When I opened my drowsy eyes, the sun was just rising, and its gentle beams crept inside my humble room.

My bed creaked as I stood up. I made sure I didn't bump my head into the sloping roof that pressed down on me. My nose was tickled by the musty scent of old wood and dust. The room was sparsely furnished, but what was there was carefully chosen.

A narrow bed stood in the center, its thin mattress covered in a patchwork quilt that seemed to have been sewn from scraps of every color imaginable.

At the foot of the bed sat a small wooden trunk, its lid propped open to reveal a few neatly folded garments.

'It is nothing fancy, but it is enough for my needs...' I thought with a smile. I looked out of my small window, which let in a sliver of light, casting long shadows across the room.

Down on the street, the morning bustle was in full swing, and crowds of people were heading for work. Just then, my stomach growled, and I walked toward my trunk to try to find something to eat, but the next moment, the tower bell rang, signaling the start of the first period.

"Oh, crap! I'm going to be late again!" I exclaimed as I froze in my steps.

I immediately forgot about the breakfast and threw a quick glance at a polished metal plate, which served as a mirror.

From it, a pale young boy looked back. I was quite handsome for my tender age of ten. With short auburn hair and bright green eyes. I smiled as I remembered everyone saying that I have eyes like my mother's.

I hurriedly adjusted my hair with my hand so that I looked at least somewhat presentable and bolted out of the doors. I ran down the creaking old stairs and into the narrow street below.

I rushed through the streets, my feet pounding the pavement as I tried to make it on time. I hated the fact that I had overslept once again. I knew that Elena was going to give me a hard time for it. She always did.

As I entered Isadora's shop from the back, I walked right into her herbalist workshop and was immediately enveloped by the scent of countless herbs.

I could already feel her eyes on me. She was standing there with her arms crossed, her expression one of disgust. I swallowed hard, trying to ignore her.

"Finally decided to join us, Darian?" Elena sneered at me.

I felt a knot form in my stomach. I didn't want to deal with her today. "I know I'm a little late, Elena. But you should know I live across the city, and it takes a while to get here..."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course, you're always making excuses."

"Why are you so fussy about it all the time? I always make up for it by staying late and working hard." I replied, spitting out my words at her while quickly preparing today's work before Isadora came.

"Hahaha! Working hard? You don't even know what you're doing, Darian." She burst into that annoyingly sweet laugh of hers.

I gritted my teeth, trying to keep my composure. It's not like I can tell her I stayed up late practicing my magic. I feel like I'm about to make a breakthrough, so right now I spend every free moment practicing.

The problem is that apprentices are supposed to start working before sunrise to prepare everything in the shop for opening. There isn't any convenient thing like an alarm clock to wake me, and since I'm used to waking up much later, I'm always getting to work late.

Normally, it wouldn't be much of a problem. Especially since Isadora doesn't come into the workshop until shortly before it's time to open up the shop.

Everything would be fine without this little vixen named Elena. She's Isadora's other apprentice, a girl about three years older than me. Her light brown hair was neatly braided into a ponytail, accentuating her doll-like face, but there was a coldness in her eyes that chilled me to the bone. She carried herself with a haughty arrogance that made it clear she thought herself above me.

Every time she spoke, her voice dripped with condescension, and I could feel my blood boiling with anger. It was clear that she despised me, and I couldn't help but wonder what I had done to earn her enmity.

As she moved about, she always emphasized her words with a dismissive wave of her hand. It was clear that she had no respect for me or my abilities. I couldn't help but feel frustration at her smug demeanor.

But despite her nasty personality, I could sense a flicker of fear in her eyes every time I challenged her. It was as if she knew that beneath my humble exterior, there was power and strength that she could never match.

I knew that I would have to be careful around her ever since I started working here as an apprentice a month ago. But I also knew I couldn't let her get the better of me.

I don't know what her problem is. Does she hate me because I'm a boy or because I'm from a poor family in the countryside?

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I can't oppose her openly since she comes from a prominent family in the city, which she never hesitates to flaunt in my face at every opportunity. She is also my senior in the shop, having been here much longer than me.

I can't afford to lose this opportunity, so I try to mostly ignore her and focus on my work. This is easier said than done since Elena watches for every mistake and promptly reports it to Isadora.

But I learned most of the things about herbs in advance, making sure I never made any serious mistakes and giving her no room to snitch on me. That apparently made her even angrier. Luckily, tomorrow is my first day off, and it can't come soon enough.

All this time, as I was lost in my own thoughts, Elena stood there waiting for my response. But when she noticed I was ignoring her and preparing my work for the day, her eyes twitched. She uttered a simple "Hmph!" before stomping out of the room.

'Hmm, I wonder what she is going to tell Isadora this time...' I smiled in my head, finding this absurd situation quite funny.

When I presented Isadora with the Moonlight Aster after I escaped from the cave, she was surprised, to say the least. I was suspicious before, but now I was certain. She never expected me to complete the test. However, she had to make good on her word and accept me as her apprentice.

But unlike Elena, Isadora is quite a pragmatic person. She recognizes my talent and wants to make use of it. Not having to pay me a wage means I'm like cheap labor that she could use to prop up her business.

As long as I don't cause too much trouble for her, she will honor our arrangement despite Elena's constant effort to chase me off. I don't like it, but I'm fine with it. It gives me the freedom to earn money on the side, and when I finish my apprenticeship, I'm free to walk away.

I guess Vogt was right. What he said to me about the dangers of the city all those years ago when I had dinner with him. The city is a nest of vipers, and everyone here wants to take advantage of you just to improve their own standing.

'But I won't fight it. I will embrace it. I will become the biggest viper of them all.' I chuckled to myself as I sorted out the plethora of herbs in front of me.

***

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. "Finally, I'm done!" I exclaimed with a bright smile as the sun started lowering itself behind the buildings, signaling the approaching evening and the end of my work for the day.

I didn't mind the work per se. It was certainly one of the better places I could have chosen, but after a while, it tends to get quite repetitive and boring.

Not that it matters now. Tomorrow I finally have a day off, and I am very excited about it.

I said goodbye to Isadora, who was sorting out new medicine orders in the workshop and headed for the door. I went into the center of the city, which was illuminated by the setting sun.

I was really hungry since I was forced to skip breakfast again today. I found out that another perk of being a mage is that I don't need to eat often. Eating once a day seems enough. Even though I'm still feeling hungry, I can supplement my nutrition with mana.

I could probably go several days without food and still be fine, not that I want to. In this city, there is an excellent selection of delicious food, and I always enjoy the taste of good food. Something that was seriously lacking back in the village.

I bought two grilled skewers from one of my favorite stalls on the main street. I continued walking into the Northern Quarter, where my room was while enjoying my dinner.

My goal for the time being, besides getting stronger, is to gather knowledge. Right now, I'm trying to learn more about the Moonlight Aster. I gathered three flowers in total, and since to pass my apprentice exam I needed just one, I still have two of them hidden away.

I need to sell them to replenish my dwindling savings. After I paid Isadora for my apprenticeship and the rent for my room, I don't have much money left, and I'm poor once again.

When I remember the pouch full of shining silver coins, I want to cry. But that is all in the past. I need to look at the future. Given how difficult it was to get these flowers and how eager Isadora was to get her hands on them, they must be really precious, which means they are expensive.

But I want to find out exactly how expensive they are. Offering them to Isadora without knowing their real price means she could scam me, and I wouldn't even know.

The problem is that finding anything about them proved to be a challenge, to say the least. Vendors at the market don't know anything about it. And there is no mention of it in Isadora's book.

Yes, she has a book—a real book. It shouldn't surprise me since she is quite wealthy, but still. It is only the second book I have ever read in this world. I guess she must have more books hidden away since this one covers only the basics of herbalism, most of which I already know.

I would love to gather some information in a library, but unfortunately, there is no such thing in the city. Although I heard that the Count de Santis, our liege lord, has a private book collection in the fortress that is looked after by his court wizard, 'Ah, I wish I could have a peek at it!'

I also want to find out more about those mysterious gems I got from my battles in the Forest. I still hadn't discovered what to do with them. From the looks of it, they remind me of those monster cores I read about in novels back on Earth.

But even if I knew about them, it didn't tell me how I could use them. When I focused my magic sense on them, I could perceive two very bright lights, signaling they have a tremendous amount of magical energy stored inside.

However, that was all I was able to pry from them. I refrained from any further experiments that could potentially damage them until I found more information. Although that will probably take some time.

As I was thinking about all of this, I made it all the way through the winding streets of the Northern Residential Quarter of the city.

The buildings were old and decrepit, their roofs sagging under the weight of years of neglect. The walls were made of stone, but they were chipped and weathered, with moss and vines creeping up their sides.

Despite the shabbiness of the buildings, the quarter's residents were determined to make the most of their humble abodes.

I passed by a row of homes, and I could hear the sound of children laughing and playing in the narrow alleyways between the buildings. The streets were bustling with activity, with merchants hawking their wares and peasants hurrying to and fro.

The smell of fresh bread and roasted meat wafted through the air, a tantalizing aroma that made my stomach growl even though I had just finished my dinner.

I went to a small building situated in one of the alleyways at the edge of the quarter. It was made of wood with a thatched roof that looked like it might cave in at any moment. Despite all of this, it was one of the best-looking buildings in the district.

I really made the right decision to settle here, I thought as I remembered the set of events that led me to this place...