On the way, Alex had a few more encounters. These times he actively participated in the fights with the adventurers. This greatly helped him to get accustomed to his VR fighting styles with current physic. The people of the group were shocked to see the capabilities of this little boy. A non-awakened boy with professional skills like a seasoned fighter. His current strength and agility were not a joke for a person of his age. Actually, most of them believed that Alex was recently awakened but was not yet familiar with any awakened skill or spell. But still, his techniques were on par with many veterans and this confused them all. What helped him the most, was not his strength or agility. Although he was stronger and fast than his peers he was nowhere near an ordinary low-class professional adventurer. What gave him the edge were his moves, superior judgment, and execution.
After traveling for a few more days Alex finally reached Almon city. Almon was the first large city that Alex had seen in this world. Alex roamed the city the whole day. There were so many people. Different kinds of status, emotions, and races. Stores after stores busy with customers, streets filled with crowds. Rich people riding horses and carriages through big roads, poor working on the streets, carrying goods, selling staffs, doing manual works, offering services. Some shouting in promotions, so minding their own business. Ladies shopping at clothes and jewelry stores, people eating in restaurants, and chatting with each other. Some hiding in dark allies, some begging for money, and some chasing others. While people performed miracles with magic, people used inhuman strength in their work, street performers doing tricks as swords play and people watching and clapping, etc. were common, Child laborers, brothels, slaves wearing metal collars and chains, strong beating weak in the public were more common. A beast-man carrying goods ran past Alex on his four limbs. A gorgeous elf was playing leaf flute at a plaza. While a shop owner was beating a child on the street.
After doing some small shopping in a market area, Alex spent his entire day searching for a chip lodging. After wondering for a long time when the magic crystals were about to illuminate the streets Alex finally found a suitable place with one copper per night for a small single room and one copper for two times meal. Cleaning himself at a nearly bath-house and having his dinner Alex returned to his room pondering about his next course of actions.
The next few days were very busy, finding a suitable income source. Alex knew How to read and write coupled with his knowledge from his previous life, Alex finally managed to find himself an accountant's job at a medium boutique. The boutiques were different in this world. They sold different normal and magic items for a suitable price. They even held auctions and took requests for delivering or searching for precious items. This boutique's owner was a middle-aged noble lady and they had around 40 staff working. The woman was shocked to see how intelligent and knowledgeable Alex was and finally took the risk of hiring him as an accountant out of excitement.
All boutiques were under the Kingdom's boutique guild. Alex came to know that there were many central guilds for different occupations in the kingdom, like alchemist guild, blacksmith's guild, etc. depending on the major available occupations. Alex had to work from morning to afternoon, during the working hours of the boutique, and one hour gap during noon for a lunch break. He had to keep track of the inventory and the transactions and tally everything. The salary was not bad. The woman promised Alex to pay one silver and 20 copper coins every week, which was a little less conceding the fact that boutiques were not small shops and his job position, but for him, it was enough for his expenditures. He also had to consider the fact that he was a boy, so it was a win-win situation for him.
There was a gym at a distance of about half an hour from Alex's workspace. It was quite different from earth's gyms, mainly focusing on weights as slabs, arenas for sparring, archery ground, running tracks, magic training dummies for swords and spell practice, etc. Alex had taken membership for 60 copper coins per week, which gave him basic facilities for four hours each day. This obviously excluded magic training dummies or other magic tools for which one had to pay 10 copper coins for half an hour.
Every day after work Alex went to the gym and trained till the closing time, then after visiting the bathhouse, he returned to his lodging, had his dinner, and went to his room. He used to wake up early morning, do some meditation, had a little workout, and after having a decent breakfast went to his work. His primary goal was to push himself to the top physical condition possible. At weekends Alex had a half-day at work. These two days he didn't go to the gym and rather explored the city. Sometimes he spent his time in libraries to learn about magic and staff related to awakeners. And thus three more months went by.
In this time Alex had significant growth in his strength, stamina, and agility. More of all in recent times during his meditation sessions he could feel a strange sensation of being surrounded by some sort of energy, as well as some part of it seeping inside his body. Alex concluded that this might be mana. And the mana caused his fatigued muscles to undergo some sort of metamorphosis that was strengthening his body. The only concern that he had right now was that at any cost he had to awaken.
The standard ritual for awakening was hosted by the church, each year during the end of the summer in Almon city. This was some sort of a festival for the people of the city as a fare went for three days during that time. Anyone who was under the age of 16 could apply for the ritual. The only problem was that he had to pay 20 gold coins for the cause which was actually considered cheap with respect to other places. But for Alex, this was his biggest problem. At the rate he was earning money he will not be able to save up to that within 4 years. And thus he was also considering a better job. But there were two problems with that. First of all, He had an agreement of one year within which if he had to quit his job he had to pay 50 silver coins. And the second one was his age. Although children working was quite natural, their work didn't yield a high salary.
Alex had his freedom, but his ambitions were still out of his reach. Alex wanted to prosper like his previous life. But prosperity and fame came from power and money. He didn't have money. And the only way to get the power to stand above all was to become an awakener.