Nolmes under the moonlight was known as the City of Vitality.

The contrast between the stars and the city painted the sky a beautiful gradient of blue and red.

Greetings occurred between its customers amidst the pub. Curving through the different tables, the waiter arrived at the counter where he delivered the violet drink to its customer.

"Limberry cocktail. Enjoy."

Edris nodded in return, not forgetting his polite smile. After the waiter left to take more orders, he turned to take a sip, only to then frown at its taste. "Did they make this with lemons?"

— It is fifty percent sugar.

Ace's deep voice rang inside his head.

"No wonder it's so sour."

— …

Limberries were a local favourite in Nolmes. The berry itself was oval, with its raw state in a light lilac and growing darker in the spectrum as the fruit ripened.

Nolmes took advantage of their versatility and prevalence throughout the Nolmes Forest, turning the fruit into a must-try for both travellers and locals.

After reluctantly finishing his drink, Edris strolled out of the restaurant pub and into the guildhall beside it.

"I am here for a mercenary ID."

He was going to register his identity, just in case he decided to become a mercenary in the Zacriya Kingdom later on. The mercenary path was known for its hellish commitment and lack of freedom, but it was still a potential choice. Edris was someone who always kept his options open.

He waited patiently for the front desk receptionist to look up from her position. The latter, indulged in piles of paperwork, glanced up grudgingly to see a smiling, foreign-looking man.

"A-ah. My apologies," she said immediately, tipping the rims of her glasses before passing him the registration document. "Please fill this in and return it to the front desk once you're done."

"Thank you. I will do exactly that."

Her eyes followed the young man's back as he made his way to a nearby wooden desk. His dark hair was like a blot of ink on a vibrant canvas, emphasising his presence in the room of bright-headed people.

Unaware of the receptionist's lingering gaze, Edris sat on the chair as he sifted through the tedious-looking registration form. It asked for all the standard information like name, age, sex... Edris raised an eyebrow as he came across a particular section of the document.

ARE YOU AN AWAKENED?

Yes [ ]

No [ ]

IF YES, PLEASE IDENTIFY YOUR POSITION BELOW.

He thought this was the most useless section of the entire form.

Yes, mercenaries were flexible, and yes, they had a broad scope of businesses available to pursue. But the more possibilities, the more competitive the market. In fact, it would already be an achievement if one actually managed to make a profit.

In Zacriya, many mercenaries who developed a rather wide social network choose to become a merchant. The two pathways usually occurred chronologically.

The majority of the registered merchants were average citizens with undeveloped mana. They lived their lives as normal human beings, which was why they had no choice but to pursue mercenary careers where they would make money off the more talented individuals. Of the thousands of new merchants that emerged every year, only a tiny fraction of them would manage to make a name for themselves in the field while the rest withered away.

On the other hand, people considered "Awakened" were individuals who had reached an advanced state of mana cultivation, enough to draw out mana from their inherent mana channel and use it to perform various tasks. As an Awakened, chances were that making money was the least of their worries.

Zacriya, being a prosperous kingdom of magic, had more Awakeneds who chose to pursue the mage pathway than other kingdoms due to its resources. However, they were still an outstanding minority within the population.

Mages, swordsmen, beast tamers, elementalists, machinas...

Edris's eyes swept through several of the available options.

Forget about mages and swordsmen, but for extraordinary Awakened positions like machinas and elementalists to appear on there was just too much.

Ticking off the [No] box, Edris quickly filled in the rest of the document before handing it back to the front desk. The receptionist, noticing that it was the gentle-looking man from earlier, took the paper from his hands with a smile. Her mind had relaxed after witnessing such a genuine face amidst the chaotic atmosphere at work.

The man seemed to have noticed her dazed expression as he began to speak. "It seems to be quite busy. Is something happening?"

"The royal family is hosting a banquet for the second prince, I mean, the Crown Prince now. We're working our heads off rejecting requests of attendance from all types of people. People these days, do they think that anyone can attend the royal banquet? Why do they even try?" The receptionist was ranting with an irritated expression.

"How rough. Must be hard on you, miss." Edris responded to her ramblings with a sympathetic nod, which only prompted the latter to intensify her complaints.

"Exactly! Like, I get it. The first prince fell ill and willingly passed his title as the Crown Prince to Prince Dolan. Everyone is expecting the royal family to be in chaos. After all, there's no precedent of the Crown Prince being anyone other than the eldest of the family, right? But are they in chaos? No! Instead, it's commoners like us who are thrown into all types of work because all types of people want to take this chance to reach the royalties."

The receptionist stiffened after noticing that she had spoken for too long. She covered her mouth with a flustered smile. "Pardon my words! I don't mean any disrespect to the royal family. I'm just a bit... stressed. That's all."

"I understand completely." The man replied, and his resonating tone caused the girl to let out a relieved sigh.

"You know, you're a pretty nice person." She smiled shyly.

"Not at all. You're flattering me."

— ...

Ace, who was witnessing all of this with a complicated expression, mentally shook his head at the man's two-sided personality.

Unaware of Ace's thoughts, Edris only continued to smile at the woman in front of him. Frankly, he was slightly disappointed at the information he gathered from this conversation, which was all about royal affairs.

Right now, Edris was only interested in making money.

A lot of money.

He found all this news about noble banquets and the royal family useless, as he was not planning to involve himself in any form of political conflict.

Regardless, he had patiently sat through the receptionist's ranting session, knowing the information would not be helpful. Of his many jobs, Edris at one point had also taken a front desk position for a short amount of time, which was why he understood the receptionist's irritation. The lower class occupations were the ones that had to suffer the most whenever the upper class was involved.

The world was just like that.

He didn't mind her ranting before him, because she wouldn't have been able to do so anywhere else without it being a potential case of triable insult to the royal family.

To the receptionist, however, he was just an empathetic traveller who understood her difficulties. She was baffled yet grateful to meet someone with such a great heart in this day and age.

— Are you always like this?

Edris ignored Ace's dismissive tone with a simper.

Certainly not. He would not waste his time hearing someone ramble without receiving anything in return. In fact, sitting through was not equivalent to listening.

His eyes fixed on the space right above the reception counter. While the receptionist poured out her pent-up stress, he had been silently examining the event on the poster.

"Are you interested in the Wulin Tournament? Unfortunately, the signup deadline had passed a few days ago." The receptionist noticed his attention on the poster as she took a copy out of the drawer. She paused after seeing his regretful gaze. "However, if you want. I can squeeze you into the participation list."

"Really? I don't want to get you in trouble." The man's eyes widened innocently.

"Don't worry. It's an unpopular tournament compared to the other ones in Nolmes, so the rules aren't that strict."

"Thank you in advance, then."

"Not at all." She winked. "The tournament is in a week. There are not many participants this year, but it'll still be a pretty intense competition, since it is a tournament emphasising pure technique and physicality. I heard that the three reward options this year are all quite amazing though, so I wish you the best of luck."

After signing up, Edris waved the receptionist goodbye before strolling out of the guildhall. Nolmes during the night were considerably colder than that during daytime. He subconsciously shuddered, straightening the collars of his grey coat towards his neck.

— Why are you participating in a combat-based tournament when you've got sorry physiques?

"That's just mean..." Edris couldn't help but sigh.

After being constantly struck with Ace's bluntness, he was slightly regretting his decision to sign the contract. He had a feeling that he might be roasted alive before he could even complete his dream.

Ace was right, though. He wasn't a combatant. However, he had not signed up to get beaten up but with the intent to win.

After all, Edris was confident in his abilities.

His abilities.

"But I've got you by my side, no?"

— ...

He had faith in Ace's system-like analytical skills. With the voice's perception and his adaptability, Edris was sure that they at least stood a chance.

Physical battles were not the only form of combat.

Despite the sincerity in Edris's voice, Ace could feel an odd pressure coming from his statement. Then as if to confirm his intuition, a sly look brushed across the former's expression, and a sigh came from the latter.

***

Flipping the store sign to the OPEN side of the board, Alan swiftly set up the counter before taking a seat in his chair.

The sky would remain dark for another half an hour or so before sunrise, but several mercenaries had already begun setting up for the morning wave. For merchants, every day was a battle against others for revenue.

Unlike the majority of merchants, however, Alan was not worried about money.

His store, Alan's Mercenary Corner, was famous throughout the Zacriya Kingdom. It was because of his large variety of items. From swords made of the sturdiest materials to the most effective elixirs, he had everything someone could ask for. As a result, his store had gained immense popularity amongst nobles, especially those looking to spend lots of money to enhance their mana capacities.

Many people have asked him how he managed to gather all these items. They'd all assumed that he had an impressive social network. To an extent, they were right. But that was not the main reason.

Alan had a secret.

It was a secret he never told anyone and was not planning to for as long as he lived. It was something others would never find out unless he had exposed it himself.

Ring!

The dangling bell in front of the door swung left and right as his first customer entered the store.

"Hello." Alan stood up, tucking his lilac-coloured hair with a polite smile. "May I help you?"

The customer with the lowered hood appeared to be in his twenties. At his appearance, Alan couldn't help but wonder if the young customer had enough money to buy anything in his store. He did not appear to be a noble nor a magician. Perhaps he was a new traveller who entered due to curiosity? There were people like that now and then.

As if hearing his thoughts, the cloaked man turned in his direction, and Alan flinched at his clear eyes that seemed to be peeling him inside out.

"You..." The customer's voice was firm but gentle, and Alan unknowingly exhaled at his tone. However, what the young man said next was enough to throw his mind into a state of malfunction.

"You're a machina, right?"

Despite Alan's horrified expression, Edris was smiling like a saint.