After meditating until 1 AM, I went straight to sleep. And when I woke up at 4 AM, my fatigue was gone and my Arkium had recovered.
A good day is one that starts with a body free of exhaustion.
After a few moments of showering and wearing clothes, I sat in front of the door, wearing my leather shoes. Dressed simply in gloves, a jacket, and a hooded cloak, I looked like a true adventurer.
For my belongings, I used a backpack and didn't put them in the storage ring. There was a tent on top of the backpack and a sort of board underneath it.
The reason I didn't use the storage ring, although it sounds silly, was that I wanted to experience what a real journey felt like. After all, I was in a game I used to play. Besides the threat of death, I needed to enjoy it a little.
However, I still wore the storage ring for emergencies. Additionally, I used it to store valuables like money. I also put a communication orb and its contact card in the storage ring. This time, unlike before, I brought the communication orb.
Looking at me plainly, Alfred, who was behind me, said, "Miss Yolina asked if you could visit her. Will you be able to come home today or tomorrow? I will inform her."
As for Mia, well, she was still sleeping. I instructed Alfred not to wake her up.
"Please apologize to her for me. I can't visit, but I'll leave her some breakfast this morning," I replied.
"Very well, young master," Alfred responded.
I stood up and slung my backpack over my shoulder.
"Oh, and how was she yesterday?" I asked about Yolina.
"When I was there yesterday afternoon, she still had a fever but wasn't weak anymore," Alfred answered.
After a brief pause, Alfred continued, "Should I order my subordinates to protect you?"
Protection? It was actually a good suggestion. There was no guarantee that those targeting me would remain quiet. But if I were constantly protected, my strength would increase more slowly.
"No need. Just stand by if I contact you with the communication orb," I said as I opened the door.
"In that case, be careful, young master," Alfred said, bowing.
I closed the door and walked to the elevator. Since it was still early and not many people were awake, the elevator opened quickly without a long wait.
After exiting the dormitory, I saw the gate guard. I wasn't sure if this guard was the one contacted by Mr. Brad last Thursday. Because I didn't know him as well as Mr. Brad, I simply raised my hand. He responded by raising his hand. My hood was still down, so the guard recognized my face.
I then headed to the station near my dorm. I took a tram to the station near Yolina's dorm. Once I arrived, I walked to Yolina's dorm.
In Yolina's dorm region, which wasn't as luxurious as mine, there were several street food vendors still open 24 hours. I stopped by one of the stands. They sold chicken porridge and noodle soup. I bought both with the broth separated. Then I headed straight to Yolina's dorm.
As usual, Mr. Brad was there working the night shift. So I left the food with him. I was sure the food would be cold later, but Yolina could reheat it in the kitchen.
After leaving the food for Yolina, I went back to the tram station and headed to Emberlinde Magic Train Station. This station is one of the long-distance magic train stations in Sciendufer, the Emberlinde Station.
When I arrived at Emberlinde Station, I could see how magnificent it was. Honestly, as Edward, I had never been to a long-distance train station. Edward always chose the luxurious option, the Floating Ship. So I was quite impressed. Especially as Dark Saber, I liked things like this.
Morning sunlight streamed through the large glass windows, casting golden rays that lit up the clean stone floors and rows of sturdy iron columns. The station's grand roof featured iron and glass arches that allowed natural light to flood in, creating a bright and warm atmosphere.
From the outer platform, I could see various activities. The passengers here were diverse, wearing everything from luxurious to simple clothing, worn by different races. Some were dressed as wizards, mad scientists, knights in armor, adventurers, and many others. Some carried leather suitcases and wooden chests, while others brought trade goods. Station staff, in neat uniforms, helped passengers and loaded items into the carriages.
A steam locomotive with long carriages parked at one of the platforms was a striking sight. This massive iron machine, with its large wheels and gleaming steam cylinders, emitted hissing steam sounds and rhythmic engine beats. White smoke billowed from the locomotive's chimney, rising to the station's high ceiling before slowly dissipating. The locomotive bore the classic logo of the Geostephen Railway Company.
Its shape was reminiscent of an ancient train on Earth. It looked like the largest steam locomotive, Big Boy, that I had read about in ancient Earth history books. Very different from the high-speed trains and hyperloops I had ridden before. What was the steam for? Wasn't transportation here powered by magicium crystals? Was the steam from the water used to cool the magicium crystals? I ignored that and kept walking.
The atmosphere was quite busy for this early in the morning. Was there a schedule for departures to major cities? I looked around and saw the departure schedule board at the outer platform.
I walked over and read the blackboard. It displayed Ardterrion language and general continental script with visual light magic runes, creating an effect similar to digital scrolling text at airports in my previous world.
I could read one of the train destinations this morning. There was a stop at the Imperial Capital, Ardterrion Capitale. Looking at other schedules, there were no departures to the capital except this morning and later tonight. Then, on another board, there was an announcement that trips passing through Ardterrion Capitale were only available on Saturdays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.
'No wonder it's quite busy today,' I thought.
But the train I would be taking wasn't the one parked here. This train would take the western route, while I was heading east. My train would arrive in about 30 minutes. I hadn't bought a ticket yet; could I buy one on the spot? I decided to walk around and find someone to ask.
I could just head straight to the ticket counter, but it would be pointless if I queued up but couldn't buy a ticket. So it was better to ask first.
"Excuse me, sir!" I called one of the security officers on the outer platform.
The officer looked at me with a professional smile. I approached him and shook his hand with my right hand.
"Good morning, sir! How can I help you?" the officer asked kindly.
"This morning, can I still book a ticket to Berkington city stop?" I asked.
"Berkington city, huh? That means the train after this one. Yes, you can still book. Just go ahead and order at the counter," the officer kindly replied.
After thanking him, I immediately booked a ticket. After queuing for 10 minutes, I successfully bought a ticket. That meant I still had about 20 minutes before the train arrived. I entered the inner platform by showing my ticket and sat down on a platform bench.
Twenty minutes passed, and the train arrived 2 minutes later. This train also had a locomotive as large as the previous one. The locomotive also bore the Geostephen Railway Company logo.
'This Geostephen company seems to be a big one,' I thought.
While I was lost in thought, the horn of the neighboring platform's locomotive, scheduled for the Imperial Capital, sounded and began to move. I ignored it and entered the carriage indicated on my ticket.
After sitting in my seat for about 10 minutes, the train departed. I looked out the window. As the journey progressed, the bustling city scenery gradually became less populated with buildings. Then the train stopped at the eastern gate station of Sciendufer.
I didn't get off. Ten minutes later, the train moved again. From here, the train entered Sciendufer's secondary area, where villages with farms, livestock, and natural resource processing stood without the city's wall boundaries.
The journey to Berkington took about 3 hours, passing through 4 stops. The eastern gate station of Sciendufer and three more stations. Berkington was quite far from Sciendufer.
When I got off at Berkington's station, the atmosphere was very different from Sciendufer. Well, Berkington was a smaller city than Sciendufer.
I put on my hood and used Quantumorph Artisan to create a tactical helmet from my previous life with visible hair at the back. I also replaced my gloves and shoes with Quantumorph Artisan-made gauntlets and boots. So the design would be very different from the designs in this world. Even so, it was still covered by my cloak.
I walked leisurely down the city streets. This city was often depicted as a medieval fantasy city. Buildings that didn't stand out like in Sciendufer, vendors selling goods on the roadside, people in ordinary clothes wandering the streets, and a lively yet simple atmosphere.
As I walked, I whistled and said in a low volume, "This is how a fantasy city should be. Also, games and reality surely have big differences."
'What am I saying? That's obvious,' I thought, contradicting my words.
Berkington was the first step to obtaining the Aegis Sentinel ring. There was a request at the adventurer's guild to collect herbs. These herbs were found deep in the forest near a dungeon.
To take the request, I had to register as a guild member. Whether it was the wizard guild, adventurer guild, healer guild, merchant guild, blacksmith guild, mercenary guild, or any guild registered with the empire.
Although I was a mercenary in my previous life, I wouldn't join the mercenary guild here. Mercenaries had an uncertain reputation, so I preferred to join the adventurer guild in Berkington. Besides having a neutral reputation, adventurers enjoyed more freedom.
The adventurer guild wasn't far from Berkington station, so it only took me about 5 minutes to walk there.
The Berkington adventurer guild was quite large, though not as big or as grand as in Sciendufer. Its architecture was similar to the buildings in Sciendufer but different from the common architecture in Berkington. Nevertheless, it still blended with the city's atmosphere and buildings.
I opened the guild door. The room was spacious, illuminated by hanging crystal lights and large candles scattered in various corners.
The guild floor was made of sturdy wooden planks, showing signs of use with sword scratches and heavy boot marks. The walls were decorated with hand-painted maps of the Berkington area and several flags from various adventurer parties. A large bulletin board on one wall displayed various requests and missions, with notes and flyers haphazardly but orderly posted.
To my right was the reception area managed by several guild staff. On the upper wall was the emblem of the Berkington Adventurer Guild. Anyway, most of the reception staff were women.
As I entered, the people inside stared at me like in a cowboy movie when a character walks into a saloon. Most were drinking and eating at the bar in the front of the guild room. The majority of the races here were humans, beastmen, and elves, with elves being the least visible.
'Whether in my previous life or here, unfamiliar people in an area always draw attention. Especially in a place like an adventurer or mercenary guild,' I thought, walking casually to the reception desk, ignoring the adventurers' stares.
When I reached one of the reception desks, a blonde-haired staff woman looked at me for a while. She looked me up and down. Then she gave a professional smile.
"Good morning, sir. You seem new to this city. How can I help you?" the staff woman asked kindly.
"I'd like to register as an adventurer." I added a mysterious nuance to my voice, disguising it with a semi-robotic, distorted effect.
At that time, the female receptionist was a little shocked. But immediately returned her professional smile.
"Of course, sir. Before that, let me put your name on the list of those wishing to register first. What's your name, sir?" the receptionist asked, holding a pen.
After a brief pause, I answered...
"Darius Gallean."