"… What a mystical place."
.”
The sky was still filled with thunder and lightning. Thunderous booms could be heard everywhere, and the streets were bustling with activity.
However, unlike Aishi's clean and tidy streets, there weren't any large roads for vehicles to pass through here. Instead, there were street performers, street vendors selling strange pastries, naked children chasing each other, and so on on the small roads that could only fit three to five people. This caused the flow of people to be extremely slow.
Occasionally, there would even be large beasts that took up half of the road slowly passing by. Seymour tribesmen would sit on top of them and carefully steer them.
Although the surroundings seemed chaotic, there was still a sense of propriety. It was just that the pedestrians couldn't speed up no matter what.
However, judging from the nonchalant expressions of the other tribesmen, the Seymour tribesmen seemed to have gotten used to the slow pace of life.
"Give me this, this, and this!"
Along the way, Roland's left hand, right hand, and mouth were all sorts of strange snacks.
After learning that the Seymour tribesmen's digestive system was similar to that of humans, and that they didn't have any messy anti-poison systems, Rorschach became more and more gluttonous.
Rorschach took a bite of the greasy tea cake under the crispy yellow skin, licked the strange glass-like milk candy that resembled a mixture of liquid and mist, and swallowed the strange burnt tentacle. He revealed a blissful smile.
After confirming that the food here was to his liking, Rorschach slowed down even more. Isabella's plan to recharge her batteries would probably have to be delayed.
Time flowed like water, and time passed like that … Two years passed, and Rorschach became even more … Yep, actually, there wasn't much change.
No matter if it was Aishi's ten-thousand-year-old shota or Ansorenne's Gold Elf, they were all long-lived species among long-lived species. It was quite impossible for them to change so much in just two years.
Roland's physical appearance and body shape were just muscles that weren't so obvious due to his daily training. When he wore clothes, it would be impossible to see any changes.
Roland's face was still young, and he always had a "sincere" smile on his face. Rather than calling him an independent adventurer, he seemed more like a young man who was still studying in an ivory tower.
But were there really no changes in the past two years?
"… Sweet, spicy, barbecued, steamed, and even vegetarian dishes. The Seymour people's food traditions are quite varied and should have a long history. They even have seafood that obviously isn't produced in the wastelands. It would seem that long-distance trade and settlement have replaced nomadic herding for a very long time. Their crafts and clothing also have their own culture … This is a tribe with a very deep history."
There was no change on the outside, but on the inside, there was a world of difference.
Two years ago, Rorschach was just an Earthling who had suddenly arrived in another world. Although he had the goal and awareness to become stronger, his shortcomings in all aspects were so obvious.
Today, two years later, Rorschach didn't waste any time. Personal combat strength was important, but if one wanted to live long in this industry, professional skills and knowledge were equally important.
History, biology, economics, and even the most boring political topic, Rorschach read it like it was a book for leisure. Accumulation came bit by bit. Rorschach didn't intend to reach the heavens in a single step, but he didn't give up on studying every day.
Two years ago, Rorschach was still a rookie student. But now, no matter if it was in terms of mentality or skills, he was already a qualified descender.
The most obvious thing was that if Rorschach had come to this unfamiliar city two years ago, he definitely wouldn't have acted alone. It would have been natural for him to follow other veteran descenders. He would have done whatever the Gods or seniors told him to do. He wouldn't have thought too much or taken the initiative to do anything.
But now that he was the incarnation of a descender who could read everything, perhaps his abilities and knowledge wouldn't change, but his attitude would change.
Rorschach seemed to be strolling around to pass the time, but in reality, he wasn't just gathering local intelligence. He was also checking out the terrain, local customs, and daily habits of the Seymour people.
When he entered a clothing store and came out ten minutes later, the foreign elf who didn't fit in with the surroundings had disappeared without a trace. Only a tall young Seymour man with a headscarf came out.
He had the same intonation, the same habitual movements, and even that unfathomable hunchback, as well as the blue and red colors on his face.
However, his horns and ears seemed to be covered by a hat and headscarf, which didn't conform to the Seymour people's habit of being proud of their horns.
But looking at his posture of carrying a wooden longsword, the surrounding females revealed sympathetic gazes.
"… He must have been broken off on the battlefield. What a pity. Even if this lad is so tall and strong, he might not be able to find a spouse in the future."
The Seymour people were proud of having a single horn and two horns.
At this moment, Rorschach was carrying a large bag of women's clothing. For some unknown reason, he received a lot of sympathetic gazes. He was confused, thinking that he had made a mistake in copying someone else's paint … Cough, don't misunderstand, these clothes were prepared for his companions. It was the quality of a job class to always have a backup plan.
Fortunately, there was a large difference in height among the Seymour people. Rorschach's height wasn't considered ridiculous.
As for pretending to be a Seymour, Rorschach didn't have such intentions. He just wanted to make himself less conspicuous.
No matter where you were, there would always be three or four pairs of eyes staring at you as if you were a foreigner. You wouldn't be able to do anything … Actually, Rorschach had always wanted to comment on those foreign spy movies.
How could a blonde with blue eyes and black hair work as a spy in an area filled with black hair and black eyes? Even the slightly more sensitive guards would raise their guns at the sight of you. At the very least, you should make yourself less conspicuous. It wouldn't be too much to dye your hair and wear fake eyes, right?
Even if you couldn't fool careful observers, you shouldn't be surrounded by people from several hundred yards away.
As expected, after changing his clothes, the curious gazes of foreigners lessened. However, the strange gazes of sympathy made him feel somewhat uncomfortable. But after asking a little, Rorschach accepted this "setting" with a wry smile … and prepared to find a blacksmith to make a fake horn.
Along the way, he saw quite a few "fellow townsfolk" who "did as the Romans do". However, some of the races were far too obvious, such as lizardmen, dwarves, middle-aged human males … Cough cough, it seemed that the Seymour people were rather good-looking, so the way some of them dressed up only attracted more criticism.
Rorschach walked and stopped, eating here and there, trying out the handicrafts of other shops. Although it seemed like he was chatting idly, he gained quite a lot.
"The great migration that happened more than three hundred years ago?"
Rorschach also learned that the Seymour people weren't actually the original owners of this wilderness and Cape Town. They had escaped from an unstoppable natural disaster. Some tribes had found this treasured land and defeated the original owners.
But the greatest gain wasn't such simple historical information.
"Lori, the Seymour people have a strong foundation. They're also skilled in magic runes, natural elemental manipulation, and magical metal forging. Not only do they have no lack of crops, they have a wide variety of varieties … If possible, they'll be a long-term ally worth fighting for."
Where did this information come from?
After receiving professional training, Rorschach learned that true spies wouldn't venture into dangerous areas most of the time if they wanted to collect information. Most of the important information would be placed in places where anyone could access it. They only needed a professional eye for information.
Various types of snacks and staple foods? Rorschach only saw sufficient and stable food production, a supply system, and a relatively long period of stable life.
After all, only by filling their stomachs would people begin to pursue the enjoyment of their taste buds. Since he had already confirmed that these new snacks were new products developed from local crops, Rorschach's first thought was that the Seymour people were indeed the overlords of this area. They weren't threatened at all.
Was this information easy to gather? In the Ansorenne, all information was valuable. There was a lack of information to begin with, and every area had different situations. The interference of the magical mist made communication and travel extremely dangerous. Most tribes in the Ansorenne were relatively isolated, and could even cause two cities not far from each other to have completely different customs and cultures.
This specific information could only be obtained by Roland himself.
"The patterns on their clothes, the embroidery on their heads, and the paint on their faces don't have elemental power. But it can be seen that they're imitations of real elemental patterns. Also, the warriors and guards I saw on the way here were all using the real thing. Their enchantment and alchemy skills are rather high, and their production should be stable. The warriors should be using good stuff. We can consider buying a batch to try. "
"There's seafood in their food, and their currency is processed shell money. They should have territories connected to the sea, or have stable alliances with the sea residents …"
Bit by bit, Rorschach organized his own gains and information, using it as a reference for the Gods to make their final decisions.
"There are also prisoners and slaves from other tribes in the market. Judging from their injuries, it's likely that the Seymour tribe is simultaneously at war with several other tribes and cities. But from the looks of things, the Seymour tribe probably won't lose."
"The Seymour tribe is quite strong, and they're the local tyrant with a deep foundation. Considering our goal here, it's best not to offend them so easily … Isabella, I'm talking about you. Don't mess things up again later!"
"Haha, I won't. I definitely won't mess things up later."
Rorschach heaved a sigh of relief when he heard her proud laughter. However, he instinctively felt that something was wrong.
"You won't mess things up later? Could it be that you've already … "
"Ha, an old man like you actually dares to take advantage of me? Witness the power of my Dazzling Sun-Shattering Kick!"
"Wait a moment? What did you do? What did you do at a social banquet filled with local leaders and major merchants? Sun-Shattering Kick!? "
"You're so ignorant. You don't even know about Sun-Shattering Kick? To put it bluntly, you should know about Sun-Shattering Kick, right? "
Rorschach instantly covered his face helplessly. How could he not know? It was precisely because he knew too much that his head hurt.
"Is there any way to salvage the situation?"
"I think so … eh? Many people started panicking. What did they call that old man? The old city lord? Er, I'm running away too. How do you use your bat transformation skill? "
“%^&%^！！”
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
