Ryker beginning to see a pattern in his travel. The next city he visited will often be the biggest one he has seen so far, at least when he traveled through the Mariz Barony and now, the Kilrun Duchy.
This conjecture is made because right now, Kilrun Capital City, the capital of Kilrun Duchy from its name alone, is the biggest city he had seen so far, at least before he went to the Duchy located near the core of the Birak Kingdom or the major cities of the Birak Kingdom, not to mention the capital city of the kingdom itself.
From what he could see, the size of the city was at least 5 times bigger than Mariz Barony's capital city, and that is what he could see from the point. No doubt the actual size is bigger. Which is expected of a powerful vassal of the Birak Kingdom.
As they moved closer to the city, he could see the gate of the capital, adorned with powerful engraving he had no way to understand with his meager ability, much less replicate. No doubt the wall also has a lot of formations to complement the defense of such an important city.
He planned to ask more things about the city, though, maybe after entering the city first.
-x-
Surprisingly, entering the city is much easier than the previous one. Then again, he can be called a part of a caravan that often circled the territory of Kilrun Duchy so he and his group are able to get a free pass to enter the city with no issue.
Also a surprise, the leader of the caravan had decided to give him a gift.
"This is..." Ryker had no way to say anything as the gift was too coincidental. After all, how he could expect to receive an Ice Lotus, one in the 6th Grade at that, just by rampaging through the bandit's rank?
"Take it. I have no use for it anyway. You had been a massive help to us and you probably have some use for it," the leader said, insisting on him to accept the gift.
However, Ryker caught on to his words, "How did you know I need this thing?" he questioned the man.
"One of my men heard from your woman you wanted high-grade treasures with Ice affinity, so I think this would be perfect for you," the man answered.
While his pride wanted to say that they had already given him enough by allowing his group to join the caravan, he decided to just accept it. "Thank you for the gift," after all, who knew when he would receive such windfall ever again.
"I should be the one to say it but, what floats your boat," the man said, before taking his leave. At least before Ryker stops him.
"Do you know the information of the capital city?" the smile on the man's face answered everything.
-x-
In the end, he was able to get some relevant information, at a relatively low price. At least to him. Then again, 5 gold coins are not that expensive for him. With just 5 gold coins, he was able to get some general information, along with some recent news about the happening inside the capital.
For starters, the Kilrun Capital City is a large city with an estimated size of about 500 to 700 square kilometers. The population is also a staggering 10 million, more than triple the population of Mariz Capital City.
As for the forces in the city, besides the usual Adventure Guilds, Craftsman Alliance, and the Duke and his subordinates, there are a lot of 3rd tier families, numbering three digits, along with around 87 2nd tier families and about 18 1st tier families. There is also the 5 Great Family, the most powerful family of them all.
For one to be considered 3rd tier family, a member of the family must be a Genesis Lake expert. For 2nd tier, there must be 2 to 4 such experts while the 1st tier family should have around 5 to 10, with one of their members reaching the peak of Genesis Lake.
As for the 5 Great Family, they have around 15 to 20 such experts, along with one terrifying addition. An expert at the Genesis Sea realm is a part of the Great Family, making them even more powerful compared to the other families.
Considering the gap between Genesis Spring and Genesis Lake, the gap between the latter with Genesis Sea realm would likely be more pronounced. As such, the supremacy of the 5 Great Families, along with the Duke, who has about 4 subordinates in the same realm as he is, albeit weaker, make them an uncontested power within the city, the exception being the Adventure Guild and Craftsman Alliance.
Of course that is the most basic thing he had learned about the city. He also learned that bandit's excursions had been getting even more frequent, putting every city, town, and settlement on high alert.
There is no new information as very few caravans are crazy or strong enough to handle the increasing bandits' activities. As such, he had to make due. Right now, he is looking for a suitable place to live during the duration of their stay, which will last until he has formed a true Genesis Core. That is his main goal while in the city.
As such, a standard inn would be unsuitable for such a prolonged stay. He does hope there are better options, the caravan leader in front of him would likely know such an option.
-x-
As it turns out, the Kilrun Duchy rents houses too for some travelers who would like to stay longer. Besides the ordinary houses, as most people are not crazy rich or spend crazily, there are also huge houses and even mansions being rented.
The prices are, as to be expected, very high, for normal people. For him, it barely makes a dent in their current wealth. He had one of the agents show him around one of the mansions and found it to his liking, which led to him paying for a stay of about 3 months, with the added contract of being allowed to extend it by a month for some extra money.
Now their lodging had been settled, Ryker decided to prepare for his tomorrow plans. Firstly, he would go to the Adventure Guilds and pick some missions. However, he doubts he will get any missions that would be challenging as his strength is at the 3rd Stage Genesis Spring while his current rank would only allow him to take missions that would take Genesis Core to finish them.
Besides that, if he had the time, he would go to the Craftsman Alliance and sharpen his skills. If he still had some free time, he would spend it cultivating, and maybe comprehending more Cultivation Art.
Though, for tonight, he had some important 'people' to do.