Despite falling under the territory of the Adamant Sword Kingdom, one of the kingdoms surrounding the Sky-Piercing Sword Empire, the nameless town that both Arthur and Ray originated from was practically separated from the Kingdom's governing system.
Unlike Swordkeep, which was situated around the Sword River's basin, the nameless town was situated in an area that held no value other than the small forest by its side. After weighing gains against the distance disadvantage, the Kingdom simply abandoned the town and its taxes allowing it to operate autonomously.
Nonetheless, with the forest's 'help' as well as the merchants who would occasionally pass, the town was on the borderline of being self-sufficient. Especially with how it was the only settlement in a largely unpopulated area.
'It's not perfect, but it's worthy of being the protagonist's birthplace.'
The nameless town didn't appear to be anything special, but it was the closest point to travel from the Adamant Sword Kingdom to the Empire, which allowed Ray to easily reach the City of Swordsmen.
"It sure is convenient being the protagonist's sibling, only when it doesn't get you killed though."
Naturally, now that it was Leo's turn to go there, it didn't long to get there either. After finishing his business at Sword Fall, it only took Leo 3 weeks before the flourishing city came to sight.
'Calling it overpopulated is an underestimation…'
Rather than the tall buildings of the city, the first signs of the city that Leo recognized were none other than the two long lines in front of the gate. The sight was simply shocking when seen in reality compared to just being read. If that was just the number of people wanting to enter the city in one day, then how many people resided inside?
"The Entrance fee is 10 Silver Swords."
After spending two hours waiting in the line designated for carriages, Leo was finally able to enter the city after paying the fee. Although it was slightly expensive, it was to be expected of a city made for the sake of 'milking' money.
Thankfully, following the same logic that made entry expensive, the entry conditions were quite loose to maintain the constant stream of coins. Other than screening his face through a booklet of wanted people, Leo was let in without further inquiry of identification.
'Interesting.'
To Leo's expectations, the city was even more 'full' behind the city walls. The people crowding the streets were a chaotic mixture of all classes, painting the picture of the convergence of civilization in one singular city.
As Leo's carriage moved slowly through the 'clogged' streets, the way Swordkeep operated became more apparent to him. The city had an overall fancy feel to it, but the streets were mostly dirty due to the overpopulation.
Extravagantly dressed men and women, armored swordsmen, beggars, all kinds of people could be seen walking side to side. The chaotic feel was still there, but the lack of conflict indicated the initial success of the city's intended development.
'He isn't here today…'
After taking a full circle around the city, from one inn to another, in order to find lodging, Leo was finally able to find a suitable one that had a small empty room. Despite being elated at returning to civilization and finding a place to sleep within this crowded city, Leo was slightly disappointed, having not caught sight of his target for coming here.
Neighh...
"Well, it's not like I'm in a hurry. Right, buddy?"
After storing his carriage of settling the horse into the stables, Leo stared at the bright moon while feeding the horse before he climbed the stairs up to his room.
The day was mostly spent getting into the city and finding a place to settle. As such, Leo simply skipped his training for the day and dived into the comfort of his new bed, letting his thoughts dissolve into his dreams.
Although he didn't manage to immediately get his target, this was in alignment with Leo's original plan. After all, other than obtaining a 'Sword Breathing Manual', Leo planned to squeeze out every benefit that he could possibly obtain from this City of Swordsmen…
`~~~`~~~`~~~`
"It isn't as comfortable, but it will do."
Despite sleeping a couple more hours than usual, Leo woke up dissatisfied due to his high expectations. Even a man-made bed couldn't compare to the hidden canyon's ground…
After spending another hour to finally get into the inn's bath, Leo took a shower and changed into a new pair of clothes that he brought the day before during his quest for a suitable inn.
Walking out of the inn, Leo's first destination was the closest bookshop. Although Leo desired a break from reading, spending slightly less than two months without reading a word had stirred up Leo's faded addiction.
Unlike before, where he was slightly sick of it, Leo was now looking forward to it. Most importantly, he was very eager to explore the variety of books that the City of Swordsmen had to offer.
According to the name and nature of this city, at least half the books were bound to be on the topic of swords. However, just like any product, most of what was for public sale was useless and full of showy words, holding no real value.
"Time for some book hunting!"
Fortunately, one of the things that Leo enjoyed the most was finding gems within a pile of trash! During the weeks he spent reaching the city, he failed to raise his 'Basic Swordsmanship' by more than one 'page' even with the familiarity boost, so Leo wanted to make use of his stay here to obtain some books that would deepen his understanding through 'Skill Reading'!
After hitting the closest bookshop, Leo dove into the piles of books showcased there, trying to find something worth his trouble within the scams. In the end, it took him two full hours before he left the bookshop with two books in hand…
'Most of it overlaps, but some parts are worth it.'
No matter how flashy the books tried to sound, the only usable contents were the old bland books about the basic use of swords. Regretfully, the knowledge within these books was mostly useless to the current Leo, so he kept the two books that had the freshest contents in compromise.
Holding one book under his arm while he browsed through the other, Leo made his way to the next bookshop while he observed his surroundings in search of his original target.
Repeating the same process till sunset, Leo went back to the inn with half a dozen books in hand, his search resulting in nothing. However, Leo didn't seem overly vexed about it as he simply put the books away before he threw himself into training according to the schedule he followed during his journey. By the time he was done, Leo didn't bother showering as he dove into the bed once more.
Along with this new routine, Leo spent the following days immersed in 'searching', reading and training using what was left of his time. However…
'Found you.'
Contrary to his hopes for a quick find, it wasn't until a week later that Leo was finally able to come across his primary target...