"...Of course, if you have something that proves your glory, you can be exempt from this tax," the Hobgoblin added, his tone shifting.

"I’m a Mage Apprentice from Elthor Academy in Thousand Masts City!"

"Will our squad’s emblem do?" the members of the other two squads hurriedly asked.

The Hobgoblin sneered. "Why don’t you show off the diapers you were born in? Go pay up!"

Looks of displeasure crossed their faces, but a glance at the fully-armed Ogre standing nearby had them silently shuffling over to the window inside the gate.

"What about you lot? Not going in?" The Hobgoblin looked toward the remaining few people.

Colin frowned.

’Another tax? I don’t know how much it is, but just having to pay is annoying enough. And it’s not like I have anything to prove my worth right now.’

As he thought this, Colin tentatively held out his hand to show his ring. "Will this work?"

The Ogre standing behind the Hobgoblin immediately started to drool.

The Hobgoblin turned and slapped the Ogre across the face before coming over to examine the ring closely.

"A ring for a field operative of the Thousand Masts City Guard... plus the gold trim, Glory New Blood..." The Hobgoblin nodded. "Please, come in. And take these."

With that, he handed over three wooden slips.

Under the astonished gazes of the other two teams of Adventurers, Colin and his group silently walked through the small gate.

Colin himself was quite surprised.

’I can’t believe someone here actually recognizes a title from Thousand Masts City. Is this status more valuable than I thought?’

Entering the city, the most striking thing was undoubtedly the sight on the streets.

Centaurs carrying long spears, cloaked Half-Elves, Lizardmen with their tongues lolling out... In a single glance, he saw more races than the previous owner of this body had in over a decade.

The Ogre and Hobgoblin at the gate had merely been an appetizer.

Furthermore, even the humans here weren’t normal.

The human Mercenaries were usually dressed in colorful clothes, carrying Heavy Crossbows and Long Swords. They were fond of wearing leather hats decorated with feathers, making them look like peacocks showing off their plumage.

"Seems like there are a lot of Adventurers here. It’s easier to make money up north," Kase said with a frown.

"Kase, let’s stop thinking about Gold Coins for a minute. We should find a place to stay first. All these colors on the street are making my eyes hurt."

"Colin, Colin, quick, look at the wooden slip in your hand!" Orelia tugged at the corner of Colin’s shirt.

Colin acknowledged her and looked down.

The slip was densely engraved with words: [Present this card at the Real Estate Guild for a fifty gold coin discount on your first housing payment, receive a 10% discount on equipment repairs at Dingding Blacksmith Shop, and get a free meal at the Red Dragon Tavern! Each offer may be used once. Welcome to Rommon!]

On the back of the slip were the words: [Turn your spoils of war into our wealth—yours, and ours.]

’So, is this some kind of ad to attract talent?’ Colin thought. ’It’s a way of poaching people, I suppose.’

"This seems like a great deal!" Orelia was inexplicably excited.

"Well, it’s free, so we might as well use it. Let’s go to the blacksmith shop first. My Chain Armor is falling apart anyway." Colin unslung the Magic Greatsword from his pack and stroked it gently. "Besides, this sword needs a scabbard or something."

"And here I thought I liked weapons enough already," Kase said, rubbing his arms and shivering.

"Give it a rest, Kase."

Soon, the group hadn’t gone far down the road when they heard a CLANKING sound. Following the noise, they quickly found a blacksmith shop.

The layout of the blacksmith shop was similar to the weapon shops in Thousand Masts City. The floor was covered with gravel, and most of the space, aside from the counter, was filled with weapon display cases. Through the cases, you could see directly into the shop’s backyard, which was the source of the CLANKING of hammered iron.

Many Adventurers were standing in the main hall, and behind the counter stood three people in charge of reception.

While waiting in line, Colin took off his Chain Armor.

Once the people in front of him had cleared out, he stepped forward, handed over the wooden slip, and said, "We’d like to get some equipment repaired."

The clerk skillfully stamped the wooden slip.

The group members each placed their equipment in need of maintenance on the counter. Kase put everything up there except his Magic Equipment, causing the people around them to give him frequent sidelong glances.

While the clerk was inspecting the weapons, Colin casually took out a Hand Half Sword and the two Blood Stones he had acquired earlier. "Do you buy these here?" he asked.

The sword he took out was the one he had picked at Dragon’s Fang Castle. The other one, a gift from an old veteran, had once been used by the veteran’s son, so it had special meaning. At least until he found a replacement, Colin was reluctant to sell it; he figured he would probably store it away somewhere for safekeeping in the end.

"This sword is in good condition. Ten Gold Coins. As for the Blood Stones, how about thirty Gold Coins?"

"I heard these Blood Stones go for at least several dozen Gold Coins."

"There’s a mine in the city," the clerk said with a smile. "Those Dwarves can dig every last shiny Gemstone out of the Roaring Mountain Range, so the Gemstone prices here are naturally a bit lower. Of course, that only applies to the cheaper ones."

"Then I’ll just take them back to sell. They’re small, so it’s no trouble," Colin said as he took back the Blood Stones.

"Do you need to offload any of the materials you’re carrying? We can make an offer on those too." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"No thanks, these are for a friend..."

’That’s right,’ Colin thought, glancing back at Orelia. ’I forgot we have a new person in the group. I’ll have to ask for her opinion on dividing the materials later.’

As he was thinking this, a familiar figure suddenly drifted past his line of sight, but when he craned his neck to get a better look, the figure had vanished without a trace.

"Sir?"

"I’ll just sell the sword, then," Colin said, turning back.

After some more haggling, Colin paid a little over one Gold Coin for maintenance fees and bought a leather scabbard for his Great Sword. Orelia’s maintenance fee was about the same. Kase’s pile of stuff, however, cost a full eight Gold Coins, which had him muttering curses about the blacksmith being a Black Heart.

It was also worth mentioning that the larger powers in this world generally minted their own currency.

The value of the currency itself was generally determined by its precious metal content and the strength of the issuer. Therefore, the purchasing power of the Thousand Masts City Gold Coins in their hands was slightly higher here, and the clerk even used Thousand Masts City currency to make change.

Of course, it wasn’t that much higher—the difference was negligible.

After taking care of these miscellaneous tasks, the group asked for directions and eventually found their way to the local Red Dragon Tavern.

From the outside, the origin of the tavern’s name was simple: the entire establishment was built inside the rib cage of a massive skeleton belonging to a Dragon Species.

They pushed open the main doors and walked into the tavern.

A whirlwind of the Common Language, spoken in all sorts of accents, rushed out to meet them. Every one of the Alien Races seen on the street was present in the tavern.

He could even see a Centaur whose horse body was sitting directly on the floor next to a table, while its human torso was eating. This was a rare and bizarre sight for Colin. And what’s more, the Centaur actually had horseshoes nailed to its hooves!

Also, the people here spoke very loudly, as if they were in a contest to see who had the biggest voice.

After using their wooden slip downstairs to order the so-called "free meal," the group decided to find a place to sit.

Kase and Orelia didn’t stand out here, so no one offered them a seat. It took the group a long time to find a table on the tavern’s second floor.

Because of the noisy surroundings, Colin had to speak loudly. "Later, we still need to check out the Morninglord Sect like Edwin said. After that, we can decide how to get to the Endless Wilderness."

"This city is just too weird. It’s my first time seeing a place this chaotic."

Orelia’s mouth moved, but her voice was too quiet for the others to hear.

After a moment, she gathered her energy and said loudly, "In that case, wouldn’t it be a good thing for Kase to live here? After all, there’s still some discrimination in Thousand Masts City."

Kase shook his head. "No. The atmosphere here is wrong. It’s not a good place."