Chương 9: A Hero Emerges

I run across the terrain almost effortlessly. All those stats and stuff that I got really have made my body far stronger. Plus, my more mental stats are also higher, meaning I can really take in the surroundings and appreciate the environment while running. Not to mention the fact that my vision is super sharp due to my high spirit. I can see so much more about the environment than before. By environment, I mean the trees. There are so many, it's like they are endless.

They just stretch on kilometer after kilometer. I don't stop to check if there are monsters hidden within, because I know there are. I spot a few glowing lights within the trees, which are either things waiting to kill me, or maybe even stray spirits. I don't know how strong anything out here is, I can't bank on the fact that I can actually fight something. For all I know, I got really lucky with that ent and wolf. So I don't bother them, and they don't bother me. Which is perfectly fine with me.

Nothing seeks me out actively, though. So I think I am relatively safe. I do get to see a few deer and other animals that are clearly not monsters. They still have levels, mostly below five, but they don't have that air of evil about them. Which is a relief, it is nice to know that not everything in this world wishes to eat me alive. Oh, and the super cute fox that is asleep in my hood is awesome. She does a great job of keeping my ears warm. So long as I ignore the ticklish feeling of course.

I do question the morality of using a great spirit as an ear warmer, but I quickly dismiss such ridiculous musings. After several hours of running, I start to notice the river widening. The basic law of citybuilding dictates that wherever a river of large enough size exists, so shall a city. Though in a world of magic that might not be a rule anymore. Despite that I have a gut feeling that the town is nearby. Something something system magic. Surely enough, after about another half an hour, I start to hear noises.

Like, those made by people. I make a beeline for the noise and suddenly bust from the trees onto a large road. People are all around me. Not just a handful, but dozens, hundreds even. I spot many merchant caravans with all sorts of goods. Some are riding on horses, but even more are riding in strange metal carriages that have no horses attached. Heck, there are even some people floating by in the air in metal boxes, or just by free magic it would seem.

The street is packed with far more people than I have ever seen in one place. Sure, I've been to larger towns in my old world, but those had a few hundred people at most. The city up ahead must be quite large to attract so many. They wear all sorts of clothes. Some are clearly more upper class, while many are in armor and bear weapons. Likely adventurers hired as bodyguards or on the way back from a hunt.

Naturally, when a strange man bursts from the trees looking like he just spent two days camping in the dirt, people stop and take notice. In fact, every single person stops, as if frozen in place. Slowly, people turn and start pointing at me. I catch a few whispers and all of them say one thing. Hero. I guess I had a feeling that heroes were kind of important. But the atmosphere makes it very clear that I have underestimated just how important.

It takes me a moment to wonder how they know I am a hero, but then I realize it. My cloak. It is quite strange, and I wouldn't be surprised if everyone knew what a hero's cloak looked like. Well, I am presuming that our group of heroes weren't the first. Which seems to have been right. As for what one does when suddenly confronted with a crowd that clearly sees you as some sort of important person? Well, I simply turn and start walking down the road towards the town.

People make way for me as I pass, like I am some divine being that should not be crossed or something. It is a bit creepy, to be honest. Luma doesn't wake up from her nap at all the noise. She seems to be quite sleepy, maybe that is just how spirits are or something. Which is good, I don't know how people would react to seeing a spirit. Or wait, can they even see Luma? I do have that spirit sight skill, so maybe normal people can't even see her. Oh well, that's something to learn later.

For now, I just continue walking, given how many people there are, I must be close. As I walk, people stop and point at me in similar fashion. In fact, they even step aside as I pass through. They act as if I am a really dangerous person. But honestly, I think anyone here could easily kill me. I use Identify on various people. Most people are between level ten and twenty, the adventures mostly above thirty. The highest level I see is fifty, from an older adventurer with several scars on his face.

My assumption was right. In this world, I am as weak as a child. My only saving grace is that I think my cloak somehow obscures their own identify skills. I can feel energy come towards me and then simply bounce off, which I presume to be their Identify attempts. It is very unsettling to have so many people looking at me. But I simply continue walking, after all, where there is a city, there is ale. About an hour of walking later, the trees suddenly start to thin and I get a glimpse of the city in the distance.

Well, just the walls of it. They are gigantic to say the least. They easily tower two hundred meters into the sky, and I can't even see where they end. It is as if the city is larger than the horizon itself. I was hoping it would be large, but this is beyond anything I could've ever imagined. I was worried the goddess meant it would be a small town. It would suck if the goddess dropped me near some backwater town that didn't have a good tavern, inns and most importantly, a library of some sort.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. But this city almost seems too big. There must be tens or even hundreds of thousands of people inside, perhaps even millions. I can't even wrap my mind around such a large city, how do they feed people? What about water? Clothes? Or even something like transportation. I am no expert in cities, but I feel like scaling to such a massive city would be quite difficult.

Of course, the answer lies in that which explains all things in this new world: magic. Approaching the city, I notice a group of several guards walking out of the gates. They seem to be walking right towards me. Their equipment seems far better than the stuff I have seen so far, perhaps they belong to some noble? The one in the lead is a woman with a very scary looking axe on her back. Identify shows her at level eighty-two, and is the highest amongst their group.

If I had to guess she must be somewhere around forty years old. She has red hair and stands taller than even I do. Plus she has some sort of aura around her that seems to emanate a sense of 'I can really mess you up.' Not that I would've tried anything in the first place.

"Greetings, Hero of Spirit. Allow me to welcome you to Loder, the Seventy-Second Great City of Humanity. I am the guard captain of this humble city, please call me Roxane." A bit hesitantly, I step towards them. I try to keep my expression neutral, but I definitely let a bit of a confused expression slip.

"It's a pleasure, name's Orn. So uh, what's with the fancy welcome? I am kind of new to this whole thing, so uh, perhaps some explanations could help?" I say with far too much awkwardness, I hope they don't take it as an insult or something. Roxane laughs a bit.

"Of course, to put it simply, heroes are important. The fact that you have shown up here of all places is bound to shift things around. So naturally, our lord would like to meet with you right away." I sigh. Two days in this new world and I am already being dragged into politics. Guess it is to be expected though, I clearly have some sort of role to play in this new world. I hope it comes with some free booze.

"Of course, you are free to refuse." Roxane adds on a few moments later, perhaps sensing my frustration. As much as I hate politics, I need information and connections. What better place to get such things than from the lord of such a large city?

"Sounds alright, lead the way I suppose." Roxane smiles and then motions for me to follow. Thus I find myself following a bunch of guards. We pass through some truly gigantic gates, easily thirty meters tall. The moment I pass through the gates, I feel something searching over me. Some sort of security enchantment? Makes sense for a city like this. In turn, a notification from the system also appears.

You have now entered the Great City Loder (Level 54) | Danger Level: None-Absurd That system message does not help to quell my discontent. What the fuck does it mean that the city could contain anywhere from no danger to an absurd amount? Also apparently the city's level is fifty-four. My system-given information tells me that cities are an actual system function and can be leveled up and such. Which apparently somehow grants bonuses and whatnot, but it doesn't tell me anything further.

What doesn't make sense is the city itself. It is crazy and honestly I am unsure how to describe it properly. Buildings of metal tower dozens of meters into the sky. Their walls are made of glass, but I can see tons of runic drawings all over them. I have only ever seen runes once in an old dungeon I hit in my heyday. But these runes are everywhere and seem ridiculously complicated. As if it wasn't enough already, the buildings are only the start. Above them lie giant platforms that are floating in the air.

There is basically a whole extra layer to the city, and I can see people moving about in the sky like it is the most normal thing ever. The city itself is obviously massive. The road we step out onto is gigantic, easily hundreds of meters across, without my enhanced stats I can't imagine being able to take it all in. Furthermore, the street is packed with all sorts of strange things. There are metal carriages that seem to move on their own, and I can see people inside.

There are even a couple that I watch fly over us and exit the city! But there are also tons of people that walk, or… slide? Everyone seems to move across the ground without walking, instead they seem to roll across the ground with their feet. But I can't see any wheels or anything, all I see is a faint blue glow from the bottom of people's shoes. Some sort of levitation perhaps? They are definitely moving far faster than walking, at least.

My spine tingles in excitement at all the awesome equipment I will be able to create. Not just at all the crazy technology, but even with just the materials. To support such large structures they must be very strong. My mind whirls as I imagine the possibilities. A sword that can slice through stone? Armor that can take a cannonball and be completely unharmed? Or perhaps even a fancy bow for Luma that can make her look even more adorable? Heck, I could even fly with some of those shoes, or so it seems.

The possibilities truly are endless. We walk about ten kilometers –which feels more like half of one, some strange magic no doubt– before the guards turn into a large open space. Sitting in the center is a creature. It has wide wings and what looks like some sort of carriage attached to the bottom. I can feel the mana radiate off of it in waves. Oddly enough, my Identify merely bounces off of it.

"Please, Hero, do not worry. It is a perfectly safe method of transportation." Roxane says, sensing my confusion.

"Wait, we are going to ride that creature?!" I exclaim. She and the other guards laugh.

"Of course, it would take far too long to reach the lord's estate otherwise. Don't worry, it is one hundred percent safe." It isn't the safety I am concerned about. It is the sheer ridiculousness of such a large creature that seems to be tamed… but I do as they say and board the creature. It isn't as if I have much reason not to. These guards seem to be well intentioned, and even if they weren't, I would stand no chance in fighting against them. I walk into the carriage and am led down a hallway.

You know, since moving creatures having hallways is completely reasonable. It even has lights that shine bright blue, mana fueled by some strange mechanism most likely.

"Alright, if you will just have a seat and press the button on the armrest." Roxane instructs me as we enter a fairly luxurious room. The floors are covered in a nice carpet and the walls are made out of very expensive looking wood. There are also a couple of windows that I can see the city through. I take a seat in a comfortable armchair and relax. After a few seconds, I find a small raised button on the armrest. Without even questioning what it does, I press it.

When I do, some sort of harness drops from the ceiling. Glancing over, I watch as Roxane takes a seat and puts the harness on, so I presume it is safe. After a bit of fumbling around and somehow not waking Luma up, I manage to get it on. It holds onto my body tightly, yet also seems to have a bit of bounciness to it. When I am all settled in, Roxane smiles at me.

"You are going to love this!"

"What do-" The air is knocked out of me as it feels like the floor drops out from under me. But the floor is still there. I glance out one of the windows and realize what is happening. We are rising into the air. This isn't a creature, it's a floating vehicle of some form. A mix of excitement and nervousness rushes through me, and I can see Roxane is glad that I am at least somewhat enjoying it. I sigh. Goddess, just what sort of strange world is this?