After meeting good souls who helped him, he unconsciously let his guard down. He believed a smile from a crook who offered to help him get his gems changed to gold and silver. The currency which was used in this world. The guy simply pinched his bag and ran with his money. No matter how much he tried, he could not get a hold of the man despite his speed having improved. It was not a place he was familiar with let alone navigate when running in between lanes filled with people.

"Haaa! Huff! Huff! Haa!"

Théoden was panting and soaked in his sweat. He didn't easily sweat due to his changed physic but that only gave testament to how much he tried to run after Ben.

"Is he even called Ben?"

'Wait...shouldn't I have confirmed using the system?'

Théoden lost sight of him long ago and even his sense of smell could no longer find a trace of him. It was like he vanished into the air within the crowd.

'Damn it! That fucker. How dumb can I be to trust a face like that? A crook. Shit!!'

He gritted his teeth in annoyance and was fueled with anger that was only short of exploding. Regret filled the brim of his heart.

Soon he had lost sight of the man in the busy streets.

'What stupidity made me put all the money in one bag? Who knows where it is?'

"I should kill him the second I see him again. No. That is not the point. I should have just sliced down everyone that was on my way...then maybe I could get to him before he slipped away." Théoden was muttering under his breath, his teeth gritting together.

The killing intent in Théoden's eyes was surging. His ruby iris glimmered with rage as they flickered in a similarly intense crimson flare. Everyone who walked past him would feel a huge pressure and a creaking coldness of a knife...on their necks.

At a sharp squirm of a woman, he came back to his senses. Théoden realized he was getting too agitated.

'Sunshine, pretty women, cozy bed, steak. Think happy thoughts. Just happy thoughts.'

He recited a few of his favorite things like a mantra.

Théoden kept a positive mind trying to get the idea of killing out of his mind. He didn't want to cross that line. His thoughts however stated otherwise, which he found dangerous even for himself.

He wanted to get rid of every obstacle in his way to get back what belonged to him, even if the method entailed killing a few people. He had never had such an idea no matter how much he was enraged.

'Deep breathes.'

A remedy that could work. It was simply about having a distraction before he did something stupid. Théoden was not too confident about his control over his body as of late. Though he could change races with his system, the system wasn't reassuring.

He wouldn't risk letting instincts and emotions take control when he knew nothing of the consequences. This was a new world, governed by its rules. Rules he had no idea about. Though the thought of taking risks sounded fun, it was not at the cost of his life.

Logic overpowered instinct.

Théoden walked aimlessly in the streets his eyes scanning where to find refuge in the cold nights. He walked into a few stalls and inns. He found out he needed to pay to get to stay. True to Ben's words, they took payments in gold, silver, or crystal depending on the level of luxury. Of course, one tiny but enraging detail was left out. He could exchange his stay with items of the same value, which if unpaid for a certain time, would be claimed by the inn.

That being the case, all the valuable items he could credit out were all gone...

With no solutions to his dilemma, Théoden stalled around aimlessly once more. It was already dark and fewer people were walking the streets. He was able to tell the more quiet places. A few free and unused street alleys.

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With motivational positivity as the base, he slept on the street, hoping to give better results the next day. A corner out of anyone's sight, where there was shelter from the blazing sun and sanitary enough not to feel grossed out. This was by standards set based on his experience in the wilderness.

Yaaaawn!

Théoden opened his heavy, tightly-clung eyelids. A warm humid air surrounded him, clearly not helping rid of his sleepiness.

'Damn, this is not better than the desert wilderness.'

It was mortifying waking up in such a state. His whole body ached and his muscles were tense due to his crouched-up sleeping position.

The sun had risen and Théoden was set to find out more about the place he was. The street's chatter was the best source. Sitting down on a corner like the beggar he was, he listened, slightly hoping some nice people could drop a coin or two. His advanced hearing was quite convenient. He could filter out the noise and listen in on conversations within the few meters range around him.

"What is such a dirty rat doing here? Don't they do street cleaning these days?"

"What an ugly thing."

"He can't sell even if we take him...Plus I don't know if it bites."

Of course, planet-to-planet humans remained the same. Most comments he heard were of himself. The sense of seniority made them mock those at a disadvantage. With such comments every few hours Théoden was holding in the last of his sanity straws. He had never in his life been treated like that but logic overpowered his mind at the moment. As time went by and hunger took over, he could almost wish to shut the mouths of the people who mocked him. In a more eternal form of shut up.

It had been several days but not even a soul helped him. The cruel reality dawned on him. He didn't have much of a plan for what he could do once he came to the city with civilization but he began having regrets. Of course, some cast leftovers to him as humiliation.

'I'm starving...'

He couldn't turn down the little food that was thrown to him and other sources of course. He needed to live for as long as he could. Living meant eating food.

However, he got to learn a bit more in his endeavor while listening to more productive talks. The Capital was called Landus. It was the main center of almost everything. There were several guilds and multiple occupational institutes. The best of the best existed in the Capital of Landus in the entire Slevaria Kingdom. The place the royal family resided, was also the place royalty had the most influence. The main marketplace and a place filled with all sought of politics.

A story especially caught his ears. One was about the King being ill and the eldest prince being assassinated. The next in line had mental issues while the youngest princess was a bargaining chip in an intermarriage affair. However the story didn't end there, as the princess was meant to marry another kingdom, but suddenly the Duchess of the Astalles Dukedom wanted to marry her to her son. A son that didn't exist. She was never known to have an heir or a husband so it was absurd for her to have a son. However, given the influence of the Southern Duchess, it was difficult to decline thus the young princess was engaged to a figure who hardly existed.

Théoden found this a fairy tale story, but there were also growing business rumors. It began a few years ago, but now, was thought to be the fastest-growing business in the kingdom. The plot twist was, it was started by a teenager who was hardly an adult. He came out to the public once he was officially an adult. Now he was the most promising bachelor on the charts. Even after claiming he was a youth, he never revealed his face to the public. It was soon rumored that he was too ugly to show his face. Being that there was no clarification to that claim, it was assumed to be true, but there were those who believed there were other reasons for not saying anything.

There were many talks of a famous magician who made the prettiest flames. It was unknown who they were. The gender was also unknown. They disappeared as fast as they appeared. It came as a shock that magic existed. Several other discussions proved this. There was magic and aura that existed. This was however not common. Only a few noble families or special lineages had superhuman abilities. They were strictly supervised by the kingdom thus only a few were known while others never came out in the open.

These topics were the most talked about. It didn't give much about any information that Théoden needed then. Of course, there were small talks about the best dishes in the capital and the best places to visit. Nevertheless, this was not what Théoden wanted. He simply wanted food or a place to stay. All he could do was wait for the graces of others so he could at the very least have something to eat.

But as it turned out, no soul was willing to stop and even spare him a second glance. Thus he went several other days without food. His body, however resilient, was reaching its limits as well. At that moment he was picturing other extremes to sate his hunger but non of them settled with his conscious. He gave up the whole idea of getting food thus he hid in a corner away from other's sight for the day.

His powerlessness was on full display in front of him. Not just brawl or strength, but the power of money and backing. All the things he was lacking were presented to him with humiliation as the method. If he was a senseless psychopath, he could go on a killing spree in which he would get whatever he wanted, but his morals contradicted this. He could neither kill nor steal. Something he was taught over his life back on Earth.

"I should try my luck tomorrow...."

Théoden mumbled as he fell asleep once again in the cold street.

He swore to make Ben regret the moment he had any evil plans for him.

[Status: Starving and weak]