Entering Chaos Town, Tinos!

"Ring-ring—"

A rhythmic ringing echoed through Aeneas's mind.

It was the lottery system waking Aeneas up.

"Ugh—" For some reason, Aeneas felt especially tired today. However, the habit he had maintained for so long had also given him incredibly strong willpower, so he could overcome this bit of laziness. After mumbling and struggling to get up, Aeneas said to the lottery system,

"All right, all right, I'm awake. Let's draw a prize first!"

"Congratulations, host. You have won a silver reward: a vocational skill, Beginner Cooking!"

Aeneas had still been somewhat drowsy, but the moment he heard that he had won a silver reward, his mind instantly cleared.

"It's actually a silver reward?" Aeneas was initially somewhat excited, but then he heard that it was Beginner Cooking.

"Huh?" Aeneas was a little disappointed. He had originally thought it would be a reward that could improve his strength, but it turned out to be nothing more than a skill for a secondary profession. "Beginner Cooking? Isn't that just cooking? How can this count as a silver reward?"

Aeneas's first silver reward had been the Essence Breathing Technique, whose effects were self-evidently significant and useful!

Of the three silver rewards that followed, the Fighting Technique had been especially powerful, directly allowing Aeneas to leave the novice ranks and gain proficient combat ability and techniques. The other two silver rewards had also been very useful.

But this was the fifth time he had drawn a silver reward, and it did not look very useful.

Aeneas did not think much of it, but he still honestly accepted the complete inheritance of Beginner Cooking. Only after receiving all the memories did Aeneas gradually change his initial opinion.

"So Beginner Cooking can also subtly improve my physique through food—not through any precious ingredients, but purely through my cooking!" Aeneas sucked in a cold breath. "Then it can't be called useless after all. If it really works, Beginner Cooking is incredibly useful!"

What Aeneas meant was that the food he cooked would not have to be eaten by him alone—it could also be given to others. That way, not only he, but also his companions, could gradually grow stronger.

"Still, I can't possibly end up becoming a chef, can I?" Aeneas was slightly dissatisfied. He did not particularly want to obediently cook for others. He would much rather enjoy the benefits while someone else cooked for him!

"All right, all right. At least for now, I don't have a personal chef to cook for me. I'll have to do it myself if I want to eat well!" Aeneas sighed, then obediently went to the kitchen to prepare the ingredients and make himself a grand meal.

While the food was cooking, Aeneas continued his sword-swinging practice.

Over the past year, he had gradually grown used to this method of cultivation. After getting up in the morning, he would first prepare the ingredients and then begin training. Although his swordsmanship still lacked any specific moves or principles, all his basic skills were already taking shape!

Once his fundamentals took shape, Obi-Wan's promise to Aeneas could be fulfilled.

"I can still vividly remember the scene of him defeating Immortal Vulture with a single sword strike!" Aeneas swung his sword, and the resulting wind swept out three to five meters. "I have to learn that move. Then I can study it when Uncle Obi-Wan comes back!"

Recently, Aeneas rarely used swordsmanship in his actual combat training. Most of the time, he relied on his fists to resolve battles.

That was because Aeneas had not yet learned any sword techniques. He was still a little short of being able to deal with either Silverback Gorilla or Terror Black Bear.

Aeneas finished his morning training and ate his fill.

"All right, let's wrap up this morning's cultivation for now." Aeneas tidied up his belongings, then set off along the familiar old road he had walked countless times. "It's time to head to Tinos!"

Aeneas had long since observed Tinos Town from the Hilrute Mountains in the distance. He had memorized all the routes into and out of the mountains.

Now that he had finally completed the task Obi-Wan had entrusted to him, Aeneas could openly walk into Tinos!

Tinos was the only town on the island and its sole population center, but none of the people who lived there were easy to deal with. They were either bandits or pirates by origin.

Even currency transactions were based on equal strength. If a weak person dared to appear on the streets of Tinos, they would inevitably end up robbed of everything.

Aeneas wore a hood and tried his best not to attract anyone's attention. Besides, he was not tall, which made him even less conspicuous. Just like that, Aeneas entered the "Chaos Town" of Tinos.

Tinos truly deserved to be called "Chaos Town."

Everything here was completely different from what Aeneas remembered of Dunkirk: there were no guards maintaining public order, no kind and friendly neighbors, and no bustling street vendors hawking their wares.

There were only dim street corners, and the air was even filled with a foul stench.

In the gaps between some of the streets, one could even see rotting corpses. No one knew how long they had been dead, and no one came to dispose of them.

These were the first things Aeneas saw after entering Tinos. The people living on the outskirts had extremely low status, like worthless trash scattered everywhere.

Obi-Wan had previously briefed Aeneas on Tinos's structure, in case Aeneas ever slipped inside one day and found himself at a loss.

However, Aeneas was not an impulsive child. His mind was that of an adult, so he had not acted recklessly. Instead, he had steadily improved his strength before entering Tinos.

Generally speaking, Tinos was divided into two parts: the core and the outskirts. The core consisted of powerful families or groups—of course, only powerful within Tinos itself.

Together, they maintained the appearance of peace and even specifically welcomed powerful pirates.

Some people also came here because of its reputation, hoping to recruit the outlaws of Tinos and form a pirate crew to sail the seas.

Tinos had countless gangs, and there was no shortage of people who dreamed of going out to sea. As a result, pirates frequently set sail from Tinos, some of whom even became major pirates with bounties of tens or hundreds of millions.

Stephanie, the "Herbalist," whom Obi-Wan had met half a year ago, was one such example.

She had been born into poverty, struggled at the bottom of society with her own hands, and eventually became a major pirate.

The outskirts consisted of large numbers of ordinary thugs and hired muscle. They were constantly hired and passed around for small amounts of money or food, remaining part of the exploited class.

Most of the corpses Aeneas had seen at the beginning belonged to people of this status. No one cared whether they lived or died. There would always be a steady stream of people born here or coming from other islands.

They came for Tinos because it was free from the administration of a Marine branch—a pure lawless zone.

"Hey!" A blunt voice suddenly rang out. "You little runt over there, stop!"

Aeneas stopped, his eyes narrowing.