We pass by the second city without stopping. Unlike the first, this one has been built up inside one of the craters that dot the ground. The difference is that this one is enormous. It’s between two and three miles deep and about a mile wide. The hole is circular, with perfectly smooth edges covered in balconies, holes, and windows that lead to hallways and rooms, and each opening bathes the surroundings in a gentle light, even as the hole continues deeper into darkness.
As weird and creepy as it might be, it’s also one of the most fascinating and beautiful cities I’ve ever seen, and I promise myself that I’ll come back to visit sometime in the future.
We head deeper into the second floor, and the area around us doesn’t change much. The plains are still filled with the same yellow grass, and a myriad of flowers continue to grow even here. The only difference is that more monsters start to appear, stronger ones at that, and the black stormwall feels as if it’s pressing in closer around us. And this time, I can even hear the constant barrage of thunder pouring out of it.
Most of the monsters attacking us seem to be some sort of animal, whether they’re creatures I’d recognize from Earth or something I haven’t truly seen before.
There are Gleamspike Lopers, translucent jelly-like creatures with an orange flame pulsing along their spine. They move in this strange sort of leaping motion and scorch anything they touch.
Or Skraiths, which tend to move in swarms. Each one is the size of a football, made of flesh and chitin, and floats like a jellyfish with tendrils that crackle with lightning.
Once in a while, we encounter Behemoths, too. There are several elemental types, often closer to level 400 than 350. These turn out to be bull-like creatures with six legs, covered in brown fur, and with wide black horns on their heads. Each one is easily the size of a small building, and they’re extremely aggressive.
While Weslin fights most of them, I watch and study their weaknesses. Sometimes I take down a few myself, mostly with piercing projectiles to avoid causing overly loud explosions. According to Weslin, the noise only attracts trouble he currently does not want to deal with.
As for this member of the Primordial Knights, he, at least, is very efficient. His body is extremely powerful, his attacks pierce through enemies' defenses, which he disrupts with ease, and the way he renders nearly all mana-based attacks useless is fun to watch. I spend a lot of time watching, and as I do, I learn a great deal about the Primordial Void.
I don’t think my [Eclipse] will be able to disrupt primordial energies anytime soon, but I plan to work on it. It makes me wonder about the relationship between system-given skills and using them to disrupt primordial energies that existed before the system. It is likely possible, since in some ways the system itself includes primordial energies and works with them. But this is just one of the countless questions I keep having to ask myself.Moving this way, we reach the third city. And it’s just as fascinating as the previous one. Where the second city was built along the walls of an enormous crater, the last safe zone on this floor makes itself manifest as a gigantic tower. Even though it is very wide, it also rises so high into the air that I’m sure that if the builders had been restricted to Earth’s materials, it would have been impossible to construct. And that’s without even mentioning the sheer scale.
“Some say the tower is the remains of an attack by one of the Rulers,” Weslin says as he stops by my side, also staring at this mile tall colossus made of white material. “They say it killed an Absolute grade monster long ago when the Rulers were exploring the First Dungeon. Over the last few millennia, the locals carved a city into it, aided by an early group that served as a predecessor to the Handlers. Only Champions and Absolutes are capable of carving into the material that makes up the tower.”
We start running toward it again, and the closer we get, the more impressive the scale becomes, cutting a grand impression with its myriad of terraces and balconies carved into the surface where it hasn’t been built out with other materials to jut outward.
From its many balconies, long strips of colorful cloth, each about the width of a car and nearly as long as a building, hang and gently sway in the wind. They tend to be decorated with paintings and texts that I still can’t quite make out from this distance.
Interestingly, the bottom fifth of this tall white pillar is bare of constructions and windows. The surface is almost completely smooth, likely showing how it looked originally. It might not even be made of stone, it could just as well be bone, or perhaps even some kind of wood I have yet to see, or even a material I have no hope of recognizing.
The smooth surface is broken by a single black door the size of a two-story building and just as wide. Its entire surface is covered in glowing blue inscriptions.
As we stand in front of it, Weslin pulls a mana stone from his pocket and sends a single pulse toward the door. I try to decipher it in case I want to mimic it in the future, but I realize right away there’s just no chance.
If my ability to read mana signatures is like being able to decipher a five to eight letter password, this feels like trying to break one with a few dozen. It’s far too confusing and too early for me to attempt.
After a bit of waiting, I hear creaking. The door does not open for us completely, instead, a small entrance forms at the bottom of the door. It looks like it’s probably tall enough for even a velnar to pass through, but it’s just so tiny compared to the size of the door and laughable compared to the city itself.
As we pass through the entrance, we cross some kind of barrier that places a mark on us.
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“Don’t remove it,” Weslin warns me. “This city is the King’s domain, and everyone who enters receives his mark.”
I do as I’m told, though it doesn’t stop me from observing the mark out of curiosity. I even probe and poke at a few parts that I am sure have nothing to do with tracking, but I still can’t figure out their purpose.
I keep doing this as we pass through a huge, wide open, circular space, with a number of locals and attendees moving about.
The floor is made of the same material as the outside of the tower, as are the inner walls.
There are multiple elevators stationed in the exact center of the room. Some are big enough to fit several buses all at once, while others are clearly meant to ferry smaller groups of people and can therefore move much faster.
Around the edges of the space is a huge stairway that coils upward. Just wide enough for about ten people to walk comfortably side by side.
The entire area is illuminated by dozens of crystals embedded throughout the space. They’ve been placed under the stairs, on the floor, and simply positioned around the darker corners like lamps.
"Sir Weslin!" one of the locals shouts, rushing up to us. A woman wearing clothes similar in style to the uniform Weslin is wearing, white mixed with pale blue.
"Narisa, how the hell are you still working for the Primordial Knights? I told you, you can do better," Weslin snorts the moment he sees her.
That only seems to amuse her. From her expression, she does not look surprised or scared in the least. She seems used to this man’s behaviour.
"I am now the local director for this city’s branch of the Primordial Knights, Sir Weslin. I wouldn’t say I’m doing badly."
"Did they raise your pay?"
"They tripled it, and I negotiated some hefty performance bonuses on top of that. The contract is for three years only, so I will renegotiate later to get even more."
"I guess that doesn’t sound so bad."
"Right? I don’t know many locals who make nearly as much as I do. I made sure to use offers from their competitors to push my deal higher. I might have used your name once or twice during the talks."
"I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that it hurt your case more than it helped."
"Always so ready to put yourself down, Sir Weslin. But we are being rude. Will you introduce me to your companion?" She turns to me with a look of curious calculation.
Instead of answering, I let Weslin speak. He says, "Yeah, that’s Nathaniel Gwyn."
To my surprise, that seems to tell her everything she needs. "Oh, that person. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mister Gwyn. I am glad you decided to accept the invitation to join the Primordial Knights. I am sure you won’t regret it."
"I was kidnapped."
That makes Narisa freeze for a moment. Her smile fades slightly as she looks at Weslin.
"Yup," he confirms.
Her eyes move between me and him. "I’m sure it’s not as bad as it sounds, and there must have been a good reason..."
"He threatened me, kidnapped me, and said he would hand me over to someone called the Doc if I refused to join. He also beat me so badly I had to lie on the ground for thirty minutes because I couldn’t walk from the pain."
Weslin looks like he wants to argue, but after he realises that, even if it is a bit out of context, it’s all still true, he stays silent.
That silence tells Narisa enough. "May we talk, Sir Weslin?"
"Sure," he says and waves at me. "Newbie, go explore the city for a while. I’ll catch up once I get your transfer ticket from the guild. The portal can only be used once a day, so you’ll have a few hours anyway."
"I will. It’s been nice meeting you, Miss Narisa," I say, hoping to confuse the poor locals a bit more and potentially give Weslin a bit more trouble, before turning around and heading off into the city.
Since Weslin didn’t specify where I should go, I start walking upstairs, curious to see just how high I can climb before I reach a restricted area or before Weslin decides to come looking for me. I’m also curious to find out how he intends to find me. Maybe he’ll do it by using the mark the door placed on me. That thing is very interesting, and from what I can see of its structure, it’s very versatile as well.
There’s a node built into it for something like telepathic communication. I recognise it because it has a striking similarity to that thing Dennis and Aaron can do. There’s also a structure tacked on for teleportation. Maybe it could be used to forcefully teleport me somewhere else, perhaps some kind of prison. Then there are functions for stunning, restraining, causing pain, and other, more sophisticated effects.
To be honest, it’s pretty scary, and the ease with which it was placed reminds me of the Harvester. I start thinking of a way to defend against these placements in the future.
At the same time, I realise the mark is removable. I think I could get rid of it right now if I wanted. It would not be easy, but it is possible. So I think, rather than being a clear gesture of aggression, it’s intended as more of a warning meant to coerce attendees into behaving while in the king's city, who would seem to be a powerful Champion.
As I walk through the tower, I explore some of the smaller shops. A few guides try to offer advice, of course, asking for shards in return. I notice more guild branches and places to stay, either waiting to be rented out to attendees or serving as permanent homes for the locals.
There are no guards. None at all. And yet the city is very peaceful. After a while, I even learn to follow the frequency the mark gives off, and I realise that everyone here, even the locals, have one.
What an interesting way to keep order.
As I begin to approach the higher floors, I start seeing more professional smithies, bigger shops, and auction houses, paid entry parks, and even the odd restricted area. The architecture keeps changing, and an interesting thought comes to mind. According to Weslin, this place was carved out over the course of several millennia, so of course it makes sense that things changed as new parts were added hundreds of years after the oldest ones.
It’s while I’m exploring one of these floors, my mark activates, and an excited voice sounds in my mind.
(Hello!)