It took the party about a day to reach the nearest town on the cart. Its distance from the homestead was approximately 45 kilometers to the west and the cart had been moving at about 2 km/h, which was as fast as Shanks had been willing to go on these rough roads.

Darius didn't mind as it had allowed him to prepare some things for his foray into the town. Yesterday, he had fixed 3 tomes for Foldo, which had cost him 6 CP in total.

The remaining 4 CP he had spent on making another Scroll of Awakening which he had gifted to Portia as a parting gift. He could have given her one from his stash of 8, but he had plans for those.

The young lass had acted as if it had been some sort of dowry and had bawled her eyes out, making things quite awkward for Darius who nearly started to regret his action.

Still, as an old soul, he couldn't help but appreciate her will to prioritize his safety subconsciously, which was why he felt she had earned it.

More importantly, it had the effect of further raising Shank's opinion of him as well as making Derek question his doubts. This was why despite the lad suspecting Darius, he hadn't voiced his opinion out loud.

A Scroll of Awakening was not a joke. Even though Shanks was ex-Royal Guard and was supported by the Equality Faction, both of his children remained unawakened, be it in combat or magic.

To give one out indicated that Darius was rich and powerful enough to start a small mage tower, in which case why would he need to orchestrate such an elaborate play just to get into his father's good books? It made no sense to young Derek's mind.

Today, as he had sat in the cart, Darius created two more Scrolls of Awakening and used his remaining two CP to make four more House Portal Scrolls. Darius just loved the utility of such items, and they were extremely handy in crossing distances since he couldn't take others along with his blink… yet.

Eventually, they arrived at the gates of their destination where the guards questioned them before allowing them entry.

Listo was a high-tier town among the 20 currently in Andrato because its dungeon was a bit special.

From what Darius had heard and learned, the dungeon here consisted mostly of wood type monsters, that dropped very useful ingredients for alchemy as well as materials useful in construction and carpentry.

In Fallon, every dungeon had an element it was focused around as far as Darius knew, and their utility varied. Fire dungeons were ideal for finding materials and skills that were perfect for smiths, as well as the sentient fires for their forges.

Water dungeons were great places to train rookie adventurers because the monsters were slow and weaker than in other places, yet the drops were a bit lackluster. Still, most of what came out would be good food and semi-rare items, so it made up for it.

Earth-based dungeons were quite rare, in fact only the capital city Ando had been built around one, but they held a wealth of minerals if one could find peace to mine them. The majority of the ores circulating around were mined from such places and sold in the markets.

That was just the tip of the iceberg too. There were many strange things about dungeons and no one knew who made them or why they existed. They were formed naturally by the world and whenever one was found, a town would quickly form around it.

There was even a profession centered around discovering dungeons and laying claim to them, for it was the fastest way to riches and becoming a lord of your own town.

Darius and Gunner observed Listo quietly. The town was more than Darius had expected, having paved roads and actual streets. Yes, the houses were made of cut stone and some were even made of brick, so there was very little modernity in the design.

From the entrance, the road led straight to the market square, with many shops lined on each side of the road. They all had wooden marquee like signs that had a logo drawn as well as the name of the shop in question.

It was quite novel to Darius. He noticed that there were many carts and carriages moving quickly up and down the boulevard, their own no different.

Shanks eventually stopped near a particular tavern that was about five times the size of any building he had seen so far, with enough of a crowd and activity to rival its size.

He deftly navigated the cart into the backyard of the tavern, where a young lad wearing a hat and overalls was waiting for them. He opened a gate for the group, allowing the cart to be parked near a few others that carried different kinds of grains, meats, and spices.

Darius and Gunner dismounted, the former landing with a light whump and the latter with a thump so strong the lad closing the gate almost fell over.

Shanks and Derek also got down, the former gesturing towards Darius and Gunner as he led them inside while the latter went to speak to the lad and make various arrangements.

Darius and Gunner entered The Great Escape, as the huge tavern was called. An amusing title for sure, but Darius wasn't going to bash the culture for no reason.

Shanks took them through the busy kitchens into one of the pantry rooms. Well, Darius guessed it was a pantry room due to its proximity to the kitchen and other rooms that stored ingredients, but while this one had the same design as the others, there was nothing in here.

Shanks confidently walked towards a wall at the back of the room, surprising Darius and Gunner when they saw him pass through it like it wasn't there.

The master and servant duo shared a look and followed behind Shanks, passing through a strangely airy membrane to reach their destination, which was a large conference room of sorts.

There was a round table where various gentlemen and ladies were already seated, a bar at the back where a tender was working, and a lounge to the side that made up most of the room.

Once Shanks, entered, he took his place at the last seated and nodded to his compatriots.

"I believe we all know why I've summoned you here."