The hotel room could only fit one to two people. It only had two rooms on the inside; aside from the main room where he slept, there was a bathroom. Ryan washed himself up with cool water, and after coming out of the bathroom, he picked up a towel to dry his hair.
Swiftly, as his hair was about to dry, he picked up a new set of clothes to wear. His daily life was very ordinary, matching his unemployed status.
"Sigh, I should go find a job as soon as possible. Otherwise, I will starve to death."
This town was called Biuosis Town, located in the Ditness country. Biuosis Town served as a small economic hub for the Ditness country, every year, it produced wine, high-quality wheat, tea leaves, and coffee beans.
Its wine and coffee beans were famous throughout the southern continent. Even in the capital, they stood as top-tier delicacies. Aside from providing a suitable amount of revenue to the country, the town was also a military base.
That was the reason why the hunter was so scared when hearing the term "Law Court." Law Courts were only established in towns that possessed a military base.
Their influence spread worldwide; even visitors from other continents had to be cautious when staying in a place that had a Law Court.
After settling everything into place, Ryan sat down at the table, which had many things scattered across it. Slowly, he took out paper and a pen from the shuffle and jotted down the events he had encountered today.
It was unknown whether he just wanted to write about his daily life or something else.
"Aside from waiter, bartender, and driver, it seems there are no suitable jobs for me. Being a waiter could be said to be suitable for those living alone, with 2 reil being an average salary. Some luxury restaurants and modern coffee shops can even afford 5 to 7 reil a week. Given my current circumstances and standards, I don't see how I can pass for an average restaurant."
With that, he drew an 'X' over the word waiter on his paper.
"As for bartender, given my experience with the bartender at Love Bar, I can barely pass for an average bar. The weekly salary for an average bar is between 3 to 4 reil, not including tips. Besides, being a bartender is a good job. I can watch girls dance every day, observe unlucky troublemakers, and even gather free news about this town."
This town's media company was considered a large enterprise, and its Biuosis Town Magazine was very popular. Each magazine cost 3 to 4 qinc. Even working as a paperboy could lead to a good life, with a weekly salary of 1 reil on top of that.
Thinking of a paperboy, Ryan couldn't help but feel envious. Even a boy who hadn't yet experienced the real world could lead a better life than him—how shambolic.
After reflecting on his life, Ryan resumed what was on his mind. "Bartender is a good job, but it lacks free time. I'd have to spend my entire day in the bar, and this is just part-time work."
Normally, bars were open 24 hours a day, though some operated for only 6 to 12 hours; naturally, the salary was adjusted accordingly.
"Well, for now, I don't have to eliminate this job. Besides, with 2 bins, I can continue to observe other jobs."
As it turned out, Ryan had been trying to find a job ever since he set foot in this town. However, lacking skills and money, he had no choice but to go to a bar to observe the daily work of the staff there.
"As for driver, I have driven a horse before, but that alone isn't enough to drive a four-wheeled carriage. It requires a lot of experience to drive, and the job seems to cost money upfront. I must rent a carriage from the Fast and Happiness Company, and if the carriage gets into trouble by any chance, I must pay compensation to the company. This job doesn't have a fixed salary; the money I make depends on the customers I get."
An average employee boarding a carriage pays 4 to 7 qinc, depending on how far they want to go.
In other words, the more customers who used the carriage, the more money he would earn. Additionally, 10% of the total earnings made as a carriage driver had to be given to the company.
"Being a carriage driver isn't bad, but the real issue is that this job has too many competitors."
Carriage drivers often stayed in one spot rather than moving around, since their customers mostly used the same carriage every day. Thus, to prevent others from taking their customers, they had to stay fixed in one place.
Ryan seemed to be in a dilemma now, but eventually, he chose to eliminate the driver option.
"Why is choosing a job so much harder than fighting?" Ryan sighed in depression. After hours of thinking and writing, he finally came to a conclusion: he would remain unemployed for now.
"With the current money I have, I should be able to live for another week. What's there to worry about a job right now? Let's think step by step."
In fact, this was the mentality he had used since the day he arrived in town.
Sitting for an hour made his back ache slightly. Ryan stood up and flopped onto the bed, with a loud thud, the bed suddenly broke into pieces!
Immediately afterward, the elderly male voice resonated from the first floor.
"Hey, you upstairs! What are you doing?"
"Sorry, I didn't intend to make noise!" Ryan replied with a pained expression.
"Next time you make another messy noise, I'm coming up there to kick your ass!"
Before long, the elderly male voice faded away, and silence soon descended.
"This damn bed..." Ryan cursed.
After cleaning up the mess, Ryan rested himself in the chair once more.
"Sigh, I'll have to pay a compensation fee for breaking this bed. Damn it, I just laid my hands on a sum of money and haven't spent anything on myself yet."
Out of anger, Ryan almost slammed the table. But as his hand was about to strike the surface, the memory of breaking the bed flashed across his mind, and his palm gently touched the table instead.
Ryan sighed in relief.
"Phew, I almost did something foolish again. I shouldn't be so careless. I must find a job as quickly as possible." It was unknown how many times he had uttered this sentence.
Suddenly, a faint set of footsteps echoed outside his room. With a swift motion, he rose from his chair and composed himself, preparing to face the owner of the hotel's wrath.
As anticipated, a knock resonated against the wood. Ryan approached the door with a relaxed demeanor, but what greeted his eyes was a heavily muscled man wearing hunter attire, with a bow and arrows slung across his back.
It was the hunter! The same hunter who had been swindled in the bar.
"Hehe, didn't expect to see me here, right?"
Ryan froze for a moment, his surprise instantly replaced by fear.
"What do you want from me?" His voice was tainted with panic and fear.
"What do I want?" The hunter laughed coldly before forcing his way into Ryan's room.
To avoid attracting attention in the hallway, the hunter chose to confront Ryan inside the room. Ryan retreated in fear, as if the man before him was death itself, counting down the remaining seconds of his life with every step forward.
"I've been trailing you ever since you stepped out of that swindler bar, all the way to here," the hunter sneered with a sinister smile.
Ryan retreated until he hit a dead end, his back pressed tightly against the wall. "Why are you targeting me?"
The hunter scoffed. "Look at you playing dumb. Do you think my money can be swindled that easily?"
Ryan's lips parted, trembling. "But... you were the one violating the law..."
"Violating my ass! Only the strong get to speak about the law!"
With his sentence finished, the hunter threw a brutal punch straight toward Ryan's abdomen!
With a heavy thud, the strike pinned Ryan against the wall, his back slamming hard into the surface behind him with a sharp sound of impact.
Without giving Ryan time to recover, the hunter threw another punch toward his face. Ryan dodged it just in time, rolling frantically to the side near his crumbled bed.
"Not bad. You have some fighting experience after all."
"Hehe, I'm not as weak as you think..."
Another punch rushed toward him. This time, Ryan couldn't dodge in time and took the full force of the blow. The fist landed flush against his face, sending him flying backward onto the floor. Blood immediately began to seep from his nose.
"Didn't your mother tell you that when fighting, you shouldn't be careless?" the hunter mocked.
Strange... I hit him with full power. With his skinny physical condition, he should be unconscious. How did it only him cause a light injury? The hunter thought, eyeing Ryan closely, but nothing seemed out of place.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps rang out from the hallway outside. "You, owner of room 123, get the hell out here!"
A voice shouted in anger, this time, a female voice. Seeing this, Ryan's face curled into a faint smile.
In truth, Ryan had been intentionally causing as much noise and commotion as possible to lure the hotel owner up to his room.
"You're very smart, thinking you can use others to bail you out. But do you really think I can't finish you off before then?"
Ryan smirked at the hunter's words. "What if I shout that you're threatening me? Then the hotel owner will probably call the officers."
The hunter fell silent.
"You really are cunning and a coward."
With that said, the hunter lunged forward in Ryan's direction!
Ryan, having been on high alert the entire time, evaded the initial tackle. The hunter's body crashed into the wall, but using the momentum of the impact, he immediately bounced back toward Ryan. His fist swung forward like a sledgehammer, crashing into Ryan's guard as Ryan raised both arms to cover his body.
Ryan didn't get a single chance to counterattack; in this helpless situation, he could only block and dodge continuous strikes.
Damn it, when is that old woman coming? I can't hold out much longer...
Ryan was currently at the hunter's mercy as blows rained down one after another, his arms going numb from the constant heavy impacts.
Just as Ryan was on the verge of giving up on dodging, the door to his room swung wide open. A woman appeared in the doorway, she had rugged skin, wore a silk top hat, and had her slender body covered in a sleek dress. Her skin was a delicate white, making her stand out in the darkness; she was extremely beautiful.
"What the hell are you guys doing?! If you're having fun, why not do it gently? It's not like this is your—"
She came to an abrupt halt, falling dead silent when she finally processed the scene before her.
One man was on top of another, not only that, but the man on top was muscular and broad, while the man underneath was skinny and battered.
She seemed to doubt her own eyes, but no matter how many times she blinked, the scene remained unchanged.
"You guys can continue what you were doing. Sorry for disturbing your fun!"
Having said that, she immediately turned around and slammed the door shut as fast as she could.