Lucian conceded as he walked with the men through the shopping area until they reached the center of the town. Throughout the journey, beautiful trees and old stone buildings created an archaic yet lively feeling as he got closer to their destination. Distracted by the scenery, he wondered how this town must've existed. Its history was definitely there. Hopefully, he could find a library nearby to know more about it and maybe more of this world.

As they moved closer, he noticed a shift in how people dressed. Instead of armor and weapons on hand, suits and canes became much more regular. Lucian believed that this was the area for the wealthy.

However, compared to his world, where wealthier people seemed to look down on others, this town seemed to be pretty inviting as he received occasional smiles in his direction from passersby, which he found rather odd.

Soon, they reached a large home right in the center of the town. It was pretty hard to miss. Lucian immediately labeled it as the Mayor's home. It seemed to be the oldest building in the city, with vibrant trees surrounding it that created a fence of nature. Over 40 meters tall and about 30 meters wide, it was one of the biggest buildings in the city. It had a large entrance full of soldiers in different attires, most likely depending on their expertise. Two soldiers in hunter clothing stood guard at the entrance as they surveyed the area in a constant readiness that could only be brought upon by dedication.

Lucian was escorted towards its entrance by the Mayor's subordinates. Entering the building, he was surprised at how large its interior was. It seemed much smaller from the outside compared to. The interior was very simply designed, with the barest furniture and a lot of open space. Officials and accountants sat in offices, presenting different information as they discussed topics he had no business hearing.

Giffard stopped walking as he turned towards Lucian. "We will start with the explanation of the system tomorrow. In the meantime, I invite you to enjoy the facilities here. We will begin first thing in the morning," Giffard said as he nodded toward one of his subordinates. The subordinate immediately attempted to guide him upstairs.

"No."

Raising an eyebrow, Giffard gave Lucian a questioning look. "Oh? And why not?

"I will fend for myself. I thank you for your generosity; however, I would prefer to live on my own. If you really want to prepare me for this world, you must at least give me this much," Lucian responded stoically as he stared the man in the eye. He didn't trust this man nearly enough to be comfortable living in his home. If anything, that sounded like a death sentence to Lucian's pessimistic mind.

"Haha! Fair enough. It wouldn't matter either way! This is my town, after all!" Giffard chuckled recklessly as he continued walking.

Finally left alone, Lucian walked out of the building and towards the nearest hotel. He found one a bit farther from the Mayor's office. It wasn't nearly as renovated and expertly designed, but Lucian took it anyway.

Walking through the hotel entrance, he quickly reached the receptionist's desk.

A sturdily built man sat behind the desk with a newspaper in his hand. He was short but very well built, hinting towards a past of adventuring at some point. He had a full beard and a Long scar from the center of his temple, giving him a frightening look.

Walking up, he greeted the man. "Hello. Do you have a room for one?" He asked respectfully.

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The man took a look off his newspaper and looked at who spoke to him. Staring him up and down, he returned to his newspaper again, ignoring him completely.

Seeing this, Lucian frowned. He did not like this man's disrespectful attitude.

"Hello. I said I would like a room for one." Lucian repeated with a slight tinge of anger.

"We don't have anything like that of the sort here," the man responded curtly without taking his eyes off the paper.

Lucian's eyes narrowed as his frown grew more pronounced.

He turned away and walked out as the fox followed.

"Wait!" A beautiful voice called out.

Lucian turned to see a middle-aged woman walk down the stairs in haste. She was well-built for her age, with a full head of red hair and a face barely touched by time. She could pass for a 25-year-old if she put on some makeup. Then again, was there makeup in this world? Lucian didn't know.

Greeting Lucian, she said, "My apologies for my husband. We've had some dealing with some adventurers who couldn't pay their fees recently, so he has been on high alert against them, aren't you, Aino" She turned towards her husband with a stern look.

Grunting vaguely in response, he continued with his paper in silence.

She sighed. "Anyway, I would like to invite you to book a room here if you'd like. I'm Aerith, by the way." she put her hand out.

Shaking her hand, Lucian asked, "what makes me different from other adventurers?"

"Well, I don't believe someone associated with our illustrious mayor would be a thief, would they," She said with a knowing smile. It seems she had seen the scene in the shopping area.

Nodding in understanding, he continued. "How much does it cost?"

Aino suddenly interjected, "10 Astral Currencies a night. Any damages to the room will increase that to 15 and 5 extra for a pet. Do you have the money for that?"

Lucian ignored his question as he took 15 Astral Currencies from one of his pockets. Handing it the Aerith, he said, "Thank you for your hospitality." He said with a small smile as he gave the man the evil eye.

Aino snorted as Aerith smiled. "It's my pleasure! Always happy to help!"

"Follow me!" she said while walking up the steps.

Moving up the stairs, they reached the door, as she directed them to which room to go to and finally left him the keys.

"If you have any problems or complaints, feel free to reach out to me at the front desk, okay?" She said with a smile as she turned to leave.

"Oh, another thing," she said as she turned. "Welcome to Perrnan!" she smiled, moving down the steps.

Lucian and the fox were now left to their own devices. He opened the door to see a simply designed room with a large bed and a desk. On the other side of the room was a patio with a pair of chairs. Walking out into the balcony, he noticed the sun was finally beginning to set, forming a beautiful view in the distance.

Lucian stared into the distance in a daze, watching the sun set slowly. This world was quite similar to his previous world, which he found very beneficial to him, yet oddly weird. With the addition of the system and magic, there was more of a focus on getting stronger here than in his previous world. He did find that appealing, but he was quite an outlier compared to the others in the previous world.

"Most people from my world wouldn't survive this world unless they had a definite advantage and enough time to grow," he thought. "Luckily, I came into this world stronger than most. My decision in the underworld definitely paid off. Now, I must learn how to become stronger quickly if I'd ever have the chance to return to earth."

"Those chosen must have special gifts bestowed by the gods they serve. It would make them much stronger than normal to survive until they grow stronger. The question is, why would the gods summon Chosen ones to this world when from my experience, they believe us an inferior race meant to be sacrificed for the other races? Do they enjoy the chaos that it creates? No, they have something more definite to gain from human struggles. I will need to find out if I am going to engage with a chosen one."

"For now, I need to start from the basics to develop a solid knowledge base for the future. In the meantime, I need a shower!" he thought as he looked at his dirt-covered skin in disgust. The fox found a cozy area in the room as it curled into a ball to sleep.

Walking into a separate room, he undressed and began taking his very much-needed shower.

An hour and a half passed, and he finally walked out a new person. His previously Giant frizzy Afro on his head had been twisted into neat locks that reached his lower back. His previous dirty appearance was finally cleaned up, showcasing his handsome appearance and regal aura.

"WOO!!" the fox howled, alerting Lucian.

The moment he walked out, however, he was surprised to see a young lady sitting on his bed in wait. She was a young lady with beautiful fair skin and midnight black hair. The most striking part of her appearance was her purple-colored eyes, similar to one of the assailants who had attacked him previously: Violla!