After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World - Chapter 408

Chapter 408: Undercurrents (Part 2)
Khlack Village

Khlack village was a village about 35 miles from Southwest from Belluga. On foot, the trek would take at least 15 hours of travel. If he sprinted, at his level, it would take about 7 or 8 hours but that would be in exchange for a lot of his health which made it a non-option.

But with his bike…, the travel comfortably took less than ten, and he saw minimal reductions to his stamina.

He admired the contraption and praised the ingenious minds of Altera.

But he saw that the so-called rubber was already dirty and already showing signs of wear. In the end, he decided not to use it anymore going forward.

It was too novel and eye-catching to use outside anyway.

He sighed and collapsed it again as per Ansel’s instruction, but much more carefully than necessary, afraid it’d break with one wrong move.

Oslo continued to walk a couple more kilometres (killing a small mob by the way) and, eventually got past the dense forest to a level 2 wall.

The wall was not in good shape. It was a wall that had holes and parts where the stone was falling down. There were too many areas that hadn’t been repaired.

It didn’t look like a reliable wall from the outside. What’s more, he could see the guards napping a bit from where he was.

Oslo sighed, walking forward past the threshold.

[Welcome to Khlack Village. Please pay 25 copper for the visitor fee.]

His eyes twitched as he went past the gate. He still paid the 25 copper, of course.

This was actually the standard entry fee for villages, but now he just thought they were ripping people off.

He entered the village and to a street just fit for a human-pulled cart. He walked around and looked, seeing the dilapidated houses and unkempt people walking around.

Many of the buildings were also in poor condition. Some were due to wear and tear, while others were damaged by the occasional monster that got past the fence.

The streets were also incredibly dirty—filled with dirt, mud, and feces.

It was now that he got a whiff of the stench (as the smell was going downwind prior) and he almost vomited.

“What!!” He gasped, ignoring the looks of the people around. Some were admiring his noble air, while some just looked at him weirdly.

It was only now that he recalled that this was how villages really looked.

Oslo pursed his lips in bafflement.

How long had he been to Altera? Why did it feel like he was in a different world altogether??

…

“Ah, and I thought my upbringing spoiled me,” Oslo said after a while of adjusting.

The houses were plain and uncomfortable, the shops were purchased as it was, and the walls were level 2 and unrepaired and would probably only be able to handle a level 5 mob for an hour.

Obviously also a village, but he couldn’t help but show distaste—even more when he had just been ‘demoted’ from a city.

He couldn’t imagine—how would it be if he had been hired by a village other than Altera? Granted, villages who could afford to upgrade their Village Center were indeed better off than this, but it was probably not by much.

He cringed, not daring to imagine the suffering.

In any case, he was really tired after being unable to rest properly in Belluga. After a thought, he (reluctantly) decided to rent a house for a shut-eye.

He walked through the narrow stone streets in search of a decent place to rent. He ignored the inquiring gazes of the people. How could he not feel how they looked at him and his ample packages, in particular, with great interest?

He decided it was less troublesome to just find out more about the territory by himself, rather than to ask any of these people.

However, at least for now, no one stepped forward to bully. Although plenty of people had odd hair color, his bearing made it obvious that he was a natural high-born.

He eventually found a small bungalow to rest for a few silver. It was just a square with the only separate room as the standard bathroom. This bathroom was, naturally, the one with a hole on the floor.

He already missed his nice porcelain seat where he read a small handbook of architectural notes he had while waiting for his stomach to cleanse itself. He also bought some perfume from the lord as well, so even when he was doing business, the stench wasn’t so bad either.

He sighed, realizing he had truly been spoiled.

Anyway, Oslo walked to the only furniture there: a bed. It was wooden and could fit just one person comfortably. There was no cushion at all, and it was hard and uncomfortable to even sit on. There were even splinters here and there, making him suffer more.

Fortunately, he had some blankets from Altera. While he couldn’t get those comforters (it was very space-consuming), the blankets were enough to cover the particularly uncomfortable surfaces.

It was just that he had to cover his nose as he slept, for fear of not waking up due to the horrid smell that occasionally whiffed up to his area.

Disgusting!

To be fair, even the cities weren’t exempt from these smells, especially the relatively poorer areas. But who told Altera to be so clean! Even Belluga was clean because of the people’s habits, so going to this place was like a massive slap of smell!

Anyway, he rested for a few hours and ate his food from the space. After over a month in Altera, he would definitely have difficulty stomaching the food outside, so he prepared some ‘adjustment food’ for himself.

For this meal, he was eating buns and noodles.

It was simple compared to the usual, but it tasted like ‘home’.

He reluctantly drank the limited tea in a jar, wishing he could take more, primarily because he had a headache from the horrid smell.

In the end, he only took a few sips before putting it away.

It wasn’t enough to drink of course, and he recalled the juice shop in the village, deciding to buy a few pints there to save up what he stocked. He had limited space and he didn’t take enough water. At the very least, juices in stores were made from natural fruit so they didn’t taste too bad.

As he queued, he couldn’t help but overhear a chatting group of burly men approaching the line. There were about four of them, very tall and filled with scars. From this alone, he knew they were mercenaries.

They also had menacing auras about them, their tones as they spoke were oozing with annoyance.

The people in front of the line of them immediately cleared, and they grinned, proud of their effect on the ants. With smirks on their faces, they sauntered towards the front of the line to order.

They continued chatting and it was careless enough that Oslo could hear what they were talking about even when they were several people away from him.

Of course, it could also be that Oslo had a much higher level than anyone else and the men probably didn’t think anyone in his distance was strong enough for them to care.

“Why did the master ask us to go all the way here?” one person asked his companion. “How many days we had to endure to even travel to this back country.”

“We need to investigate what’s inside the fog now that it’s lifted,” one man said, “Geez, what a hassle!”

“Heh. What’s there worth of our Lord’s trouble?” One man asked, genuinely curious, while his companion shrugged.

The other one cackled, “Well, they did just say to scout it out right? Then we’ll deal with it later.”

“Ah, yeah, that’s what he said.”

The largest one sneered though, “What’s the need to study? Do we need to prepare to deal with these weaklings?”

The others chuckled at this, obviously agreeing with him, but not daring to outwardly speak against their lord.

Behind them, a certain blonde looked at them with narrowed eyes.

These people… weren’t friendly.

For a while, he didn’t do anything and just stared, his fist occasionally clenching. He watched as they bought their drinks and walked back to the door, apparently not planning on staying at the tables.

This meant he could no longer eavesdrop with ease.

Taking a spontaneous decision, he furtively gave a glance and walked towards them, as if heading to one of the tables.

He purposely bumped into them, making the person slightly imbalanced.

“Oof, sorry.” Oslo said, his masked face not showing guilt at all.

“Watch out!”

“I”m sorry,” he repeated, manifesting gold. “Here.” he said, “I’m in a hurry you see.”

“It’s all I have,” he said, trying to block their mouths from asking for more. After all, even this village had a rule against outright theft and philandering.

Oslo then walked away without looking back, making the men look at each other.

The man nodded, and followed him.

They planned on robbing him as soon as he left the territory.

…

Their plan was destined to fail however because, later that night, the two men would have very painful stomachaches.

When Oslo bumped into them, he sent some mild poison he bought from Althea (who had a very private and inclusive market for her poisons), hoping to debilitate them.

Unfortunately, at their level, this definitely wouldn’t kill them.

However, at the very least, these guys would be incapacitated for a few days. A few days in Altera, after all, meant a lot more people had time to level up.

And that was already plenty compared to others.