The massive bat made out of Ash was the clear calling sign of Sanguino, and seeing it on the horizon let us know we were almost there. A few other cities occasionally had their own Ash cloud in a different shape, but there was a degree of civic pride. Nobody had the same symbol.
We were moderately high up in the sky, and we could see several other city’s Ash clouds from where we were. Iona pulled the reins on Fenrir, steering him slightly towards our final destination.
We flew and flew and flew, our destination being in sight causing an illusion of time slowing down.
That, and…
“Just how big is that bat?” I exclaimed in disbelief. We’d spent over an hour flying towards it, the bat steadily growing… and still no sign of the city shaded under it.
“Yes.” Iona answered with an amused grin. I rolled my eyes and lightly punched her thigh, followed by a ‘no I really still love you’ caress.
“How far out of the city do you think we’re going to need to land because of Fenrir?” I asked.
“Hmmm… first suitable tavern. We’re going to be alarming the watch, the guard, and whatever army they have here, and I fully expect we’ll need to talk with each of them. They’ll be happiest if we’re far from the city and not near the roads, and you’ve seen how many taverns actually want Fenrir nearby. I anticipate we’ll be there a while, mind if I negotiate for a monthly rate?”
I shook my head.
“No, that’s fine. But I don’t want to end up 50 kilometers from the city and have to walk that every morning either.” I pointed out. Thinking through the logistics of the problem made me realize another potential issue.
“We’re going to have to live outside the city limits.” I frowned. “Possibly far outside the city limits.”
Iona weakly chuckled.
“Yeah. Why do you think we had our own castle with everything that entailed? Why do you think my biggest concern is feeding him? Fenrir’s a super massive, there’s a reason you almost never see wyverns. Not just food, but water, location, neighbors… honestly a little jealous of you and Auri at times.”
“Brrrpt!” Auri preened herself at the compliment.
“...until I see the kitchen. Then, not so much.” Iona teased the little phoenix.
Auri slapped a wing over her heart and pretended to fall over.
I looked around in an attempt to distract myself. I didn’t dare take books out of my [Bookwyrm’s Hoard] to try and read them - way too fragile to be trying that on top of a wyvern. Plus, I’d been binge reading all of them thanks to [Parallel Thoughts] and [Vivid Dream Reading]. Gotten a few levels out of it to boot!
Passed level 100, and got offered [Scales of the Bookwyrm].
Scales of the Bookwyrm: A wyrm must protect her hoard, just as her hoard must protect her. For all the [Knights] of the world wish to slay the fierce wyrm, and what good is a perfectly preserved hoard without a wyrm to safeguard and treasure it? With this skill, your precious treasures will leap out to defend you, intercepting attacks like a perfect set of scales. Books compress further per level, decreased cost per level.
It had taken me half a second to realize what it was saying. My precious books in [Bookwyrm’s Hoard] would act like a set of scales, like a set of armor. There was a mention of miniaturizing the books as they formed armor, which was slightly interesting, implying that my class could do some Spatial size modification shenanigans.
Books were famously bad at being armor, and the thought of my wonderful books getting shredded was too much. I could heal! I had my own scales! I didn’t need to sacrifice unique scrolls and ancient journals to protect myself. The thought was sacrilegious.
The other aspect that I’d considered before making my decision - I could always keep it and not use it - was what it would mean for my future classes and evolutions. It was the first outwardly draconic skill, and it would evolve my class further in that direction - and in a more combat-oriented direction. First armor skill I’d seen!
I briefly imagined it. I could end up able to half-morph, half-pilot, half-control a book golem shaped like a dragon, or something like that. It was an interesting path to take, but the more I thought about it, the more it looked like a combat or golem controlling class - if not an outright polymorph class - rather than a reading class.
Books would get destroyed by the dozens or hundreds if I did that. I’d want cheap books I didn’t care about printed by the thousand, lug them around, and then sacrifice them. I suppose I could always order metal-cover books, and as long as they were still books it would count, but…
Yeah, no. The skill wasn’t exciting me, the path it was offering didn’t excite me, and I dismissed the level 100 capstone skill without taking it.
The School was one of the best places in the world to develop skills, and I was only a little disappointed that I wasn’t able to acquire better skills quickly after leaving. I’d worked hard to improve the skills I could, and the lack of better skills being offered was a fairly good indicator that I hadn’t wasted my time.
Instead of reading any of my not–scale armor books, I looked around at the area that was going to hopefully become my home. A few more clouds of Ash on the horizon marked where more cities were located. Farms clung to a spidery network of roads, like they were clinging to them for safety, while deep, ancient forests and meadows spanned between waterways and across rolling hills that occasionally pretended they were small mountains. Herds of dinosaurs could occasionally be seen, grazing on ferns and trees. Now and then the dinos would be inside a farmer’s pen, being raised for the slaughter. Occasionally we’d see tracks of something large marking its territory. Large swaths of dirt overturned and paths where some massive creature - or a herd of them - bulldozed dozens of trees like they were twigs. An area that perpetually had tiny snowflakes falling, never mind that it was late summer. A third territory was a little more subtle, but I thought there might be a skill at play - everything was just so much more lush, green, and vibrant than its surroundings.
Then we were close enough to see the city.
Ironically, the first thing I really noticed was the gigantic cloud of Ash, shaped like a bat, that we’d been following the whole time. I hadn’t quite appreciated what the giant bat-shaped cloud would be like up close. It was dense and thick, seemingly stretching from horizon to horizon. We couldn’t see the shape of the bat itself from how large it was and how close we were. It had to be dozens of miles long, if not longer. It was hard to properly measure how big it was - how large was a cloud? How large was a cloudbank that blotted out the entire sky?
My eyesight was amazing, but it took until we were closer for me to see the next layer of the cloud. The entire thing was shaped as a bat, the symbol of the Exterreri Empire, but the cloud itself was formed out of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of tiny little bat shapes, all swooping and swirling together in an intricate display, giving the entire thing a shifting look like a flock of bats at play. A strong, strong Classer was casually keeping this up. I had to wonder what level they were at, how much experience they were getting for this.
Repetition wasn’t great for experience, but ‘single-handedly keeping the sun off of millions… for decades’ was another story entirely. That had to be fantastic experience, even at high levels.
Kind of like a certain lizard and her moon shenanigans. Although she was at the max level, yet not ascending, so why…
I spun that thought process off into its own thread, letting that part of me wonder over Lun’Kat and her lack of godhood.
Naturally, the entire area was in deep twilight, the sun’s rays simply lighting the cloud, none of them penetrating to the ground below to properly light things up. The same as the rest of the cities we’d passed, but Sanguino was on a different level. There was very little growing in or around the city, the plants strangled by the lack of sunlight.
Not that cities fed themselves by what was grown inside their limits. Sanguino was another port city, although it was on Bloodmoons Bay, attached to the Sea of Stars. The sea only touched a few other countries, and didn’t have any direct connection to the ocean. Good and bad news there - no mangos, no apples.
I wondered what happened when a rainstorm rolled through. That much ash getting dumped into the bay had to be catastrophic for the environment, yet it seemed to be healthy and thriving from what I could see.
No horrors from the depths of the ocean. “Only” what one sea could provide. The horrors in the deep couldn’t be that bad, fishing boats groaning under their heavy cargo flooding into the port alongside trader’s ships in four distinct styles, with different types within the styles. One towering vessel was even crewed by giants; it floated in a specially-designed berth as they went about their business.
Weirdly, there was an aqueduct system leading from the sea to the city. Was the Sea of Stars freshwater? Or did the aqueduct system have some sort of desalination runes? Either way, fresh, easy water for everyone. Somehow I doubted free would enter the equation.
Lastly, there were the roads to the city itself. Four wide highways led to separate gates - one going north, one north-west, one west, and one south-west. It was well organized and directed, with at least six distinct types of lanes that I could see. The widest type was for heavy traffic, wagons pulled by triceratops and mules alike, and one was for pedestrians, chattering to each other as they made their way to and from the city. The third that I could easily figure out was a lane reserved for speedsters or couriers, men and women blazing down the path with unnatural speed. I couldn’t figure out the other three lanes, but they were clearly marked with different color stones. In spite of how it would help decongest traffic, nobody moved into them.
Roads were fun! Fliers crisscrossed the ashen airways above Sanguino, the boundless sky having more than enough room for everyone. Most people were flying under their own power, only a few riding a steed like Iona and I were. One seemed to be ice-skating! Rails of Ice formed under her blades as she skated through the air, and she nimbly flipped around, creating footing even when sideways or upside down. She didn’t seem to be doing anything other than enjoying life.
[Warrior - 1629][Long-Range Identify] brought back. A vampire?
Less fun were the rows of crucifixes on the road in an X-shape, condemned criminals nailed to them. My heart jumped into my throat as I desperately scanned for anyone alive, anyone who’d need help or saving, condemned criminal or not.
I had sworn an [Oath], and dammit, even if it would destroy all my plans, I would uphold it.
“Give me a moment, need to drop off.” I urgently told Iona.
She had barely nodded before I finished unbuckling myself, my hands moving in a blur. I snapped my wings open and launched myself off Fenrir’s back to Auri’s encouraging brrrpt. I quickly moved up to my max speed, my eyes scanning and analyzing every single last body on the roads.
I ignored anyone pointing up at me, and that I hadn’t picked the best tunic for flying over a city. There were people to help, criminal or not.
Blessedly, it looked like each and every one of them had their throat slit. Condemning someone with a System to death, then leaving them unattended for days on end while they slowly expired by the side of the road was a perfect formula for them escaping. Their bodies had simply been left out in various states of decay as a warning to any would-be criminals to what their fate would be.
Interesting. I guess they weren’t worried about predators? I didn’t like the death penalty, but that was a topic for another day. I flew back up to where Iona and Fenrir were, regaining an excellent view of the city.
Then there was the city itself! What looked to be a castle keep, of all things, dominated the center of town, rising tall above the buildings. The military center? Large interlocking walls were all patrolled, the flag of the Exterreri Empire flying proudly. Soldiers patrolled along the walls. I saw a colosseum - there was a chariot race going on. At least three amphitheaters were scattered around the town, a few dozen obvious, large temples, and uncountable big, fancy, important-looking buildings. All this was before the markets, homes, parks, apartments, gardens, businesses, and the thousand and one other parts that made up a whole living, breathing city.
“I found a spot to land.” Iona said, pressing on Fenrir with her knees. The two had a strong communication system worked out, and the mighty wyvern dove down to the spot Iona had found. We landed a distance away from a tavern, Fenrir spooking the nearby horses.
Iona nimbly leapt off his back and strode towards The Drop of Blood - I assumed that’s what the single red drop meant the name of the place was - to talk with the innkeeper. I started unpacking, the division of labor now routine.
It took a few hours to get settled in. Iona, bless her honest heart, had to bulldoze the innkeeper to not automatically put feeding our animals into the price. Fenrir would’ve eaten him out of house and home, and figuring out how to keep him fed was going to be a challenge and a half.
We got a small room in the corner of the inn. A bed, table, and three chairs, and enough room for four chests.
“Brrrpt…” Auri wasn’t thrilled with our new digs.
“It’s temporary, and I’m sure the [Innkeeper] would love help in the kitchen. See what local specialties there are!” I encouraged her.
“Brrrpt!! Brrrpt…?”
Iona and I traded looks.
“Yeah, sure, go ahead. I know I’d skip out on all the paperwork if I could.”
Iona shuddered in sympathy.
“Speaking of, do you need me there, or can I stay here? It’s time for the daily ‘no no Fenrir’s not a threat’ speech.”
“You’d think they’d know better by now, especially in a place like this. No, I don’t mind, probably easier for me to process in on my own.” I rummaged through our chests, finding the letter of introduction Marcelle had written for me.
“I’m looking for an Aulus, who works at the Healer’s Guild. Should be easy enough to find, right? What could go wrong?” I said.
Auri conjured a [Mage Hand] to slap over her forehead. Iona put a hand on my shoulder and slowly shook her head.
“Elaine, you should know better than to say that.” She tsked at me. “Remember what happened at the last Healer’s Guild we went to?”
I threw my hands up in the air.
“It was only a little tax evasion! Look, if they have a rule like this here, as long as they’re not in the middle of a plague, I’m happy to pay.” I made more incoherent grumbling noises while Auri laughed at my misfortune.
I spent a good twenty minutes or so getting ready. Changing into a fresh tunic, fighting the mess that my hair had turned into, and the hundred and one other tasks needed for me to be properly presentable when I asked for help, or if I was lucky, got all the way to ask permission to be allowed to live in Exterreri.
No sense in dressing like a slob and looking like I didn’t care about this, or thought it was unimportant! Great way to annoy the people who were potentially in charge of my future.
“Right, I’m going to head off. Please leave the place standing when I get back.”
Auri and Iona traded looks.
“Brrrrrrrrrrpt. Brpt brrrrpt.”
“Traitors! The lot of you are traitors!” I complained, grabbing the letter, filling my pouch with a reasonable number of coins for a day in the city, along with any fees I might need to pay, and leaving the tavern.
It wasn’t quite clear what the proper protocol was for crossing the various lanes in the big roads leading to Sanguino was, so I just blitzed across it when I had a moment, joining the throngs of pedestrians in the pedestrian lane. Better safe than sorry!
“Hello!” I waved to a small group of young men heading to the city. All level 150, give or take 10 levels. They eagerly replied back.
“Hey! New here? Want a tour? We know Sanguino better than anyone!” One of them boasted.
I mentally rolled my eyes.
“I’m mostly interested in the fast lane. What are the rules for traveling down one?”
As I asked, a courier blew past us, his legs seeming to step three times for every step he took. Probably [Triple Step] or something neat like that.
Brash dude pointed at him.
“Be faster than he is, and you can travel in the fast lane.” The rest of his group sniggered at that.
“Alright! Thanks!”
My skin started to glow with the anti-friction runes I’d carved into them as I took a step into the fast lane, and I was off. I just got to hear an “Oh shi-” behind me before I left the group in the dust.
It only took a few seconds before I was behind the courier.
“On your left!” I shouted before overtaking him. [Laborer - 280]. Interesting! A speedster who was focused on running, with nothing on fighting, wasn’t a [Warrior] anymore, but a [Laborer]. He did a double-take as I passed him - my [Healer] tag was hilariously deceptive at times - and pumped his arms as he tried to keep up.
I jogged with him for a few seconds - an all-out sprint from how hard he was working - before giving him a cheerful wave and zooming to the city gates. An even faster runner passed by me before I made it all the way there. I slowed down and crossed back into the pedestrian lane as I got to the back of the line. The six different paths in and out of the city had different guards checking, and while I was pretty sure I was allowed to use the fast lane for running around, I doubted it was so easy to use their checkpoint. Otherwise, why wasn’t everyone here going through there?
I kept to myself, eventually making it to the front of the line. The guards here had an interesting take on equipment. A solid helmet, but a thick tunic was their only ‘armor’. They all carried spears, with a short sword and a whip tucked into their belt.
[Warrior - 197]. [Warrior - 320]. One was clearly more senior than the other.
I guessed, if push came to shove, that if your guard needs armor, something has gone very wrong. Maybe it was also an extra layer for the guards in a sense, a way to remind them that they needed to police well, and aim for non-violent solutions, because they didn’t have any more protection than anyone else?
I was speculating wildly here, although I was always interested in the guard.
In a twist, the guard was leaning against the wall, and activated an array in the wall instead of saying anything. The array had its own Sound magic.
“Name, purpose of visit, are you a citizen, resident, or foreigner, and do you have any goods to be inspected?” It asked.
Wow… just wow. That was a level of efficiency that I wasn’t sure if it turned into laziness or not. An array just so the guards didn’t have to ask the same question every time?
“Alright, this is going to sound terrible, but my name’s Elaine. A foreigner, hoping to move here, got a letter to an Aulus at the Healer’s Guild. No goods to declare.”
The guards gave each other a skeptical look and I sighed heavily. freewebnove(l).com
“Yes, it’s Elaine, no, there’s no other part, no, I don’t know what my parents were thinking, and no, the irony of needing to go to the Elaine’s Guild isn’t lost on me.” All technically true. The best type of true!
One of the guards laughed.
“Yeah, alright, I believe you. You should get a nickname.”
I groaned.
“I have one, Dawn. Figured I’d give you all my real name.”
“No goods, prospective citizen. 10 coins please.” The other guard asked, holding out his hand.
[The World Around Me] was great for the big moments. For seeing Immortal hideouts behind walls. For seeing traps and gears hidden in the floor. For detecting treacherous adventurers trying to activate traps.
It was also nice for the mundane. Finding a single obsidian coin inside my pouch, so I didn’t need to fish around in it.
The guards thanked me and I stepped inside the city, taking in all the sights from the street level, through both my eyes and through [The World Around Me].
The one thing that jumped out at me though, only visible thanks to the incredibly high fidelity of detail that [The World Around Me] provided.
What were all the hundreds of tiny strings doing all over the place?
[*ding!* [The World Around Me] leveled up! 72 -> 73]
[Name: Elaine]
[Race: Chimera (Elvenoid)]
[Age: 27]
[Mana: 846,920/846,920]
[Mana Regen: 505,860 (+953,876)]
Stats
[Free Stats: 0]
[Strength: 1,115]
[Dexterity: 8,686]
[Vitality: 27,696]
[Speed: 27,728]
[Mana: 84,692]
[Mana Regeneration: 84,789 (+95,388)]
[Magic Power: 50,372 (+1,292,042)]
[Magic Control: 50,263 (+1,289,246)]
[Class 1: [The Dawn Sentinel - Celestial: Lv 513]]
[Celestial Affinity: 513]
[Cosmic Presence: 328]
[The Stars Never Fade: 12]
[Center of the Universe: 472]
[Dance with the Heavens: 513]
[Wheel of Sun and Moon: 513]
[Mantle of the Stars: 492]
[Sunrise: 472]
[Class 2: [Butterfly Mystic - Radiance: Lv 450]]
[Radiance Affinity: 450]
[Radiance Resistance: 450]
[Nova Lance: 450]
[Lepidoptera: 450]
[Nectar: 450]
[Solar Corona: 450]
[Scintillating Ascent: 450]
[Kaleidoscope: 450]
[Class 3: [The Very Hungry Bookwyrm - Spatial: Lv 105]]
[Spatial Affinity: 105]
[Comprehensive Speed Reading: 105]
[Channeled Blink: 40]
[Bookwyrm's Hoard: 105]
[Beneath the Dragon's Eyes: 105]
[Vivid Dream Reading: 105]
[Astral Archives: 105]
[Hunger for Knowledge: 105]
General Skills
[Long-Range Identify: 380]
[Parallel Thoughts: 174]
[Companion Bond between Elaine and Auri: 470]
[The World Around Me: 73]
[Oath of Elaine to Lyra: 513]
[Sentinel's Superiority: 513]
[Persistent Casting: 432]
[Imbue: 188]
The massive bat made out of Ash was the clear calling sign of Sanguino, and seeing it on the horizon let us know we were almost there. A few other cities occasionally had their own Ash cloud in a different shape, but there was a degree of civic pride. Nobody had the same symbol.
We were moderately high up in the sky, and we could see several other city’s Ash clouds from where we were. Iona pulled the reins on Fenrir, steering him slightly towards our final destination.
We flew and flew and flew, our destination being in sight causing an illusion of time slowing down.
That, and…
“Just how big is that bat?” I exclaimed in disbelief. We’d spent over an hour flying towards it, the bat steadily growing… and still no sign of the city shaded under it.
“Yes.” Iona answered with an amused grin. I rolled my eyes and lightly punched her thigh, followed by a ‘no I really still love you’ caress.
“How far out of the city do you think we’re going to need to land because of Fenrir?” I asked.
“Hmmm… first suitable tavern. We’re going to be alarming the watch, the guard, and whatever army they have here, and I fully expect we’ll need to talk with each of them. They’ll be happiest if we’re far from the city and not near the roads, and you’ve seen how many taverns actually want Fenrir nearby. I anticipate we’ll be there a while, mind if I negotiate for a monthly rate?”
I shook my head.
“No, that’s fine. But I don’t want to end up 50 kilometers from the city and have to walk that every morning either.” I pointed out. Thinking through the logistics of the problem made me realize another potential issue.
“We’re going to have to live outside the city limits.” I frowned. “Possibly far outside the city limits.”
Iona weakly chuckled.
“Yeah. Why do you think we had our own castle with everything that entailed? Why do you think my biggest concern is feeding him? Fenrir’s a super massive, there’s a reason you almost never see wyverns. Not just food, but water, location, neighbors… honestly a little jealous of you and Auri at times.”
“Brrrpt!” Auri preened herself at the compliment.
“...until I see the kitchen. Then, not so much.” Iona teased the little phoenix.
Auri slapped a wing over her heart and pretended to fall over.
I looked around in an attempt to distract myself. I didn’t dare take books out of my [Bookwyrm’s Hoard] to try and read them - way too fragile to be trying that on top of a wyvern. Plus, I’d been binge reading all of them thanks to [Parallel Thoughts] and [Vivid Dream Reading]. Gotten a few levels out of it to boot!
Passed level 100, and got offered [Scales of the Bookwyrm].
Scales of the Bookwyrm: A wyrm must protect her hoard, just as her hoard must protect her. For all the [Knights] of the world wish to slay the fierce wyrm, and what good is a perfectly preserved hoard without a wyrm to safeguard and treasure it? With this skill, your precious treasures will leap out to defend you, intercepting attacks like a perfect set of scales. Books compress further per level, decreased cost per level.
It had taken me half a second to realize what it was saying. My precious books in [Bookwyrm’s Hoard] would act like a set of scales, like a set of armor. There was a mention of miniaturizing the books as they formed armor, which was slightly interesting, implying that my class could do some Spatial size modification shenanigans.
Books were famously bad at being armor, and the thought of my wonderful books getting shredded was too much. I could heal! I had my own scales! I didn’t need to sacrifice unique scrolls and ancient journals to protect myself. The thought was sacrilegious.
The other aspect that I’d considered before making my decision - I could always keep it and not use it - was what it would mean for my future classes and evolutions. It was the first outwardly draconic skill, and it would evolve my class further in that direction - and in a more combat-oriented direction. First armor skill I’d seen!
I briefly imagined it. I could end up able to half-morph, half-pilot, half-control a book golem shaped like a dragon, or something like that. It was an interesting path to take, but the more I thought about it, the more it looked like a combat or golem controlling class - if not an outright polymorph class - rather than a reading class.
Books would get destroyed by the dozens or hundreds if I did that. I’d want cheap books I didn’t care about printed by the thousand, lug them around, and then sacrifice them. I suppose I could always order metal-cover books, and as long as they were still books it would count, but…
Yeah, no. The skill wasn’t exciting me, the path it was offering didn’t excite me, and I dismissed the level 100 capstone skill without taking it.
The School was one of the best places in the world to develop skills, and I was only a little disappointed that I wasn’t able to acquire better skills quickly after leaving. I’d worked hard to improve the skills I could, and the lack of better skills being offered was a fairly good indicator that I hadn’t wasted my time.
Instead of reading any of my not–scale armor books, I looked around at the area that was going to hopefully become my home. A few more clouds of Ash on the horizon marked where more cities were located. Farms clung to a spidery network of roads, like they were clinging to them for safety, while deep, ancient forests and meadows spanned between waterways and across rolling hills that occasionally pretended they were small mountains. Herds of dinosaurs could occasionally be seen, grazing on ferns and trees. Now and then the dinos would be inside a farmer’s pen, being raised for the slaughter. Occasionally we’d see tracks of something large marking its territory. Large swaths of dirt overturned and paths where some massive creature - or a herd of them - bulldozed dozens of trees like they were twigs. An area that perpetually had tiny snowflakes falling, never mind that it was late summer. A third territory was a little more subtle, but I thought there might be a skill at play - everything was just so much more lush, green, and vibrant than its surroundings.
Then we were close enough to see the city.
Ironically, the first thing I really noticed was the gigantic cloud of Ash, shaped like a bat, that we’d been following the whole time. I hadn’t quite appreciated what the giant bat-shaped cloud would be like up close. It was dense and thick, seemingly stretching from horizon to horizon. We couldn’t see the shape of the bat itself from how large it was and how close we were. It had to be dozens of miles long, if not longer. It was hard to properly measure how big it was - how large was a cloud? How large was a cloudbank that blotted out the entire sky?
My eyesight was amazing, but it took until we were closer for me to see the next layer of the cloud. The entire thing was shaped as a bat, the symbol of the Exterreri Empire, but the cloud itself was formed out of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of tiny little bat shapes, all swooping and swirling together in an intricate display, giving the entire thing a shifting look like a flock of bats at play. A strong, strong Classer was casually keeping this up. I had to wonder what level they were at, how much experience they were getting for this.
Repetition wasn’t great for experience, but ‘single-handedly keeping the sun off of millions… for decades’ was another story entirely. That had to be fantastic experience, even at high levels.
Kind of like a certain lizard and her moon shenanigans. Although she was at the max level, yet not ascending, so why…
I spun that thought process off into its own thread, letting that part of me wonder over Lun’Kat and her lack of godhood.
Naturally, the entire area was in deep twilight, the sun’s rays simply lighting the cloud, none of them penetrating to the ground below to properly light things up. The same as the rest of the cities we’d passed, but Sanguino was on a different level. There was very little growing in or around the city, the plants strangled by the lack of sunlight.
Not that cities fed themselves by what was grown inside their limits. Sanguino was another port city, although it was on Bloodmoons Bay, attached to the Sea of Stars. The sea only touched a few other countries, and didn’t have any direct connection to the ocean. Good and bad news there - no mangos, no apples.
I wondered what happened when a rainstorm rolled through. That much ash getting dumped into the bay had to be catastrophic for the environment, yet it seemed to be healthy and thriving from what I could see.
No horrors from the depths of the ocean. “Only” what one sea could provide. The horrors in the deep couldn’t be that bad, fishing boats groaning under their heavy cargo flooding into the port alongside trader’s ships in four distinct styles, with different types within the styles. One towering vessel was even crewed by giants; it floated in a specially-designed berth as they went about their business.
Weirdly, there was an aqueduct system leading from the sea to the city. Was the Sea of Stars freshwater? Or did the aqueduct system have some sort of desalination runes? Either way, fresh, easy water for everyone. Somehow I doubted free would enter the equation.
Lastly, there were the roads to the city itself. Four wide highways led to separate gates - one going north, one north-west, one west, and one south-west. It was well organized and directed, with at least six distinct types of lanes that I could see. The widest type was for heavy traffic, wagons pulled by triceratops and mules alike, and one was for pedestrians, chattering to each other as they made their way to and from the city. The third that I could easily figure out was a lane reserved for speedsters or couriers, men and women blazing down the path with unnatural speed. I couldn’t figure out the other three lanes, but they were clearly marked with different color stones. In spite of how it would help decongest traffic, nobody moved into them.
Roads were fun! Fliers crisscrossed the ashen airways above Sanguino, the boundless sky having more than enough room for everyone. Most people were flying under their own power, only a few riding a steed like Iona and I were. One seemed to be ice-skating! Rails of Ice formed under her blades as she skated through the air, and she nimbly flipped around, creating footing even when sideways or upside down. She didn’t seem to be doing anything other than enjoying life.
[Warrior - 1629][Long-Range Identify] brought back. A vampire?
Less fun were the rows of crucifixes on the road in an X-shape, condemned criminals nailed to them. My heart jumped into my throat as I desperately scanned for anyone alive, anyone who’d need help or saving, condemned criminal or not.
I had sworn an [Oath], and dammit, even if it would destroy all my plans, I would uphold it.
“Give me a moment, need to drop off.” I urgently told Iona.
She had barely nodded before I finished unbuckling myself, my hands moving in a blur. I snapped my wings open and launched myself off Fenrir’s back to Auri’s encouraging brrrpt. I quickly moved up to my max speed, my eyes scanning and analyzing every single last body on the roads.
I ignored anyone pointing up at me, and that I hadn’t picked the best tunic for flying over a city. There were people to help, criminal or not.
Blessedly, it looked like each and every one of them had their throat slit. Condemning someone with a System to death, then leaving them unattended for days on end while they slowly expired by the side of the road was a perfect formula for them escaping. Their bodies had simply been left out in various states of decay as a warning to any would-be criminals to what their fate would be.
Interesting. I guess they weren’t worried about predators? I didn’t like the death penalty, but that was a topic for another day. I flew back up to where Iona and Fenrir were, regaining an excellent view of the city.
Then there was the city itself! What looked to be a castle keep, of all things, dominated the center of town, rising tall above the buildings. The military center? Large interlocking walls were all patrolled, the flag of the Exterreri Empire flying proudly. Soldiers patrolled along the walls. I saw a colosseum - there was a chariot race going on. At least three amphitheaters were scattered around the town, a few dozen obvious, large temples, and uncountable big, fancy, important-looking buildings. All this was before the markets, homes, parks, apartments, gardens, businesses, and the thousand and one other parts that made up a whole living, breathing city.
“I found a spot to land.” Iona said, pressing on Fenrir with her knees. The two had a strong communication system worked out, and the mighty wyvern dove down to the spot Iona had found. We landed a distance away from a tavern, Fenrir spooking the nearby horses.
Iona nimbly leapt off his back and strode towards The Drop of Blood - I assumed that’s what the single red drop meant the name of the place was - to talk with the innkeeper. I started unpacking, the division of labor now routine.
It took a few hours to get settled in. Iona, bless her honest heart, had to bulldoze the innkeeper to not automatically put feeding our animals into the price. Fenrir would’ve eaten him out of house and home, and figuring out how to keep him fed was going to be a challenge and a half.
We got a small room in the corner of the inn. A bed, table, and three chairs, and enough room for four chests.
“Brrrpt…” Auri wasn’t thrilled with our new digs.
“It’s temporary, and I’m sure the [Innkeeper] would love help in the kitchen. See what local specialties there are!” I encouraged her.
“Brrrpt!! Brrrpt…?”
Iona and I traded looks.
“Yeah, sure, go ahead. I know I’d skip out on all the paperwork if I could.”
Iona shuddered in sympathy.
“Speaking of, do you need me there, or can I stay here? It’s time for the daily ‘no no Fenrir’s not a threat’ speech.”
“You’d think they’d know better by now, especially in a place like this. No, I don’t mind, probably easier for me to process in on my own.” I rummaged through our chests, finding the letter of introduction Marcelle had written for me.
“I’m looking for an Aulus, who works at the Healer’s Guild. Should be easy enough to find, right? What could go wrong?” I said.
Auri conjured a [Mage Hand] to slap over her forehead. Iona put a hand on my shoulder and slowly shook her head.
“Elaine, you should know better than to say that.” She tsked at me. “Remember what happened at the last Healer’s Guild we went to?”
I threw my hands up in the air.
“It was only a little tax evasion! Look, if they have a rule like this here, as long as they’re not in the middle of a plague, I’m happy to pay.” I made more incoherent grumbling noises while Auri laughed at my misfortune.
I spent a good twenty minutes or so getting ready. Changing into a fresh tunic, fighting the mess that my hair had turned into, and the hundred and one other tasks needed for me to be properly presentable when I asked for help, or if I was lucky, got all the way to ask permission to be allowed to live in Exterreri.
No sense in dressing like a slob and looking like I didn’t care about this, or thought it was unimportant! Great way to annoy the people who were potentially in charge of my future.
“Right, I’m going to head off. Please leave the place standing when I get back.”
Auri and Iona traded looks.
“Brrrrrrrrrrpt. Brpt brrrrpt.”
“Traitors! The lot of you are traitors!” I complained, grabbing the letter, filling my pouch with a reasonable number of coins for a day in the city, along with any fees I might need to pay, and leaving the tavern.
It wasn’t quite clear what the proper protocol was for crossing the various lanes in the big roads leading to Sanguino was, so I just blitzed across it when I had a moment, joining the throngs of pedestrians in the pedestrian lane. Better safe than sorry!
“Hello!” I waved to a small group of young men heading to the city. All level 150, give or take 10 levels. They eagerly replied back.
“Hey! New here? Want a tour? We know Sanguino better than anyone!” One of them boasted.
I mentally rolled my eyes.
“I’m mostly interested in the fast lane. What are the rules for traveling down one?”
As I asked, a courier blew past us, his legs seeming to step three times for every step he took. Probably [Triple Step] or something neat like that.
Brash dude pointed at him.
“Be faster than he is, and you can travel in the fast lane.” The rest of his group sniggered at that.
“Alright! Thanks!”
My skin started to glow with the anti-friction runes I’d carved into them as I took a step into the fast lane, and I was off. I just got to hear an “Oh shi-” behind me before I left the group in the dust.
It only took a few seconds before I was behind the courier.
“On your left!” I shouted before overtaking him. [Laborer - 280]. Interesting! A speedster who was focused on running, with nothing on fighting, wasn’t a [Warrior] anymore, but a [Laborer]. He did a double-take as I passed him - my [Healer] tag was hilariously deceptive at times - and pumped his arms as he tried to keep up.
I jogged with him for a few seconds - an all-out sprint from how hard he was working - before giving him a cheerful wave and zooming to the city gates. An even faster runner passed by me before I made it all the way there. I slowed down and crossed back into the pedestrian lane as I got to the back of the line. The six different paths in and out of the city had different guards checking, and while I was pretty sure I was allowed to use the fast lane for running around, I doubted it was so easy to use their checkpoint. Otherwise, why wasn’t everyone here going through there?
I kept to myself, eventually making it to the front of the line. The guards here had an interesting take on equipment. A solid helmet, but a thick tunic was their only ‘armor’. They all carried spears, with a short sword and a whip tucked into their belt.
[Warrior - 197]. [Warrior - 320]. One was clearly more senior than the other.
I guessed, if push came to shove, that if your guard needs armor, something has gone very wrong. Maybe it was also an extra layer for the guards in a sense, a way to remind them that they needed to police well, and aim for non-violent solutions, because they didn’t have any more protection than anyone else?
I was speculating wildly here, although I was always interested in the guard.
In a twist, the guard was leaning against the wall, and activated an array in the wall instead of saying anything. The array had its own Sound magic.
“Name, purpose of visit, are you a citizen, resident, or foreigner, and do you have any goods to be inspected?” It asked.
Wow… just wow. That was a level of efficiency that I wasn’t sure if it turned into laziness or not. An array just so the guards didn’t have to ask the same question every time?
“Alright, this is going to sound terrible, but my name’s Elaine. A foreigner, hoping to move here, got a letter to an Aulus at the Healer’s Guild. No goods to declare.”
The guards gave each other a skeptical look and I sighed heavily. freewebnove(l).com
“Yes, it’s Elaine, no, there’s no other part, no, I don’t know what my parents were thinking, and no, the irony of needing to go to the Elaine’s Guild isn’t lost on me.” All technically true. The best type of true!
One of the guards laughed.
“Yeah, alright, I believe you. You should get a nickname.”
I groaned.
“I have one, Dawn. Figured I’d give you all my real name.”
“No goods, prospective citizen. 10 coins please.” The other guard asked, holding out his hand.
[The World Around Me] was great for the big moments. For seeing Immortal hideouts behind walls. For seeing traps and gears hidden in the floor. For detecting treacherous adventurers trying to activate traps.
It was also nice for the mundane. Finding a single obsidian coin inside my pouch, so I didn’t need to fish around in it.
The guards thanked me and I stepped inside the city, taking in all the sights from the street level, through both my eyes and through [The World Around Me].
The one thing that jumped out at me though, only visible thanks to the incredibly high fidelity of detail that [The World Around Me] provided.
What were all the hundreds of tiny strings doing all over the place?
[*ding!* [The World Around Me] leveled up! 72 -> 73]
[Name: Elaine]
[Race: Chimera (Elvenoid)]
[Age: 27]
[Mana: 846,920/846,920]
[Mana Regen: 505,860 (+953,876)]
Stats
[Free Stats: 0]
[Strength: 1,115]
[Dexterity: 8,686]
[Vitality: 27,696]
[Speed: 27,728]
[Mana: 84,692]
[Mana Regeneration: 84,789 (+95,388)]
[Magic Power: 50,372 (+1,292,042)]
[Magic Control: 50,263 (+1,289,246)]
[Class 1: [The Dawn Sentinel - Celestial: Lv 513]]
[Celestial Affinity: 513]
[Cosmic Presence: 328]
[The Stars Never Fade: 12]
[Center of the Universe: 472]
[Dance with the Heavens: 513]
[Wheel of Sun and Moon: 513]
[Mantle of the Stars: 492]
[Sunrise: 472]
[Class 2: [Butterfly Mystic - Radiance: Lv 450]]
[Radiance Affinity: 450]
[Radiance Resistance: 450]
[Nova Lance: 450]
[Lepidoptera: 450]
[Nectar: 450]
[Solar Corona: 450]
[Scintillating Ascent: 450]
[Kaleidoscope: 450]
[Class 3: [The Very Hungry Bookwyrm - Spatial: Lv 105]]
[Spatial Affinity: 105]
[Comprehensive Speed Reading: 105]
[Channeled Blink: 40]
[Bookwyrm's Hoard: 105]
[Beneath the Dragon's Eyes: 105]
[Vivid Dream Reading: 105]
[Astral Archives: 105]
[Hunger for Knowledge: 105]
General Skills
[Long-Range Identify: 380]
[Parallel Thoughts: 174]
[Companion Bond between Elaine and Auri: 470]
[The World Around Me: 73]
[Oath of Elaine to Lyra: 513]
[Sentinel's Superiority: 513]
[Persistent Casting: 432]
[Imbue: 188]
