Tepo blinked. Did this warrior look down on him? Did he appear so weak? Maybe it was his age?

Alright. Watching the fierce battle not far from him, Tepo had to admit that he was indeed still not powerful enough. Even the aftermath from the fight could leave him badly injuried.

If he entered a dungeon together with the warriors present, he wouldn't make any difference at all.

The young man smiled meekly and thanked the warrior for his advice. He went back to his ship, his eyes on the dungeon.

Anyways, Tepo wasn't here to explore the dungeon from the beginning. He was lured here by the mysterious signal. But now he had a guess about its origin.

From the warrior's words, the dungeon was only activated a while ago. Maybe this was accompanied by a kind of phenomenon? It wasn't impossible. Since observation towers exist, there must be a way to detect the activation of dungeons.

It isn't impossible for the Web to have weaved such a method into their marks. But how could he prove his guess?

Tepo thought for a bit, but only one method came to his mind. He steered his Force of Time and guided it to his neck.

Suddenly the mark on the warrior's neck flashed. Tepo had a strange sensation in his mind. A kind of signature lit up. It shone brightly, marking something in his surroundings. It was the position of the dungeon!

Tepo sighed in relief. This mystery was lifted. Fortunately, there was no distress signal or similar.

But suddenly he noticed something strange. Wasn't there another smaller point in his mind. What could it be?

Bewildered, the young man looked towards the portal. Estimating the distance, his eyes fell on a spot among the crowd. He noticed a warrior staring at him with a strange look.

Noticing Line's gaze, the warrior's eyes widened. Sweat formed on his forehead. He quickly signaled something with his hands, moving them in a waving motion.

Although the warrior tried to be subtle so others wouldn't notice him, Tepo fortunately understood. He was told to leave! And judging from the warrior's face he had leave urgently!

Tepo didn't waste much time. He trusted his judgement. Even if this man was an ally and was in danger as well, Tepo wouldn't stupidly remain here.

The young man jumped into his ship. He started it hurriedly under the confused gazes of a few close-by warriors. At high speeds he shot into the wind channel.

Just as Tepo left the platform, the excitement among the crowd died down. The young man turned his head. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the portal ripple. Figures stepped out.

Rising his brows, Tepo glanced at them. Humanoid appearance, black skin, and four leathery wings. Are those the ruw? Are they a native race of the Carrying Winds World?

Tepo could just about see that their bodies were riddled in injuries before the platform shrank into a small dot in his vision.

Leaving the mountain behind, Tepo didn't know what to think of this short excursion. He discovered some functions of the mark on his neck. But it brought him in a possibly dangerous situation.

Come to think of it, what was the danger there? Can the warrior who warned me survive?

Judging from the scouts' appearance, the dungeon seems to be of a high level. But the warrior couldn't have known this beforehand, right?

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Contemplating, the young warrior slowed down his ship. He followed the wind channel, not sure where it led him.

But although his position wasn't on the map, he could still determine it approximately. A way towards the Winged Border City shouldn't be too hard to find.

Setting his target the young man advanced, still careful. Towards the left and right of the wind channel, winged beasts traversed the storms. Line was somewhat intimidated. So far, he had never seen beasts daring to fly so close to wind channels.

Maybe it's because not many ships travel here, so they are not afraid of being hunted? Or is it a specialty of this area?

Fortunately those beasts didn't show any signs of being aggressive. They calmly circled the wind channels, as if to accompany the travelers.

An hour later, Tepo's tension had already disappeared. Rather, the young man was a bit bored. It's strange how fast one can get used to some novelties. Now flying in his ship with nothing interesting in sight didn't excite Tepo anymore.

Fortunately, he was closing in on another channel. Compared to the lonely path Tepo came from, the other channel was packed with ships. The warrior took this as a good sign. Most of them traveled towards the left, where Tepo judged the Winged Border City to be.

Feeling like he was back on track, Tepo merged into the channel. He had to slow down, following behind other ships.

Another couple of minutes were stolen from the young man's life. But finally, a massive city appeared in his vision. Tepo was astounded. This city dwarfed the Rocky Cloud City by quite a bit. With its multiple tall walls and closely guarded gates it would be more apt to call the Winged Border City a stronghold.

The traffic slowed down as it neared the city. Tepo looked up. From the wind channel it was difficult to see the guards patrolling on top of the wall.

By the way. What can those walls even do? Especially in the Carrying Winds World, where everything seems able to fly. Can the walls stop any attacks at all?

Slightly confused Tepo advanced slowly until it was finally his turn to enter the gate.

A stone-faced soldier scanned his ship with cold eyes. He wore a reddish metallic armor with a pair of dark wings painted on his chest. His cold voice reached Tepo's ears:

"Five force crystals."

The young man was slightly taken aback. This was the first time he saw a city demanding an entrance fee. But since he was already here, he could only comply.

Reluctantly Tepo paid the fee. The soldier didn't care for his expression. Numb to all kinds of reactions he impatiently waved his hand, urging Tepo to continue.

The young man made way, not daring to block the gate. The expansive Winged Border City opened before his eyes.

Left in awe, Tepo controlled his ship to slowly advance. He observed the busy gate area. It seemed like one wasn't allowed to steer vehicles outside of the wind channels. Most of the warriors who arrived parked their ship on a big stone square.

Tepo copied them. He chose some empty place and jumped out of his ship. He didn't dare to store the ship in his storage bag. This might attract too much attention. He still remembered what happened after someone became greedy for his artificial core.

As soon as Tepo left his ship, the murmur of a busy city hit his ears. A mix of smells wafted around his nose. Above his head, next to the wind channel, various warriors' deeds were displayed.

Tepo watched with rapt attention as warriors were introduced. A famous team took down a dungeon and found a collection of mighty weapons. A female leader of a certain organization reached a higher rank and united a large area under herself.

Although the young man knew the purpose of this advertisement, he was still fascinated. He couldn't deny that the thought of being in their position one day excited him.

But this would still take quite some time. Until today the young man hadn't even started gaining some fame.

He was only a small three-circled aspirant who looked for a place to sleep in the big city.

Not disparaged by those thoughts Tepo walked along the road, mixing into the crowd. He was amazed as he studied his surroundings.

The last time he saw so many people was in Rocky Cloud City. But only because the road was blocked. In Winged Border City, though, such crowds were a normal sight.

Suddenly Tepo raised his brows. From a two-floor home a figure stepped out. They wore normal clothes, but their leathery wings prominently folded behind their back. Their skin was dark, their build slightly below the average human, and a bone-like material covered their head instead of hair.

Tepo had seen similar beings a short while ago. Was this a member of the Ruw? Did members of their race share this city with humans?

The young man didn't have a special opinion about other races yet. As long as they didn't try to enslave humanity, Tepo didn't care about other races.

Averting his eyes, Tepo continued along the road. The sun was already setting. A long shadow extended from the elevated part of the city. The young man let himself be pushed by the crowd.

Night would soon arrive but before that Tepo found something else he wanted to check out. The young man raised his head lightly. His eyes fell on a sign. It read 'market street'.