Aganth, a city run by commerce.

A city so prosperous that even the two Empires have to treat it as an important resource point. A majority of humanity’s trade centers around Aganth as the bridging point between the two Empires. As such, it has been considered as a neutral point where neither Empire dared exert its influence.

Especially when it's near one of the few bridges between the Plains of Divinity and the Wasteland of Mortality. Commonly referred to as the Hallowed Gap.

The defining wall between what is and what isn’t. Only when one has achieved the status of divine would they be allowed to enter past this barricade. Entering a place where the world itself pushes every living creature to struggle and evolve to its pinnacle form.

Sammuel finished reading up on a nearby public library about a brief description of Aganth. As he read, the more intrigued he grew. Curiosity as to how a world like this world compared to his previous one.

Thoughts of going back even bother him. It wasn’t like there was anything to go back to anyway. It seemed as if he wasn’t all that different from the other two.

Quietly reading on his own, the librarian in charge came up to him. She was nothing but a small child, with neck long black hair, and dull green eyes. Her face was filled with freckles yet her skin was a slight tinge of white. Her seamed dress looked to be the uniform of this library.

“That’ll be 2 copper coins.” She was timid in her approach yet her stance was firm. Seeing Sammuel narrow his eyes she immediately followed up. “Ah! You’re still reading… my apologies I’ll come back later on.”

She waddled away while fiddling with her thumbs. Sammuel could clearly see that she was terrified of him. Whether it was him feeling terrible or not wanting to leave a bad impression, he walked up to her.

His torn exotic clothing and grim weapon still holding the stench of goblin blood did not give the girl a favorable impression of him. She raised her hands, “I-I didn’t mean to…”

To prevent any further misunderstandings, Sammuel came out cleanly.

“I didn’t know there was a fee for reading.” Sammuel placed his weapon away and went down to her level. He lowered his posture so that the girl would only see his face and not his grim appearance. “And… I don’t have any money.”

“That’s fine.” Wanting nothing more than to finish this conversation, she had decided to pay for his fee with her own wage. Though she didn’t need to tell him that.

“Wait, I just have a few questions I want to ask.” Sammuel reached out to the frightened girl. Turning her, he managed to see her nametag, it said Marie. “Marie, do you know any jobs that are open? I’ll pay the fee as soon as I can.”

Seeing that she had just closed her eyes, Sammuel knew that he needed to cater to her personality. For a timid person like her, there was something that could bring her out of her shell. It was curiosity.

Taking out one he scavenged from outside the city, he reached out to give her. “These taste sweet. Have some.” Saying so, he immediately ate one of the four berries. Its savory yet light taste was refreshing.

Seeing Sammuel do it, she reluctantly took out her hand and grabbed one. Upon chewing the berry, her tune immediately changed to one of pleasant surprise. Grabbing another berry, she gulped it down.

Sammuel closed his hand. “I’ll give you the last one if you can answer my question. You see I’m having difficulty for the time being and I need to get back on my feet. Any job, no matter how stressful or labor-intensive, I’ll do it.”

Marie’s dull green eyes turned a little brighter.

“Uh… Mom said she needed someone to act as the bodyguard for the library. Can you do it?”

This was a surprise. Sammuel wanted some kind of footing here and this place seemed to be a good choice. Why should he bother going out there making a fool out of himself when he could slowly learn about the world within the confines of this public library?

“How strong do they need to be?” Sammuel was slightly apprehensive at the idea of having such a job since he didn’t know how strong he needed to be. For all he knew, he was at the bottom of the barrel.

“I’ll go ask!” Marie pried Sammuel’s hand open with a gleeful smile on her face. He played along and let that one last berry be taken away against his will. “Wait there!”

Running off to the staff room in the back, Marie took a bit of time before running out. A slightly aged lady with wrinkles on her face came out.

“Sir, I apologize but my daughter’s a bit too playful. Please don’t mind her. Don’t worry about the fees, we can just waive it. Marie, go back inside.” It was clear that it wasn’t that she didn’t need protection but that she was afraid of the payment.

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Sammuel’s rough look really sold the identity of someone who could fight. After all, for someone to be so torn up yet be so alive spoke volumes of his ability.

“How strong do you need them to be?”

“T-That’s… It’s just that I don’t think we can afford your services, sir. I don’t doubt your capabilities at all. So, if you are interested in earning a lot of wealth then might you join a caravan as a mercenary?” From her perspective, this was enough to send someone so dangerous looking away.

The allure of wealth was something that she firmly believed would send Sammuel away. Yet Sammuel didn’t want to. There was no reason to send himself to death so eagerly.

“If I protect this place, can I eat three meals a day and get a bed?” He could always increase his strength through training. Killing other creatures might be the fastest way yet it was also the most dangerous. Getting his bearings mattered much more.

Sammuel was clear in his stance. He wanted to take the job. The old lady could only succumb to his demand. She sighed. “Yes. But since this is a family-run library, we might need help moving a few heavy books around. It might…”

“Might be beneath me?” Sammuel could finish her sentence. With his superior combat capabilities, it similarly matched an absurd amount of pride. “Don’t worry. I’ll do it for as long as it's reasonable. What about the actual job?”

“There’s not much trouble here. Most of the books here are common knowledge so the locals don’t frequent it as much. It's mostly just tourists wandering around the city. Even then, if someone makes trouble, you don’t necessarily need to fight them. You just need to make enough noise so the city guards will apprehend them. Overall it’s not too taxing.”

“That’s fair. How do we do this? A contract or just… a verbal agreement.”

“Just your consent is enough.” The old lady took out a silver coin from her waist. It was slightly bent at the edges but the clear markings on it were still firm. “This is enough payment for a month.” She carefully handed it to Sammuel’s hands, slightly shaky.

He didn’t even need his extreme perception, it was clear that he was getting overpaid. A silver coin was a hundred copper coins. Reading for a mere twenty minutes was 2 copper coins. People needed to read a total of a thousand minutes in an entire month to be equal to that. And considering how few people actually came to this library from what he had seen, it was far too much.

“I appreciate it.” Sammuel acted naive and took it. He looked at her nametag. “Fian.”

“Likewise.” Fian felt such a massive expenditure leave her pockets. Yet she didn’t seem to have regretted it.

Now that her mother seemed to have sealed the deal, Marie was much more open to Sammuel. She ran up and started asking questions. “How strong are you?” Poking Sammuel’s arm, it felt unbelievably solid, like a rock.

[Combat Power: 0.12]

Seeing her Combat Power, it was clear how helpless she would be in the wild. Fian merely let them have fun, going back inside the staff room to continue her side hustle. Sammuel played along with her.

It was clear that Marie hadn’t had the opportunity to talk to the other kids. Because once she started talking, she kept on talking. Sammuel continued on with his approach of treating her beliefs with respect. Instead of thinking Marie was childish, he went on to try and ask her why she thinks so.

“Why do you have a rusty sword? Isn’t a cleaner one better?” Marie felt comfortable enough to tap on the rusty longsword. The rust seemed to have been stuck on it, unable to be peeled off.

“You’re right. I should get a new sword.”

“Also your clothes! You should get some new ones with your allowance. You’ll scare away visitors otherwise.”

Sammuel looked down and placed a finger inside one of the holes in his clothes. He needed to buy a lot of things. “I’ll get on that as well later.”

Marie held the sword’s handle and tried to wield it to no avail. It was far too heavy for her lithe arms. The sword dropped making a small clang.

Fian seems to be a little too accepting of this situation. I don’t know whether it’s because I pushed for it or not but it just seems a little odd. Then again, it could just be a cultural thing in the end. It’s a brand new world after all. Sammuel took the book he had been reading earlier and went up to the front entrance.

He covered his clothes with his bland black cloak to look presentable. Marie followed along right beside him as there wasn’t anything else to do for the time being. She continued to pester Sammuel and the latter merely played along with her.

“Ooh, ooh! Can you beat that guy?” Marie pointed at the opposite establishment. It was a restaurant serving some kind of meat dish as its specialty. There was a big fat man standing by the entrance.

[Combat Power: 1.53]

It was higher than Sammuel’s Combat Power by 0.03. If they were to fight each other using these stats, it would be a close fight that would rely on their skills. Seeing such a formidable Combat Power that’s even stronger than that kid from before even with a sword, Sammuel understood that where he currently was wasn’t satisfactory.

If Sammuel used [Flowing Swordsmanship], it would be a one-sided massacre. At the very least, for as long as there was a sword within reach, Sammuel would be a formidable foe.

“I can’t.” Shaking his head, he sighed. “He’ll beat me up!”

“Huh?” Marie poked Sammuel’s cheek. “Then you aren’t strong at all! Mom wasted her money on you!”

“But if it came to be, I’ll be able to protect you. Don’t worry too much.” Sammuel held the rusty sword and placed it on his lap. Reading the book, he muttered, “Did you know that the name Aganth from Aganth’s first ruler? He pioneered this land and developed it all on his own.”

“I already did know that.”

“What about the main trade of Aganth is weaponry, mystical herbs, and…” Sammuel’s words slowed to a crawl.

“Ooh, I know this too! Slaves! I see them from time to time being dragged along further into the slums.” Marie leaned in closer, reading a passage from the book. “Aganth has a completely neutral stance in both political and practical aspects of the world. As such, intelligent creatures not deemed a threat would be allowed entry. Even sentient creatures like elves, lizardfolk, drackens, beastmen, raelsh, fairies, and other species are allowed entry.”

Marie noticed something at the corner of her eye, “Oh, look! It’s a slave caravan. They always look so sad when they drive by.”

Sammuel looked to the side where a heavily geared caravan made its way across the street. They weren’t stopping their pace at all. Their horses carried along two massive steel cages filled with creatures of different races. Some were human, some were locked inside a small jar, and others weren’t even detained as they emptily looked into the distance.

The looks of defiance and wrath sparingly filled the cages. Most of the creatures inside had a face of despair. Their hearts had died out for there is no longer hope for them.