CHAPTER 20.

Amber couldn’t peel her eyes off from the massive walls circling the city. They were easily over a hundred meters tall, a great feat of architecture that she never thought possible, especially in a world like Vir ⁠— one she assumed was pretty medieval so far ⁠— however, she had clearly been wrong. She was able to infer it was all possible due to the existence of magic, but even then she found it breathtaking.

As they approached the capital, Amber kept on staring, which got a reaction from Liz.

“You’re going to break your neck if you keep looking up.”

“It’s just…” Amber took a moment. “Amazing…”

Liz thought for a moment. “I suppose your reaction isn’t all that abnormal considering your background. Well… I can show you around.”

Amber blinked. “Aren’t we in a rush to save your sister?”

“The marriage isn’t happening any time soon, so I can make an exception.” Liz smiled. “Plus, I’m sure my family will know I’m in the capital mere minutes after we enter the city, so it’s best we act normal for at least a day.”

“Huh, are you sure about that?”

“That’s been the case every time I come here.” Liz shrugged. “Anyway, enough about my family, you must be excited, right?”

Amber craned her head to look at the white walls, they were now queued to enter the city along with all the other carts that transported goods. She wasn’t excited for the capital itself, however the sight of the walls made her think about all the things she had yet to see of Vir; uncharted territories, ruins, places lost to time… She had heard about all of that from Ax’thra, and now she wanted to see all of that.

She wanted to see the world.

Amber nodded. “I am.”

Liz smiled at her reply and then briefly departed to talk with the remaining merchants just to collect payment. Amber thought it’d be an awkward conversation given how many had died, but she decided to not pay any mind to that. Instead, she turned to look at the approaching black gates. They were easily over a dozen meters tall and just as wide. She admired them for a second before turning to look at the landscape and Amber paused.

She saw three hooded figures a couple of meters away, they too were going towards the gate. They wore robes that she found to be rather familiar, though they were all a deep crimson color. Their faces couldn’t be seen but Amber noted they all wore the same kind of necklace, a copper chain with a trinket that resembled the moons of Vir. However, the reason her eyes glued to them didn’t have anything to do with that, the real reason was because…

[???. Lvl. ???]

[???. Lvl. ???]

[???. Lvl. ???]

She couldn’t see any of their levels, let alone what they even were. She gulped at the sight. Didn’t that mean they were higher level than the demon…? Her eyes remained glued onto them as they continued all the way to the gate and passed through after showing a guard some adventurer badges. Unfortunately, she had to stay with the caravan, otherwise she would’ve left the queue of carts and tried to see where they went off to, or at least ask the guard about them. She however, couldn’t do anything about it at the moment.

Amber did note that some people also had their eyes glued to the figures while others completely ignored them. Moments later, Liz came back.

“Here is your payment,” she said, handing over two gold coins.

Amber blinked. “That’s more than I expected.”

“It was a very long journey, plus you were the only adventurer above level 50.” She shrugged. “So, congrats.”

“Right, thank you.”

Liz gave her a look. “You seem distracted.”

“Did you see the adventurers that just passed? The ones with necklaces resembling the moons?” Amber asked.

“Yeah I did, what about them?” Liz was confused.

“Did you not see their level?”

In response to her question, Liz just smiled and waved her concerns dismissively. “It’s the capital, there is bound to be very strong people around. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

Amber listened and still found it weird, but perhaps Liz was right. As strange as she found it, she had only visited a single city in all of Vir, so it’s not as if she actually knew what to expect.

“I see.”

“Prepare yourself I guess,” Liz said, shrugging.

And so they continued waiting for the carts to advance. Amber wanted to go inside already but apparently the request didn’t actually count as completed until they crossed the gates so: she’d still be abandoning her duty which would eventually ban her from being an adventurer if it happened too many times.

She found it dumb, but ultimately didn’t argue.

* * *

After another thirty minutes, they crossed the gates and Amber got to see the inside of the capital properly. Her eyes growing wide for a few moments. All of the buildings seemed interesting, but more than anything they were ornate and rather white. The stone looked infinitely smoother than what she had seen in Laria, everything looked so much… cleaner. If that was even a good descriptor.

However, what caught her eyes wasn’t particularly that but something she saw poking above the horizon, three towers that seemed to oversee the entirety of the city, their roofs glittering like gold. She stared at them for a few moments, before Liz called out to her.

“Looking at the castle? I did figure you’d stare at it for quite some time.”

“So that’s the castle?” Amber asked.

“Yep, also let’s get going, I do have to show you around after all.” Liz began to walk. “The request is done now.”

“Finally.” Amber let out a long breath. “So, what do you plan to show me?”

Liz smiled in return. “You’ll see.”

* * *

Amber wasn’t sure what to expect, but she was taken to try the different kinds of street foods, which she found to be a lot more varied than those in Laria, tastier too. Contrary to her expectations, however, Liz paid for it and essentially played tour guide, having taking it upon herself to show her around.

Amber saw different things, various fountains, and even one fountain that had supposedly healing properties. It was more ornate than all others, and it had guards that would prevent people from trying to drink from it. Amber couldn’t exactly say she didn’t want to try, but getting arrested was enough for her to dismiss the thought.

After that, they even visited the library, where Liz took it upon herself to enlighten Amber of the history of the Kingdom of Cytel. She grabbed a book and began explaining. Before, there was the kingdom of Lorisdil but after a rebellion Cytel was founded and… Amber didn’t care all that much about any of that other than the fact that supposedly the new royal family was quite good all things considered.

So in the end she stopped Liz in her tracks.

“Alright, alright, I don’t really care about the lore and I knew this place used to be Lorisdil.”

“The lore?” Liz raised her brow.

“The history of the kingdom,” Amber waved dismissively.

“Rude,” Liz scoffed. “Then maybe the reason you don’t know anything is because you refuse to in the first place.”

Amber decided not to reply to that and instead decided to ask something that was in her mind.

“Well, is there anything interesting? Legendary artifacts? Myths? A slumbering dragon beneath the castle?”

The blonde mage paused, completely baffled by what she was saying before she sighed. “If there was a dragon anywhere near there would be no kingdom, but…” And she blinked. “It is said that back in the times of Lorisdil there was a Primordial Spirit in the surrounding lands.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” Amber asked, surprised.

“It’s been hundreds of years, and I guess I thought you knew about it since you met the Primordial Spirit? More than that, I forgot back then, I was… nervous,” Liz explained.

Amber thought about it. “I met him in Arthra forest, in his tower. But I doubt we are talking about the same Primordial Spirit.”

The mage nodded. “I heard the tower had been vacant for decades, if not centuries. There are rumors about a tower near the capital, but I know nothing about them or the Primordial Spirit that used to reside here before the kingdom was formed. Sorry I can’t help you with that.” Her shoulders sagged. “I’ll try to help you find out more about the Arcane Council at least.”

“Right… thank you.”

Amber was a bit bothered that Liz decided to bring this information up now, but ultimately she supposed that everyone tended to forget a thing or two. She had even experienced forgetting absolutely everything after studying for an exam more than once. So, in the end, she moved the topic.

“So, anything that is interesting?”

Liz thought, her brows creasing for sometime before she immediately piped up. “There is something, when Lorisdil fell, Cytel took their treasures. So there are quite a lot of rare artifacts in the kingdom. And some are rumored to have been left behind by the Primordial Spirit that was present in the land.”

Amber blinked. “So, you are telling me the king might just have a divine artifact that can smite people from the heavens?”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Liz chuckled. “Perhaps, it is impossible to know. Many have tried to steal them, but no one has succeeded.”

“I see.” Amber closed her eyes.

I never thought there would be a tower so close, let alone artifacts left behind by a spirit. Then she thought some more and remembered how she had taken her weapons from Ax’thra. The thought of her wielding artifacts from a god seemed silly to her, but it was literally what she was doing.

“So let’s say my sword once belonged to a Primordial Spirit, how much do you think it would sell for?” she asked.

Liz’s eyes grew wide before she chuckled. “If you were able to prove it, easily hundreds if not thousands of gold pieces, but I doubt your friend would be pleased if he found out you sold his sword.”

“He’d be quite annoyed,” Amber agreed. “So… what now?”

“Now, we leave.” Liz closed the open book at the table.

Shortly after putting it away, they left. But not before Amber took in the library of the capital, it was much bigger, about three times bigger than Laria’s and the amount of books seemed staggering to her. She wondered if there were magical printing presses or things that aided in the production of books, but ultimately, she didn’t ask.

After that, Liz decided to take Amber to a place she didn’t expect.

* * *

The Arcane Research Institution.

She had heard about from Liz herself, however the main thing she wondered was:

“What are we even doing here?”

“Well, I figured we could come here to possibly learn more about Primordial Spirits, or… whatever the arcane is…” Liz scratched the back of her head. “I’m not too well informed about this place to be honest.”

Amber turned to look at the large palace-like building that lay in front of her. It was a fancy building with dome ceilings, wine walls and white pillars, it even had a garden and a path leading to the entrance, however the main thing she wondered was.

“Will they even let us in?”

“It’s a public institution, so.” Liz shrugged as she began walking. “I’ll be confused if they don’t let us in.”

Amber raised her brow at that, she didn’t mind leisuring around and whatever else. Though she did feel like saving Liz's sister was above all of this in terms of priority. However, she decided to trust her friend’s judgment on laying low for a day.

They entered the building that seemed to have wooden floors and hanging chandeliers. It almost resembled a grand library, there were people in red robes milling about but other than that there was nothing of note about the place. Liz however, wandered to the left-section of the building and Amber followed soon after.

Soon after, they found themselves browsing books.

“So another library basically,” Amber said.

“Yes, but all the topics seem to be related to magic, though…” Liz flipped through a book. “It seems to be more theory than anything.”

A sigh left her. “Do we go back now?”

The mage turned towards her, puzzled. “Do you not want to even take a look at all of these things? It’s pretty interesting.”

“Not at all,” Amber said.

“It even has theories about the… issues one runs into with the warrior type classes later on, still not interested?”

“Aside from knowing what the issues are, no,” Amber said.

“Warriors need to learn class specific techniques, or… I’m not too sure how they work, apparently it’s just a very strong core skill.” Liz contemplated her thoughts as she spoke. “So I guess that’s the issue. If you don’t learn it you can’t advance or something.”

“I do remember hearing something about that.” Amber thought back on her dialogue with Ax’thra, however he had also mentioned that the exception was being talented. “Though, I guess I’ll get to it when I get to it. My class is rare enough to the point I won’t find information about its advancements easily anyway.”

“I guess you are right.” Liz closed her book. “Are you not worried about that?”

Amber gave it some thought and ultimately shook her head. It was an obstacle to overcome, and that’s just how she saw it. There was nothing else to it.

“I see, well, I guess we should leave.” Liz put the book back into the bookshelf.

However, just as they were about to turn around and walk away, they saw a figure approaching. An old man with a bushy white beard, he wore the same red robe that most people in the institution seemed to wear; his, however, had golden linings and edges.

“A warrior, a strange sight here but appreciated nonetheless,” he commented looking at Amber. Then he turned to Liz. “And a young mage seeking knowledge of the arcane.”

“We were just about to go actually,” Amber said.

The man nodded. “Indeed you were, a shame. I’ve come to make an offer to you both, it’s a tradition around here.”

Liz and Amber shared a glance, but the man continued.

“The offer is rather simple really, if you can give us a piece of information not known about in regards to the arcane we will pay you ten gold coins, however if we know about it, you’ll pay us fifty silver coins,” he explained before smiling amiably. “Are you two interested?”

“I guess that’s how you all keep the place running, eh?” Amber asked.

The man gave her a hearty chuckle. “Well, yes. But you are free to say no, it is still great to see young people interested in the arcane.”

Liz shook her head. “Not interested.”

Amber, on the other hand, thought about it. She was quite sure she had information that could shock the man, even in regards to the arcane. Mostly her encounter with Ax’thra, but she also wondered if there was anything that she could actually share.

“So?” the man asked her.

“Not at all,” she said after some moments.

“How odd. I’m sure there is something but you won’t tell me that, and I suppose that’s okay,” the man smiled at her. “I do wonder why a warrior such as you carries a staff, one that looks quite powerful nonetheless.”

Amber blinked as the man pointed at the red staff on her back. It was shaped almost like a thorn and it was the staff that had been used to summon the Server of Chaos.

“It’s a trophy, a spoil from battle,” Amber said dismissively.

“Is that so?” The man raised his brow before he smiled amiably. “Thank you for answering, Miss. I’m one of the Head Researchers, Elcaro. I hope you both ladies have a wonderful rest of your day.”

And with that, the conversation ended and the man turned and left. Liz and Amber wondered about the encounter but ultimately stepped away into the main hall and walked towards the exit. Though, Amber couldn’t help but speak up.

“Something felt off about him.”

“You think so?” Liz tilted her head. “I thought he was just the average eccentric old man.”

“Did you use Identify on him?” she asked.

“I did, he was close to or above level 100, which is quite normal in the capital,” Liz said dismissively. “You are quite prone to worrying, aren’t you?”

Amber frowned and ultimately she couldn’t really suspect all that much, maybe as Liz had said the man was just eccentric. However, there was something about him that she found strange, and unfortunately, she couldn’t really place her finger on it. Asking about the staff wasn’t all that rare given Identify marked her as a warrior, and him having a hunch wasn’t all that strange either.

However, even as they exited the building she kept replaying the interaction in her head, but ultimately found nothing. A sigh left her.

“So you are still thinking about it,” Liz observed. “Well, thankfully we aren’t done with all the exploration, and you still need your armor fixed, so it’ll be out of your head in no time.”

Amber paused and looked down, her armor while it was holding up just fine, had numerous dents now, and parts of the leather had been torn from the abuse she had put it through during the journey.

“Yeah, I do need to get it fixed,” she agreed.

Liz smiled. “Good, then let’s go, I’ll find you just the right smith.”

* * *

Amber wondered why Liz was so friendly with her, sure they were friends even if it wasn’t something that had been stated out loud. However, even though they were friends, Liz was clearly going out of the way for her. It was definitely a bit odd, at least Amber felt like that was the case, but then again they had grown infinitely closer during the trip from Laria to Cytel. It had been a whole six days together, and there was also the case that she had agreed to help kidnap Liz’s sister.

I guess that makes sense. She inwardly nodded as she watched the blonde woman argue with a smith. Moments later, Liz returned.

“Their service is clearly overpriced and yet they act like they’re the best in the world,” she scoffed.

Amber nodded at that. “Any shop will insist they are the best after all.”

“You are not wrong,” Liz sighed. “I rarely have to hire smiths, so I’m struggling to find a good one, sorry about that.” With that she began to walk.

“No need to apologize.” Amber shook her head. “And also, thank you for helping me so much with all of this.”

The mage stopped in her tracks and glanced back, a smile present on her face. “You’re welcome, let’s go now.”

* * *

It had taken about two more smiths, but finally they found one that Liz deemed good. After that, Amber dropped off her armor and got spare clothes from Liz. The repair cost had been about fifty silver, which if she was honest, Amber expected it to be higher. Though apparently the armor wasn’t particularly destroyed or anything and it hardly required any extra material. The smith said it’d be done with it by sunrise, which was reassuring given the day was close to ending.

“There are still a few more things I’d like to show you, but…” Liz looked at the orange sky. “I suppose it’s getting late. So maybe tomorrow we can do a few things before going to look for my⁠—”

“Let’s just focus on your sister tomorrow, don’t prioritize me,” Amber stated.

“Right, okay. Then let’s just go look for an inn to stay, I try not to stay in the same place more than once mostly out of paranoia,” Liz explained as she began walking.

“Due to your family?”

“Pretty much, can never be too careful.”

Amber watched as the mage shrugged and then she turned towards the passing surroundings. She saw the buildings, the orange light of the now lit street lights, the light pouring out of the windows of the various different structures. It was a calming sight, and one that actively reminded her she was in Vir.

It’s really unlike everything I’ve seen before. Amber smiled as they continued walking.

They passed by a bridge going over a small canal with sidewalks lining its sides, Amber also took in the sight and then she paused. Three figures rounded a distant corner, however the reason she paused is because she had seen those robes and necklaces before. Liz turned to her in confusion.

“Is something wrong?”

“I just saw the people we saw at the gate, and I want to see where they are going given they are passing through the canal.”

“Well, they probably are going to the sewers,” Liz said simply.

Amber nodded and continued to watch, refusing to move from her spot.

“I want to follow after them.”

Liz paused. “You can’t be serious right?”

In response, Amber just held the mage’s gaze. After a few moments Liz relented.

“Fine, but we will do so in a few minutes,” she acquiesced. “This is a terrible idea.”

Amber nodded, and then, they waited.

* * *

Minutes had passed as they began to walk down the sidewalk of the canal, having dropped from the bridge.

“When did you become a detective?” Liz asked, evidently bothered.

“I don’t know, but I’m just curious. It seems weird to me.”

“Weird perhaps, but curiosity kills people,” the mage said. “So next time, I won’t agree to this.”

Amber didn’t respond as they rounded the corner and quickly saw a smaller canal that led to a tunnel. Evidently the sewers. For a moment she wondered why the water seemed so clean, but chalked it up to some form of purification magic shortly after. Amber continued ahead, and Liz followed, there was some level of light coming from some moss on the ceiling but it was hard to see.

Amber didn’t know where the people had gone off to, but her skill Sharp Instincts soon activated and as she turned the corner she saw a dried blood stain on the floor. She paused as she continued walking, finding herself going towards something, encountering the occasional stain here and there. She wasn’t even sure where she was going anymore or what she was following after, but she continued nonetheless. They passed through crossroads and even hopped from one side of the net of canals to the other at times.

Liz had stopped talking as soon as they entered, but Amber could sense the mage’s displeasure, especially after they began to smell the waste of the city. And yet they continued until Amber found a door. One that certainly wasn’t open but whose lock was easy to break by Amber. The only sounds accompanying the action were the flowing water of the canals and their own breaths.

“I hope I don’t regret this,” Liz said in a whisper as the door opened.

And the first thing that Amber noted was blood. The smell permeated the room in front of her, and as she stepped into the room and Liz a flame to see inside, they saw a room that ⁠— for lack of a better word ⁠— looked like a medieval torture chamber. Except, it was massive, dozens of meters in length and width. The place was filled with messy blood splotches and even strewn chunks of decomposing flesh. In the center of the room, there was a circle with a pentagram.

Amber felt slightly sick even though she had grown used to all the gore she had seen, and Liz completely blanched.

“We should leave…” she said.

Amber was about to nod but the sound of something banging interrupted. Liz snuffed her flame and they quickly closed the door, hugging a wall. Moments later distant footsteps began to echo, and they grew closer and closer until they heard them stop. A raspy voice speaking.

“So it’s been discovered…”

Amber’s heart rushed as the door swung open and a purple light illuminated the room. A lanky man entered as he dragged something behind⁠— a woman. He didn’t even bother to look around as he dragged her to the middle of the room. However, Amber also noticed he wore a red robe, resembling the ones from the Institution of Arcane Research. Liz was gritting her teeth as she watched everything, and Amber too knew they had to do something.

[Mage. Lvl. 75]

“This shall be the last offering I make in this place,” the man faced the ceiling, pulling a dagger.

This was it. Amber and Liz shared a glance, and she nodded, grabbing her dagger.

“Grant me thy blessing, O’ Great One.”

He swung the dagger and Amber used Quick Dash, tackling the man who screamed in response as her dagger went through his stomach. His eyes grew wide before he gritted his teeth in anger.

“Pests, I’ll kill you both!” And he stabbed Amber. She grunted and let go of the man, Cursed Momentum having increased by a couple of minutes from that as she removed the dagger and tossed it to the ground, her wound already healing.

That fucking hurt. She unsheathed her sword and faced the strange man, small cuts already appearing on his body.

In response, he sneered and removed the dagger even as his hand was cut by it, the weapon clattering on the floor moments later. Amber was already charging but a purple light enveloped the man before she could reach him. He appeared at the other side of the room, away from both of them. He was holding an unassuming staff, already pointing it at her.

“You dare use a curse against me? I’ll show you your place! Shadow Slashes.”

Two massive black blades shot in her direction, ones that carved through the stone itself with unreal sharpness, and a moment later an explosion of fire engulfed the man, marking the start of the battle.