Ning was forced to work in the smithy for 3 hours to pay the man back for the appraisal.
He technically only had to work for a single hour, but the old man decided to give him 2 more hours so he could earn some money instead, since he didn't have any.
The task was supposed to be hard as he had to continuously beat blobs of molten metal into the shape of an armor.
The thickness had to be very much the same all the way around, and he had to make sure the metal was properly tempered.
He was used to working on metals to make items, but it was different when working with Qi. With Qi, he was capable of melting the metal and shaping it without even having to touch it. The only hard part there was putting Qi lines into them, but without any energy, he had to make sure he didn't ruin it all.
Surprisingly, he was rather good at it all. The other workers were impressed and even asked Ning to join them. They were willing to teach Ning whatever else he didn't know about.
However, Ning didn't join them. He refused to work there and after the 3 hours were done, he stopped.
The appraiser gave him 10 air coins and Ning left the weapon shop. He had wanted to buy some scabbard for his sword, but his sword was so sharp that it would cut anything he put it into.
Worst case scenario, Ning would have to put it into his interdimensional storage. He didn't really mind that idea, however, as he had also already used the storage once before.
That was the only time he was willing to break any rule he had set for himself. He walked around the city, learning more about it and soon realized that it was getting dark.
The light would disappear in just an hour or two. While that most likely wasn't bad, given how light itself were turned into the shop's signs and light posts, there was another problem with the rain.
The sky was getting cloudy too, and at any moment it would rain.
Ning found himself a small tavern and walked in. He asked for a room and was happy to hear that he could stay and get 3 meals a day for the 10 air coins. The smithy sure gave him quite a bit of money.
It started raining outside and the tavern got rowdy with all the people that came to eat after a long day of work.
Ning sat by a table towards the wall and the tavern owner, a big woman, brought him some heavy soup with some vegetables and meat in it, and a large jug of mead.
Ning thanked her and started eating. The food wasn't delicious, or even that tasty at all. It was mediocre at best, but it was edible and the seasonings weren't bad enough to ruin the taste.
So, Ning could still eat it.
More and more people walked into the tavern, and soon people had to sit next to Ning so they could enjoy some food and drinks.
Ning finished eating and looked at the mead that was next to him. It didn't look the best of drinks he could think of and it didn't even smell all that good. But given how the people of the tavern laughed around while drinking, Ning wondered if this was fun at all.
Since his body had always been so strong and had high metabolism, he could drink for hours and hours and not get drunk. However, now that he was using a new body, he wondered if that was still the case.
Surely, he could still get drunk, right?
Without hesitation, he drank a mouthful of mead, gulping it all down at once. It burned his throat as it went down and he hated that sensation.
"Wow, that sucks," he spoke, disregarding the people that were around him, who were drinking as well.
"It is, isn't it?" the man next to him said. "It's the shittiest drink you can find in the entire city." The man took another gulp. "But damn if it doesn't make you want to take another sip."
Ning laughed and drank as well. He somehow started talking with the people there, drinking together with them.
"Is this the first time you're drinking, young man?" one of them asked.
"It sure is," Ning said, slightly tipsy but with enough control over himself to keep a clear head.
"Haha, do you like getting drunk?" the man asked.
"It's… not a bad feeling, I suppose," Ning said.
"Haha, then you should buy another round. Buy it for us as well," the man said.
"I'm sorry fellas, I'm all out of money," Ning said. "I already spent all the 10 coins I had on renting a room for the next week. I will have to go out and look for some job tomorrow to even find a way to buy anything I want."
"What? You're goddamn broke then," the man said.
"I sure am," Ning said as he brought his jug up. "Cheers to being broke."
"Cheers!" the rest of them shouted as they laughed and drank some more.
Ning happily took another sip, only to realize he had drank it all. "Oh, I'm done it seems," he said as he chuckled a bit.
"You want another one?" the man next to him asked.
"Yes, but I don't have any money," Ning said.
"It will be on me," the man said. "Also, it looks like you're looking for a job. Do you want one?"
"Uhh… sure," Ning said. "What sort of job is it?"
"Package delivery," the man said. "You take something from one place to another, and vice versa."
"Uhh… sure," Ning said. "Does it pay well?"
"The task takes an entire day to complete, but if you do complete it, I will pay you 20 Earth coins," the man said.
"Oh," Ning grew attentive when he heard that. "If it pays that well, then I am definitely willing to do the job."
