"You know what? Why don't we go sightseeing a bit? Lenny smiled at Perseus.
Perseus nodded as he turned towards Captain Crimson, ordering his men about.
"We are going into town for a bit!"
Captain Crimson frowned a bit, but then he dismissed the thought that appeared in his head.
He turned to one of his crew members, "Tobi! You take the nice gentlemen around town. Make sure no one bothers them, and buy them something nice to eat." He dipped a hand in one of his many pockets and retrieved some dried, smooth skin with certain rune marks on it.
He gave three to Tobi; however, he clicked his tongue as he removed two, leaving one with Tobi. "That should be enough for a meal and a drink. Use it well, and bring back my change."
"But captain, this is barely enough to fill a belly." Toni complained.
Captain Crimson immediately smacked him on the head, "You FIND a way!"
He turned to the other crew members and continued ordering them about.
This was a port. There were a lot of things to trade, buy, and even sell.
Especially the extra items he had harvested from the ship's wreckage.
Without giving Lenny and Perseus a second look, he immediately went about his business.
Tobi hurried towards Lenny and Perseus. He was a young dwarf. Lenny guessed his age to be about sixteen or seventeen; his smart eyes carried wisdom polished by the bitter world, and it was displayed in even his ever-careful steps.
"Monseiur Lenny, Monseiur Perseus," he gave a low respectful bow to them, "I'll be your tour a' la guide for the day; if you can please come with me, let's explore the town together."
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Tobi had a very French accent. Interestingly, even in the Apocalypse, the diversity of languages still existed.
Tobi led the way down the ship, and Lenny and Perseus followed along.
On reaching the ground, Lenny first noticed that the earth was surprisingly moist and the soil was different.
This was a magnificent contrast to the dry, sandy ground of the desert.
Tobi was interestingly quick to notice Lenny's legs adjusting to the soil.
"Feels different, huh?" The dwarf chuckled a bit. "It's the handy work of the 'Magi' here. They use their negative magic to make life better for us."
"Magi?" Lenny raised a brow. "You mean the witches, wizards, sorcerers, and all that?"
Immediately, Tobi came close as he waved his hands. "No, no, Monseiur, you should please not say that. It's a capital offense, sé!
After the world changed and human civilization was reduced to living like cockroaches, the Magi came up with their school order systems as a saving grace.
Those who became members of such schools were no longer called witches or the like. They called themselves Magi, as they thought it would introduce a new and better world.
Also... erm," Tobi smacked his lips a bit, "it reminds them most of their terrible history and place in the old world. It's much easier to call a person a bastard than a witch around THESE parts."
Lenny nodded. "What of you? Do you have magic?"
"Well, most of us just activated our runes that qualify us for life as acolytes. Without some form of magic, one cannot enter any Magi town."
That made logical sense to Lenny, as the aim of these schools in the first place was nearly no different from the schools in the old world.
In his former world, the schools were subjects of a system that encouraged conformity to society.
In this new world, it was the same thing.
The only difference was that the Magi first made access to life as a whole inaccessible if the person did not have magic.
This would, in turn, give the populace a glimpse of power and hope for a better life.
The human natural will for survival would kick in, allowing avarice to take place, and the people would strive to become better and climb the new societal ladder.
Lenny could not help but chuckle at this.
This was actually an incredibly ingenious plan.
And without a doubt in the world, it was working.
It was slow, maybe due to the fall in population as a result of the apocalypse by demons, but it was definitely working.
Lenny could not help but think for a bit about the repercussions of such an ideal.
This would potentially change the world.
Knowing human beings, given another two to three hundred years, this new world would be ideal.
However, whether such a system would provide proper governance was an entirely different thing that bugged him.
After all, Lenny was not as foolish as these people.
He knew that, at the end of the day, these 'Magi Schools' had associations with the demon society.
In other words, just like the Arena, this was basically another farm.
It was just bigger and better.
Lenny could not help but think of why so much trouble had to be gone through to change human physiology.
First, it was making human beings half-born. That is, half human and half demon.
And now, it was indirectly forcing those who managed to elude them into having negative magic.
Lenny's investigative senses tingled at this.
There was definitely more than met the eye in this new world order.
Lenny learned a lot more as he continued to walk through and Tobi explained.
After all, he was seeing human beings doing some really amazing things.
Like one person who made fire for a stove with a spell.
ραndαsΝοvεl ƈοm Another carried a big box that was at least five times his body weight with incredible ease.
Tobi explained that negative magic is used every day by everybody, and it makes life all the more easier for them.
However, as they talked and passed by, Lenny noticed that his small party drew the attention of everybody.
People would be busy with their affairs or conversing together when they would pass, and eyes would instantly follow them...