Anton learned a lot about the Kingdom of the Okan from the now-drunk merchants. The continent where the Okan was located consisted of several large countries and kingdoms as well much like Rendindura so it was a viable location for them to travel to. He did note that according to Nunda, even though their continent was two months travel by ship, it was considered one of the nearest continents here which made him hesitate.

He didn’t want to travel somewhere nearby. Although there was a minimal chance that the undead would suddenly attack the continents across the ocean, Anton didn’t want to take that risk so he decided to look for somewhere farther away than the continent where Okan was located.

He said his goodbye to the merchants who were still celebrating, trying to empty the expensive bottles of wine Anton purchased for them. He spent around three hours talking to them so he still had plenty of time till evening arrived.

Anton looked around and there were prospective groups of customers that he could interview as well but he didn’t want to seem suspicious so he decided to tavern hop to conduct his interviews.

He wondered how Devon and the others were doing their research. One good thing he learned from Nunda was most foreigners from other continents that he should be able to find here in Whaling should know Rendinduran.

The problem that Anton should consider was learning the language of the place that they would go to. Yes, communication could be solved by using some of the spells available but based on their description, they were not that efficient so they would still need to take time to learn the language of the new place.

Outside the streets of Whaling, Anton walked slowly so he could see the charm of the port city. The smell of the sea, together with the combination of spices, perfumes, unclean bodies, and feces, instead of disgusting, excited him because it brought the reality that he was walking in a city in a different world. Not a regular city but a port city that was a gateway to many more exotic lands.

Anton was enjoying sightseeing so much that he failed to notice that he was being followed by a group of young men. When he finally did, he checked them out surreptitiously and instead of them looking dangerous, they were more curious about him rather than having malicious intentions.

The young men looked like regular citizens who managed to steal some time from their regular work or chores and were now idling with their friends while roaming the city.

In a somewhat less-than-populated street, Anton decided to talk to the young men who looked like they were of the same age as him.

“Hello, can I help you?” Anton said to the group.

“Oh, you’re Rendinduran. I thought you’re a foreigner who got lost somehow,” One of them said.

“My name is Anton and I’m from Zalnothel,” Anton told them.

The teenagers introduced themselves one by one and then informed him that they were just curious about him since he was wearing a very luxurious robe.

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“Are you not afraid of being kidnapped and held for ransom?” Said one of the teenagers.

“No, I’m a mage and I’m powerful enough to defend myself,” He said, and the group of young men, instead of getting scared of him upon learning that he was a mage, got excited instead.

“Can you teach us how to become a mage? I have a spellbook but none of us can learn anything from it,” One of them said.

“What’s your name?” Anton asked.

“Oh sorry. My name is Romus, this is Nezzar, Lendoral, and this Morum. We’re from here and we’re just regular people,” Romus said.

“Don’t you have any work?”

Every one of them laughed and told Anton that they escaped to play for at least a couple of hours but they admitted that they would be punished when they returned. They were all apprentices of different trades and they were friends since they were young. They formed a group since not only were they neighbors, but they were all fascinated by one thing which was magic.

“I have a tool that can check if you can become a mage. I can use it to test all of you but in exchange, I need information about the kingdom and countries from the different continents across the ocean and if there are currently any ships going to those locations.”

Anton did purchase a copy of the mana testing school that the guards of Zalnothel used to test the level of mages in the gates.

“Those are common knowledge you can get by just going to the harbor but we do know the most common destinations of the current ships there,” Romus said.

“All right then. Let’s go somewhere private. Maybe like a restaurant with a private booth where we can talk?” Anton asked.

The young men were taken aback by his request and Anton wondered why.

“We don’t have coins. Do you have the funds to go somewhere like that?” One of the young men asked and Anton understood their hesitation.

Basically, they were all poor blokes. When Anton said that he did have the coins even if the restaurant was exceedingly expensive, the young men became highly excited.

“I always wanted to try the food in the Golden Goat Restaurant,” The boy called Morum said.

“Will they let us in?” One of them named Nezzar asked.

“Anton shouldn’t be stopped by the guard. He looked really rich!” Romus excitedly said.

That meant that the boys truly wanted to try out the food there in the restaurant they mentioned.

The young men then led Anton to the restaurant they were talking about. It was a good twenty-minute walk from where they were. When they arrived at the restaurant, Anton saw how high-class it was and understood why the young men were hesitant about entering the restaurant. With the way the clientele who entered looked, the teenagers looked really out of place if they entered the establishment but Anton entered without any hesitation.

At first, Anton was expecting to be stopped and then a face-slapping situation would occur just like those that happened in Chinese web novels back on Earth but even though the guard eyed Romus and his friends, maybe because Anton looked truly princely, not just because of his clothes, but because of his demeanor as well, the guard didn’t stop them from entering.

A man approached them and introduced himself as one of the managers of the establishment. Anton then said to the man that he required a private booth where he and his new friends could eat, drink, and stay for several hours to discuss things and then added that he would pay any deposit amount the manager required.

The manager then said an amount that brought gasps to the mouths of Romus and his friends but Anton paid gold coins without any hesitation. The manager then smiled and led them to a private booth located on the second floor.

After they sat down, the manager called someone and a couple of waiters arrived and provided a menu to each one of them.

Anton told the young men to order anything they liked and surprisingly, they were not shy at all and they did. After the waiters took their order, they were informed of the time until the first items would arrive. Anton asked the young men to hold off in ordering any alcohol he needed to talk to them and the teenagers agreed.

Anton didn’t ask them any questions yet but talked about ordinary things like the best places to check out in Whaling. Soon their food arrived and they all ate heartily including Anton.