After finishing his meal, Aiden stood and wiped his hands.
"I'm going to look around the city for a bit," he said to Lira. "I need to familiarize myself with the area."
Lira nodded. "Be careful out there, sir."
Aiden pulled his hood up and stepped outside. Morning light spilled across the streets of Breim City, revealing a steady flow of people already going about their business. Compared to the town he'd come from, the city felt more alive, busier, louder, and sharper around the edges.
As he walked, Aiden quickly noticed something different from the town he'd come from.
Uniforms.
Groups of men and women moved through the streets wearing similar robes, sashes, or insignias stitched onto their sleeves. Some wore long martial coats tied with colored belts. Others carried swords openly at their waists, their posture straight and disciplined.
Sects… Aiden thought.
There weren't any massive, dominating factions here, but there were plenty of small ones. Aiden spotted at least three different symbols within a single street, an iron hawk, a flowing river, a blazing fire stitched in red thread. Each group kept mostly to themselves, but their presence was obvious.
A pair of young disciples sparred in an open courtyard, fists and palms cutting through the air with sharp snaps. Nearby, an older man lectured several youths, correcting their stances with a cane. Even ordinary civilians gave these people a wide berth, instinctively stepping aside.
Aiden slowed his pace, observing everything.
This wasn't just a city, it was a gathering point. Small sects recruiting, training, trading favors. Some disciples argued loudly over techniques at a tea stall. Others browsed weapon shops, testing blades with practiced hands. On one corner, a notice board was covered in papers, requests for escort missions, sparring challenges, even sect invitations.
Aiden noticed a commotion up ahead. People were gathering in a loose circle, their voices overlapping, curiosity pulling them closer. He followed the flow and stopped at the edge of the crowd.
At the center stood a man in bright robes, his chest puffed out as he spoke loudly.
"Join the Azure Fang Sect!" the man called out. "Our sect may be young, but our techniques are fierce. Those who enter will be personally taught by our elders!"
A banner hung behind him, the cloth new and clean, the emblem freshly painted. A few young men nearby watched with interest, clearly tempted.
Aiden stayed quiet, listening.
Beside him, a middle-aged man clicked his tongue. "Tsk. These new sects just keep popping up."
His companion snorted. "Right? This city already has too many sects as it is."
They watched as the recruiter continued his speech, promising strength, status, and a bright future.
"And on top of that," the second man continued in a lower voice, "you've got those groups of thugs playing king in the streets."
The first man nodded grimly. "This place has gotten chaotic in just a couple of weeks."
A third person nearby leaned in, clearly eager to join the conversation. "And most of these sects don't even have real martial arts techniques. What they teach is fake that don't improve your strength. They just want your money and your labor."
Aiden's gaze remained fixed on the recruiter, who was now boasting about secret manuals.
'So that's how it is,' Aiden thought.
Aiden turned away from the noise and banners without a second glance.
Joining a sect didn't interest him in the slightest. He wasn't looking for a master, nor did he care about status or belonging. What he needed was simple, money, and something worth killing.
Only then would he grow stronger.
As he walked, his thoughts drifted back to what he had already confirmed. Experience points only came from beasts and humans, things that could fight back. He had tested it himself. Livestock, wild animals, helpless creatures… none of them gave him anything. No system notification. No reward.
The thought should have disturbed him. The fact that killing people no longer weighed heavily on his conscience should have made him uneasy.
But it didn't.
Aiden frowned slightly, then let out a quiet breath. "I guess I'm already used to it."
Back on Earth, he had spent years immersed in games. Killing enemies, clearing dungeons, fighting NPCs that looked, spoke, and reacted no differently from real humans. The technology had been so advanced that the line between fiction and reality was already thin.
Now, that line was gone.
If anything, this world felt like a harsher version of the games he once played, no respawns, no resets. Only consequences.
Aiden adjusted his hood and continued walking.
He passed weapon shops displaying blades of all kinds, herb stores selling dried monster parts, and small arenas where martial artists sparred openly for coin. Notices were nailed to walls, escort missions, bounty postings, monster sightings.
His eyes lingered on those the longest.
"That's where the money is," he murmured.