm not sure," asked Garnet. "These all seem very expensive."
"It is," said Anna. "But with what you've done, you've more than earned it."
Garnet could not decide. She chose one that was a mix of blue and black. "This one looks good," said Garnet. "One down, six to go."
"Just pick a total of four," said Anna. "The rest is for your maternity clothes."
"Alright," said Garnet. She picked another one that was red and white. One that was green and purple, and the last one was pink and teal.
"Good choices," said Anna.
Garnet looked at what Anna had picked out, it was several plain ones. Red, blue, and green. The last one Anna was holding for herself was red and gold.
"Any specific requests?" asked Peter.
Anna handed the four that she was holding for Garnet over first. "Make maternity style clothes for her," said Anna handing over the first four. "Red and gold aoqun for me."
"And you?" asked Peter.
"Just anything is fine," said Garnet.
"No that's not okay," said Anna. "Let me pick for you." Anna immediately turned to four of the pictures that were drawn and chose four. "Make these."
"Why?" asked Garnet.
"These are special," said Anna. "Make them count."
"Any other custom features?" asked Peter.
"Add support for runes, gems, shapeshifting, and regeneration to all of them," said Anna.
Peter's mouth dropped. "You do know that is expensive right?" he said.
"How much is it for all the extras on everything?" asked Anna.
Peter was using his fingers to count. "That amounts to 560 gold coins," he said.
"Alright," said Anna. She took out several big bags of gold coins from her ring. It held much more than just weapons.
Garnet and Peter both could not believe what they were seeing. They watched as Anna counted in tens and handed the gold coins over to Peter. Garnet already thought that one gold coin was a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a single thing. Five hundred sixty gold coins on clothes alone were insane. Anna could live like nobility for the rest of her life is she wanted with that kind of money.
"Thank you for your patronage," said Peter. "If you ever need anything made, please come find me."
"Will do," said Anna as she continued counting.
Peter was trying to earn Anna's favor to get her to come and spend more. After all, she had just dropped a fortune on clothes alone.
"Can I take a needle and some yarn with me as well?" asked Garnet.
"Go ahead," said Peter.
"Learning to make baby clothes already?" asked Anna.
"Yes," said Garnet. She took some yarn and sewing needles from Peter who was more than happy to give it to them.
"It will take a few days," said Peter. "So come back in about five days."
"Good, that gives us time to train," said Anna as she pushed the last of the gold coins over to Peter.
"Do we have that much time?" asked Garnet. "What about the Duke?"
"The Duke should be busy for about a week," said Anna. "We're going to sign you up at the Guild."
The Guild, a place that offered state sponsored and state backed quests for people to complete. Apparently, you needed some kind of membership to join. The two left Peter and headed to the Guild. The building was big inside as well. It consisted of a main lobby where there were five receptionists. Upstairs were the main offices and there was much more that they could not see. There were even people who sat at the tables on the side. Some of them were eyeing Garnet and Anna.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
"Don't worry about them," said Anna. "You have to be a fairly good person to keep working with Guilds."
"Do they have rules to follow?" asked Garnet.
"Would you work with a murderer or rapist?" asked Anna.
"No," said Garnet.
"The same applies to others here," said Anna. "If you ever need people to help, you can trust anyone who has been working with the Guild for a while. Just check their ranks to see how strong they are."
"So how does this work?" asked Garnet.
"You fill out an application and then take a small test," said Anna. "It's fairly simple."
The two walked to the receptionist. "What are you here for today?" he asked.
"One new membership for her," said Anna pointing to Garnet.
"I already have one," said Anna. She took out a card. The top read Guild Card. It had a description of what Anna looked like and a picture of her on it. It even had a rank. Garnet's read Three Star Diamond.
"Fill this out," said the receptionist.
It was basic information. Name, age, gender, physical description and emergency contact. Garnet filled it out and Anna took a look at it before handing it to the receptionist. "Go through the door in the back to the test area," said the receptionist.
The group went around the main desk towards the back. It led to a sealed room where there was someone watching. "He's the examiner," said Anna. "When he calls your name, just show off anything that shows your strength."
"Alright," said Garnet.
Garnet watched as the man went through a list of papers. He called several others. They could show skill with sword or magic or some special talent. "Any recommendations?" asked Garnet.
"Fly into the sky and shoot things down," said Anna. "That's probably the most impressive."
"Can you help me cut some holes?" asked Garnet. Anna used her hands to tear two openings in the back near Garnet's shoulder blades. "Thank you."
When the man finally called Garnet, only one other person had passed. The rest all failed. "Alright, show me what you can do," said the examiner.
"Flight!" Garnet flew up into the sky. "Fire Bolt! Lightning Bolt!" Garnet casted both spells onto empty spots on the ground before diving to the ground. "Air Palm!" she softened her landing and pushed everything away.
"Pass," said the examiner. It was like he was unphased by it.
"That was easy," said Garnet.
"It's not as easy as you think," said the examiner. "Most people think they can do it and end up getting themselves killed."
"I'll be careful then," said Garnet.
The examiner made a slight smile on his face after hearing that. "Just wait at the front desk," he said.
At the front, Garnet went back up to the receptionist and received a Guild Card. It had the physical description that she put on the form, but there was no picture of her. "Where's my picture?" Garnet asked.
"Look into the blank spot," said the receptionist. Garnet stared at it and watched as the man touched it. There was a bright light and her face now appeared on the card. "There," he said.
"Thank you," said Garnet. As she walked away, she looked closely and saw her rank: One Star.
"Now we can get you your first job," said Anna. She brought Garnet over to a huge wall. There was even a crank on the side to move the whole thing up and down. It was more like a wheel than a wall. Every panel on it read "Requests." "Pick one that has no ranking requirement," said Anna.
Garnet flipped through them and saw one she recognized. "Request: Wild Boar Meat." Hunting Wild Boars was one of the first things that she did. The reward was 15 silver. She still even had some stored in her Inventory, but she did not use it. The Inventory system even froze the item's condition. "This one," said Garnet.
"Ah that's an easy one," said Anna. "How much is it asking for?"
"Five kilos," said Garnet. "Why don't they just go to the market to buy it?"
"That's because the markets may not always have these things available," said Anna. "Wild Boar Meat is often not hunted because the meat is too strong for people, but it sure is delicious in a barbecue."
"So do we just go?" asked Garnet.
"Take the paper to the receptionist and show your card," said Anna. "It means you took the job, but if you do not report back in a certain number of days, they will assume you failed."
"I see," said Garnet. She showed her card to a receptionist at the desk with the paper. The receptionist looked at Garnet and the card to make sure it was not fake before writing something on the paper and handing back her card.
"You're all set," said the receptionist.
"So what now?" asked Garnet.
"Take this," said Anna as she handed Garnet two rings.
"What are these?" Garnet asked.
"Low quality storage rings," said Anna. "You can't expect to hold everything with your hands."
Anna did not know about Garnet's ability, but this also gave Garnet a work around for if she was around others. "How does it work?" asked Garnet.
"Just apply some mana to it and think about what you want to put in or take out," saiid Anna.
Garnet tried it with a single silver coin. It went in and came out as she thought about it. "Can you check what is inside?" asked Garnet.
"Push the top jewel of the ring with mana," said Anna.
Garnet did so and saw a small empty room. It was the inside of the ring. "I see it," said Garnet. With two, she could hold quite a lot of stuff. However, it was nothing like her Inventory where she could seem to randomly group items into a single slot as well.
"Now off we go!" said Anna as she pulled Garnet along.
"Right now?" asked Garnet.
"Why not?" said Anna. "It's not like we have anything else to do."
Anna brought Garnet with her all the way outside of town and south past the farms. They then headed away from the main roads and into the plains and hills. It was there that Garnet saw a familiar sight. Wild Boars.
Name: Wild Boar
Level: 6
Class: Beast
Sub-class: None
Stat: High Vitality
They were exactly the same as the ones around Antium, but a little stronger.
"So just go and kill one and we can harvest its meat," said Anna. "Don't blow it up."
Garnet took out the short sword she kept strapped to her leg. She would have to kill it fast and start cutting it so that Anna does not find out about her power, but that was easy since there was a long enough delay.
"Lightning Bolt!" Garnet used her old strategy of stunning it before killing it. She immediately followed it up with a thrust attack and stabbed it right in the head.
"Nice job," said Anna. "It's like you've done this before."
Garnet immediately started cutting the meat from the Wild Boar. It would be easy enough to harvest five kilos from a corpse. "Correction, you've definitely done this before," said Anna as she watched Garnet do it.
"This was how I made a living back in Antium," said Garnet.
"That would make sense," said Anna. "You could avoid the taxes and tariffs that way."
Garnet quickly collected what she could before she turned around. "Alright we're done here, let's head back."
Level Up: Hunting (Level 4)
"What's the rush?" asked Anna. "We can get some for dinner here as well."
The body of the Wild Boar disappeared and another one appeared in its place. "What just happened?" asked Anna.
"Ehh... magic?" said Garnet. "I don't understand it myself." She wanted to lie as much as she could about it. "Every time I kill a wild animal, it tends to reappear after a while."
"So much money could be made like this!" said Anna. "We're going to have a feast tonight," she said as she grabbed Garnet and pushed her towards the boar. "More!"
Garnet repeated the process and killed a few more. Total harvest, more than 50 kilos for themselves. "Are we done yet?" asked Garnet.
Level Up: Hunting (Level 5)
"Yes," said Anna. "I need to bring you hunting more often."
The two returned to the Guild to turn in the meat and collect their reward. Fifteen silver was not bad. It was more than a day of work back in Antium. There were four requests out of the hundreds that requested Wild Boar Meat, so Garnet was able to cash it in four times for a total of sixty silver coins. "Can we go rest somewhere now?" asked Garnet.
"We're not done, you have to cook!" said Anna. "I'm going to teach you every thing you need to take care of your new child while were here."
"What?!?" shouted Garnet. "Everything?!?"
"Yes," said Anna. "I was the one who did most of it for Ruby, so I'm going to teach you cooking, sewing, laundry, diaper changing, and other basic skills!"
Anna spent the next few days teaching Garnet to sew and cook. Garnet learned to make baby sized clothes and how to cook with seasonings.
New Class: Tailor
New Skill: Sewing (Level 1)
Allows you to make new clothes.
Level Up: Inspection (Level 4)
Level Up: Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Before long, their time in Anzio was up, but Garnet knew that if she was going to be traveling in the future, Anzio is probably the place where she will have to start.
Spoiler :
Name: Garnet
Level: 14
Class: Dark Mage
Sub-class: Temptress of the Night
Stats:
HP: 1010/1010
MP: 2780/2780
Fame: 20
Strength: 20 (+5)
Dexterity: 18 (+7)
Intelligence: 73 (+22)
Vitality: 21 (+5)
Agility: 27 (+7)
Charisma: 24 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:Weapon:
- One Handed Sword – 6
- Hand to Hand – 2
- Staff - 1
Magic:
- Fire – 5
- Lightning – 8
- Wind – 1
- Summoning – 7
- Blood – 5
- Spatial - 0
SKILLS:Weapon (One Handed Sword):
- Horizontal Slash (Level 3)
- Double Slash (Level 2)
- Crescent Slash
Weapon (Hand to Hand):
- Palm Strike (Level 1)
- Wind Palm (Level 1)
- Explosive Palm (Level 2)
- Lightning Palm (Level 1)
- Sweeping Kick (Level 1)
- Horizontal Kick (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff):
- Thrust (Level 2)
- Swinging Smash (Level 1)
- Double Strike (Level 1)
- Triple Strike (Level 1)
- Quadruple Strike (Level 1)
- Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage):
- Fire Bolt (Level 5)
- Fire Ball (Level 1)
- Lightning Bolt (Level 8)
- Chain Lightning (Level 2)
- Light (Level 1)
- Air Bullet (Level 2)
- Mana Strike (Level 2)
- Mana Shield (Level 2)
- Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 3)
- Call: Skeletons (Level 1)
- Call: Lilith (Level 1)
- Recall
- Dismiss
- Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 2)
- Lightning Fire (Passive)
- Blood Absorption (Level 6)
- Blood Bind (Level 1)
- Teleportation (Level 1)
- Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night):
- Enhanced Body (Level 3)
- Captivation: (Level 3)
- Mind Read: (Level 1)
- Pleasure Inducement (Level 1)
- Sexy Walk (Level 1)
- Stealth (Level 1)
- Shadow Walk (Level 2)
- Sonic Scream (Level 1)
- Illusion (Level 1)
- Alluring Song (Level 1)
- Flight (Level 1)
- Aura of Fear (Level 1)
- Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive)
- Transformation (Level 1)
- Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills:
- Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter
- Cooking (Level 5) - Cook
- Inspection (Level 4)
- Sewing (Level 1) - Tailor
- Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives:
- Hand to Hand (Level 1)
- One Handed Sword (Level 1)
- Staff (Level 1)
- Reflex (Level 5)
- Haste (Level 1)
- Scale Armor (Level 1)
Unique:
- Hero System (Passive)
- Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive)
- Golden Tongue (Passive)
- Mana Compatibility (Passive)
- Quick Learner (Passive)
- Channeling (Passive)
- Charging (Passive)
- Night Vision (Passive)
Spoiler :
Yes, I put Leeroy and Ruby on the bus