Changes

Emerald Port.

As the largest port in the Kingdom of Seer, it had always been bustling. Countless ships docked there every day, and the demand for dockworkers just to unload their cargo was enough to feed the entire dockside workforce.

Choba was one of them.

An ordinary dockworker, he spent every day laboring until he was drenched in sweat, only to watch helplessly as port officials and the gangs squeezed him for his hard-earned wages. What little remained barely covered the family's food, and his wife even had to gather wild vegetables to get by. It was hard to say their circumstances were anything but poor.

And his wife's parting words that morning had left the honest man frowning deeply.

"Little Bruce is ten now. It's time to think about what he'll do with his future!"

As the son of a dockworker, Little Bruce could never go to school like the children of nobles and wealthy townsfolk, let alone have the luxury of a private tutor.

This world had never been fair. Even the church's priestly positions and opportunities for further study were monopolized by the upper classes. For people at the bottom, there was hardly any hope of changing their fate.

The same went for becoming a knight. Even training to be an ordinary soldier was out of the question; the cost of eating meat every day alone was astronomical.

And without a trade to his name, what would happen if he became an adventurer or a mercenary? He might end up dead in a sewer by the next day!

"Maybe... becoming a sailor is the only option?"

Choba muttered to himself.

Of course, he didn't want Bruce to follow in his footsteps and become a lowly dockworker. But after thinking it over, being a sailor seemed like the