Chương 94: Chapter 99: The Town

With a constant murmur in the background, we approached the end of the cut-down trees. Only a meadow separated us from the town. From up close I could see that the buildings were far more ornate than I had managed to infer before. The wood was cut and shaped perfectly, motifs and carvings were everywhere, and the overall quality of the town was simply something you don't see in wooden construction on Earth, at least not for simple houses.

The style was quite strange too, a mix between eastern roofs and Nordic carving. Runes seemed to have been inscribed upon doors and more.

"Ready?" asked Tom. I looked at the men beside me. The imposing soldier looked better. Since we talked about the town yesterday, he seemed more lively. Part of the depressing air that had been looming around him was gone. Good for him.

"Always," I replied evenly.

"From this angle I can only see the exterior of the buildings though. I can't see any open windows or people going about. Quinn?"

"Mmm? Yes?" the teen said distractedly. I followed his gaze and saw him staring at Melissa and Mary talking not far away.

"Get your thoughts out of the gutter, kid. This is important," I told him.

"Yeah, sorry…" he said while scratching the back of his head.

"Do you sense anything, or anyone, in there?" He looked at me as if I was dumb. For a moment his face looked particularly punchable, then he said, "Of course. It's like… full of people in there. Can't you notice?" I took a breath, then another one.

"Are you trying to tell me that you knew we were about to go into unknown territory, a potentially dangerous place, and you knew it was full of people and it didn't come to your mind to tell anyone?"

"I thought you knew…" he replied in a small voice.

"Quinn, you are working as our scout, right?" He nodded.

"You have skills especially made to enhance your senses, right?" Another nod.

"Okay, so… tell us anything that you can sense from here. We need all the information you can get us."

"Yeah, no, it's like, I don't know. You always seem to be able to know where I am despite me going full stealth somehow, and I thought you could feel them too?"

"Quinn, info please. Before tomorrow."

"Roger," he mock-saluted me. I swear, one of these days…

"So, there are at least forty people, or things that look like people. Most feel pretty weak, but there are fourteen that ping quite strong to my senses. They are mostly inside the buildings, but some are walking around. We are just in a bad position to see it." For one, what the hell kind of senses does this boy have? That is something else. And second, this was bigger than I thought. At least they shouldn't be monsters.

"Ah! I nearly forgot. I can't sense Marco anywhere, just to let you know."

"Kid, you should really be more forthcoming with the reports. I understand you are young, but it's life and death here. We need to be a step ahead if we can," said Tom. Quinn at least looked chastised enough.

"Doesn't matter. From now on, full information and we are good. About the town, let's go as we planned. Everyone! Attention please!" The whole group stilled.

"As we decided, we will go into the town to check out if it's safe. Stay here and defend the position. We will return briefly or send word if any kind of situation develops. Mary, Melissa, Quinn, Tom, Marcus, Alya, with me. Let's not waste any more time." I left Rhea and Frederick behind. She had already put defenses in place, and the guy was becoming a menace to take down. Jerome was skilled too. I had no worries for the group's safety, especially because of our ritualist.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. We proceeded forward at a fast pace, the soft grass bending under our boots. The open terrain made me feel exposed, but at the same time it was a refreshing change from the forest. Soon we reached the edge of the buildings. In formation we went around the first one just to see a dirt path looping around houses, with flowers and trimmed bushes lining it. It looked a much better place from the inside.

While I noticed all this, my attention was taken by a man in leather armor holding a halberd. He was standing still in the middle of the road, face serious behind an open-face helmet, staring directly at us. He felt dangerous to my senses. I wanted to use my enhanced eyes, but here it would probably be a mistake. But one thing was clear from the stony appearance of his exposed skin and his facial traits: this one wasn't human. Let's see what we are dealing with.

"Greetings, I am Elias. My fellows and I just stumbled out of the woods and noticed the buildings. Are you participating in the tutorial like us?" The guard, or sentinel, or whatever the man's job was, inclined his head. Then he laughed out loud. His laugh was deep, very deep, nearly inhumanly so. At last he stopped, wiping a tear away, his demeanor totally changing from before.

"No, human Elias, I am not 'participating' in this tutorial, at least not the same as you. I am but a guard for Safe Zone 78. If you wish to know more, head to the biggest building over there and don't create trouble," he said while pointing to our left.

"The chief will explain. But I must say, you are quite late to reach this point. Did the bunnies prove too much of a challenge for you?" he finished while laughing uproariously. I could see the confusion in the eyes of my companions. I felt the same. What the hell did he mean by bunnies? More than that, there was a lot to unpack here. It was a safe zone, all right. That was the best piece of news we could receive. But apparently we were late. Not surprising, but it still stung.

"I didn't meet any bunnies, just gorgs, eldirs, and giant spiders. Oh, and the lybi nesting nearby. In any case, thank you for the information. We will go meet your chief now, if you'll excuse us." The man's face went from mocking to incredulous. Despite the strange facial features, it appeared that we expressed emotions similarly.

"Lybi? You mean that you came from the valley south of here? Don't play with me, human. I may be forbidden from killing you, but I can do much worse." His demeanor changed drastically in the span of a second. I could feel his aura ignite, the grip on the halberd tightening. I was not going to get called a liar when I said nothing wrong, nothing offensive. I stepped up, flaring my own aura around me, manifesting it in its raw form, the world becoming monochrome as it enveloped me.

My magic was at my fingertips, ready to be deployed.

"I can assure you that I am not playing at all." The guard stood his ground for a moment longer. Then all signs of hostility ceased, and he returned to his easier persona, a smirk on his lips.

"Well, well, it appears that you told the truth. There's no way you became this powerful by slaughtering a bunch of bunnies. But you got unlucky to get dropped in that place right at the start. It is basically the farthest away from the center, and the beasts… let's say you're lucky to be alive. But from what I can sense, it probably wasn't all luck. We can get a drink later and you can tell me more of your story. For now I'll have to return to my duties. I already informed the chief. He's waiting for you.

And mind you, he's not as kind as me. Don't try and flare your power like a kopbli in front of him if you don't want to end up real bad, capisce?" He made a particularly Italian gesture at the end. He had met other humans. Maybe some were still here, or nearby. I nodded to him.

"A drink sounds nice, thank you. I didn't get your name."

"Iljud," he provided, but the pronunciation was very guttural, hard for me to repeat. I did my best.

"Thank you, Iljud. I'll keep that in mind." If a simple guard could make me feel threatened, I probably have no chance against their chief. In any case, I'm not here for a fight, but for answers. Let's see what this guy has to say. As we moved to the big wooden building, we started talking about the guard's words.

"This safe zone doesn't look like the other one. Not one bit," said Quinn.

"Let's avoid provoking anyone while we're here. These things look dangerous and high level. I don't want to ruin our relationships with them already," Tom said to me.

"I have the feeling they are quite used to shows of strength. Given his reaction, if they are a race who lived under the System, probably strength is all that matters to them. Didn't you notice how he was looking at us mockingly before Elias did what he did? Later he changed his tune. He looked more… respectful," said Alya. Back and forth everyone expressed their opinion. I stayed silent, thinking and listening. The only thing I wanted now was to know more about the tutorial and the location of the kings.

There was much for us to discuss with this "chief." We were so close to finally getting some answers… I pushed open the two big wooden doors of the building, letting the light spill inside. The first thing I saw were braziers made of stone illuminating the interior. A hall with many different trophies hanging on the walls opened up to a central staircase and two corridors at its sides. I suspected the leader of this place wouldn't be sitting in a side corridor, so I started going up the stairs.

At the top, many rooms were closed off, but another set of heavy doors hung slightly ajar.

"Come in," said the deepest voice I have ever heard.

"We have much to discuss."