If this truly was a fantasy world like the game, then leveling up and learning skills were things he had to do.
The game's worldbuilding had been fictional, mixed with many elements—modern, industrial-age, medieval. Technology, education, and culture had all been uncertain. The game's setting existed for entertainment, but he had been reborn into a real world.
Especially magic—if it was not a fixed skill like in the game, then magic could be truly miraculous.
It seemed necessary to spend some time gathering information about this world. Most of it resembled the game's setting, but the details here were far more intricate.
There was simply too little information to be learned from these begging children. After all, he could not expect six- or seven-year-olds to know much.
"Lily, do you know anything about magic?"
"Do you mean Lord Mage? I've never seen one, but I heard in stories that only people with magical talent can become mages. We probably can't." As Lily said this, she denied herself while still longing for the wonders of magic.
Living in such an environment, it was hard to avoid feeling inferior. Even if they had talent, it could easily be buried. If circumstances allowed, taking these two children and escaping together was not impossible.
The future could wait. What mattered most was making sure he did not starve to death—and that he was not beaten to death by a whip.
Early the next morning, he woke in the murky air. The Gang Thugs once again drove the little piglets out to beg. If they failed to meet their quota, they would probably receive another beating that night.
Mel Carlo walked over to the water barrel, stood on a chair, and looked at his young face reflected in the water. He was probably only six years old.
Other than his jet-black hair, there was only his gaunt face.
"Mel, can we go with you?" Lily carefully approached Mel Carlo from behind with Akai.
"Sure, but what do we need to do?" Mel Carlo lightly jumped down from the chair.
For now, he still needed to keep himself alive. Much of this world was unknown to him. Aside from the parts that overlapped with the game, everything else was unfamiliar.
And even if he could escape in the body of a child, what would he do afterward? That was hard to say. Without adults, there was no one to rely on.
"How are you?" Mel Carlo looked at Akai, who could already walk normally.
There was no sign that he had taken a whipping. After only one night, he could move again.
"I'm much better. Thanks, Mel." Akai twisted his arms. The places where he had been whipped still hurt, but they were much better than last night. At least he could move normally.
"Mm. You decide what to do next. After I recovered from my illness, I forgot a lot of things." Mel Carlo walked along with the two of them.
The three walked barefoot through the streets.
He had not gotten used to walking barefoot in many years.
"It would be nice if we could get some money today." Lily was slightly worried. Yesterday, they had been whipped by the gang leader because they had returned without any money.
"Akai, do you know how much it costs to buy an apple?" Mel Carlo crossed the street and looked at the apple stall in the distance.
"Probably one Auren." Akai answered. Though he had never bought one himself, he had seen others do so.
Mel Carlo was quite interested in the currency system. If he wanted to fill his stomach, he needed to understand money.
Auren. That seemed to be this world's unit of currency, a name that had never appeared in the game.
"Are all Aurens copper coins like this?"
"No. There are also silver Aurens, gold Aurens, and magic coins. But I've never seen those. I only heard about them in stories." Akai shook his head.
Lily raised a finger to her nose, tilted her head as she thought for a moment, then said, "I know this. One silver coin can be exchanged for one hundred copper coins, one gold coin for one thousand copper coins, and a magic coin seems to be worth ten thousand copper coins. They say that's currency only mages use."
Mel Carlo did not find his lack of common knowledge frightening. Anything he lacked could be learned. This world was far more interesting than the game.
"How much money do we need to bring back so we won't get beaten?" Mel Carlo stretched beneath the sunlight.
"At least ten Aurens each. For three people, that means thirty Aurens. I'll go beg." Lily's expression was extremely serious, because she did not want Akai to get hurt because of her again.
"Then I'll steal. Begging might not get us anything." Mel Carlo had decided what he would do.
No one liked stealing.
But sometimes, they had no choice, just as he had in his previous life. He could either starve to death or steal. As a young child, he had not been given a choice.
Compared to the two children behind him, he was clearly better suited for this. He had experience, including experience being caught and beaten.
The first time he had been caught stealing in his previous life, he had learned a lesson: no matter how fast a six-year-old could run, he could not outrun an adult.
Back then, he had only stolen a meat bun.
Akai hesitated. He did not like stealing, nor did he want to become a thief, because he knew it was wrong. But if they begged like yesterday, there were not that many kindhearted people in the world.
If they could not bring back money, another beating awaited them.
"How about we run away?" Akai clenched his fists, his body trembling slightly.
His dream was to become a knight who protected his companions, not a thief. He absolutely did not want to steal.
Before Lily could speak, Mel Carlo spoke first. "We can't escape. The Imperial City Gang has eyes everywhere in the city. As soon as we get close to the city gate, we'll definitely be caught and brought back."
Mel Carlo was different from them. Within his young body was a mature soul. From the moment he left the Imperial City Gang's base, he had been observing the watchers hidden in the shadows.
As piglets, they were assets of the Imperial City Gang. There was no reason for them to be allowed to escape, so this matter had to be planned carefully.
"Let's not talk about that for now. If you don't want to steal, then beg with Lily. If we get the chance in the future, we might be able to leave this place." Mel Carlo ended the conversation because he noticed more eyes falling on them.
The fewer people there were when stealing, the better. Especially for children like them—otherwise, if they were discovered, they could easily be caught.
The children under the gang's control were scattered across different areas. They could not possibly gather a group of beggar children in one place. That would be too conspicuous and would easily cause trouble.
For this gang to exist, it definitely had someone backing it. It was just that the game had not described that part in much detail.
First, he had to work hard to survive. Then he could think of a way to escape the gang's control.
While he was looking for a target, a creature resembling a raptor pulled a carriage past them. In the game, this creature was called an Earth Dragon. It served the same purpose as a horse, but this sense of reality was something the game could never match.
"Looks like I'll have to wait a little longer. There aren't many people around, so it's a bit difficult to make a move."
During his spare time, Mel Carlo began trying to activate the skills from the game. But without question, no matter what movements he made, he could not release any of the game's skills.
He did not know whether gesture casting was ineffective, or whether it was because he had no Skill Tree or class advancement.
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