Chapter 86: Kempen Scum

Looking at the identity slips of the others, Max found that they were the same as his. The pictures depicted their faces, but they had different names and identities.

"Senior Paula, what is the meaning of this?" Max asked.

"This is something I am experiencing for the first time, and I have never heard of a Dungeon leading to a place like this," Paula said.

"So, what is the purpose of this second door that led us here? Is this a completely new world, or is it still a Dungeon?" Isabelle asked.

"I don't think we are still in the Dungeon, but we are under the Dungeon's control. The proof is this identity slip. Somehow, the Dungeon created identities for us in this world," Paula speculated.

"I mean, what is the purpose? It's not as if there would be monsters we need to conquer here, right?" Isabelle questioned.

"I think we may need to achieve something here to exit this place. Otherwise, the Dungeon wouldn't have led us here. We need to find out the reason," Paula said. "Based on these identity slips, which have already been made available in this country, we are here for some reason. So, let's go inside the city and find out." Paula suggested.

With that decision, everyone left the port and walked along the path leading to the main city. The city streets were bustling with people going about their business. People were merrily talking and shopping at the street shops. The entire street felt like a festival. This was further confirmed by the guards patrolling the streets in heavy armor and carrying weapons.

Max silently walked behind the party, taking in the sights. This world was relatively less advanced than theirs, and based on the people's attire and weapons, they seemed mundane compared to those in his world. However, he guessed that since he could still access the mana in the environment, magic was available in this world as well. Therefore, this world seemed technologically lacking, but not in terms of magic and weapons.

He saw shops selling different types of weapons and materials, food, garments, and many other things. Their first priority was to find out the purpose of their visit to this world. Once they had some idea, Max could roam around the streets and buy a few things he had already eyed.

The party walked alongside the people heading somewhere. Since a large number of people coming from the port and other directions were heading to the same place, they decided to follow the crowd.

It didn't take them long to find the crowd's destination. It was a large building, and Max immediately recognized it as a colosseum. He was somehow not surprised. Since the Dungeon had sent them here, there had to be some battle involved. Naturally, they couldn't expect a pleasant festival after entering a Dungeon to clear it.

However, the question was what they needed to win in this colosseum. Based on his experience and knowledge, the large crowd gathered from different countries suggested that there had to be some sort of event. The main attraction of that event could be the colosseum battles, where different kinds of adventurers or warriors participated to win a big prize.

Then again, based purely on his general knowledge, the main prize of these colosseum battles would be the prize the Dungeon wanted them to obtain. What would be the use of the prize? Well, that was a question to ask after obtaining it. But how were they going to obtain it with so many people marching into the building?

“Marlak, what do you think?” Max asked.

“I don’t have any opinion on this matter. I am here as a tourist. Could you buy me that food? I am hungry,” Marlak said.

Max fell silent. Thinking about it, the frog indeed wanted to roam around different worlds, and surprisingly, it had gotten to do so within a short time of gaining its freedom. What a lucky bastard.

“I don’t know if my world’s money would be accepted here,” Max said.

“Just ask around. It wouldn’t be a big deal if it’s not accepted. What if it is accepted?” Marlak began pestering Max.

Shaking his head, Max took out a few coins from his kingdom and walked toward the shop selling fried stuffed buns.

“Excuse me, how much for one piece?” Max asked the man selling the buns.

“Oh, a brave warrior from Kempen Country. For you, it’s ten gold coins a piece,” the vendor said.

“Ten gold coins!” Max was taken aback by the price, even though he wasn't aware of the value of ten gold coins in this world. Since ten seemed very high for a single bun, and considering the shopkeeper's tone and how easily he had identified Max as being from Kempen Country, it was obvious that these people were messing with him. Since he didn't know what animosity existed between Kempen and Blaver Country, he should keep a low profile for a while. Thus, he decided to walk away without arguing.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going without paying?” Just as Max turned away and took two steps, the shopkeeper asked in a condescending tone. Max didn't even try to turn around. Since these people were trying to make an issue out of this, he figured he had better run away. And that was exactly what he did, quickly rejoining his party members.

This is not an approved copy of the chapter. Find it where the author publishes, where readers can support the work directly.

“Marlak, keep your pot belly under control. We are in a completely different place, and we have yet to figure out the whole purpose of our visit,” Max advised.

“Thief, thief! Stop that guy!” As Max walked away without looking back, he suddenly heard a voice that closely resembled the shopkeeper's. Max didn't turn his head. Since he hadn't stolen anything and had only asked the price before leaving, he had a bad feeling that the man was calling him a thief. Everyone walking nearby looked at the commotion, and Max noticed several people staring at him.

“You thief from Kempen, stop right there!” A voice sounded very close behind him. Seeing that there was no way out, Max turned around and saw the same man from the bun shop.

“Did you call me a thief?” Max asked in a neutral tone as people on the street quickly gathered around the commotion. The other party members also turned around after noticing that the commotion was directed at Max.

“Max, what’s happening?” Paula quickly came forward and asked.

“I don’t know. This guy is accusing me of being a thief, but I only asked the price of the food,” Max calmly explained.

“Excuse me, sir, what is the issue?” Paula asked the shopkeeper.

“The problem is that your country boy stole from my shop. I want you to compensate me with 100 gold coins for the loss,” the shopkeeper declared.

“One hundred gold coins!” Max was surprised by the amount of gold the shopkeeper was demanding this time. Did gold coins even hold any value in this world? While the commotion continued, heavily armored guard quickly approached them, parting the crowd.

“What is the issue here?” a deep voice came from behind a silver helmet.

“Esteemed Guard, this guy stole buns from my shop. I want to file a theft charge against him,” the shopkeeper quickly complained to the guard. After hearing him, the figure beneath the silver helmet turned toward Max.

“Esteemed Guard, I didn’t steal anything from his shop. I only asked for the price, and he told me one bun cost ten gold coins. Since I couldn’t afford it, I silently walked away. I didn’t steal anything,” Max quickly explained his side of the story.

“Who told you to speak to me?” the guard suddenly asked.

Max was taken aback. What did the guard mean by asking who had told him to speak? His party members were also shocked by the guard’s strange question.

“What do you mean by that?” Max grew irritated by the question.

“I never told you to speak,” the guard said in the same deep voice.

“Who the hell are you to tell me whether to speak or not? I speak when I want and where I want. I don’t need your permission to speak,” Max said, abandoning any attempt to act nice.

“You miscreant fool, this is not your barbaric Kempen Country; this is Blaver. Here, you act as I order,” the silver-armored guard said.

“I don’t give a shit about your country. It hasn’t even been five minutes since I entered your country, and I can already see the state of your country and your countrymen. You order me to ask permission to speak, and this lowlife bastard accuses me of theft. If my country is barbaric, then your country is nothing but a den of thieves and arrogant bastards. You accuse people of theft without evidence, demand ten gold coins for a piece of food, and then expect everyone to bow their heads before you!” Max suddenly fired.

The guard’s grip tightened around his weapon as the surrounding crowd erupted into whispers. Max had barely arrived in this country, yet he had already managed to attract the attention of its guards.

“How dare you insult the Great Blaver in front of its people!” the guard roared.

“Blaver and its people deserve it. All these people are witnesses to what happened here. They saw everything, and the truth will spread to the other countries. Everyone will come to know the real face of Blaver, its guards, and this lowlife bastard!” Max pointed at the shopkeeper and spoke angrily.

The people surrounding them looked at each other and engaged in quiet discussions.

“You Kempen scum, for the crime of stealing and insulting the great Blaver Country, I arrest you!” the guard declared, stepping forward to restrain Max.

“I have no problem with getting arrested. These people who came from different countries saw what happened here. They will spread this news and tell everyone how Blaver treats its visitors. Let’s see how many people will want to visit your great country after hearing about this incident,” Max said.

Seeing the situation escalate quickly, Paula moved toward the guard, trying to calm Max down.

“Max, what are you doing? Keep quiet. I will take care of it.”

“Sir, we are new to Blaver, and my brother never intended to offend anyone. Please consider sparing him from arrest. I would like to compensate the vendor for the damage,” Paula quickly said as she took out a large pouch of gold coins.

“What’s happening here?” While they were talking, a voice came from the crowd, and a person wearing golden armor walked toward them, parting the people.

Seeing the person approach, the silver-armored guard’s demeanor changed as he quickly bowed and greeted the golden-armored guard.

“Captain, I was investigating a theft incident, but this person from Kempen insulted me and our country,” the silver-armored guard quickly explained.

“You, what item was stolen? And show me the proof of the theft,” the golden-armored captain asked the shopkeeper.

“Esteemed Captain, this kid stole a stuffed bun from my shop and didn’t pay for it,” the shopkeeper said.

“That’s an obvious lie! I only asked him for the price, and once he knew I was from Kempen, he demanded ten gold coins for a single bun. Since I couldn’t afford it, I left without buying anything, and clearly, I didn’t steal anything,” Max quickly argued against the shopkeeper’s claim.

“You, did you ask for ten gold coins for a single bun?” the captain asked.

“No, esteemed Captain! This Kempen scum stole the bun and is now lying about the price,” the shopkeeper said.

Boom!

Suddenly, a devastating punch landed on the shopkeeper’s face, and he fell to the ground unconscious. Max was dumbfounded by this action. Why would the golden-armored guard punch the man? Had he realized that the shopkeeper was lying?

“Everyone, the show is over! Don’t make a fuss here. Return to your business!” the golden-armored captain announced, waving his hand to disperse the crowd. After saying this, he walked away without speaking to Max or the party or asking them anything. The silver-armored guard gave them a long look before following the captain.

Max and the party stood there for a while as the passing crowd looked at them as though they were strange creatures.

“Max, what’s gotten into you? Why are you defending some country?” Isabelle asked in confusion.

“Oh, what are you talking about?” Max asked.

“You clearly got offended when he insulted Kempen Country. Why would you do that?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I thought it was the right thing to do,” he said.

Hearing this, everyone looked at him strangely.

“Let’s go!” Paula said, ignoring the Max's word, she turned around and walked toward the large structure. Max silently followed the party.