Swords, magic, and martial arts

The ship didn't set sail again until the next morning. Quentin sent some of the surviving sailors to the pirates' ship, and he decided to take both ships to the nearest city.

In the afternoon, Rhodes and his companions arrived at Stromgarde, the port city of the Nord Kingdom closest to the Kingdom of Fish.

If they hadn't encountered river pirates, Rhodes and his crew wouldn't have needed to stop here. Quentin's ship had an import/export trade permit; they only needed to be checked at a border city of the Kingdom of Fish before entering the Kingdom of Fish.

"I'm sorry to have delayed your journey, but you'll definitely make it to the tournament," Quentin said apologetically to Rhodes and the others before disembarking.

Quentin hadn't felt apologetic for making them wait so long before; this time, he was mainly grateful to Rhodes and the others, because if it weren't for them, the entire ship would have died.

They would be staying in Stromgarde for one or two days. Quentin needed to report to the lord about the matter; many had escaped during the battle, and the local lord needed to know this. If he were a good lord, he would also send troops to hunt them down and warn all his subjects to be on guard.

If the ship is to be sold as spoils of war, the lord must be informed. Such a large ship will be sold, and the whole city will know. The lord will also be curious about where the ship came from, so it is necessary to explain these things to the lord in advance.

All the money from the sale of the pirate ship would go to the crew's compensation. Quentin wanted to share some of it with Rhodes as a token of gratitude, but Rhodes refused, only taking a one-handed sword as a symbolic reward.

After being rammed by the river pirates' boat, Quentin's boat needs simple repairs, but it's estimated that it will be fixed in an afternoon, and it's estimated that it won't be able to set sail until at least tomorrow afternoon.

"We'll just rest in the city for a few days; the boat trip was exhausting and boring." Baron stretched after disembarking. "Let's go get something to drink; the drinks on the boat are practically tasteless."

"I'm fine with anything." Hammer regained some of his energy after disembarking. He had been suffering from severe seasickness on the ship, vomiting almost constantly, but he didn't complain at all.

"I'll go to the tavern with you first, then I'd like to go out for a walk," Rhodes said, wanting to see if there were any cheap spellbooks for sale in the city.

Stromgarde has tens of thousands of residents and is considered a bustling city in Nord.

Rhodes and his companions arrived at the entrance of a poorly decorated tavern. Stepping inside, Rhodes felt that the tavern was similar to those in Clearstream City, with an unpleasant stench of sweat, fish, and alcohol permeating the air.

"I've memorized this spot. You guys enjoy your drinks, I'll be back tonight," Rhodes said to Baron and Hammer, who were already seated on the bench.

"be safe."

Rhodes quickly left the tavern, then took a few deep breaths to feel alive again. The smell inside was absolutely awful. In winter, the smell of the tavern was bearable, but in summer it was hell.

"I should have asked someone which general store is the best," Rod suddenly thought.

If you want to buy a good spellbook, you can only get it from a mage or from a magic shop run by a mage, but these are all very expensive. Rhode decided to try his luck at the general store, hoping to find a suitable one.

However, the hope was somewhat slim. He also knew what the general store sold. Adventurers would sell all sorts of random things they got after their adventures to the general store, and the general store would buy anything, even things that very few people would use.

For example, snow rat tails, frost-eating spider teeth, mud crab shells, ghoul bone powder... and a whole bunch of other random things. There are also many incomprehensible scrolls and books sold to general stores. If you're lucky, you might find powerful magic recorded in ancient languages. If you're unlucky, you might find diaries or love letters written in ancient languages.

Rhodes felt someone standing behind him, and when he turned around, he saw it was Messiah.

"Why are you out here too?" Rod asked curiously.

"It smells awful inside, let's come out and get some fresh air," Misell replied.

"Oh, then take a few more breaths. I'm off." Rod turned and walked towards the city's commercial district.

Although there are general stores everywhere, those that can be opened in commercial areas must be pretty good, otherwise they wouldn't be able to afford the rent.

"Where are you going? I'll go with you, I have nothing to do anyway." Misell followed.

Rhodes slowed his pace. Bringing Messiah along had its advantages; perhaps she could find some better spellbooks.

"I'm going to buy a magic book," Rhodes replied.

"Hmm, you should learn some magic. I can sense the immense magical power within you. Your talent is being completely wasted," Misell said.

"Do you need magic to use divine magic?" Rhodes asked somewhat embarrassedly, changing the subject.

"No need," Messil replied.

"Then what do you rely on? Speaking loudly so that the gods can hear you?" Rhodes asked. He clearly remembered that Messiah would chant something loudly before using divine magic. Anyway, it felt very cringeworthy. If it were him, he would definitely be extremely embarrassed.

"Of course, it's because of God's favor and my loyalty to God," Messial replied, seemingly a little unhappy.

Although Rhodes wanted to turn a believer in God into a staunch dialectical materialist, he thought that the rules of this world were different from before, and that idealism might be the truth. Considering that he couldn't kill the conversation, he could only change the subject.

"If you can sense the magic within me, then you can tell whether the books you're selling are books about magic?" Rhodes asked again.

"You're covering too much of the magic topic. If it's a book that directly teaches people how to use magic, then of course I can read it. But if it's about explaining the theoretical knowledge of magic, even a legendary master magician wouldn't be able to sense it."

Rhodes remained silent. He felt that Messiah was looking at him like he was an idiot, so he decided to wait until he had thought of a suitable topic before speaking.

Then, without saying a word, the two walked awkwardly toward the commercial district of Stromgarde City.

The city wasn't large, and the two quickly arrived at the city's commercial district, where several general stores were located together. Rhodes chose a store called "Dalton's General Store" and went inside, wondering if the owner was a physics and chemistry researcher, or perhaps an alchemist.

Pushing open the door, Rhode saw several rows of shelves and a counter, all filled with all sorts of strange and unusual things: troll skulls, glowing mushrooms, walrus tusks, agave...

"What would you like?" asked the grocer, a middle-aged balding man whose name was, if I'm not mistaken, Dalton.

Rhodes suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Messiah in a low voice.

"Can you negotiate?"

Messil was taken aback and replied hesitantly, "I'll give it a try."

……