I initially thought the merchant was planning to kill us, by leading me and my family into a dungeon but I was sure that Sebastian would be able to defend us from any threats so I followed.
Obviously, all our jaws dropped at the sight of a beautiful city when we entered the dungeon. I forgot my noble status and started blurting questions towards the merchant at how this could be possible. He simply returned an annoying smile and ignored me.
My son was a little more forceful at trying to get information out of the merchant but to my surprise, the merchant easily shrugged off any of my son's attempts to grab his shoulder despite the merchant's weak appearance.
I looked around the city, even for being in the middle of the night it was too quiet. I could make out the silhouette of buildings surrounding the square but only around three of the buildings had light coming out of their windows.
The merchant was currently leading us to a place called "Wisdom Inn". One of the three buildings with its lights on.
"Oi George I brought some nobles looking for a room and some food!"
So says the toothy merchant that had been escorting us. Once I entered the establishment it surprised even me, a Duke, at how clean and high class the place was.
The whole building was made of marble but inside the walls and floor covered in expensive-looking wood and a nice fur carpet was on the floor. There were a few empty tables and a bar area where a scary-looking man was cleaning a mug.
He looked like a friendly old man but only a blind person wouldn't notice his bulging muscles through his shirt and the scars on his arms and face that show a tough life. He gave off the vibe of someone who could listen to your problems as an uncle figure but he has some kind of dark past and is actually super powerful.
"Welcome guests, please have a seat"
The bartender named George said in a calm voice. Usually, a bartender in the capital would freak out if nobles walked in but the fact we are famous nobles didn't even seem to faze the man.
We all take a seat at the bar and face the man. I can see the relief on my wife's face when she finally gets a proper sit-down.
"Now what can I do for you"
I felt that question was a little rude coming from what I assume to be a commoner, it felt like he was speaking down to us. I'm a Duke for god sake he should at least add Sir or Lord to that sentence.
My son spoke up quicker than I could "Isn't that quite a rude way of speaking to nobles, commoners should speak with respect."
The bartender just looked at us with an unfazed look and he continued to clean the mug "Let me explain to you how it works around here".
Saying that he brings out a black card. The same one the merchant used earlier to get the knight to leave us alone.
"Here in Eden, we use a system called Authority. It starts out at the lowest with a White card which could be considered a guest/visitor card"
"It simply allows you to pass through the border without being killed on sight, but no extra benefits apart from that."
"Next we have the green card, this card can be given out freely by higher cardholders. It basically means you have some relation to a permanent resident of Eden."
"With the green card, you have authority to sell goods here in Eden. So merchants in the future will need one."
"Next highest is the blue card, this card makes you a permanent resident of Eden and lets you own property and run a business here. You are also provided free food for 3 meals a day and materials can also be requested for"
"Finally we have the black card, this is higher than the blue card in its rights. We can bring people into Eden as guests without them needing cards beforehand, we also are provided almost unlimited food and materials. There are more benefits but you don't need to know. Black cardholders have similar power to nobles in other countries."
"There is also a golden card but those are only given to friends of Xia, so I guess it would be this country's equivalent of royalty."
"So in conclusion" the bartender gives a sinister smile "you have no 'authority here, in fact, you are even lower than a commoner in my eyes".
I am completely baffled. Free food and materials? This country is doomed to fail from the start. While my mind is in turmoil my wife decides to speak up "That doesn't make any sense, if food is provided for free then nobody will want to work".
"And that's the beauty of it. When people are provided free shelter and food with no pressure of taxes it gives people more freedom and time to pursue their passions at their own pace and style."
"Ever wanted to be an artist? Fashion designer? Run a restaurant that serves bizarre and unique dishes from your homeland? Maybe you just want to spend your days fishing and enjoying nature? Well now you can, here in Eden"
"To give a more practical example imagine you are a blacksmith, you love being a blacksmith but years of producing the same standard military iron sword to make ends meet has killed your passion."
"You just want to spend all day coming up with new weapon designs but that won't put food on the table. Here in Eden, a person like that can flourish, without having to worry about paying the rent on their smithy, nor for the food on their plate they can focus on creating new weapons or masterpieces."
"The goal of Eden is to create a small country filled with very high skilled and passionate people in their area of work. All the boring tasks like harvesting food or guarding the gates are handled by undead controlled by Xia."
The nobles simply look at each other in astonishment. "How do we register to live here?" Sebastian asks the bartender.
The man simply smiles and reaches under the counter and brings out 3 green cards and one white card. He hands the green cards to Sebastian, the Duke, and his wife but hands a white card to the young noble.
He gave a puzzled look and the bartender replied "Young man you, unfortunately, didn't pass my test. To live here in Eden one must be willing to throw away their previous status, that's my test. If you want to upgrade it to a green card you will need to find someone else with a blue or higher card and pass their test to get a green card from them."
"Now I think it's time for a drink to celebrate our meeting?" the bartender looked excited to finally be pouring a drink for a customer 'ah so that's why he's a bartender, it seems this was his passion'
"Ah I don't think I quite caught all your names, I am George. You can always come here for a drink or to exchange information. All for free of course."
Considering he's a black card holder I saw it as a good opportunity to make friends with a 'noble' of this country "I guess our family name no longer matters here" I say with a smile and George seems pleased that I was willing to not mention my surname which is said to be a nobles pride.
"My name is David, my beautiful wife here is called Lily and our son is called Calvin. This is my butler and close aide Sebastian"
During the introductions a large mug of ale was skillfully placed in front of the four guests, the duchess was the first to drink and shock could be seen on her face "I leveled up?"
"Huh," we all say at the same time, the bartender simply smiles "How can one pursue their passions to the greatest heights if not for a long life?".
"We can level up just by drinking here?" I exclaim, "This would be revolutionary if the outside world knew of this! "Eating too, any food or drink made with Eden ingredients will grant some exp. Although it's a small amount it adds up over time."
"I have been living here for a week and already gone up 3 levels"
"That explains why that merchant from earlier was able to shrug off my grasp so easily!" Calvin exclaims.
I'm sure my family is thinking the same thing but this truly is the best place for us to move to. "How can we upgrade to a blue card then?"
"Stay here for the night and get a good rest, you can then go to the town hall in the morning and put in an application to become blue cardholders."
"Very well, thanks for the help George, I will not forget it," I reply as we enjoy our ale and then go up to sleep. We all pass out instantly upon touching such comfortable beds with a newfound resolve to be Eden citizens and proud blue cardholders.