Amanir was looking around in confusion.

    He found that the Life Vein was smaller than normal or at least smaller than he remembered.

    But then, he sensed Rex was looking at him.

    Glancing over, he saw Rex was looking at him with such a gaze that made him uncomfortable—it was as if he was looking at a trash bag. Feeling probed, Amanir tucked his massive ears onto his body as if he were naked.

    On the other hand, Rex could only shake his head.

    "Is this your friends?" Suddenly, Andreas approached from the side.@@@@

    Recalling that Andreas was standing behind him, Rex quickly moved to the side and presented him.

    "Linthia, Amanir," He gestured towards each of them. "This is Andreas, he helped me earlier"

    "How do you know my name already? I haven’t told you," Andreas turned to Rex and murmured.

    He was both confused and surprised at the same time.

    Of course, Rex had forgotten about this.

    Knowing someone else’s name instantly could be used as a threat, the same way as he did back when he fought the Archangel of Knives. Rex has always used the stat window like that, to assess danger and also as threats.

    Having done it for so long, he had begun to make small mistakes like this.

    Just as Rex was about to say an excuse, Andreas laughed aloud, "Why the long face? I must have told you my name earlier to you by mistake, haven’t I?" Focusing back to Amanir and Linthia, he reached out his hand. "Pleased to make both your acquaintances"

    Upon hearing this, Linthia and Amanir shook his hand and also introduced themselves.

    "I must say, I didn’t expect to see a kind one like you here," Andreas commented, directing it at Linthia.

    "Eh...?" Linthia tilted her head a little in confusion. "What do you mean?"

    Just then, Amanir cleared his throat from behind, "She’s not particularly nice at the start but with time, she grew nicer. It didn’t take long before she became close to us like this. Of course, the biggest factor was because of how cute I was. Who could even resist me?"

    Saving the day, Amanir flapped his flabby pink ears—trying to act cute.

    Recognizing the signal, Linthia also laughed and awkwardly pinched Amanir’s ears, "R- Right..."

    Andreas laughed louder, "Cute Demon Spirits like you are always good with the girls, I’m envious"

    Both he and Amanir laughed cheerfully, matching in personality.

    Soon, Andreas turned to Rex once again, "Oh, right, did you also come here to take refuge?"

    "Refuge?" Rex raised an eyebrow questioningly.

    Andreas nodded, "I guess you haven’t heard. Lady Davina is helping the Ravencort House to stall the nearby Voidal Monsters while they patch their Obelisk of Life’s bubble, so Voidal Monsters have been gathering in the nearby area due to their battles. But I reckoned it would be done soon"

    "If not to take refuge, did you guys come here to trade or work?" He asked again.

    Rex shook his head, "We’re travelers, we’ve only arrived so we don’t really know our way around"

    "Well, if that’s the case, allow me to show you around!" Andreas said, pointing at his own chest.

    Upon hearing this, Amanir and Linthia in reflex looked at Rex.

    Pondering for a second and finding that it was hard to refuse Andreas if he was this excited, Rex decided to follow him for now as he learned where he was and strategized, "If you don’t mind, it will be a great help"

    Nodding happily, Andreas led them through the Life Vein—heading to the main bubble at the end.

    Life Veins are the roots of an Obelisk of Life.

    People barely used any vehicles here, there are only mount beasts, spirit beasts, trains, and also bicycles.

    Based on Andreas, Arbitgea is a branch city under the dominion of a powerful House belonging to the Viscount that stands as the unrivaled heart of production. Renowned for its industrious spirit, the city thrives as a hub for skilled spirits, offering them opportunities to craft, innovate, and earn a prosperous living under the Viscount’s rule.

    No matter what the skills are, Arbitgea always has a place for everyone who is willing to work.

    For once, Rex was in luck.

    "As you can see," Andreas started as he walked along the busy street. "Everything here is empowered by the energy siphoned from the Obelisk of Life. Also, you can find anything here from equipment and crafts, information, even a lover!"

    Rex nodded as he viewed the surroundings.

    Catching a flyer that was blown by the wind, he read it before showing it to Andreas.

    "What’s a walker?" He asked questioningly.

    Upon hearing this—Andreas smiled, "A Walker is an occupation for those who want to take on jobs in the Black Rift, dangerous jobs. Finding powerful artifacts or items, taking down Void Monsters, that sort of thing. Since you’re strong and also have a Seeker, I recommend you take up that position. It will be dangerous but the payday is definitely worthwhile"

    Keeping that in mind, Rex and the others continued onward, scouring the city.

    Along the way, Rex noticed that some of the people here were not people but beasts instead.

    Like Amanir.

    "Those are Demon Spirits like me," Amanir said.

    Noticing Rex’s focus was on a pair of rock people with a lizard face, he couldn’t help but comment.

    As soon as he heard that, Rex’s eyes flickered.

    "Right, what are Demon Spirits? Why did Andreas say that to Linthia?" He asked questioningly.

    "Demon Spirits looked more like beasts—so of course, there are some who treated us badly, someone that thought of us as nothing more than animals" Amanir explained with a light sigh as if talking about this drained him. "Andreas mistook you as a Demon Spirit and Linthia as a normal spirit, that’s why he said what he said"

    Rex nodded his head repeatedly.

    Just like back in the Mortal Realm, there’s also that kind of problem here.

    I guess, no matter the realm, the people were fundamentally the same.

    In the next couple of hours, Rex and the others looked around.

    Rex also asked a couple of people passing by about how to reach Skillian City and most of them laughed at him, thinking that he was joking around. But he did this to double-check, perhaps something changed while Amanir was assimilated to him.

    However, after being laughed at for the third time—it doesn’t seem to be the case.

    Then, upon reaching the other side of the city, Amanir’s eyes caught sight of a big poster to the side.

    A poster that took the entire space of the city’s bulletin.

    "Hey, Rex, come here for a second," He said and jogged to the poster.

    Confused, Rex followed Amanir for a moment, separating from Linthia and Andreas.

    "Look at this tournament," Amanir pointed at the poster, a poster for the Nameless Dragon Arena. He remembered about this big arena—and thought it might help them. "For almost five hundred years, the Duke’s royal household has held this contest. Anyone could enter this—as long as they have a bit of influence. Even anyone associated with a feudal lord could participate"

    Upon hearing this, Rex studied the poster and saw a line at the bottom.

    ’Victory grants the highest honor—one worthy of the Duke’s own bloodline’

    Raising an eyebrow, he turned to Amanir, "What does this mean?"

    "Anyone who won and was acknowledged in this very big contest could take the hand of Lady Davina in a royal marriage," Amanir answered blatantly. "Think about it. Becoming a noble is hard, and this... this contest is your shortcut"