After 4 hours of waiting in the wagon, Gio had finally returned. Raikou was immensely bored at this point, and had been anticipating the fat man's arrival.
His stats returned back to normal nearly 2 hours into his sitting in the wagon. That added up to the restrictions lasting 4 hours on initial mastery.
His increased understanding of the skill increased the mastery to small perfection. The stat boost increased to 8%, and the system had decided to add the restrictions to the skill description once Raikou himself understood the outline of it. It would only reduce his stats for 3 hours now.
They heard a banging on the side of their wagon, it was Gio. "Time to go, sorry for the troubles."
Raikou liked the merchant's attitude, he wasn't arrogance from his wealth, and was respectful to the adventurers. Usually people looked down on adventurers, and would call them 'fancy mercenaries'.
They nodded at Gio and he got back in his wagon. Raikou expected them to start moving, but they were still stationary. He got out and went to Gio's wagon to see what the issue was.
"We're still waiting for Hames and Rodriguez. I don't know where they've gone." Gio explained.
Raikou froze. He inwardly laughed, it was a funny situation. "I saw them leave the town. I think they gave up on the mission." He couldn't think of a better lie on the spot.
Gio wasn't an idiot, but he decided to go along with it. "Is that so? Well, one of you will have to sit in my wagon then."
Raikou noticed that he didn't believe him. "My companion is in the other wagon, so I will send Bri to sit with you."
He went back and called Bri out. "I need you to sit in the front wagon. The brothers are absent, so we will continue with us 2 and Ghost."
Bri looked at him with suspicion. "Oh they're 'absent', are they? You're getting more mysterious by the minute."
Raikou laughed, "Why thank you. I've always considered myself a mysterious and cool person."
She rolled her eyes and entered the front wagon.
They continued on their journey to AngleLand.
2 Weeks Later...
They had finally reached the capital city of Angleland.
(A/N: No more capital L, can't be bothered.)
Raikou had cultivated for 2 weeks straight with some breaks for rest and eating. His cultivation had risen by 2 levels and he was currently at the 4th level of rank 3.
After his fight with the brothers, he had realised that the higher levels of rank 4 would be an extremely difficult challenge for him. He had currently only been fighting ordinary cultivators of those ranks, and thus was not posed with much of a challenge.
Once he enters higher tier areas, such as Angleland, the cultivators will be more skilled within their realms. He understands that he needs to improve his mastery with the sword to be more of a threat. A lack of good combat skills is also a big issue.
The moment the mission is completed, he will begin to focus less on xp, and more on his sword.
Raikou left the wagon and looked at the sight in front of him with relief.
"No stupid one colour style! I was scared that I would be met by another pure white royal city." He thought to himself.
The style of the royal city of Angleland was more traditional. All the buildings were made out of brick, varying in quality. In the far distance, one could see a huge regal castle. The silhouette of the castle gave off a majestic bearing, one fit for royalty.
He paid the guards their 2 silver entrance fee and walked through the gates.
"Where are you going?" Gio called out from him wagon.
"The job is done. I'm going to collect my money." Raikou replied.
"If you ever need a steady job, you can come to me." Gio tipped his hat towards Raikou and his wagon went through the gates.
Bri popped her head out of the window and waved at him. "Make sure to avoid any troubles with that mouth of yours!"
Raikou laughed and walked away with Ghost.
He was greeted by a familiar sight. A little girl came running up to him with a hopeful expression. "Sir, you look new to the city. I know every nook and cranny this city has to offer, and will guide you for the small price of 10 bronze!"
He bent down and whispered in her ear, "I'll give you 10 silver instead of 10 bronze, but you have to make sure you spend it wisely. Someone can rob you easily, if they see how much you have."
Raikou could see a look of exhilaration slowly creep onto her face. She quickly suppressed it to make sure that she doesn't capture anyones attention.
He felt bad for these poor children, but he couldn't save everyone. Even if he gave them alot of money, there would come a day he would leave the city, and then troubles worse than their current poverty could arise.
"First thing, I need some information. Are there any learning institutions around, also give me information on any sword related areas nearby."
"The best learning institution nearby is the Angleland Royal Academy. The talent required to get in there is very high, but the academy is a place of opportunity, and will only judge you of your talent and not your background."
Raikou nodded at the information and signalled for her to continue.
"I don't have much knowledge on anything sword related specifically. However, there is news of a special cave being discovered 5 miles south of the city. It's not sword related, but it is all I have, sorry." She was scared he would be annoyed with her lack of information on what he wanted.
He rubbed her head and replied, "No need to worry about it, that was good information. Point me to the adventurers guild and that will be all."
"Just follow that path and you will see a huge building with a sword symbol on the right." She pointed in a direction and left.
"She left pretty quickly. Then again, a girl's gotta eat!"
He walked in the direction she told him until he saw the guild. Raikou looked at Ghost and they both walked up the steps of the huge building.
The door opened with a creak and Raikou announced, "I'm here!"
Everyone looked at him with confusion and went back to their business.