The Kingdom of Restari

After living in the kingdom for a full month, Deon finally felt like he had developed a basic understanding of the general situation here.

In district 5, it was only natural that he would not find many shamans. Whether they were from noble families or self made in the military, shamans were considered to be above ordinary humans and could easily earn an excellent annual salary. As such, they wouldn't live in a lower tier district like this, instead moving to one of the elite districts.

Districts 1 through 20 were basically slums. Deon didn't think much of it when he first arrived and assumed that this was simply the way of life in this kingdom. Perhaps he was just too accustomed to the barbaric conditions in the underworld, but now that he thought about it, this place really was a bit poor. It was common to see drunks and homeless on the streets, whilst even the grand palace-like buildings were often used as group housing for hundreds of people all crammed together.

Districts 21 through 29 were better off. The people living in these areas could be considered the middle class of the Kingdom of Restari. They had plenty to eat, stable living conditions, proper sewage solutions and few homeless living on the streets. Crime in these areas remained low and the military presence was more apparent and generally viewed in a much more positive light.

The final districts were each unique. District 30 was commonly known as the noble district. This was the upper class residence of the kingdom, where only the rich and affluent could afford to live. Ordinary people couldn't even enter this district easily.

District 31 was the military district. It was the largest district in the kingdom, the base of all military operations as well as the district which provided accommodation for the kingdom's soldiers. Aside from those who were taking time off to spend with family and those stationed at the various outposts in each district, most military personnel would live here for the majority of each year.

The final district, district 32, was the smallest but also the most prestigious district, the royal district. Home to the royal family, their lands and their servants, commoners could not enter this place and little was known about it to the outside world.

"Thinking about it, this district really isn't very nice." Deon muttered to himself as he watched his three stalkers calmly. He noticed around a mile back that he was being tailed, so he decided to pull aside into an alleyway to deal with this minor problem.

Well, it wasn't the first time that someone in this kingdom had threatened him. He had already dealt with thieves twice before this, but he felt like these people were different.

"Hehehe, little boy, are you lost? Come with us and we can help you out, hehehe…" A man with a slight hunch back and beady eyes licked his lips as he stared at Deon.

"Why are you acting so tough kid?" A burly man laughed when he saw Deon's blank expression. "Or are you just so scared of us that you've frozen in fear? Hahaha!"

Deon sighed and shook his head, then held out one hand and casually displayed a ball of grey origin energy above his palm. The people that he suspected of being child traffickers were slowly creeping towards him, but upon seeing this ball of energy, they all froze and showed fearful expressions. Their eyes widened as they understood that this time, they had messed up.

"Sh-shaman!"

"Shit, run!"

The three men turned tail and ran. Deon watched on emotionlessly, seeing no need to chase after them.

His childish appearance attracted attention from low life scum who wanted to take advantage of his apparent weakness. It was lucky that shamans had such a glorious reputation amongst commoners; the second they realised that he was a shaman, they would immediately flee.

The first time Deon was threatened at knife point after exiting a shop, he somewhat overreacted and immediately summoned the ancient demon spirit. The thief was so terrified of the shadow clad sword that he dropped to the floor and wet himself, then proceeded to beg for forgiveness through streams of tears.

Deon considered taking the lives of these people, but there was really no point to it.

He had now calmed down his battle-ready attitude after entering this new world and leaving the underworld behind. He knew that if he wanted to succeed in this world, he couldn't be rash, it was necessary to take things step by step. Deon had no moral qualms when it came to killing, but killing some petty thieves would not benefit him in any way right now.

"Welcome back, Deon."

Deon was greeted by a smiling middle age man after returning to the inn. He turned to the man and gave a light nod. He then took a glance at the hesitant looking woman besides the inn keeper, before silently returning to his room.

"That boy, there's definitely something off about him…" The woman muttered after Deon left.

"You're overthinking it dear." The man shook his head and sighed. "Think about it, he's a young child, yet he's living alone in an inn. He has so much money to spare and hardly seems bothered to hide it, yet he still hasn't encountered much trouble. The lad has definitely been through a lot, he's just a bit reserved is all."

The woman was doubtful. Every time she looked into that young boy's eyes, she felt like she was staring into hell itself…

Deon didn't hear their conversation, but he wouldn't care about it even if he did. His stay in this inn was only temporary whilst he set up his plans for the future, the opinions that some ordinary human slum dwellers held of him did not matter in the least.

Actually, Deon had already determined his next move. After considering things thoroughly, he decided to enter the military. Whilst usually, the minimum age limit for applying to the military academy was 14 years old, this limit was not applicable if the candidate was already a shaman.

The bare minimum age at which it was possible to become a shaman was age 10, attempting to open the soul space earlier than this would always result in failure and sometimes even severe injury or death. Deon also assumed that his current body should be around this age, but he wasn't exactly familiar with the appearance and development of children at various ages, so he couldn't say for sure.

He had many reasons for applying to the military. The first was to gather knowledge. He needed an education, both on the ways of this world and the path of a shaman, and joining the military was the easiest way to obtain this. Blood God did not leave him with enough information on shaman training, only detailing a few basics.

When an ordinary person first entered the military, they would be tested for their talent. If their talent was sufficient, they were permitted to choose a 0-Star spirit to use as their core spirit, then they would be entered into the military shaman academy. If they lacked the talent to become a shaman, they were sent directly to the standard military academy.

If a shaman applied directly, having already bound their core spirit, opened their soul space and formed their origin soul, then things played out differently. Firstly, the military would run a detailed background check on any shaman applying to join directly, as it was essential to confirm that they were not an enemy spy. That said, the military wouldn't hold much suspicion of Deon, a child. So long as he passed this check, he could enter the military shaman academy.

At the academy, they would be taught about war and shaman training, eventually combining the two together, transforming them into the perfect soldiers.

The second reason that Deon wanted to enter the military was for the resources. The military and royal family controlled almost all of the spirits, resources and information related to shamans in the kingdom. If Deon wanted to obtain more spirits within the kingdom, then joining the military was his only feasible option.

The military academy held entrance tests in each district on the same day of every year. If Deon wanted to join this year, then he needed to make his way to the west side of district 5 in four months time.

Four months…

He couldn't afford to waste any time. The military academy required the entrants to at least understand the written language of the Kingdom of Restari. This was a basic requirement and all applicants would teach themselves before applying and embarrassing themselves.

Aside from this, Deon also wanted to raise his strength from early stage 1-Star to mid stage 1-Star. He currently had three spirits within his soul space, if he were to add another, then his origin energy would not be able to recover if he depleted it by activating the spirits. He needed to reach the mid stage if he wanted to bind more spirits, and it was a fact that the military shaman academy allowed its new shaman entrants to choose a single 1-Star spirit.

It would be a waste if he couldn't even use this spirit after entering the academy. On top of this, it also wasn't certain that he would be able to adequately sustain an unbound spirit…

Once a spirit was bound by a shaman, a connection formed between the two, allowing the spirit to survive by consuming the origin energy in the shaman's soul space. Free spirits however, needed to consume unique and specific diets of rare herbs and materials, making them a hassle to keep.

With this in mind, Deon became filled with a sense of determination. He would absolutely apply to the academy in four months time, so he needed to work hard!