Chapter 3: The Beggar in the Imperial City

If this really is a fantasy world with the same setting as the Game World, then raising levels and learning skills are essential.

The worldview of the Game World is virtual, mixed with many things—modern, industrial age, medieval—technology, education, and culture are all uncertain.

The game background exists for entertainment, but I have been reincarnated into a real world.

Especially when it comes to things like magic—if it isn’t a fixed skill like in the game, then magic can be truly mysterious.

It seems necessary to investigate information about this world in the coming days.

Most of it matches the game background, but the details here are far more intricate.

There’s just too little information to be gained from these little beggars.

After all, you can’t expect a six- or seven-year-old child to know much.

“Lily, do you know about magic?”

“Are you talking about Magicians? I’ve never seen one, but I’ve heard stories. Only those with Magic Talent can become Magicians. I don’t think we can.”

As Lily spoke, she denied herself yet couldn’t help but yearn for the wonders of Magicians.

In this kind of environment, it’s hard not to feel inferior.

Even if someone has talent, it’s easily buried.

If circumstances allowed, escaping with the two little ones wouldn’t be impossible.

But that’s a matter for the future.

For now, the most important thing is to make sure I don’t starve to death—or get whipped to death.

The next morning, I woke up in the foul air.

The gang’s thugs herded the piglets out to beg again.

If we couldn’t complete our task, we’d probably be beaten again that night.

Mell Carlo walked over to the water jar, stood on a chair, and looked at his own childish face reflected in the water.

Was this only six years old?

Aside from a head of jet-black hair, there was only a thin, emaciated face.

“Mell, can we come with you?”

Lily carefully led Arkay behind Mell Carlo.

“Sure, but what do we need to do?”

Mell Carlo jumped lightly off the chair.

Right now, the most important thing was survival.

Many things in this world were unknown to me.

Apart from the parts that overlapped with the game, everything else was a mystery.

And in the state of a child—even if we escaped, what would come next? That was impossible to say.

No adults meant no backing.

“How are you feeling?”

Mell Carlo looked at Arkay, who could already walk normally.

You’d never guess he’d been whipped.

After just one night, he could already move again.

“I’m much better. Thank you, Mell.”

Arkay flexed his arm.

It still hurt where he’d been whipped, but it was much better than last night—at least he could move.

“Alright, you two decide what to do next. After I got sick, I forgot a lot of things.”

Mell Carlo walked alongside the other two.

The three of them crossed the street barefoot.

The feeling of walking barefoot—I hadn’t gotten used to it in years.

“I hope we can get some money today.”

Lily looked worried.

It was because she hadn’t brought back any money yesterday that the gang boss whipped them.

“Arkay, do you know how much it costs to buy an apple?”

Mell Carlo crossed the street and glanced at an apple stand in the distance.

“Probably 1 Auren.”

Arkay replied.

He hadn’t bought one himself, but he’d seen others do it.

Mell Carlo was interested in the currency system.

After all, if you wanted to eat, you needed to recognize money.

Auren—that seemed to be the currency unit of this world.

It was a name that didn’t appear in the Game World.

“Are all Aurens these copper coins?”

“No. There are also Silver Auren, Gold Auren, and Magic Coins, but I’ve never seen those. I’ve only heard about them in stories.”

Arkay shook his head.

Lily raised her index finger to her nose, thought for a moment, then spoke.

“I know this. One silver coin can be exchanged for 100 copper coins, one gold coin can be exchanged for 1,000 copper coins, and a Magic Coin can be exchanged for 10,000 copper coins. It’s said that only Magicians use that currency.”

Mell Carlo didn’t find the lack of common knowledge scary at all.

Missing knowledge can be learned—this world is much more interesting than the Game World.

“How much do we need to bring back to avoid a beating?”

Mell Carlo stretched lazily in the sunlight.

“At least 10 Auren per person. For three people, that’s 30 Auren. I’ll go beg.”

Lily’s expression was serious—she didn’t want Arkay to get hurt because of her again.

“Then, I’ll go steal. Begging doesn’t always work.”

Mell Carlo made up his mind.

No one likes to steal, but sometimes you have no choice.

Just like in my previous life—it was either starve or steal.

As a child, I had no choice.

But compared to the two little ones behind me, I was clearly better suited for the job.

At least I had experience—and the experience of being caught and beaten.

The first time I was caught stealing in my previous life, I learned one thing—a six-year-old’s legs, no matter how fast, can’t outrun an adult.

Back then, all I stole was a meat bun.

Arkay hesitated.

He didn’t like stealing and didn’t want to be a thief.

He knew it was wrong.

But could he go on begging like yesterday? There weren’t that many kind-hearted people in the world.

If they couldn’t bring money back, they’d face another beating.

“Why don’t we run away?”

Arkay clenched his fists, body trembling.

His dream was to become a knight who protected his friends—not a thief. He absolutely didn’t want to steal.

Before Lily could speak, Mell Carlo interrupted.

“We can’t escape. The Imperial City gang has eyes everywhere. If we get near the city gates, we’ll be caught.”

Mell Carlo was different from them.

Inside his small body was a mature soul.

Since leaving the Imperial City gang base, he’d been observing the hidden lookouts everywhere.

As piglets, they were assets of the Imperial City gang. There was no reason to let them escape.

This matter required careful planning.

“Let’s not talk about this for now. If you don’t want to steal, just beg with Lily. If there’s a chance in the future, maybe we can leave this place.”

Mell Carlo ended the conversation.

He’d noticed several gazes falling on them again.

The fewer people involved in theft, the better—especially for children like them.

Otherwise, they’d be easily caught if discovered.

The gang-controlled children were scattered in different areas—it was impossible to let a bunch of beggars gather together.

That would be too conspicuous and cause trouble.

For a gang to exist, there had to be powerful backing.

But in the Game World, this part wasn’t described in detail.

At the very least, I need to survive first, then find a way to break free from the gang’s control.

While scouting for targets, a beast resembling a velociraptor pulled a carriage past.

In the game, this creature was called a Land Dragon—it served the same purpose as a horse, but the realism here was incomparable.

“Looks like we’ll have to wait. There’s not much traffic, and it’s hard to make a move.”

During the downtime, Mell Carlo tried to use skills from the Game World.

But no matter what actions he performed, he couldn’t activate any in-game skills.

Was it because gesture-casting was invalid, or was it due to the lack of a skill tree and class change?