They went straight to the counter where a dozen waiters busied themselves and another dozen more were pouring drinks. The man leading Jin loudly spoke to one of them: "Gary! The usual for me and the same for my new friend!"

The worker by the name of Gary turned around as he sighed and walked towards the beefy man with a grin. As he came closer, he asked: "And how do you plan to pay me, you old miser? Your tab is longer than my arm already!"

The beefy man retorted: "Put it on my tab as well, it won't change much!"

They both laughed. Then, the waiter called Gary moved back and passed some orders to the kitchen behind before going to pour some ale. Two big mugs. He dropped them in front of the beefy man. Then, the beefy man gave one to Jin. Jin did not refuse. It was not Frone but it was alcohol nonetheless. And free.

The beefy man introduced himself: "So, friend, welcome to End Point 06!"

Jin clanked his mug with his and they both drank some. The beefy man led Jin to a table. Three people were already having their meals. They did not seem to care about Jin and his guide joining them. They ignored them quite explicitly.

The beefy man did not care, probably being used to it. It might be a custom here since it was so crowded. The man introduced themselves after another sip: "Everyone here calls me White Bear, what's your name, newbie?"

Jin answered without hesitation: "Baem"

It was a fake name he decided on pre-emptively. Even if no one would realize he was Jin in this place, it would not hurt to still be cautious. Using a fake name would not hurt. Not him at least.

The beefy man nodded as he stated: "Peculiar but who am I to judge? Ahahah! So, where do you come from, Baem, and what's bringing you to this shithole?"

Jin, now Baem, replied: "Travelling around for experience I guess"

White bear nodded as he understood. He was once the same in his youth... He gazed at the newbie in front of him and advised him sincerely: "You would be better off seeking employment somewhere else, Baem. There really ain't much to get around here"

It was then that the man sitting next to White bear interjected: "The fuck you saying, Whitey~ There's plenty of good shit to find in the forest if you're lucky enough!"

Stolen story; please report.

White bear retorted strongly and loudly: "Bah! What do you know, fucktard?! It might be good for weaklings like us but not this guy! He can get much more if he finds a place to settle at!"

Another one snickered: "Yeah, right~ If he could, he would not be here now, would he?"

And the last added: "Probably offended a bigshot somewhere and ran here, am I right?"

The trio laughed as White bear sighed. He turned back to the newbie and stated matter-of-factly: "Don't listen to these idiots with no ambitions. I bet you could get employed at some decent place with your abilities, Baem!"

Jin chuckled and decided to pursue the topic as it was going exactly in the direction he wanted: "Then, bro White Bear, where do you think I should seek employment?"

The trio laughed hard while white bear felt his ego inflate. He bickered some more with the trio before a waiter brought two plates of steaks from an unknown beast onto the table. One for him, one for Jin. He stopped bickering and gulfed down some juicy meat. Jin ate some too and found it rather tasty.

After a few more bites, White Bear told him: "The best places are obviously the Palace and the Church of Light"

The trio laughed once more and White Bear began to bicker with them again. While their exchange was filled with obscenities, it gave some valuable information to Jin. For one thing, he learnt of the two biggest powers on this side of the continent.

This was the Kingdom of Xeriojé governed by the royal family at the capital. They employed many cultivators as royal guards for a total of ten divisions composed of thirty elites each. There were also many more employed as soldiers, guards, teachers... All in all, it was the safest place to seek employment in when it came to searching for resource stability. Though asides from the royal guards, the rates were rather low. There weren't any risks to remain unpaid though.

As for the second biggest power, it was the Church of Light. It was not a sect but a religion that believed in a single God they named Light. Of course, to most cultivators, it was bullshit. Cultivators were atheists per nature and believed they, as humans, could become Gods. But they did not believe in a God above humans. As such, the church was mostly targeting the many mortals but they still employed many cultivators. It helped them defend themselves and take care of the concurrence. Basically, they were being described as scammers by the four. However, they paid well though the risks of them turning their backs on you and hunting you were high if you messed up. They were religious after all and for them to appear as just, they needed some evil...

Those were the two strongest powers. Beyond those, there were many more of smaller sizes. Merchants, Clans, Nobles...There were many options though those were harder to find. And they were less appealing most of the time.

Curious that they had not mentioned it, Jin broke into the discussion and asked: "How about sects?"

The four of them stopped bickering and turned silent. It was probably the first time they shut up throughout the entire conversation. All four of them took their mugs and sipped some. Jin felt like he touched a taboo there. And that made him even more curious.