6kv Chapter 6 Cabbage Town
Chapter 6 Cabbage Town
It took Snowball almost a whole day to accept the fact that Zag was a genius.
"Honestly, are you some kind of ancient being from the Annihilation Era? I've never seen anything this outrageous!"
Snowball kept babbling on, "I suggest you resign immediately, then go to the East Coast Port black market and rummage through some spellbooks for free. I'll also train you in basic magic knowledge, and you can get certified as an Investigator by the Association. That way, we won't have to earn this pitiful sentry salary anymore!"
Zag rejected Snowball's suggestion without hesitation: "I don't want to live a life where my head is hanging by a thread."
Snowball persisted, refusing to give up: "How could that be! With your talent, once you've earned enough money, you can go to the Golden Palace's library and learn all the magic there! You will become the first legendary archmage of this century!"
Do you know what this means?
"You will become a true god walking on earth! Even those long-eared spectacles on top of their heads in Lunaran will treat you with utmost respect! You will have inexhaustible wealth! If you wish, you can even establish a new country!"
"No, in fact, it's not impossible for you to become the new Supreme King!"
"And I'll have an endless supply of dried fish!"
Zag glanced unmoved at the agitated Snowball: "Your real purpose was that last sentence, wasn't it?"
"I'm doing this for your own good!"
Snowball, furious, breathed on Zag, revealing its sharp teeth.
As the two were talking, there was a rapid knocking on the door.
Zag frowned, turned around and opened the door. Outside stood a somewhat familiar-looking old man.
"Sir! I've saved enough money! Four gold pounds and 120 shillings, not a penny less!"
The old man carefully took out a cloth bag from his bosom and poured out the coins inside. The four gleaming gold pounds were surrounded by a pile of silver shillings, which was very eye-catching.
Snowball couldn't help but mutter, "The bank actually gave him a loan? That's insane! Even robbery wouldn't be this fast!"
Zag also realized the old man's identity—
A citizen living on the outskirts of town yesterday pleaded for a warrant, holding 120 shillings, requesting an investigator to look for his missing daughter. The warrant was classified as a Level 2 warrant because hair resembling that of a black-faced hound was found near the route his daughter usually took.
Zag refused to publish the commission yesterday because he refused to advance the bounty, but unexpectedly, the other party managed to raise the money today.
80 shillings is not a small amount, considering that Zag's weekly salary is only 30 shillings, which is considered a "high-paying job" in the small town.
How did you manage to scrape together the money?
Zag was also somewhat curious.
But he quickly realized the question was somewhat offensive, so he hurriedly added, "I'm sorry, if it's inconvenient to say, you don't have to. I'll fill out your file and post the request right away."
“There’s nothing I can’t say, sir.” The old man’s cloudy eyes gleamed with relief: “Didn’t an alchemist from the port come to the tavern these past two days? He hired volunteers for 4 gold pounds to help him experiment with alchemical potions, and I did the job. It just so happens, sir, exactly 4 gold pounds, and with all the money I’ve saved, it’s just enough for 200 shillings.”
As Zag wrote in the file, he casually remarked, "That's really lucky."
The old man was also very happy: "Yes, how lucky!"
After a while, Zag stretched out the paper with the completed file, blew on the ink, and then pointed to a part in the lower right corner and said, "Okay, the file is finished. Sign here. If you can't write, just put your fingerprint on it. I'll post the commission for you now. It's a level 2 case, so the results should be available in a day or two."
The old man gratefully pressed his handprint, repeatedly expressing his thanks: "Thank you, thank you so much, sir, may Meredra bless you."
Meretra is the Earth Mother Goddess, who governs fertility, childbirth, marriage, and family. She is widely worshipped in the High Kingdom, and this old man is clearly one of her believers, using this to bless Zag.
After seeing the old man off, Zag glanced at the hanging clock.
6:15 PM.
No wonder it's completely dark outside.
He added more firewood to the fireplace, then sat down in a chair and began to plan his future.
First of all, given that he has such a powerful and terrifying cheat ability, it would be a real waste for him to stay in this small town as a sentry.
The only problem is that without sufficient strength, the world is still fraught with danger for him.
As a Sentinel, whether from the original owner's memories or from his work over the past week, he was all too aware of the dangers hidden outside the peaceful town.
The town where he lived was located in the eastern part of the kingdom's eastern border region. Its name was very perfunctory, called Cabbage Town, and it was once famous for growing delicious cabbages.
In the past, cabbages produced by several nearby farms could be transported as far as the royal city. However, after the great calamity hundreds of years ago, the emergence of the Dark Realm polluted the land of the Eastern Territory, making the soil no longer fertile. This led to the bankruptcy of many farms, and only the cabbage farm closest to the Cabbage Town survived.
Of course, the town's population also decreased sharply.
This is not the town's fault. In fact, throughout the entire Eastern Territory, apart from the lord's family, all the nobles of any status have fled.
Because this place is too close to the Dark Realm, so close that it is unsettling, especially since many nobles fled to the Eastern Territory during the Great Calamity. They have faced the terror and despair of the Dark Realm firsthand, so they yearn for stability and prosperity all the more, and thus flock to the royal city.
With these noble lords gone, some middle-class families with the means and savings began to try to immigrate. The lucky ones could find work near the capital, while those with no other options would move to other territories or counties farther from the Black Realm.
Only the lord, Barton Oliver Goldhelm of the Goldhelm family, as the lord of the Eastern Territory, could not run away.
He bore the honor of the Golden Helmet family—a name derived from the most glorious clan that guarded the royal family, much like the golden helmet itself. Therefore, he stood steadfastly in the Golden Helmet Fortress of the Eastern Frontier, vowing to become the kingdom's first line of defense against the Dark Realm.
However, Barton secretly sent his two children to the capital to study in the Golden Palace.
It's perfectly understandable that an old earl, loyal to the kingdom, would plan for his children out of concern, including preserving the Golden Helmet family bloodline, a plan that received unanimous approval from the entire kingdom. Therefore, they were well taken care of in the capital, even receiving direct royal allowances for pocket money—after all, the royal family was incredibly wealthy, and spending a little money to secure the loyalty of the general guarding the border was a very worthwhile deal.
The High King even planned to have his youngest son marry this young lady from the Golden Helmet family. Although the Golden Helmet family had declined due to the Great Calamity, this young lady was truly talented in magic. At the young age of sixteen, she had already shed her apprentice mage status and become a formally registered junior mage in the Golden Palace, which was rare even among nobles with extremely abundant learning resources.
In short, the fact that even the lords sent their children to the royal court shows just how dangerous the Eastern Territory was.
This is why a small town has established a complete association outpost and association office. In other territories, a small town with a sparse population and underdeveloped economy would never waste the association's funding.
Zag receives private commissions almost every day, including reports of magical creatures found outside the farm, missing relatives suspected of being attacked by magical creatures, resurrected corpses, and possession by evil spirits.
Especially the resurrection of corpses—he receives two or three such incidents almost every week. Although most of the time they are accidental events caused by magical fluctuations and pollution from the Dark Realm, and do not pose any threat to citizens, Zag still posts these requests diligently according to regulations.
Of course, the economic situation of the citizens in the town could not support such frequent private commissions, so in this place, or rather, in all the border towns that are close to the Black Border, there exists a special level of commission: Level 0.
The price for such a commission typically ranges from 20 to 50 shillings, and in extreme cases, it can even be as low as 10 shillings.
For example, a farmer once insisted that his hen was possessed by an evil spirit and was attacking everyone, so Zag paid him 10 shillings as a reward.
However, a short-staffed investigator did take the commission and, after investigating, concluded that "the hen was simply exhibiting the protective behavior that any hen would exhibit."
Ten shillings is half a week's wages for a manual laborer, and they are willing to grit their teeth and pay it even when faced with the threat of death.
Therefore, most of the time, Zha Ge posts these low-level commissions with pitifully small amounts.
However, Cabbage Town is not without its merits.
This is an intermediate station for transshipment from the Eastern Port to the inland areas. Because ships can be loaded at the entrance of the town and transported via the Fairy River to the neighboring Walton Territory, radiating to the towns throughout Walton Territory, the river transport business supports many residents of the town.
But this does not change the fact that the town is a poor place.
At least Zag doesn't intend to stay here long-term.
Just kidding! I finally managed to transmigrate, and I even have such a powerful cheat ability. If I could just lie here and do nothing, I'd be too unambitious!
This godforsaken place is far too dangerous to be described as a place to lie down!
Even if I have to lie down, I have to lie down in the royal city!
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[Snowball's Mini-Drama]: In the Eternal High Kingdom, the Holland coinage system is used, with 1 gold pound equal to 20 shillings and 1 shilling equal to 12 pence. These coins are famous for being decorated with portraits of members of the Holland family, the royal court of the High Kingdom, hence the name Holland coins.