Extraordinary Professions Union

Ian returned to the hall and found a corner table with Milta. Ignoring his protests, he had the waiter bring out two of their signature set meals: charcoal-grilled tigerhead fish, honey bread, and vegetable soup.

Then he ordered two large mugs of ale as well. The total came to 4.2 Small Silver Coins.

"Eat. My treat."

Seeing that Milta still did not dare pick up his knife and fork, Ian said with a smile.

"Sir, this..."

"Eat up! We still have things to do later."

As Ian ate, his attention remained focused on the conversations of the various diners throughout the restaurant.

Some news that was perfectly ordinary to the islanders was crucial to Ian.

"..."

"Hey, did you hear? Someone discovered the New Continent south of Devil Island."

"Tch~~, every year people say someone found the New Continent. Where is it? Has anyone actually seen it?!"

"Hey, hear me out. This time it's real! Adventurer's House has already issued a summons, so it has to be genuine..."

"..."

"The Whaling Group is going to make a fortune this time..."

"Yeah, it's incredible. A sea beast at least fifty meters long—supposedly, before it even reached the harbor, it had already sold out through advance orders..."

"But they suffered heavy losses too. They're recruiting on a large scale at the docks today."

"..."

"Blackbeard's bounty went up again. The Bounty Hunter Guild issued a new wanted notice."

"What did he do this time?"

"According to reliable sources, Blackbeard secretly left the waters around the Lucia Archipelago and appeared in the Storm Sea. He even looted a Royal Niger Company merchant ship..."

"No way. Blackbeard has that kind of nerve?"

"Who knows? Maybe he's gone mad..."

"Blackbeard." Ian's heart stirred.

The largest pirate force among those that had attacked Storm Cape that day had been Blackbeard's.

Many of the other pirate ships had lowered their black pirate flags. Attacking an official harbor city was practically touching the Kingdom's reverse scale, so they had some reservations. Only Blackbeard had kept his black flag flying high without the slightest attempt at concealment.

Ian listened for a while longer, but it was mostly trivial gossip. He drained his ale in a few gulps, gestured for Milta to eat slowly, then rose and walked toward the notice board across the hall.

The notice board was made of specially crafted white panels, with messages written across it in charcoal.

To Ian's disappointment, the notices were all related to hiring, hunting, purchasing, and selling, and nearly all were connected to the Whaling Group.

He had not found the information he wanted, but Ian was not too disappointed.

In the Age of Exploration, without extraordinary means, information traveled slowly. Information was money. Tomorrow's visits to the major extraordinary professional associations would be the main event.

By the time Ian finished eating, the night had deepened, yet the avenue leading directly to the harbor district remained bustling.

He did not wander around. He had Milta lead him to buy a sharkskin backpack and leather boots, along with two sets of swordsman's clothing and overcoats.

He directly destroyed his old, somewhat tattered clothes with Mana. In a world with extraordinary powers, one could never be too cautious.

"Ding—"

Ian flicked a large silver coin to Milta. "This is yours. Go back early, and watch out for yourself."

"Sir, this... I can't take your money!"

Ian turned and left, leaving Milta clutching the silver coin, utterly at a loss.

He liked the young sailor. Keeping him around to run errands would actually be quite useful. Unfortunately, his own situation was still unclear, so there was no need to rush into building up a force.

His foremost task now was to figure out what had happened in the attack on Storm Cape, how his family was doing, and whether there would be further pursuit.

Why had the pirates attacked the castle built atop Shelter Cliff first, guarded by extraordinary individuals and a garrison, while leaving the prosperous commercial district closer to the harbor untouched?

If it had merely been for plundering wealth, why had those who escaped still been pursued for dozens of nautical miles?

Why had the Kingdom's Second Fleet, which was stationed at Storm Port and Paradise Port year-round, happened to be absent?

No matter how I look at it, this is a conspiracy. But what was the motive?

Ian's grandfather had been a decisive man of great wisdom. At the start of the Age of Exploration, he had leased the best docks and plots of land to the royal family and the Seven Major Churches of the Righteous Gods for one gold coin per century.

Over the years, the Calvinde Family had been the nominal lord of Storm Cape, but in reality, it was little more than a tax collector. Everything about it spelled "obedient."

The Poldoria Kingdom followed a feudal system. Every noble, even a mere knight, could only receive their title from the royal family and owed direct allegiance to it. Aside from the "enclave" grand duke far away at the northern end of the continent, the greatest nobles elsewhere were only counts.

The royal family's power could be said to be overwhelmingly dominant, with no one daring to defy its word. If they wanted Storm Cape, there would be no need for such roundabout schemes. A single word would have been enough.

Ian could not figure it out, so he simply stopped thinking about it. After returning to the inn, he locked the door, set up precautions, and began to meditate.

Early the next morning, Ian finished preparing and set out for the Extraordinary Professions Union.

Why not the Alchemist Fellowship? Because nearly every alchemist had been trained by the Fellowship. Having monopolized alchemical knowledge, they had made independent alchemists virtually nonexistent.

They were like a real-name membership club. The registration process alone could expose his identity.

He would definitely have to visit the Alchemist Fellowship eventually, or he would have no way to advance to Sequence 8. However, he needed to consider the method. Though they were a neutral association, it was better not to expose himself if possible.

As for the Extraordinary Professions Union, it was a loose yet enormous organization. Any extraordinary individual could join as long as they were willing to register, though one should not expect any benefits.

Today was November 15, 2635 of the Fifth Epoch, the seventh day after Storm Cape was attacked.

The Windbreaker had departed Storm Cape on November 8 and had already arrived yesterday.

Paradise Port had always relied on Storm Cape for its food supply. If news of Storm Cape being attacked by pirates arrived, Paradise Island should have erupted into chaos.

Yet everything had remained calm until now. That made no sense!

Central Avenue referred to the central section of Paradise Port's most prosperous commercial street. The major extraordinary associations and Churches of the Righteous Gods were all located here.

This central commercial street was not straight. It curved slightly, running parallel to Paradise Port's shoreline. The roads in the dock area extended sideways in winding paths like tentacles toward Central Avenue.

The commoner residential district, noble residential district, dock district, trade district, and other areas were all scattered around this street.

Only after Ian walked farther along Central Avenue did he understand why it had been given its own name.

Central Avenue suddenly widened to more than three times its previous width here, reaching nearly thirty meters across. The ground was paved with massive creamy-white stones identical to those of Breath of the Ocean, and they were even engraved with patterns.

The buildings on both sides were similarly imposing, mostly built of stone. They were magnificent and grand. Wide underground sewage channels were hidden beneath the streets, leaving the whole place clean and tidy.

So they were capable of making a city clean and beautiful. They simply did not want to.

The Extraordinary Professions Union stood near the southern entrance of Central Avenue, a three-story dark gray stone building with a pointed roof. The moment one entered, it inspired a sense of solemnity.

The hall was spacious. As soon as Ian stepped inside, he was stunned by the three-dimensional projection covering the entire wall to his right. It was around twenty meters long and ten meters high.

Its images were clearer than the 4K ultra-high-definition screens from his previous life, vivid and lifelike. It displayed both images and text, constantly changing and scrolling.

What happened to this being a fantasy world?! Why does it suddenly look like science fiction? Isn't this basically 3D holographic projection technology?!

Ian could not suppress the complaint in his heart.