Armipotent

Chapter 1903: Interlude - The Joes (4)

After The Anvils, Kate brought them to The Brews district. If The Anvils was a district that only sold equipment, The Brews was a district that only sold the Alchemistʼs products, potions, and antidotes. They could even buy poison, but they need a license to buy a potion. The empire controlled and watched the poison circulation within the empire.

For the first time, they found out that there were so many potions existed aside from Healing Potion, Mana Potion, and Stamina Potion. A Strength Potion as its name implied, the potion would increase their strength temporarily. What shocked them was the fact that this one potion had many variants.

There was a variant that increased an exact number of strength, and this variant also had four more variants. A variant with a hundred strengths, five hundred strength, one thousand strength, and two thousand strengths. It did not stop there as there were more variants from those four variants, the duration. There was one with one minute duration, three minutes duration, five minute duration, and ten minute duration.

It did not stop there. TEAA (Tang Empire Alchemist Association) had developed a new one, a percentage increase instead of a fixed number. They already sold the Strength Potion with a 3% increase with all four different duration variants. Three percent was not a lot for the low level, but it had a big impact on the high-level players. And of course, Each one was more expensive than the previous one.

The same with healing potions and mana potions. The weird thing was that the Healing Potion had fewer variants than the other potions.

Mana Potion, Agility Potions, Vitality Potions, and so on with similar variants. They witnessed firsthand the stark difference between the Tang Empire and the United Sovereign. The United Sovereign had their own product, but it would be unfair for the Tang Empire to compare it with the United Sovereign.

The next place Kate brought them was the new shop, a new invention of the blacksmith and the alchemist. They made an elemental bomb, that was right, a bomb, a fantasy bomb. The shop was the biggest one compared to the previous shops because of the test range.

Thanks to Kate, they could try three Elemental Bombs. The Fire Elemental Bomb burned everything, even turning the ground into magma with how strong it was. The Wind Elemental Bomb created a massive and fierce tornado. They almost got sucked into the tornado because they underestimated its effect. The last one was the Water Elemental Bomb, creating a strong wave like a tsunami if not stronger than a tsunami itself.

This was a crazy invention that would change the dungeon delve and even war… They realized that if something like this was used in a war, they could not imagine the damage. The high-ranking players might not get affected, but it could wipe out the low-ranked ones.

After that, they visited TEAAʼs facility where Kate worked. They got to see more than fifty Alchemy Facilities, all of which were maxed-level facilities as well. They finally understood why the Tang Empire was far ahead compared to the others. When the empire put so many resources like this, it was natural for them to be far ahead.

The Joes got to see the ongoing projects as well, as what they worked on. Something they could not say to others unless they wanted to be hunted by TEID people. After a visit to Kateʼs workplace, they finally got a break and visited one of the best restaurants in the empire.

”This place was founded by one of the Emperorʼs consorts, Lady Elinova. You are lucky to be able to eat here because my husband pulled a string to book us a place here. Usually, you have to line up all day to eat here, and you canʼt book a place here unless you are…” Kate did not finish her sentence, but everyone knew what she meant.

That was enough for The Joes to find out how big Kateʼs husband was in the Tang Empire. From the previous visit to the Alchemy Facility until the testing of the new bomb thingy. That was enough to tell them that Kate married the man from the top.

There was no private room in this restaurant, in fact, everything inside this place was ordinary. But they could tell from the line that this place was indeed one of the best places to eat in the Tang Empire.

As they were waiting for the food, they heard how Kate boasted the Tang Empire to them. The way she recited all the exciting things, something that did not exist in the United Sovereign, with pride and passion. If they did not know Kate beforehand, they might think Kate was born and raised in this place.

It shocked them how Kate changed from what they remembered. Their memory of Kate was gloomy, messy, and certainly never this cheerful. Fortunately, the food did not take more than ten minutes, or else they might have heard Kate boasting the Tang Empire to their faces non-stop.

After the food, Kate brought them back to the teleportation, bringing them to the elven city. They heard the rumor about the elves, but they never saw one. They were mercenaries, not affiliated to the United Sovereign. They were not allowed to participate in the World Congress or the Earth Tournament with no affiliation. That was why they only heard about the elves from USF.

Half an hour tour in the elven brought them peace, the air was different as if they were united with nature. It was calming and serene, easing up their concern. The next visit was the Beast Coven City, where they saw beastmen and beasts living together.

Kate kept showing them that not only humans existed in the Tang Empire. They saw the lycanthrope, a quite terrifying creature in their eyes. It was an amazing tour for them until they returned to the capital once more, arriving at the Adventurer Guild complex.

That was when they got briefed by the staff from the Adventurer Guild on how to be an adventurer and also the requirements. For the time being, the Adventurer Guild only accepted the Tang Empireʼs citizens, meaning they must join the Tang Empire to join the Adventurer Guild.

The staff explained how things work, but it was basically just an extensive force of Tarrior. Most of the quests came from the Tang Empire, but they got paid based on the job they received. They were not forced to take the job unless it was an emergency, something like a war. That was when the adventurer had to fight for the empire, but of course, the empire would pay them. It was similar to the mercenary, but the treatment was much better compared to what they received from the United Sovereign.

The Tang Empire did not gate-keep the talent. The moment they joined the Tang Empire, they were allowed to get the talent from the smart base. If they joined the Adventurer Guild, they could buy a slot to reroll their talents as well. Added with the affordable price for high-quality gear and potions. That was right, the adventurer got a discount based on their ranks.

The Joes planned to buy something before they returned to the United Sovereign, but they changed their mind. They requested Kate to bring them to a dining place with a private room because they wanted to talk with Kate.

They ordered dinner, and the room fell silent after the waitress left. Kate was waiting to hear what John wanted to talk about since the guy asked for a private room to speak.

”I have made my decision!” John Joe said while looking at Amy, Cody, and Sam.

”I will join the Tang Empire, not as an adventurer, but I want to be part of Tarrior!” Cody was direct and said what was in his mind. He already made the decision during lunch. After all the facilities and all the shops they visited, he made a decision to join Tarrior instead of becoming an adventurer.

John, Amy, and Sam were surprised by their friendʼs decision. Cody was not known for his ambition, but he would get the job done type of person, not willing to go beyond and above. They did not expect him to join Tarrior. Their visit was clearly the main factor in his decision on the matter.

”Why? I thought we would agree to join the Adventure Guild if we joined the Tang Empire?” Sam asked, confused.

”Because my hard work will be rewarded here, Sam. The Tang Empire rewards the people who work hard for the people, and thatʼs when I realized that I might have a chance to make it big here,” Cody shared what was in his mind.

”You donʼt know that yet, Cody. I donʼt think we will be received well, especially since we are from the United Sovereign. I donʼt think you will get the same treatment as the others, Cody,” Sam was being blunt. Then he turned toward Kate, ”I donʼt mean to speak ill of the Tang Empire, but I am just trying to be realistic, Kate. They treated you well because you married a powerful figure, but it will be different for us.”

”You are wrong, Sam. This time I dare to say you are wrong. Why would they discriminate against me when they received the elves, the beastmen, the lycanthrope, and the moth beast race... Light Bombyx Mori. If they accepted them, why would they discriminate against me? Regardless of your opinion, Sam. I have made up my mind. I will give it a try this time because thereʼs a chance for me here.”

Cody expressed with such passion, subconsciously raising his voice a little bit as he spoke.

John reached Samʼs hand, shaking his head at Sam. However, Sam didnʼt want The Joes to split up, not in this place. He was worried for his friend.

”Didnʼt you see it, Sam?” Cody asked.

Sam furrowed his brow, ”What? We canʼt see the real thing with such a short visit, Cody! Be an adventurer first. Itʼs not too late to join Tarrior later.”

”The people, Sam. The people! Havenʼt you noticed the people? They are all happy, and content! The children run around on the street with a smile, not worrying about getting kidnapped or anything. Everything here is so different from our home, Sam. This is a better place regardless of the rumors we have heard about this place, but I believe my eyes more than those baseless rumors.”

Sam fell silent, recalling the trip. Now he realized that the atmosphere, the people, and everything in this place was indeed much better. He believed there was a dark side to this place, he had to admit that this was indeed a good place to settle down. Not just because of all those advanced gears, protection, and potions.

”Those rumors might be true, but we see another side of The Emperor as well. His city and his people are a reflection of his rules. I agree with Sam, I will join the Tang Empire as an adventurer, but I might change my mind later to join Tarrior as well,” John considered joining Tarrior as well, but he had some concerns as well, so he chose to be an adventurer instead.

With a sigh, Sam expressed his willingness to join the Adventure Guild as well. The three men expressed their decision, and they all looked at Amy. They had not heard anything from Amy.

”What? Didnʼt you already know my decision? This trip is to convince you guys to follow me here. Kate promised me that you all will join me if I can bring you here for a visit. She is right about it!” Amy shrugged.

Amy immediately turned toward Kate, ”Now you know we are joining the empire. Can you tell us more about the Emperor? Is the rumor true that he is looking for another wife?”

The Joes laughed when they heard the question.

*** ***

”Achoo!”

Tang Shaoyang rubbed his nose, ”Someone is talking about me…”

”You are not wrong. A lot of people are talking about you. You are an Emperor of the strongest faction on Earth. People always talk about you,” Avynʼs voice rang from behind him.

They were in a boat, a big boat with multiple lounge chairs built-in on the boat, holding a rod in his hand as he relaxed on the chair. Avyn was behind him, sitting on the same chair with her bikinis, given by Rosalie. His daughters were on the same boat as him, having a smaller fishing rod as they copied their fatherʼs posture.

It was a relaxing and fulfilling day for Tang Shaoyang even though the fish never bit his bait and also Avynʼs bait. In three hours, the fish only bit his daughtersʼ bait for some reason, and they were having a contest among themselves with Tang Xiulan as an underdog as the youngest.