I ended up spreading the acquisition of the other four mundane skills across the journey. The experience was very painful, so I preferred to spread it over a few weeks.

  The Royal City of Basthad was the largest city in the Berklay Kingdom. It was located in the center of the kingdom with two main trade routes crossing through it. One was the route going from north to south, and the second was a route running from east to west. This made it not only the city where the king resided but also a city of trade. It had hundreds of small and large marketplaces scattered throughout.

  It was split into five districts. The first one was the so-called ‘Outer District’, a place around the city outside of the walls. It was the poorest, most desperate, and darkest part of the city. No guards ever went there, and the only reason it was tolerated was that it offered another layer of defense for the city, acting as an obstacle for attacking armies to cross.

  Inside the walls, an area that took up most of the city, housed the majority of the population, and contained most of the marketplaces: the ‘Commoner’s District’. It was originally intended to house all commoners, but over the years, it became home to the less wealthy, whether they were commoners or nobles. One could enter or leave this place by using any of the four gates, to the north, west, east, and south. But, in order to enter, you had to have either a citizen’s permit, a trader’s permit, or pay for a visitor’s permit. It was sandwiched between the outer city walls on one side and the inner wall on the other.

  Just beyond the inner wall of the Commoner’s District, one could find the ‘Academy District’, once again one could use any of the four gates to enter or leave, arranged in four cardinal directions. As the name suggested, the Royal Academy was located here, along with all its training fields, lecture halls, and dormitories for students and staff. To enter, you had to have an invitation, a student or staff ID, or proof that you lived or worked in one of the areas beyond.

  Once again, beyond the inner wall of the Academy District was the ‘Noble District’. It was much smaller and much more exclusive place than the previous sectors. Aside from the usual four gates in all cardinal directions, it had two special ones that bypassed everything else and led directly outside of the city walls, to the northeast and southwest, for those who wanted to avoid normal street traffic. Originally home to nobles exclusively, it over time became home to the wealthy regardless of their origin. To enter, you had to go through a check proving that you either lived there, worked there, or were invited.

  Last but not least was the smallest part of the city with a single entrance to the south, the ‘Royal District’. It was home to the royal family and the palace staff, with entry restricted to those living or working there and those with an invitation.

  The city was filled with tall brick buildings with slate roofs and cast-iron balconies that grew larger and more luxurious as you got closer to the Royal District. The same applied to the people; everyone was dressed in a similar style. Women’s clothes were defined by tight corsets, voluminous crinolines, and high collars. For men, you saw elegant tailcoats and waistcoats often complemented by top hats. The clothes simply became more expensive and vibrant as you approached the center of the city. All the streets had distinct, wide stone-paved roads for carriages with an elevated sidewalk on each side, featuring lamps powered by monster cores that shone like jewels in the night.

  As my carriage stopped in front of the city gate, it was approached by two guards. One went to speak with the coachman to check his papers, while the second walked up to my door and knocked.

  "Greetings, sir! Royal City of Basthad guard here. Please step out of the carriage!"

  I obliged right away, only to see him standing a few steps away, waiting for me to exit. The moment I did, he continued.

  "Greetings. Do you have a permit, sir?"

  I shook my head.

  "Are you willing to pay for a visitor’s permit, sir?"

  "Yes, gladly!"

  The guard smiled and pointed toward the gate.

  "Please grab all your luggage and follow me. Your carriage won’t be able to enter the city with you anyway, unless you are willing to pay for the coachman."

  "I will pay for him; he needs some rest before heading back. And I have my luggage in my storage, so there's no need to worry about that!"

  "Perfect!" the guard gestured to the guard handling the coachman. The other guard nodded and jumped up onto the coach to sit next to the coachman as he directed him where to drive.

  "Now please follow me, sir!" the guard led me into a small booth built into the wall.

  There, he asked: "For how long do you want the permits?"

  "I will take mine for the maximum duration possible, and let's make it two days for the coachman so that he can rest a bit!"

  The man at the desk nodded and started preparing permits for both of us. Since the second guard brought the papers from the coachman, there were no issues with the coachman’s permit. But when it came to me, he stopped. He slowly looked up from his table. "Do you have any papers, sir?"

  "No. Is that an issue?"

  "Not really. I will just need you to provide some details and check if you are wanted somewhere." He pulled out a piece of black paper from the table and placed it in front of me. "Please place your hand on the paper and channel a little mana into it. Just enough for it to start changing color!"

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  I nodded and did exactly that without speaking. The moment I pressed my hand onto the paper, it started changing color before I could even think about channeling mana into it. Not sure if that was enough, I was about to channel more when the guard stopped me.

  "Stop, please! That’s enough! You must have plenty of mana; just the residue on your hands was enough to trigger the paper."

  He then grabbed the paper and placed it into a paper-shaped slot in a small, drawer-like device at the back of the room. Several seconds later, it came back out completely white. He turned to me and said:

  "You are clean. Perfect. Now, I’m going to need your full name!"

  "Victor Shrier!"

  "Good! Now, your age, please!"

  "Thirty-two!"

  The guard filled out the papers quickly and then handed them to me.

  "This is your permit; it’s valid for a month. In case you need more time, you can come and pay for a new one. If you want a citizen’s permit, you must either become a Rank C dungeon delver or bounty hunter to receive a universal citizen’s permit valid for the entire kingdom, receive a certificate from your employer or you will need to own a house here in the city. Understood?"

  I nodded. "Sure, thanks! How much are the permits?"

  "One gold and six silver!"

  After I paid for the permits, I could finally enter the city properly. But before I did, I realized I didn't know where to go. The novel never properly explained how to navigate the city, only gave vague descriptions of the locations. Realizing that, I quickly turned back and asked for directions to the Bounty Hunter’s Guild, the Dungeon Delver’s Guild, and a decent inn. The guard pointed me toward the main square of the district; according to him, all the guild buildings and good inns were located around there.

  As I walked towards the center of the district, following the instructions I received from the guard, a voice sounded inside my head.

  “I feel a lot of dungeons around here! Are we going to be entering them?”

  Hope and eagerness in her voice brought a smile to my face. “Yes, many, in fact! And we'll be hunting wanted criminals too!”

  “Good!” the voice replied, filled with satisfaction.

  Once I reached the inn, I paid for a room and food for a month, and headed straight to the Dungeon Delver’s Guild to register.

  The main square was actually much smaller than I expected, with a number of guildhouses situated in a circle around a fountain.

  After entering the Dungeon Delver’s guildhouse, I found myself in a large, spacious room with couches and tables placed to the sides. Some were occupied by groups of dungeon delvers speaking to guild assistants. At the back of the room, along the wall, was a large counter with multiple receptionists handling the delvers’ requests. To the left were three window-shaped openings to the neighboring room, manned by more assistants who were buying everything the delvers had found in the dungeons.

  About twenty minutes later, I stood in front of a receptionist after waiting in a queue. She stood out very much among the other receptionists with her very exotic looks for this kingdom. She was wearing a black, one-piece, form-fitting dress that accentuated her very sensual silhouette that reached just below her knees. It featured a high, narrow collar that fit tightly around her neck and a slit that reached to the middle of her thigh. The black fabric was adorned with gold motifs of what could only be described as eastern dragons. She had gorgeous lightly tanned skin, jet-black hair in an angled bob-cut, and her dark eyes had tiny flecks of light scattered through them, like stars. She smiled at me with a professional smile.

  “Greetings! How can I help you?”

  “Greetings! I’ve come to register.”

  She nodded and started tapping on a blue glass panel placed in front of her. The device was something similar to a tablet from Earth, only powered by mana and monster cores, instead of electricity. Several seconds later, she spoke.

  “Permit, please!”

  After I handed it to her, she used it to fill in my basic information before asking further:

  “Are you a graduate of a dungeon-delving academy?”

  “No.”

  “In that case, you will have to start at E-rank. Is that okay with you?”

  “Yes, I am aware of that.”

  “Good, then we need to check your status.” She placed the blue glass panel in front of me. “Place your hand on top of that and channel some mana into it. It will measure your status.”

  Several seconds after I placed my hand on it, the glass tablet gently beeped. She took it back and tapped it a few times, then she froze. It took her almost a minute to recover; she shook her head and turned the tablet toward me, her hands still a little shaky.

  “Is t-this your s-status, please?”

  ▽▽▽

  Soul tether: Alrune, The Fallen Valkyrie

  Rarity: Mythical

  Tether level: 1

  Tether skills passive: Heavenly body

  Tether skills active: N/A

  Mundane skills: Master fencer, Mana theory expert, Teaching expert, Real estate expert, Company management expert

  Special skills: Dimensional storage

  △△△

  Looking over the status, I realized that I hadn’t checked it after learning my mundane skills. Running my eyes over them, I verified that everything was as it should be. Fencing covered my combat capabilities, Mana Theory and Teaching were for my gig as an instructor, and the last two were for the future company I wanted to start.

  “Yes, it’s all correct.”

  She nodded and quickly completed the registration. As she finished and we waited for my Dungeon Delver ID to arrive, she spoke.

  “I am sorry if I am bothering you, but may I ask you something?”

  “Sure, go ahead.” I even smiled and gestured with my hand for her to continue, trying to calm her down.

  “Would you be willing to become my personal client?”

  The offer surprised me. No one in the novel had been properly registered as a delver, so I wasn't sure what she meant, as I had never read about it.

  “Don’t worry, it is as surprising for me as it is for you. Normally, we don’t take delvers as personal clients before they reach C-rank.”

  She wanted to say more, but I gestured for her to stop. She fell silent, visibly worried that she had overstepped.

  “No worries. I don’t mind you asking; you just confused me. Would you mind explaining what being a 'personal client' actually means?”

  She sighed in relief before pointing behind me.

  “Do you see those people there, chatting with our employees?”

  After I looked where she was pointing, I saw the groups of delvers chatting with assistants from earlier. Turning back to her, I nodded. “Yes, I saw them when I entered.”

  “Those are the personal clients and their assistants. If you accept my proposal, you won’t have to wait in the queue, and we would be able to arrange meetings for specific times. I would even be able to take everything you find in the dungeon and buy it from you directly, without you needing to go to our buyout stations.”

  “And why would you want me to be your personal client?”

  “You see, we get nice bonuses if our personal clients are active and successful. Looking at your status, I am sure that you are going to become a legend in no time! So I decided to go for it and take you in right away, so that somebody won’t steal you from me later. A delver with a mythical tether and skill is a walking gold mine.”

  Her sincere response made me chuckle. “I understand. Sounds good, let’s do it.”

  She extended her hand to me with a smile, “In that case, please call me Juliet!”

  “Greetings, Juliet. Please call me Victor.”

  My response was instant and as sincere as her offering.