Information and Jobs
Disclaimer: If you are stupid and think I own Tensura, then sorry to burst your bubble. I don't. If I did, then Tensura wouldn't have succeeded as much.
Summary: A human soul transmigrates into the body of a newborn snake with some strange skills. How would it fare in this world where people with strength like Gods roam freely? Surviving this mayhem should be its first concern.
Stepping into the tavern, I felt a blend of curiosity and wonder. It looked so… antique. I had never been inside such a medieval place. The closest thing I could compare it to was an old-style pizza shop, but even that place didn't have such a unique atmosphere.
I shook myself out of my trance and focused back on what I had come here for.
This place was brimming with potential information.
I approached the bar, my boots thudding against the wooden floor with each step. The other patrons looked at me with curiosity. Most of them were somewhat short, and I must look like a giant to them.
Not to mention that I was wearing clothes that made me stand out. I didn't care much for their attention, as none of them had any ill intentions, if {Universal Perception} was to be believed.
Though, it did warn me of a guy who was paying excessive attention to my body. He wasn't anything special and blended quite well into the crowd. However, he didn't have any lust in his eyes. He was perhaps just a weird guy.
Meh. He wasn't powerful enough to warrant my attention.
Ignoring him and everyone else, I sat myself on the bench in front of the bartender.
The bartender looked up, his serene expression unchanging as he placed the polished glass down.
"Evening, sir," he greeted, his voice a rich baritone. "What can I get for you?"
"Evening," I replied with a nod, taking a seat on one of the mismatched stools. "I'm not good with wines and stuff, so whatever you suggest."
He raised an eyebrow, a faint smile playing on his lips as he poured the drink.
"I don't think I've ever seen you. Where are you from?" he asked, and I thanked my past self for already preparing for such questions.
"I am a member of a very reclusive tribe that lives in the Great Jura Forest. We don't really interact that much with outsiders, so you probably wouldn't know about us," I answered, making sure that my voice didn't give away my lie.
"Oh, I certainly have heard tales of there being some tribes in that forest. So, you decided to forsake your tribe?"
"I had grown tired of the monotony of life there. I wanted to explore and learn more about this world, so I left the tribe. They were sad that I left, but they understood my plight."
"Well, I am happy that you're interested in our world. Can't say the same for me, though," he said in an amused voice. "Do you even have money for the drink?"
I paused and my eyebrows started to twitch. Why the fuck did I not think of that…
He chuckled at my expression, and his smile widened.
He slid the mug across the bar to me, the frothy liquid sloshing slightly.
"Take this as a welcome gift to Dwargon. Don't expect a next time though, I am already being generous here."
I was relieved at his gesture. Fuck, I need to get money soon. This was probably luck saving my ass.
I gratefully took the mug and thanked him. Taking a sip of the drink, I was surprised by its weird taste. It was strong and hearty for sure. But this is really inferior to the stuff from Earth.
Eh, never mind. Wonder if I can open a winery in the future? Something to look into for later.
Focusing back on the bartender, I leaned in slightly and opened my mouth to speak.
"As you know, I'm new around these parts and curious about the current affairs of the kingdoms nearby. Anything worth knowing about?"
"Information, eh? Sure." He was still smiling and had picked a new glass to polish.
"There's always something brewing in these lands. There has been a recent influx in goods from the Kingdom of Blumund, as merchants are trying their best to establish trade relations with Dwargon. This means good business for us all. But like always, people think it's temporary. Simply due to Falmuth still existing," he said with a bit of bitterness in his tone.
I asked {Scholar} and apparently, it had picked up some information that is related to this. The Kingdom of Falmuth has a monopoly over trade with Dwargon. It is closer, has an established trade route, and has food.
The Armed Nation of Dwargon was lacking heavily in terms of agriculture, despite being the pioneers in engineering and science.
These factors allowed Falmuth to set high prices for otherwise cheap commodities. It also made sure that no other merchant could get in between their trade.
I nodded my head, signaling that he still had my attention. "Sad but interesting. What about the Western Empires? I've heard rumors about their movements."
Yeah, I am not lying. {Scholar} just told me about it. As we were talking, I had silently tasked {Scholar} to scan the conversations around us. The other patrons were immersed in their discussions, voices overlapping and creating a mix of useful and useless information.
{Scholar}, ever vigilant, began parsing through the words, looking for anything of interest.
Anyway, I got an unexpected reaction to my question.
The bartender's eyes narrowed slightly but his smile was still the same, and he said with some minute anger in his voice, "Ah, the Church bastards. They're always up to something. They are pretty hostile towards Dwargon because we had formed an alliance with The Eastern Empire. At least that's their excuse. Everyone knows about their views towards demi-humans. Lately, they've been increasing their ranks. Some say they're preparing for something big, but who knows with those rotten zealots."
Looks like he doesn't like going to church.
"And what about the Eastern Empire?" I asked casually. "I've heard it's been getting very active."
The bartender's expression again turned into a small smile. He let out a low chuckle and spoke. "The aforementioned alliance has wavered. Now both us and the Eastern Empire are preparing for war. Fortunately, it wouldn't break out spontaneously. It would be a very bad situation, but it does provide some opportunities. You should look into becoming a blacksmith or an adventurer if you have the strength. Those jobs are paying well around this time."
Hm, this guy really is kind. Well, now I at least know what I could do. Blacksmithing, huh… wonder if I can cheat with Fain Eyes? That sounds like easy stuff to me.
"Thanks for the consideration. But enough about kingdoms, can you explain how the currency works? I don't want to be robbed by scammers, you know," I asked jokingly.
His smile widened and he started to explain the different denominations and even showed me the coins.
Apparently, Dwarven Coins are the most widely circulated currency in this world. They are made of "precious" metals and are only minted by dwarves in the Armed Nation of Dwargon.
I was just thinking about getting infinite coins with my Fain Eyes but my plans got ruined even before forming.
Each Dwarven Coin is enchanted with Engraving magic and is rigorously regulated with serial numbers, thus the merchants would be able to instantly detect real coins from counterfeits. Welp, I can earn big money some other way too.
There are four denominations available, made of different materials: Copper Coins, Silver Coins, Gold Coins, and the super-duper rare Stellar Gold Coins. Each superior denomination is equivalent to 100 of the inferior ones.
After I knew enough about the currency, he gave me some figures about the normal prices of stuff around here. Turns out the currency here had a higher purchasing power than dollars in my world.
"Sooo, I am thinking about where I should stay for my first night. You have any recommendations?"
He put down the glass he was polishing and took out a diary. He then flipped some pages, and after hitting a certain page, it looked like he had found what he was looking for.
"There's a good inn in Central City. Though it's somewhat far from here. If you can volunteer to become a regular customer in my tavern, I wouldn't mind putting in some good words for you."
I raised my mug in a mock toast. "Distance doesn't matter much, so I am definitely going there. And I was already planning on visiting more, thanks for sweetening the deal!"
We both burst out laughing at that. We had some more talks after this, but eventually, I was finished and wanted to rest.
As I finished my drink, {Scholar} continued to feed me snippets of conversations from around the room. A merchant discussing trade routes, an adventurer recounting a recent encounter with a powerful beast, a group of locals gossiping about a nearby village's troubles. The information flowed in, each piece adding to the puzzle.
I stood up and shook hands with the bartender.
"Thanks for the drink and the info. I'll be seeing you around tomorrow too. Hopefully, I would have something to pay you with."
The bartender nodded, his smile unchanged. "Take care, stranger."
"Azridan. My name is Azridan. What about yours?"
"I am just a servant of the masses, though people do like calling me Omuyokus. Feel free to do so as well."
"That certainly sounds like a unique name. Anyway, see you later, Omu."
With that, I turned and walked out of the tavern, my mind buzzing with the new information. The sun had set completely, casting the city in a warm, golden glow from the magical lamps. Dwargon was indeed a place of opportunity, and I intended to make the most of it.
As I made my way through the bustling streets, {Scholar} continued to analyze the gathered information, piecing together a clearer picture of the world I was now a part of.
I started heading for where I knew the inn was. Scanning the map of Dwargon was definitely a good decision.
[Unknown POV]
In a forest, a person can be seen struggling to fight a monster.
He is a clean-shaven young man with dark eyes. His dark hair is worn casually unkempt, falling over his eyes—perhaps signaling his lazy nature.
He seemed to be a great fan of classy attire as he appeared rather handsome in the blue shirt he was wearing, which was partially covered up by a black overcoat. His outfit was coupled with a classic white scarf and polished dress shoes.
He also wore some unique gloves, adorned with a sigil on the back.
The young man's sharp eyes scanned the dense forest around him. The lush canopy above filtered the evening light, casting the ground in a dim, greenish glow. This environment made using his full pyrokinesis a bit risky and hard—burning down the forest wasn't on his agenda. He was thankful that moisture no longer hindered his skills.
The monster he was hunting, however, had no such qualms or restrictions.
A low growl resonated through the trees, and the young man immediately tensed, raising his hand in a defensive manner. The beast—a massive, bear-like creature with obsidian fur and glowing red eyes—emerged from the underbrush, snarling.
"Alright, let's get this over with," the young man muttered, his mind momentarily drifting to his arrival in this strange world.
This young man was known as Roy Mustang. He had arrived in this world in quite a spectacular fashion. When Roy first found himself in this world, he had been disoriented and confused.
One moment, he was fighting a homunculus, and the next, he was in a sprawling forest that was very much not Amestris. His initial reaction had been a mix of disbelief and irritation—why was it always forests? Couldn't he once wake up in a nice, peaceful city?
Despite him describing it as an instant change, he had vague memories of something going wrong that had resulted in his death at the hands of the aforementioned homunculus.
Strangely, there were also some memories of hearing a voice talk about something. He couldn't exactly remember what it had said, but he had heard "Flame Manipulation" and "Alchemy" for sure. There was also a mention of "Material Creation."
He wasn't dumb and had figured out that it was talking about his skills.
He didn't exactly know what had happened, but he knew he had died. He theorized that this was a reincarnation but needed proof. The proof required him to talk to people.
After the grand revelation that he was in a completely foreign land, he had done his best to get out of the forest and find civilization.
During that time, he fought many monsters, leading him to believe he wasn't even in his own world. Wasn't that a fun realization to have while struggling for his life?
While fighting the monsters, he noticed something strange but interesting. His powers had mutated. He was pretty sure he wasn't able to manipulate flames this proficiently before. Not to mention, his alchemy skills had undergone a drastic change.
He had acquired some new skills too.
At first, he had been very cautious about these changes. He had actually been somewhat scared at the start.
He still spent nights thinking about what his subordinates were going through back home. What had happened to those brats, Elric and Edward?
What had happened to Riza?
As he was getting too lost in his thoughts, the monster felt a need to remind him of its presence by rapidly advancing towards him.
He deflected the pouncing monster and slammed it into a tree. He hadn't come out entirely safe—there were now three fresh claw marks on his chest.
Back to monologuing while beating monster ass.
Thankfully, after nearly half a month, he had found humans at last. The clothes he had produced from monster hide using his alchemy had been very helpful in making sure he didn't commit suicide out of embarrassment.
He could be sure that if he had approached those kind merchants while butt-naked, they wouldn't have been so kind.
He had found them while they were fighting a bunch of monsters. While they weren't exactly losing, they were pretty damaged by the relentless monsters.
Seeing that his only opportunity to get to know more about this world was in danger, he had acted fast and joined them in attacking the monsters. They had easily dealt with those monsters with his help. They had been pretty thankful for his intervention.
Those kind people had then taken him in and fed him good food. The excuse he gave them for his lack of common knowledge was that he had lost his memories and had woken up in the forest, bereft of any personal belongings. He had expected that they would suspect his story, but surprisingly they believed him.
That had told him a lot about what kind of things might happen in this world that are common. Anyway, he had learned a lot of information about his new world from them.
They had been kind enough to take him to the nation they were headed for.
The Armed Nation of Dwarves was a bustling hub of trade and craftsmanship. There, he had parted ways with those merchants, but they had given him some money to live for a while.
After seeing that his funds would be depleted soon, he had decided to take a job. Luckily, he didn't need to turn towards mining as becoming an adventurer suited him more.
He had taken up adventuring, initially as a means to earn his bread, but soon discovered he had a knack for it. His military training and tactical mind gave him an edge, and he quickly rose through the ranks.
He had attracted some attention his way, but he was fine with it. He was actually considering joining the Army of Dwargon anyway. The job paid well, and his heart belonged to the military. Who knows? Maybe serving under a good King like Gazel wouldn't be bad.
It would definitely be better than his time in the Amestrian Military.
Now, facing the snarling beast in the forest, he couldn't help but smirk. "You know, if anyone had told me I'd end up fighting monsters in a magical world to pay off my bills, I'd have laughed in their face."
The beast lunged at him, and Roy sidestepped gracefully, snapping his fingers. A spark ignited the air, and a small flame appeared on the beast's side. It yelped and turned to face him again.
"Damn, you're persistent," Roy muttered. He couldn't use his full power without risking a forest fire, so he had to be strategic.
The monster charged again, and Roy dodged, using his flame to keep it at bay. Each snap of his fingers sent a controlled burst of fire towards the creature, weakening it bit by bit. The forest's density made it difficult to maneuver, but Roy's military training kicked in, and he used the trees to his advantage, ducking and weaving through the underbrush.
As the beast grew more desperate, Roy saw his chance. With a final snap, he unleashed a larger burst of flame, incinerating the monster. The beast howled in agony before collapsing into a charred heap.
Roy stood over the smoldering remains, breathing heavily. "Well, that was fun," he said sarcastically, looking up at the darkening sky. The sun had nearly set, casting the forest in twilight shadows.
Roy's satisfaction was short-lived as he remembered he needed to harvest materials from the monster. His eyebrows twitched in annoyance. "Great, now I get to dig through this mess for parts. Wonderful."
He knelt down, sighing as he began to sift through the charred remains. "Just another day in the life of Roy Mustang, adventurer extraordinaire," he muttered to himself, already planning how he'd explain the less-than-good state of the materials to the client.
As the sky grew darker, Roy continued his task, thinking of a warm meal and a stiff drink back in Dwargon.
Despite the hardships, this world had become his new home, and he was determined to make the most of it. That didn't mean he wouldn't look into finding a way back.
{King Gazel POV}
King Gazel Dwargo sat behind his massive oak desk, the room dimly lit by the flickering light of a few torches mounted on the stone walls.
The thick stone structure of the royal chamber exuded an air of stability and timeless strength, much like the king himself.
King Gazel had a very dwarf-like, tough-looking body, with a height of approximately 6 feet. He was covered in an armor of muscle that hid the surging energy beneath. His skin was tanned brown, and his jet-black hair was slicked back fully.
A soft knock on the door drew his attention. With a nod from Gazel, the heavy wooden door creaked open, and a figure clad in black clothes slipped into the room. The figure moved with a silent grace, their face hidden in the shadows of a hood, but their posture radiated efficiency and purpose.
The figure bowed respectfully before speaking, their voice low and steady. "Your Majesty, I bring you the report on an interesting newcomer."
Gazel leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers as he regarded the figure. "Proceed," he commanded, his voice calm yet authoritative.
The black-clad figure produced a parchment and began to report his findings.
"His name is Azridan. He arrived at the gates of Dwargon earlier today. He appears to be a traveler, claiming to seek employment within our nation. He successfully passed through the security checkpoint and has been observed exploring the city."
The shadowy figure handed over the form to him, and he proceeded to read it.
Gazel's eyes narrowed slightly at the form, intrigued. "What do we know of his abilities?"
"Preliminary observations suggest that he possesses considerable strength. We don't know much about his full capabilities; the only thing we gleaned from his arrival was that he is capable of flight."
The figure paused briefly, then continued. "He entered a local tavern shortly after passing through the gates. Our sources indicate that he inquired about the current affairs of various kingdoms, displaying a keen interest in the political landscape."
Gazel's expression remained stoic, but his mind was racing. This Azridan was not just any ordinary traveler. "What is his rank?" he asked, his tone measured.
"B-Rank, Your Majesty. His power level can be higher. Further pointed probes would be needed for confirming his true rank."
The king leaned forward, his interest piqued. "And what of his demeanor? How does he carry himself?"
"He appears confident, Your Majesty, but not overtly hostile. He seems more curious than anything else, keen on understanding our nation and its dynamics."
Gazel nodded slowly, contemplating the potential implications. A B-Rank individual wandering into Dwargon with unknown abilities could either be a good asset or a small threat. "Continue to monitor him closely. Ensure he is aware that we are watching, but do not interfere unless necessary. I want to know his every move."
The figure bowed once more. "As you command, Your Majesty."
"Also, what is the status of Roy? Has he returned from his quest?"
"We don't have any intel of him passing through the gates. Therefore no, Your Majesty. We suspect he should be returning in two days. The last piece of information about his sighting was from the village inn he is staying in."
"Hmm. You may leave now."
With that, the figure bowed respectfully before slipping back into the shadows, leaving Gazel to ponder the arrival of this enigmatic newcomer.
Gazel turned his gaze to the window, where the faint glow of the city's lights flickered in the distance. In the past four months, two completely unknown but powerful figures had appeared in Dwargon, but whether their presence would be for better or worse remained to be seen.
The king's thoughts drifted to the future, his resolve steeled. Whatever the case, he would ensure that his nation remained strong and secure.
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