Ulysses sighed deeply. Judging from the official standard answers of the priesthood examination, which he had just received, his hope of passing this examination was even lower than the stars falling from the sky. This meant he would have to study for another year for the retake. The thick theological books, hefty enough to use as weapons, caused his head to ache at the mere thought. This was already his third time retaking the exam, and the shadow of three failures pressed against him like a mountain, making it hard to breathe.
Should he give up? This thought emerged for the first time in his mind, yet he immediately dismissed it. Becoming a respected priest had always been his childhood dream, and although he had suffered a lot for it, he had endured. How could he lose to this damn priesthood exam?
"Next year, you're definitely going down!" He shredded the priesthood exam paper in his hands, swearing to the sky. Although, he had made the same vow three times already...
The sound of knocking, akin to the beat of war drums, startled him from his reverie. There was only one person in Taj City who would knock on his door like that—the beastman warrior, Kanka. Lord Almighty! Kanka had already shattered three of his doors. While it was well known that beastman warriors were powerful, there was no need to show off by ruining doors, was there?
"Ulysses, you're in there! Open the door!" Kanka’s thunderous roar arrived punctually.
"Alright, I'm opening it now, stop knocking!" To save what remained of his pitiful door, he hurried to open it for Kanka.
The moment the door opened, a lion rushed in impatiently.
"What's the matter? Why have you transformed if there's no danger?" A surprised Ulysses asked. Beastman warriors only used their transformations in life or death situations. Could it be that Kanka had encountered a formidable enemy? Yet, they were in Taj City; few could force Kanka, a Level 5 warrior, to transform.
“Eh, I’m in some serious trouble this time! The Bear Tribe’s princess somehow found out I’m in this city. She ambushed me at the tavern along with her guards. If I hadn’t sensed danger and transformed in time, I would’ve been tied up and taken away, being forced into marriage with her,” Kanka complained ruefully, like Little Red Riding Hood who had encountered the Big Bad Wolf.
“What? You transformed for such a trivial matter!” Ulysses responded incredulously.
“How can you call this trivial? If she had caught me, I would’ve been hanging on her tree. You should know, there are still many forests out there waiting for me to explore! How could I face my late father if I failed in my mission of conquering a thousand beauties!” Kanka replied earnestly.
“Enough! Regardless, turn back now, will you? It’s a little awkward to talk with a lion.” Ulysses said.
“Got it! Revert!” A burst of golden light later, a muscle-bound, golden-haired lion-headed beastman warrior appeared in the room. This was Kanka, his annoying friend. Although his hairy face and muscular body would scare off most human girls, many beastwomen found Kanka an exquisite beauty. Ulysses knew that hundreds of beastwomen had already "fallen" under Kanka’s charm. But eventually, a womanizer like Kanka had to face the music, which is why he was being cornered into a marriage proposal today.
“I’m exhausted, Ulysses. Let me borrow your bed…” Before he finished his sentence, he slumped onto the bed. His nearly three-meter tall body made the bed creak as though it would break at any moment. Soon after, Kanka’s thunderous snores filled the room. It was well-known that advanced beastman warriors could increase their powers more than threefold through transformation and gain a special skill based on their race. However, due to post-transformation fatigue and the brief duration of the transformation, otherwise, beasts would have dominated the land.
“Hey, hey! If you want to sleep, go back to your kennel. How am I supposed to study if you sleep here?” Ulysses tried to rouse Kanka. However, to Kanka, his prodding was no more than a tickle. Drained from the aftereffects of transformation, Kanka wouldn't budge even if the apocalypse was upon them.
"I'm at my wits' end with you! If you won't leave, I will." Ulysses could not bear to focus on his studies amidst Canka's relentless snoring any longer; it felt like an assault on his ears. Setting his sacred book of clerical teachings aside, he tidied up his clothes and decided to go out for a walk.
The city of Tagi at dusk was bathed in the warm, glowing afterlight of the setting sun. The soft, yellow light painted every corner of the city, sprinkling a layer of mystery over the ancient city. Dejected after failing his exam, Ulysses decided not to head to his usual haunt, the Tagi Church. Instead, he walked to the seaside. Upon arriving, the salty, moisture-laden sea breeze that blew from the sea invigorated his mind. As the sea breeze caressed him, his gloomy mood caused by the examination failure started to lift.
Having nothing particular to do, Ulysses started to stroll along the beach, enjoying the gentle caress of the sea breeze while watching the setting sun in the distance. In this moment, all his troubles seemed to fade away, leaving only the breeze and the distant sunset. He continued to walk slowly until the sun had set and the chill of night started mixing with the sea breeze, causing him to stop.
"I haven't relaxed like this in a long time. It's nice. I wonder if Canka has woken up, it might be time to go back. Huh! Where is this?" Ulysses had unknowingly ended up next to a campsite. It looked like any typical adventurer's campsite at a glance - tents set up around, human weapon-sellers hawking their goods, orc warriors chugging their drink... Everything was similar to the countless other adventurer campsites across the land. If there was anything peculiar, it was that there seemed to be an unusually large number of traders. But this wasn't really a big surprise, there were no laws restricting how many traders an adventurer's camp could have.
"Since I'm already here, might as well have a look around before heading back. I've heard these adventurer camps sometimes put on interesting performances." With a bit of curiosity, Ulysses started toward the entrance of the camp.
Due to it being night, Ulysses didn't notice the name inscribed on the camp's door - "Interstellar Demigod's Market."
What was bizarre though was when Ulysses approached the entrance, he found that although he could see the people clearly, he couldn't hear any of them. The strangest thing was that no matter how much he walked, he could not reach the entrance. Even though the people were just a few meters away from him, he could not get any closer.
"What's going on, have my ears gone weird? Or else why can't I hear anything even at this close range?" While trying to proceed towards the gate, Ulysses gave his head a vigorous shake.
Right then, a drunken orc warrior came stumbling out of the camp. As he wobbled past Ulysses, Ulysses suddenly felt a blur in front of him and when he regained his clarity, he found himself in the camp.