When Dante woke up in the morning, he was feeling refreshed from the experience of having practised mana manipulation techniques. The three of them set off towards their destination of Greenhill Village, Dante spent much of his free time working on improving the techniques that Otus had taught him. He also began to produce and stockpile more credits, storing them away in his ring in case he needed them when he arrived at the village.
Rather than the pleasant silence he had with Waya, Otus was incessant with his questioning. He would ask all sorts of questions about humans, how they used to live. He was careful to ask what certain items purposes were before he attempted to use them, especially after the last embarrassing revelation.
Dante didn't mind the questions, it helped him put his thoughts and memories in order. He told Otus some of Earth's old fantastical tales, how much of what was going on around him resembled some of the stories he used to read.
Otus would listen with rapt attention, occasionally butting in to ask him to elaborate on some of the nuanced aspects of the story, terms he wasn't familiar with.
At one point Otus couldn’t help but comment on how strange that Dante could remember so much detail about these things but nothing about his personal life, nothing about who he was. Dante was inclined to agree, he was reluctant to share every aspect of his journey so far, such as the unusual encounter with F or his grand trial. Perhaps some of the answers could be found there, he hadn’t quite built up enough trust with Otus to feel comfortable baring his soul to him.
After several days of being grilled by Otus and taking the opportunity to return the barrage of questions, he became just a little more familiar with the changes that had happened in the world. The days and nights passed and they eventually neared the village.
"That's Greenhill in the distance!" Otus cried out pointing to a location far off in the distance.
Tracing his eyes along the line that Otus was pointing, a small mountain rose in the distance. A gradual incline with the occasional jut of land reaching into the sky. He was met with a sight that made him feel incredulous, “Is that what I think it is?”
“Oh, those? Yeah, that’s mana.”
Giant white arches of crystal rose into the sky as if the earth itself was compelled to follow the flow of mana, eventually forming large arched structures that looked like materialized magnetic fields rising from the ground. The sight was impressive and like nothing that Dante had ever seen before.
“May I use your glasses?”
Once Otus passed him the glasses, he took out a credit from his spatial ring and with practised ease from having used them several times on his journey, he transferred magical energy from the crystal to the magical device.
Placing the glasses on, the world changed and Dante was greeted with an awe-inspiring sight. The whole village in the distance was lit up with reality-warping mana that travelled along the arches of crystal. He could detect that there were mild fluctuations where the mana was bubbling and bursting from the ground. The most impressive thing was that it appeared like he was watching a magnetic solar flare, mana burst from the ground licking up the arches and some of it would rain back down while maintaining the overall arch shape.
“Woah, that’s quite something…” He stood for a while taking in the view until the glasses ran out of energy and the images faded back to normality.
Dante could make out signs of life, there were streams of smoke rising below the arches. The hill appeared to have large rectangular sections cut out of it like giant rising steps that led to the village built on top. Each step was a tier of the village that was bustling with life, there were buildings, farms with different crops, construction and other activities that he could barely make out.
It reminded him somewhat of pictures he had seen of Machu Picchu. An old civilisation that had built a citadel on top of a mountain, but this was much larger and grander in scale, with additional flair achieved by mana distorting the landscape.
"This is Greenhill? It’s impressive. Those formations of land, I've never seen them before" Dantes awed words left him speaking at almost a whisper. He was expecting a primitive village. But it appeared more to him like a civilization that was able to maintain a delicate balance with the land. He couldn't wait to get a closer look.
“Yes, it is because the mana density is slightly higher in that location. It allows the Evolved to practice their mana and create more currency. The location was suggested by the Angels. All other Evolved settlements have similar unusual characteristics." Otus replied excited and proud of what his species had achieved in such a short amount of time. Ever since they started establishing the villages and towns, they considered themselves the new caretakers of Earth in the absence of humans. They took pride in what they constructed and lived in tune with nature, never greedily consuming all the resources available to them.
Taking in this new information, the past few days with Otus had revealed so many new things to Dante. He was excited to finally experience the civilization of this world. “Ok, well. Let’s get going!”
The trio set off again making their way towards Greenhill.
****
Rapid sniffing sounds of multiple Wolves could be heard throughout the woods. Their heads to the ground scouring for traces of the hideless man, Waya and the Mutant creature that had killed many of their pack.
A wolf stumbled upon the rotting corpse of the mutated creature, it was blown apart, a stinking burnt corpse with hundreds of teeth glistening from its maw. The corpses mouth was burst wide open, it appeared to be a statue of a creature that was gasping its last breath.
“Alpha, the Mutant is here! It’s dead!” A wolf howled to its leader.
Silent footsteps shook the ground as the leader approached, he could reduce his sound but his weight made the ground vibrate with every step. Standing over the corpse of the mutated lamprey. Neugdae leant down and sniffed, he could smell that magic had been used. ‘Fire? It’s similar to the Kobold leader, but he’s dead, we found his body. Interesting.’
Sniffing around the mutant's body, he picked up the scent of his daughter and the hideless man. The distinct smell of the man drove him crazy, it was a wild smell of mana, it made him salivate just thinking about it. ‘His power smells so unique, If I can eat him, I’ll become so much stronger.’
Neugdae still had chills when he remembered eating his first magical creature, how his body absorbed the magic from the meat that he ate. He vividly recalled the transformation he experienced, he started out as the runt of his litter, desperately hungry he had a chance encounter with the corpse of a magical creature. When he ate the partially rotten meat he experienced changes in his body, it expanded and grew becoming stronger and larger. That wasn’t the best part, it was the abilities that he started to develop that eventually made him the most powerful wolf in the woods.
That’s when he had started to develop a taste for these magical creatures, he had an insatiable desire to become the strongest creature in the world, to rule everything. When he became the Alpha he started forcing his pack to find any signs of more magical creatures, then order them to chase the creatures down so that he could eat them. ‘I want that hideless!’
“Everybody leave!” his voice boomed, the closest wolves stumbled to the ground, the Alphas oppressive power was too much for them. They scrambled and ran away leaving him to his business. It was better not to ask.
****
Maikoh watched from a distance, hidden away from sight. He was disgusted as he saw Neugdae start to feast on the mutant's flesh, taking large snapping bites from the burnt, rotten and partially destroyed corpse. He saw how dark threads would ripple around the Alpha’s body as he ate, the muscles slowly expanded, the leader growing a little bit larger. It was a repeat of what he saw when they found the old abandoned hideless town that had traces of his sister and the man they were chasing. They found a large building with destroyed doors, signs of a dramatic fight and Kobold corpses littered the ground.
The Alpha had taken a particular interest in a headless corpse, telling everyone to leave as it was dangerous. Maikoh had watched through a hole in the building as the leader devoured the corpse in two bites, black threads crawled over the leader's body, he could visibly see the leader grow bigger. It was happening again with this mutant corpse. ‘After being stuck between the mutant and the Kobold’s chasing us. We had to desperately fight to get to safety. He still wants us to find my sister, but I think he’s more interested in the hideless man now.’
This would be the best opportunity to sneak away, while the leader was distracted and all the other wolves were too scared to pay attention to him. He ran deep into the forest. Something high up in a tree caught his sight. ‘Waya! She remembered to leave the mark. I will catch up soon sister. Please wait for me.’
Maikoh followed his sister's trail until it led out of the woods, seeing the open plains a thought crept across his mind. He knew where she was going.
****
“Alpha, Maikoh has gone!” A grey wolf notified the leader of the recent development once the leader had returned to them. They feared interrupting him, stuck between disobeying his orders or notifying him of the emergency. They cowered in anticipation of their punishment, but it never came.
The leader's lips raised revealing his sharp teeth that were as large as a man's hand, a rictus smile formed on his face. “I know, follow him.”
‘He’s finally made his move, I’ll find his sister. Hopefully, she will still be with the Hideless. I can’t wait!’
The leader licked his lips as a little drool leaked from his mouth, black veins throbbed in his eyes.
****
Otus was at the head of the group now, he had explained that it would probably be best to let him do the talking when they arrived outside the village. A stranger with a wolf wouldn’t exactly receive a welcome party.
As they approached closer to the village, signs and paved roads became more abundant. He saw the amazement in Dante’s eyes as they got ever closer. The giant arches of crystal climbed into the sky, the sun reflecting off their surface, casting an ethereal light onto the village and its surroundings.
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They encountered the occasional other Evolved who were off in the distance carrying out various tasks such as tending to crops and livestock. Some were even cleaning small shrines and moving carts along to deliver goods. The other Evolved never approached too close, they would recognise Otus and wave, then stop when they saw who accompanied him unsure what to make of the trio.
Eventually, they were near the first ring of defence, a stone-walled perimeter around 5 meters tall surrounding the village. The wall was made up of numerous stacked stones and boulders that appeared to be melded together somehow, creating a robust first line of defence.
They followed the path that led towards a large pair of wooden gates, joining a queue that led into the village. Otus could see Dante looking around in amazement, he paid particular attention to all the different Evolved people. The was a large variety that had different origin species, some had pronounced characteristics such as large ears, tails, different coloured skin. All these characteristics would help identify their original species, such as Otus’s large eyes and patches of feathers on his skin that gave him away as an Owl.
The queue gradually shortened until they were almost standing before two Evolved guards who were happily chatting, they appeared to be inspecting strange small cards that the different people held out in their hands to gain entry.
“Otus, what are they showing? Is this going to be a problem?”
“It will be fine, I have this covered, just follow my lead.”
The people in front were allowed into the village and the trio approached the gate guards. A statuesque Evolved man that had black-rimmed honey-coloured eyes, wild blonde hair that wrapped around his head like a mane framing his ferocious face.
The enormous guard stepped forward wielding a large two-headed axe between his hands, thumping the handle into the ground which brought up a small cloud of dust. He wore armour that was thick plate leather with metal studs. His dominating presence let them know he wouldn’t let them pass until he was happy they posed no threat.
“Greetings Scavenger, are you sure your ancestors weren't vultures?! Do my eyes deceive me or have you made some friends, is that a wolf and a…," the beastly man seemed stumped for a moment as he looked at Dante, he frowned with uncertainty at what he was looking at then asked, "what is he a chimp?”
****
Dante watched the exchange between Otus and the huge man that seemed insistent on barring their way, he looked to Otus to see what he would have to say on their behalf. He was disappointed to see that Otus appeared incredibly nervous and flustered, rubbing his hands and shaking slightly in the presence of the guard.
Inspecting the guard, Dante cast a basic Scan out of curiosity.
[****** - Level **]
The guard’s yellow eyes flicked towards Dante, he felt a chill run down his back as the huge man huffed before returning his attention back to Otus.
‘What the hell, he’s easily over level 10, didn’t even reveal any information on him.’ He figured out very quickly that he didn’t want to get into a fight with this man.
Studying the guard’s appearance some more, ‘If I had to guess, his origin is a lion of some kind, what a beast of a man!’ He thought, awed by the impressive appearance of the guard. Dante realised he almost forgot about the other guard, something about him made it hard to stare in his direction as if he was compelled to ignore him.
The other guard was standing to the rear, almost like a shadow of the larger guard. He had pitch-black skin, with almost glowing yellow eyes, it was barely perceptible but where beams of sunlight struck his skin, Dante could make out what appeared to be black ringed patches on his already dark skin. ‘He also doesn’t look like someone to mess with. Don’t make them Angry Otus!’
“Hey Krugeri, These are my friends,” Otus replied to the largest guard, he then turned to Dante and Waya, bidding them come closer.
Taking the signal, he made a step forward with Waya in Tow. Krugeri bellowed “Stop!” Then tensed his hands on the axe, bulging muscles rippled along his forearm under the tension with which he gripped his weapon.
“They might be your friends Otus, but we don’t take in strays. How do we know we can trust them?”
Otus scratched his head nervously looking at Dante and Waya then giving them an apologetic and helpless shrug, “I’ve been travelling with them for several days now. I’ve gotten to know them quite well. How can we prove their identity?” He asked.
“What? Don’t play coy with me Otus, you’re always wandering off into ruins and bringing back trash to trade in our towns and villages. I take it they don’t have identity cards? Otherwise, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Krugeri asked impatiently, wanting to be done dealing with Otus.
“I’m afraid they don’t, their circumstances are… unusual. I was hoping to speak to the Elder, they’ve been through some trials which I believe would be of interest to her…”
“I don’t care! Get to the point, this is boring me.” Krugeri interrupted.
“Uhh, they were attacked by a mutant and managed to kill it before escaping the woods a few days south-west. I bumped into them along the way and saw that they needed help, so I thought to bring them here so that they can recover for a few days.” Otus replied, Telling half-truths and hoping that Krugeri was feeling a little bit compassionate today.
Krugeri relaxed his hands a little, dropping one of his hands to his side and losing the intimidating posture. “A Mutant, Near here? Is he telling the truth?”
Dante spoke up, continuing the story. “Yes, it’s dead, me and Waya killed it. It chased us through the woods.”
“Good for you! Why don’t you have Id’s?”
Turning to Otus, Dante was a little confused by the question, his eyes pleading for help. It seemed Otus failed to fill him in on one important detail, something that was required to get access to the village.
The other guard gracefully walked next to Krugeri, he held his hand up in a placating gesture. Dante barely noticed when he had started moving, before he realised it the man was right next to the large guard. He whispered into the mountainous guard's ear. Krugeri nodded, then smiled revealing his sharp teeth.
“You must be strong to have killed a Mutant. How about we trouble you with a task then we can overlook that you somehow conveniently don’t have an ID, we can issue you a new card as part of the reward.” Krugeri made his suggestion to Dante.
‘We just got here, now he wants to send us on an errand.' Irritated that after days of travel and hoping to find civilization, finally arriving at the gates of a village. Now he had to do someone else's job. Trying to maintain an amiable smile, Dante asked, “A task? What can we do for you?”
“About half a day's journey from here is a cave, we have to clear it out every so often. It seems some Goblins have taken up residence there lately. They have been sending out raiding parties to harass some nearby smaller settlements and destroying some of our farms. As you can see we are a little busy here, so if you would be so kind as to help us get rid of them. We would be able to acknowledge your good intentions and let you into the village. It would reflect well on your character.” Kurgeri returned the smile to Dante, it was as if he was toying with his prey.
‘Goblins? Are you fucking kidding me? Goblins are real? Eh, I should stop being surprised.’ Dante’s thoughts seemed to spread to his face as Krugeri smiled even bigger, satisfied he could palm off such a boring task to Dante.
“You want us to take care of your problem then you’ll let us enter? What guarantee do we have?” Dante asked, not wanting to be taken for a ride.
The man next to Krugeri stepped forward, he brought his hand up and opened it, revealing a plain white gem in the centre of his palm. His voice was smooth and deep as he spoke. “This is called an honour stone, we use it as a proxy to trigger trials through the system. Please place your hand over mine, once you’re satisfied with the terms, please agree to them. We can’t renege on our offered rewards or we will face punishment by the system.”
Following the instructions, he placed his hand over the white gem. Dante’s eyes lit up as almost immediately a prompt flashed in his mind.
[Trial offered: Clear goblin cave - Do you accept (Yes/No)]
[Rewards: Access to Greenhill, ID card, 10 credits]
[Failure: Refused access to Greenhill]
[Trial offered through the system, once parties agreed on terms, failure to fulfil the agreed terms will result in punishment as determined by the system]
“You’re even paying credits?” Dante asked in surprise.
“We do not require charity, we feel this task would establish a basic level of trust. A way to confirm that you do not support the Demons. Goblins are known to perform tasks and act as spies for the Demons. Your completion of this task for us will prove we can trust you. The pay is the standard reward for such a task, minus the cost of issuing you new identification.” The man replied to Dante, without much emotion.
It sounded rather reasonable and the system vouched for the validity of the rewards, ‘Yes’. Dante accepted the trial.
[Trial started: Clear goblin cave]
The man nodded with satisfaction, then removed his hand.
“Thank you, we hope to hear from you soon. Good luck”. He then walked back to his guard position outside the gates of Greenhill.
“Can you please tell me where I can find the goblin cave?” Dante asked.
Krugeri raised his brow hearing Dante ask this. “It should be in your system map as part of the trial. Just check there.” He said while casually placing the fearsome two-handed axe over one shoulder.
“Oh, of course. In the System Map.”
“Indeed”
‘How the fuck was I supposed to know! Damnit, they’re onto me, should I be concerned?’ Dante moved away from the guards before he made any more obvious mistakes.
Curious about the trial and how it would appear, he brought up his ‘System Map.’
The same as before, he was presented with the globe and some revealed grey fog that showed locations he had already travelled to. The same blue glowing spot indicating his whereabouts. A small portion of the village was revealed in his map, partially obscured and not revealing too many details to him. There was a white marker in grey fog to the east of the village not too far away. When he focused on the white marker it revealed the Trial he just had accepted. ‘The system sure makes things a bit more interesting and easier.’
Turning to Otus, “You don’t have to come with us. Why don’t you wait here? we will be back soon.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind tagging along, it might be interesting. I'll wait outside the cave! I won’t be a bother.” Otus replied excitedly about the prospect of a little adventure.
Dante shrugged, despite Otus’s eccentricities he was actually quite a knowledgeable man, he might be able to provide some useful information on the way.
“Well it’s up to you, me and Waya will take the lead.”
He looked to Waya, “Waya we have to kill some stuff!” speaking to Waya while showing clawed hands, she growled in response, moving her head around and looking alert.
Turning back to the guards, he shouted “Ok Well we will see you guys soon.”
He waved before turning his back to them, the trio set off, making their way towards the latest trial.
****
“What do you make of them Al?” Krugeri turned to the Evolved panther, seeking his opinion. Alnamar was a reliable friend, they had fought many battles together against warring Evolved tribes in the early days. He was dependable and an absolute horror on a battlefield, his stealthy abilities still gave Krugeri a cold sweat. He remembered seeing how many enemies didn’t even realise they were about to die, Al would already be moving to the next foe on the battlefield while his previous victim would still be trying to make sense of their impending death.
Alnamar’s eyes followed the trio as they left. Waiting for them to leave from sight before replying to Krugeri “Otus has brought us some interesting guests, not having ID. Claiming to have come from the woods, there’s nothing in that direction for many miles. He’s possibly got something to hide. We will see how they do in the trial, there’s also the fact that his wolf companion wasn’t normal.”
Something else bugged Alnarmar, he couldn’t quite put a finger on it, then it occurred to him. “The man, I can’t tell his origin, could you?”
Krugeri huffed in response. Nothing more needed to be said regarding that subject.
“Anyway, he smells feral and I can’t get a grasp on him. If it’s any consolation I don’t sense any bad intentions, I think we can trust them for now.”
One of Krugeri’s eyebrows raised at Alnamar’s response. ‘Al is taking them seriously, I should pay close attention then.’