Starmist City was truly gigantic.
That was the only conclusion Duncan could come to after staying in the city for two days. It was really dozens of times bigger than the Starsinger Town. Even after two days spent exploring, Duncan was sure he hadn't even covered even one-tenth of the city in his explorations.
There were multiple factors that constituted it. First was the gigantic size of the city itself. Second, was the different quarters that were cordoned off against unwanted people in the city. It was a novel experience for sure to learn that he couldn't just walk into a particular section of the city.
The city guards had point blank refused to even allow him to step foot into the wealthy section of the city which was mostly occupied by important people. Not to mention those clan compounds that were as big as the entire Starsinger Town itself that Duncan didn't even dare to try entering.
Then came those poorer sections of the town that were downright dangerous to step into. From the conversations he had heard, Duncan was astonished to note that murders were a common phenomenon in such places. He didn't even know how to feel about that.
Starsigner Town was a peaceful place. Sure, there were some drunken brawls and occasional altercations between people in the street. But, murder was practically unheard of. That gave him a whole new perspective on how truly safe this city was.
Knowing that he would stand out like a sore thumb in those places, Duncan avoided them altogether. He still hadn't lost his mind that much to wantonly seek death.
Starmist City was enclosed in high walls with four gates that were being manned day and night. The east and the south gate were located in the affluent part of the city, with the north and west gates acting as the common entry point for people like Duncan.
Considering the sheer distance between the two gates accessible to him, Duncan wisely didn't explore the area around the west gate. The north gate was the one through which Merchant Wang's caravan came through. If his guess was right, then Merchant Wang's caravan would continue on through the west gate leading to other villages and towns under the command of the city.
Duncan settled himself in an inn a few miles away from the north gate. The area was good enough, with minimal fuss overall, and had a nice atmosphere overall. Considering that this was near to the north gate in general, Duncan also saw a large marketplace a few miles off to the south, where merchants and other shops sold their wares.
Exploring the marketplace alone took up much of his time. But, Duncan didn't regret it one bit. He saw a multitude of shops selling various goods there. The sheer amount of variety present there alone was mindboggling enough. Duncan had to curb his urge to buy something on several occasions.
And the wine….
Seriously, the wine alone was worth spending so much time in this city. In Starsinger Town they served the same wine everywhere. If one could even call that swill wine after drinking what the Starmist City was offering.
Here in Starmist City, he had drunk more than four different varieties of wine in the two days he had spent here. Two kinds in the same bar even. That alone, according to Duncan, was enough to boggle his mind on this city's extravagance. And not to mention that he had heard that the wine he had drunk was the lowest of the low this city had to offer.
Just thinking about the possibilities was enough to keep Duncan salivating. He made a resolution to only head back to his hometown after drinking every kind of wine that was available in this city. Even if it was impossible, Duncan was willing to give it a try.
Unfortunately, the amount he had saved and brought from his hometown was akin to a pittance in this huge city. So, Duncan found himself facing a huge crisis just after entering the city for two days. And his extravagant spending to taste the different wines hadn't helped him in that matter either.
So, Duncan was left with a glaring problem that was staring in his face. The biggest question he was facing was not to find a cultivation technique at present. But, to find a way to sustain his living in this damnable city for some time.
Being a miner was all well and good, however, this city had no mines for him to work, and unfortunately for Duncan, he had no other skills to earn a living by. This left Duncan in a precarious position where he had the unfortunate luck to find a job with no proper skills.
Hence, from the third day onwards, Duncan began to search for a job to earn some money. Something like that was easier said than done. With no proper skills, Duncan soon began to face rejection at every turn he took. With no one to give him a proper introduction, it soon became evident that living in this city was not as simple as Duncan thought it to be.
He had initially paid the innkeeper for a month to continue living there. Thus, his living situation was easily taken care of. Despite having a roof over his head for a month, Duncan was now in an unenviable position to find some money for his food and other expenditures in the city.
The money he had left was only enough to sustain him for a week. And that too only if he stopped spending them on wine. Duncan was loath to do this. Initially, he thought that he would be able to find some work to keep up with his drinking expenditure, but the harsh reality gave him a punch to the guts.
He even began to roam the city to find places with cheap food, so that he could eke out more of his savings. But, by the time a week rolled around, he was almost destitute apart from the old sword he carried with him, alongside the few daggers in his possession.
The daggers were the first to go. He sold them to earn a few silvers so that he could put money in his stomach a bit more. Strangely enough, he also began to notice that his body needed a lot of food to keep it energized properly. This also began to cause some unforeseen burden to his already tight liquidity.
He was offered a good sum for his sword. But, Duncan refused to part with it as it was not his to give away. While he knew that Granny Jiao wouldn't begrudge him if he sold this sword, even he was unwilling to do that.
That is how Duncan found himself in front of the large building, with an arch reading as Mercenary Association, at the end of his second week in the city. If the word on the street was to be believed, then this was the place that had the solution to all his problems.
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