After dumping the plastic bags into a nearby dustbin, Zac and Marty began exploring the city. "This place looks nothing like what we’re used to," Marty said as he looked around.

"The buildings weren’t particularly tall, but they carried a distinct old-world charm. Most of the architecture looked ancient yet well-maintained."

"Maybe the people here don’t like new things," Marty guessed. "But how do they live like this? Do they even have internet here?"

"I think they just want to stick to their traditions and heritage," Zac replied.

[Happiness depends on how people see things.]

"So what now?" Zac asked. "I don’t know. Let’s ask someone for directions."

After asking around, the two eventually made their way to the harbor by the river. The harbor itself was built nearly five hundred meters away from the riverbank.

Between the two stood multiple barricades and defensive walls designed to stop monsters from crawling out of the river.

"That looks reassuring."

"It really doesn’t," Marty replied.

The two entered a small building to purchase tickets for transportation toward the Central City.

A few minutes later, Zac stared at the employee behind the counter. "What do you mean we have to wait three days?"

The employee sighed. "Like I said, the Central City entrance examinations just ended. So a lot of people are trying to get there right now."

"All available ships are already booked for the next two to three days."

Zac immediately felt a headache coming.

[It seems fate has made its decision.]

"What decision?"

[You becoming a janitor for the academy.]

[Cleaning is a noble path; you have to be proud of it.]

Before Zac could argue with the system, Marty stepped forward. "Sir, we’re newly admitted students of one of the top five academies."

"We need to get there as soon as possible. Is there any way you could make an exception?"

The employee gave him a tired look. "That’s exactly what everyone says. Look, kid, there are people waiting for weeks for a single ticket, it’s your fortune that we have a free spot in three days."

Hearing that, both Zac and Marty fell silent. There was nothing more they could do. A few minutes later, they left the building and sat beneath a nearby tree.

Neither of them spoke for a while until Zac broke the silence with a ridiculous idea. "What if we just swim across?"

Marty slowly turned toward him. "Bro. Are you serious?"

"Well, I don’t see any other options."

"Maybe you don’t know this, but even A-rank and S-rank variants wouldn’t consider that option."

"The monsters in the river are unpredictable and ridiculously powerful. On top of that, humans are naturally disadvantaged in water."

"It’s practically suicide."

Just then, the system spoke inside Zac’s head.

[New information unlocked.]

[-30 Info Points.]

"Wait, wait, wait."

[What?]

"I already lost most of the points I got from killing that cult member. I don’t want any more information right now."

[Are you sure?] The system sounded unusually serious.

"Pretty damn sure."

"At worst, it’ll be another group of hitmen. I can deal with them myself, so stop deducting points."

[Your loss.]

Before Zac could respond, a voice suddenly called out.

"Hey there!"

Both Zac and Marty turned around.

Walking toward them was a man in his late twenties dressed like a sailor. "Are you two trying to get a ride to the Central?"

"We would love to," Marty replied, "but the guy inside said all the ships are fully booked for the next three days."

The sailor laughed. "Yeah, they always say that. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have another choice."

Zac narrowed his eyes. "You mean there’s another way?"

The man grinned. "There’s always a backdoor. You just need to pay a little extra."

Zac and Marty exchanged a glance. "Name the price."

"One hundred thousand kyros each."

"What?!" Marty nearly jumped to his feet. "That’s five times the official price!"

The sailor shrugged. "Hey, you asked for a shortcut. Now take it or leave it."

Zac thought for a moment, and then he sighed.

"Fine."

After transferring the money, the sailor checked his device and nodded. He then pulled two tickets from his bag.

Just as Marty reached out to take them, the sailor pulled them back. "Not so fast."

"What now?" Marty asked.

"I need to verify your permits first."

"Is that really necessary?" Zac asked.

The sailor snorted. "Hey, I don’t want to accidentally smuggle terrorists into the Central City."

"Fair enough."

Receiving the permit, the sailor adjusted his glasses and carefully started inspecting it.

A few seconds passed. Then suddenly, his expression changed; he slowly raised his head and looked toward something in the distance.

"What is that?"

Both Zac and Marty turned toward the direction the sailor was looking and searched for a few seconds but found nothing unusual.

"I don’t see anything," Marty said. "Are you sure you saw something?"

The sailor scratched his head. "I don’t know. I thought I saw something. Must’ve been my imagination."

"Whatever." He handed the permit back to Zac with the tickets. "Here. Have a great journey."

"I just hope the guards don’t give you a hard time." Before either of them could ask what he meant, the man disappeared into the crowd. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"What’s that supposed to mean?" Marty asked.

"I have no idea."

[It means you just got scammed.]

Zac froze. "What?"

[That man was a scammer.]

"You mean the tickets are fake?"

[No. The tickets are real. It’s your permit that isn’t.]

Zac’s face immediately darkened, and only then he realized what had happened. "He swapped them, isn’t he?"

[Bingo.]

"Why didn’t you tell me sooner?"

[I was trying to. You’re the one who told me not to deduct any more points.]

"I said that because I thought you were going to warn me about another group of hitmen."

[Not my fault.]

Zac clenched his teeth.

"Fine. Tell me where he is."

[That information will cost 50 Info Points.]

"Take it."

[-50 Info Points.]

[The scammer has changed into a red shirt and black pants. He is currently near port No. 7.]

The moment the system finished speaking, Zac started sprinting with Marty following him.

Marty hurried after him.

"What’s going on?!"

"We got scammed."

"What?!"

"Are the tickets fake?"

"No. It’s the permit."

"But how? We were standing right before him."

"Remember when he pointed somewhere and claimed he saw something?"

"Yeah."

"That was the distraction. He swapped the permit while we were looking away."

Marty’s eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"That’s the only explanation."

"But how are we supposed to find him in a crowd this big?"

Zac hesitated for a second.

"I have a hunch."

[Can’t you come up with a better idea.?]

Marty didn’t look completely convinced, but this wasn’t the time to argue.

"Fine. Do you know where Port No. 7 is?"

Zac suddenly stopped running.

"No."

("...")

("...")

"Let’s ask someone."

After getting directions, the two resumed sprinting toward the port no. 7. A few minutes later, they arrived.

Zac immediately scanned the crowd and spotted the man. At almost the same time, the scammer also saw them and started running.

"Hey! Stop!"

Zac and Marty immediately started chasing him.

The man moved through the crowd like a rat escaping through a maze.

But Zac and Marty were not so fortunate; like him, people constantly blocked their path, reducing their speed.

Five frustrating minutes later, Zac finally caught him by the collar. "Where’s our permit?"

The scammer sighed. "You figured it out sooner than I expected."

"Cut the crap," Zac said coldly. "Tell me where the permit is before I feed you to the river."

"Is that a threat?" Before he could finish, Zac released his Divine Aura.

The scammer’s face instantly turned pale. His body trembled as sweat poured down his forehead. "I-I-I already sold it!"

"To whom?" The man shakily pointed toward a ship that had already begun sailing down the river.

Zac stared at it. "You’ve got to be kidding me."

Marty’s face went pale.

"Permits to the Central City are worth far more than you think," the scammer hurriedly explained. "People would kill to get one. You two looked young and inexperienced, so I thought..."

"You..." Zac raised his fist in anger. But before he could land a punch, several guards appeared around them.

"What’s going on here?" one of them asked. "This guy scammed us out of our permit."

"Even if that’s true, you don’t have the right to assault someone in public. Leave law enforcement to us."

The guards immediately restrained the scammer. "Since you appear to be first-time travelers, we’ll let you off with a warning. Don’t try this again."

They turned and began walking away.

Marty blinked. "Wait! What about our money?" Without stopping, one of the guards replied, "File an official complaint. If the investigation confirms fraud, you’ll be compensated."

Once they were gone, Zac smacked Marty on the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Are you an idiot? If we file a complaint, we’ll have to explain where we got the tickets. The moment the guards learn we bought them illegally, they’ll confiscate them and probably throw us in a cell."

Marty scratched his head. "Right... sorry."

"So, we’re not filing a complaint."

"Did you even listen to what I have said?"

[Now you know exactly how I feel whenever I talk to you.]

"Not you too."

Marty sighed. "Then what do we do now?"

Zac looked toward the distant ship. "The person who bought the permit is most likely heading for the Central City."

"There’s still a chance we can catch him before he enters."

Marty frowned. "That sounds more like wishful thinking than a plan."

"Do we have any better options?"

Marty fell silent before shaking his head. "No."

"Then let’s just hope luck is finally on our side."