The night is still enveloping the sky. Morbius just went out of the castle and entered the bustling city of Milleta. Milleta is a port city outside of the castle. Aside from being a port city, weirdly, it is also the capital city of Belham Kingdom. The Belham Kingdom is governed by the Royal Belham Family which Morbius had served before.
The Belham Kingdom is known for its port city of Milleta, as it is one of the most bustling trade areas on the continent. Most of the people found it weird to make a port city the capital city due to security reasons. First, Belham Kingdom lacks naval forces to fend for the ports making it vulnerable. Second, as a trade capital, the city is required to be open, thus making the security lax. Third, the neighboring kingdoms have stronger naval forces that could pass through the communal sea.
People usually sleep at night, but Milleta City's people are different. All-day round, there is always an opportunity to trade. Ships dock and leave all the time. Merchants move in haste and transact with customers at a fast pace. The faces one sees in the morning might change at noon. It will be different in the afternoon, night and dawn.
With the influx of people, comes the influx of taxes and gate fees. Docking ships pay exorbitant fees that allow the economy of Belham Kingdom to progress smoothly.
"What a lively bunch.", Morbius is strolling around. He is watching the people trade goods at a speed outside the boundaries of common sense.
Morbius is finding an inn near the port and far from the castle. He is planning to trade some silver coins for food, clothing, and books. With his savings of 9000 plus gold (accumulated for 4000 years), he could be considered rich, but given that he saved it for so long, it is not really that much. So he needs to spend wisely. "I should invest in knowledge. Should I go to school?"
While contemplating, suddenly, his interest was piqued by a stall. Displayed in this stall, are tons of dusty and old books. Hardbound books are hard to come by, but surprisingly they are available here for a cheap price. 'Are books really that cheap?'
"Young lad, why are these books so cheap?" asked Morbius. The merchant handling the stall is a young man in his 20's. The merchant looked at Morbius as if he is a penniless old bum. Disdain is not visible in his face, but deep inside he is mocking Morbius.
The merchant flipped the front cover of the book and then lazily said, "It's cheap because it's written in noodles. Books have no value when it is nigh readable. It won't even sell at 500 silver coins in bulk (all the books)."
Morbius did not really care about the merchant's attitude and asked the merchant, "So how much in bulk?"
The merchant sighed and raised three fingers.
"300 silver coins. I'll give you a free sack.", the merchant said. He doesn't really care if the books are sold at a cheap price. His allotted time for his stall is nearing its end so he needs to empty his goods.
Carrying the books with him will take a lot of space in his carriage that is meant for the new set of merchandise that he is going to buy from this city. The merchant thought that it is his lucky day to find an idiot to buy his cheap books.
'Those bandits left these books behind the pillaged carriage. They should've not destroyed that carriage though. What a waste of a good vehicle.'
"Deal.", Morbius took out a pouch with 300 silver coins inside and gave it to the merchant. The merchant tried hard to hide his grin and packed the books inside a big sack.
Morbius carried the sack and was surprised at himself that he is kinda strong. 'Hmmm... is this the result of 4000 years of virginity?'
While Morbius is carrying a sack full of books, the other merchants shook their heads in pity. They pity Morbius for being scammed easily. 300 silver coins is a big sum. Morbius did not mind since he really did find these books a bargain. Thousands of years ago, each book (in noodle text) is sold for an amount not less than 5 gold. Now he got a bulk for 3 gold or 300 silver.
The old man Morbius, continued strolling like a naive child fascinated by the goods sold at each stall. He bought some clothes, meat jerky, and bread. After that, he went to an inn and booked a room for seven days.
'Now time to study.'
Inside the room that he booked, he took out one of the books he originally have. He needed knowledge and some skills in his repertoire in order to survive. For the past 4000 years, his life is dull and it is understandable that his skill-set is limited to guarding the gate and household chores. He could also include his mastery of the language. Being a 4000-year-old person, he could be considered a living historical relic. Living that long, he witnessed the evolution of his language. He is very fluent in reading and writing even the ancient language. Even though he is not a fan of books when he was younger, reading and writing are required when one is working at the royal castle.
The book he is reading at the moment is the Hunger James: Guide to Cooking. It is written in the modern text. The modern text basically is a writing system currently used in this kingdom. There were many obsolete writing systems already. One of those is the ancient text used for the cheap books he bought earlier. The ancient text basically looks like noodles so nobody could comprehend it especially when the writing system does not circulate anymore.
"Hmmm... A little salt is effective, a lot of salt is dangerous. Are cooking books that profound?"
Morbius was fascinated as he turns the pages of the book. The book he is reading is a cookbook that does not contain recipes, but principles - the principles of cooking. For a long time, all he could eat is stale bread supplied by the castle kitchen. Now that he left the castle, he is on his own. Buying ready-made food is doable, but it is not as cost-effective as cooking your own.
"[Sugar is lovely and lovely things are destructive.] Hmmm... so too much sugar is unhealthy. This is a cookbook, right?" Morbius kept reading the book until morning. He finished reading the book and can't wait to apply the principles he learned.
'But reading a book is not enough. I might have learned the theory, but I need to cook and experiment with things in order to properly produce edible if not delicious food.' Morbius thought.
He decided not to practice for the time being since he doesn't have a kitchen area. He could rent or borrow the kitchen, but it is more pricey than buying cooked meals. 'Should I buy a house? Here in Milleta City? Nope.'
Buying a house in Milleta City is easy for those with money. With his 950+ gold (950000+ silver), he could buy a decent house in this city, but the problem is that he might be a wanted person later on. Leaving his guard duty behind is a crime against the royal family and the kingdom. Even though nobody knows his face, it is better to be safe than sorry.
'Since I am near the docks, maybe I should board the ship to another kingdom. I could develop myself there.'
There are three neighboring kingdoms surrounding Belham. The port cities of these kingdoms are accessible via ships docking at Milleta. The Gefen Port City of the Galman Kingdom, Misha Port City of the Violeta Kingdom, and the Crossmount Valley City of the Lichtheim Kingdom - these three port cities are open like Milleta, but unlike Milleta, these cities are not the capital cities of their respective kingdoms.
Morbius has one week of lodging in this inn. In that one week, he prepared the necessities for his Journey. 'Violeta Kingdom...'.