In the affluent Earth Federation, the plight of "not having enough to eat or clothes to cover oneself" has long since vanished from the vocabulary.
However, Robin, upon arriving in this strange world, got a stark glimpse of the poverty and hardship hidden behind those words the very next morning, especially on the eve of the coldest Homecoming Festival of the year.
Incidentally, the Homecoming Festival in this world holds a significance similar to that of the Spring Festival and Christmas in the Earth Federation. It's a grand festival, but it comes with bone - chilling cold.
"Hiss~" The cold was biting! Robin summoned all the determination from his past life just to persuade himself to leave the relatively warm bed and head to the tavern in town as soon as possible.
But when he put on the absurdly thin rag hanging on the wall, opened the cabin door barefoot—yes, you read correctly, barefoot (because he couldn't find any shoes)—and saw the snow almost up to his knees outside the door, his previous - life determination promptly fled back to where it came from.
No wonder the boy's feet were covered in sores; they were frost - bitten!
Driven back by the cold, Robin slammed the wooden door shut and immediately began rummaging like a madman through the meager seven - or eight - square - meter wooden house, nearly tearing it apart.
He clung to a one - in - ten - thousand hope of finding a pair of shoes in some corner. Even straw shoes would do, as long as they could offer a bit of insulation from the ice and snow. He'd take anything at this point.
Alas, his hopes were dashed. There were no shoes, and the boy hadn't learned how to make straw shoes either. Walking barefoot was a fifteen - year - long habit the boy had been forced to adopt.
But his search wasn't entirely in vain. He found a wooden box, a hardwood sword, and several irregular stones with one side smoothed and engraved with intricate patterns in an extremely well - hidden pit under the bed.
The wooden box contained all the boy's savings: twenty silver coins, polished to a brilliant shine, looking rather adorable.
Robin let out a long sigh. No shoes? Well, he could buy some. Twenty silver coins could get him any shoes, and even a thick set of clothes. Ha!
As for the boy's dream of becoming a wizard, that could wait.
There was also the hardwood sword, one meter and twenty centimeters long. The craftsmanship was decent. The grip was engraved with anti - slip patterns, and the edges and corners were rounded off, making it quite comfortable to hold. Evidently, the boy had used it often.
Unfortunately, the wooden sword had limited lethality, and an iron sword was too costly, far beyond his means. Moreover, without anyone to teach the boy proper swordsmanship, even if he practiced for ten years, it would mainly be for hand - eye coordination and physical exercise, not of much practical use.
But now that the sword was in Robin's hands, things were different. Robin had spent decades traversing the stars, relying not only on his brilliant mind but also on his masterful physical skills.
As a cold weapon, the sword was an extension of the body, and Robin could wield it with ease.
"Not bad. This sword is mine from now on." Robin nodded in satisfaction and placed the wooden sword back under the bed. As for the stones, Robin knew they were called Holy Light Rune Stones, his safeguard for working safely as a night - watchman in the cemetery.
Year - after - year orc raids had led to the deaths of many middle - aged men in Wildfire City. Their bodies, still teeming with elemental vitality and filled with various pre - death obsessions, were prone to becoming wandering undead.
These undead were ravenous for the flesh and blood of the living, as they desperately needed to replenish their decaying bodies with vitality, and the best source of that was the living.
The function of these rune stones was to suppress the undead!
Today was the day Robin had to go to the temple to replace the Holy Light Rune Stone, a monthly ritual. This was crucial. If he forgot, he'd be devoured by the undead tonight.
The stone was truly mysterious. Pity it had lost its function today; otherwise, he'd have loved to study its mechanism. But since he could get a new one today, after a brief look, he put the used rune stone back.
Glancing down at his purple and swollen feet, and then thinking about the snow outside, Robin gritted his teeth, opened the wooden door, and stepped out.
"I'm going for it. I'll be fine once I buy shoes." Robin encouraged himself.
He had no choice. If he didn't go to the tavern to work, he'd lose his food source. In this wretched weather, hunger and cold could sap the life out of this frail body in one night. There was no room for error.
The feet that stepped onto the ice and snow didn't hurt as he'd expected. It wasn't that they'd adapted to the cold; the human body simply couldn't adapt to such extreme conditions. Instead, they were completely numb. The surface sensory nerves of his feet had been frozen to death.
"Unlucky. I'll have to work on fixing the hidden foot injuries later." Robin grumbled.
No matter how strong a body is, it needs regular care, just like a gun. No matter how excellent its performance and quality, if not maintained regularly, it'll break down quickly.
If this young body kept enduring such abuse, although it might not seem like a big deal in youth, it would be riddled with hidden injuries. Once the human body's prime passed, it would inevitably decline rapidly, and he probably wouldn't live past 40.
Robin didn't want to die so young. This world was full of mysteries, with countless wonderful things waiting for him to discover. If he kicked the bucket early, how could he justify the soul - journey bestowed by fate?
So, mending the body was his top priority.
As the old saying goes, if you want to do a good job, you must first sharpen your tools. This was an eternal truth.
In Robin's eyes, Wildfire City was pitifully small, covering only five square kilometers with a permanent population of less than 15,000. Compared to the super - cities of the Earth Federation that sprawled across entire continents and housed billions of people, it was insignificant.
But in this world, Wildfire City was the only large town within a radius of hundreds of miles. It boasted the iconic buildings of large towns in this world—the temple and the wizard tower—and was encircled by sturdy, towering walls.
There was no other option. To defend against the orcs, the city wall was 15 meters high, constructed from tough Qingwu rock. It was built to be as strong and durable as possible. The city gate alone was made of half - meter - thick steel - clad hard - iron wood, with thick iron plates nailed to it in three horizontal and vertical rows to enhance its structural strength. Even using a siege hammer, it would take half a day to breach such a solid city gate.
And that wasn't all. Beneath the city wall was a moat nearly 20 meters wide and 10 meters deep. It was said that carnivorous fish native to the Thunder Mountains were stocked in the river. Their teeth were like steel files, capable of leaving tooth marks even on steel plates. Whoever fell in wouldn't stand a chance.
Moreover, orcs had a natural fear of water, so this was an effective way to deter them from attacking the city wall.
Despite the tall wall obstructing the view, Robin, standing in the cemetery on the outskirts of the city, could still spot the spires of the wizard tower and the temple. The taller, blue - hued one belonged to the wizard, and the slightly shorter, golden - colored building was the temple. They represented the wisdom and faith of the mortal world, perched at the apex of society's pyramid, towering above all other beings.
In all of Wildfire City, no building dared to exceed their height, not even the city hall under the city lord.
Even the city lord's castle on the hillside wasn't as tall as these two in terms of pure building height.
From these details, easily Robin deduced the general social structure of this world. Gods were supreme, wizards were noble and preeminent, and both looked down on the rest of the world.
As for the power of the mortal world, it had to remain within the mortal realm.
For Robin, gathering this information was as effortless as drinking water. He smiled wryly and continued walking, staggering slightly, taking uneven steps.
Right now, he was still struggling to meet his basic needs of food and clothing. Thinking about such lofty matters was a luxury he couldn't afford.