Leo walked out of the guild, pleased with himself. He had decided to create an alias for himself so that he could progress faster through the ranks. If he used his mage powers, he would be able to reach higher than if he only used his aura powers.
However, Leo was only an Aura Knight. He decided to create a persona to embody his magic. He had already come up with the name a year ago when he fought the Blacktooth Gang anyway.
After submitting his application, he left back to the alley and changed his appearance. After doing that, instead of leaving through the same entrance to the alley, he left from the back because of the people who saw him enter.
He went back to the inn and then saw the same boy that gave him the directions in the morning. He went to him and asked for another set of directions.
"Hello," Leo started asking him. Before he could, the boy quickly bowed.
"Hello, sir. What can I do for you."
Leo paused and smiled at the gesture. Then he said, "Do you know where the nearest rent office is? I want to rent a place for around 6 months." He said.
"Of course, sir. All you need to do is go the same way to the main street. But this time, you will want to take a left. After that, you will want to take a right when you see the La Plata Inn. It's a massive building for rich commoners. The building is also white like the Mercenary Guild, so it will be very recognizable. From there you just have to go straight till you find a building that says the Hagerstown Rent Office." He said.
Leo smiled. The boy gave even more clear directions after the initial tip. He took out another coin and put it on the table.
"For your effort." He said while walking out. The boy smiled gleefully and took the coin. Meanwhile, Leo left the inn to go to the rent office. This was the final thing on his agenda.
He was completely okay with staying in the inn for 10000 Starcoins a night. But his money wasn't. He would run out of money in the four months he stayed there if he was that lavish. And he needed all that money. So he was planning on renting a house for the few months he was going to be there.
The one thing that was going to be easy for him was sustaining himself in the house. Since his necessities went down a lot, he didn't really need to buy anything for the house. He didn't even need a bed in reality, but that was the one purchase he was willing to make. But everything else was not a requirement.
He didn't really need food, so groceries and cooking utensils were not needed. As for living room furniture, he was very sure he wouldn't have guests.
He got to the rental office pretty quickly. The office was a lot better built than the one in Solhaven. It was a three-story building made out of brick and was painted nicely. He walked inside and saw a huge desk manned by a receptionist.
"Do you know where I can go to rent properties?" He asked the receptionist.
She pointed to the stairs. He looked and saw a sign that said that rental properties were on the first floor. He was curious about what the other floors were for while walking upstairs to the first floor. He reached the floor and saw there were three desks, each manned by a person.
He went to the closest one and asked about the rental properties.
"Hi, I am here to look for a rental property to rent for the next 4 months," Leo said.
The person looked up from his desk and looked at Leo. Then he said, "We don't lease for 4 months. Our lease periods are 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years. After that, you will be required to renew the lease at the updated rent value." He said.
Leo nodded. "Then do you have anything for 6 months for a single person?" He asked.
"Of course, sir. Do you have any budget restrictions?" The man asked.
Leo shrugged. "Give me every price point that you have." He asked.
The person nodded. "Starting at the lowest, we have a dorm room for two people shared with a stranger or one of your friends if you bring them. That is at 4000 Starcoins per person." He said. "This dorm is on the edge of Eldridge, located conveniently close to the Eldridge Forest if you are a mercenary or adventurer."
Leo shook his head. "Have anything higher?" He asked.
"Yes. The next price point is a single dorm room in that same dorm for 7000 Starcoins." He said.
He was also showing pictures of the dorm that was being recommended to him, but Leo was not very interested in them.
The man saw Leo's lack of interest and went to a higher-end property.
"This is a one-bedroom apartment in the Cumberland Apartments right near the market. It is around 20000 Starcoins." He said. This was a much better place with a proper hall and kitchen and had a lot more space. But Leo wasn't interested in this either.
"I want something like this, but near the Eldridge Forest," He asked.
The person put away the pictures he spread around his desk and thought for a while before bringing out a new set of pictures. The one on the top was a picture of a decent-sized apartment.
"This is the Easton Tower. It is right beside the Eldridge Forest and is even close to the exit gate. There are apartments for a single person there, and you can get one for 30000 Starcoins." He said.
Leo looked at the pictures and frowned. The problem was that the place was a lot nicer than the one before but priced at a similar price point. That made this a very suspicious deal.
"Why is it so low?" He asked.
"It used to be a part of the Eldridge Academy, but it was sold after an incident happened in it." The person confessed quickly.
"What incident?" Leo asked.
"The building used to house students at the Eldridge Aura Knight Academy. However, one day something mysterious happened, and a student was killed in their room. There was a magic formation drawn in their room with their blood but the formation was not recognizable by any of the mages in the city. After that, multiple incidents like that happened in that dorm so they sold the building."
Leo's frown deepened. He didn't like that he was being offered a place in such an apartment. The man saw this and immediately consoled him.
"But there weren't any incidents like that anymore. The building was sold five years ago and there weren't any incidents like that again. But the history makes the price very low." He said.
Leo calmed down. Apart from the mysterious story, everything about the apartment was perfect for him. The location was very good and the cost was also decent.
"I'll take it."
