Lower City

Out of consideration for a fellow countryman, Pete accepted Rena's invitation.

"Great! The tavern isn't far from here. I'll lead the way." Rena skipped ahead excitedly.

Outside Greenport's police station lay a bustling trade market. Traveling merchants of every race from all across the Prantis Continent gathered along this cobblestone street, spreading out the various goods they had brought on cloths and doing their best to sell them to passing potential customers in every language and with every trick they knew.

This long street, known by the goblins as the Trade Market, ran roughly east to west along Greenport's terrain. To the north was the Upper City, farther from the coast and at a higher elevation. To the south was the Lower City, closer to the shoreline and harbor. The market sat right at the boundary between the two districts.

Goblins, who loved doing business everywhere, made up the largest share of the merchants in the Trade Market, probably around eighty percent. Dwarves, half-elves, and humans could occasionally be seen as well.

Although Greenport was not far from the southern border of the Rayak Kingdom, there were not many Rayak Kingdom citizens who came here to make a living, because whether that distance counted as "not far" depended on what it was compared to.

On the scale of the entire Prantis Continent, the distance truly was not great. One only needed to cross the Twilight Wasteland in between.

But for humans traveling on foot, crossing the Twilight Wasteland without losing their way would still take at least two weeks.

What was more, the Twilight Wasteland was far from safe. The oppressive aura spreading from the endless Dark Forest to the east affected the wasteland, leaving it gloomy and stifling even during the day. All kinds of monsters lurked in the wilderness as well, ready at any moment to ambush passing travelers or merchant caravans.

Humans were not naturally gifted with high physical attributes, and without training, their individual combat strength was rather low. Traveling overland from the Rayak Kingdom to Greenport was extremely dangerous, so most people took merchant ships or airships instead.

However, the operating rights for both forms of transport were tightly controlled by Greenport's hobgoblin tycoon, Caron Lever. Whether ship tickets or airship tickets, their prices were outrageously high.

The Rayak Kingdom's main products were all kinds of grain and agricultural goods. They sold well within the kingdom thanks to their quality and low prices, but for long-distance transport, once losses along the way, preservation costs, and the goblins' shamelessly expensive ship fares were included, a trip could easily end with no profit at all and money lost besides.

Therefore, Rayak people who could make it to Greenport were either small-scale traveling merchants selling distinctive curiosities they had collected from all over, or people with a unique craft who had come to Greenport to open up a new market and avoid the fierce competition within the Rayak Kingdom.

Those with no better option simply came to work as porters.

Although Pete had been in Greenport for nearly three years, he spent most of his time around Caron Academy. Most of the friends he knew were minor noble children like himself, here to obtain an adventurer's certification. He had only visited the Lower City a handful of times, and even then, he had merely wandered around its outskirts without venturing deeper in.

Rena's family tavern was on a small street in Greenport Lower City, relatively close to the harbor. Most of the buildings on either side were constructed from rough stone and timber. Their roofs were steep and their windows narrow to suit the climate. The exterior walls were painted in all sorts of bright colors, giving the little street a warm and lively feel.

The fishy smell carried by the sea breeze grew increasingly mixed with the stench of sewage. Together with the filth and garbage scattered everywhere along the road, it made Pete cough twice. He was somewhat unaccustomed to the environment near the harbor.

The quality of life at his baron's estate had not been lavish to the point of extravagance, but he had still been raised in comfort. Maids attended to his daily needs. In Greenport, Caron Academy, where he normally lived, was also located in the higher-elevation Upper City, where dedicated cleaners maintained the surroundings. It was much better than the harbor's Lower City.

Pete casually cast the [Purify Breath] cantrip on himself and Rena.

This spell was an introductory cantrip that even magic apprentices could master. Its effect was simple: arcane energy formed a layer of filtration over the target's nostrils, effectively filtering out all manner of odors and leaving only clean air.

Feeling the air she breathed become fresh, Rena's eyes lit up. She asked curiously, "Mr. Pete, what spell is that? I can't smell those awful odors anymore!"

"No, it isn't a spell. It's just a simple cantrip," Pete corrected her.

Cantrips were much easier to cast than spells.

Followers of the Goddess of Magic had to spend time the previous day praying and meditating to the goddess, informing her of the spells they would need the next day. Only by doing so could they receive the corresponding number of spell uses. Casters called this rule the "spell slot" system.

Cantrips had no such restrictions. As long as one could receive a response from the Goddess of Magic and connect with the Weave, they could be cast at any time without consuming spell slots.

Pete had heard that races with a naturally high affinity for the Goddess of Magic, such as elves and half-elves, could even instinctively cast a few cantrips from birth without any training.

Of course, cantrips themselves had no powerful effects. Most were merely little tricks like [Purify Breath].

Pete had spent three years at Caron Academy. He had not learned many proper spells, but he had picked up a whole pile of cantrips like [Purify Breath], [Cleaning Cantrip], and [Dancing Lights], mainly so he could live more comfortably in daily life.

Yet even such simple cantrips, which did not even count as first-circle spells, made Rena reveal an expression of immense envy.

"It must be wonderful to be a caster!"

"I wanted to work hard and become a mage too, but maybe I'm just too stupid. The Goddess of Magic probably thinks I'm not suited for this path. When I was tested at the Rayak Royal Arcane Academy in the royal capital as a child, they said I had absolutely no affinity with the Goddess of Magic. Even becoming a magic apprentice would be difficult for me."

Pete comforted her. "Being a professional isn't limited to the path of a caster. Your situation sounds a lot like my younger brother's. He doesn't have much magical affinity either, but there are so many paths of cultivation to choose from. I'm sure you'll find one that suits you too."

Rena broke into a smile. "Thank you for the encouragement. A blessing from a powerful archmage is probably the best news I've received in a long time!"

As they talked, they had nearly reached the end of the short street. Standing on tiptoe, they could already see Greenport's coastline and bustling docks in the distance. Rena pointed at a two-story building nearby with a sign that read "Moni Brothers Tavern."

"We're here!"

Pete looked up. The first thing to catch his attention was the group of burly men standing outside the tavern entrance. From the look of them, they were clearly here looking for trouble.

The moment Rena saw those men, her cheerful expression darkened.

"Why are they here again?"