For now, he trekked across the ash, through the remains of the ruined civilizations of the past, and towards his future. None of the various monsters of the Ash Heaps dared to assault him, and he did not have time to go chasing after such tiny morsels of essence. For now, he was confident that his strength was enough to deal with most threats that he could find. Having heard about the power of Granath from Kyra, all those days ago, he had been afraid that the monsters would become too powerful for him to beat, but other than that mysterious titanic reptile that had come for his blood, prompted by the System’s rune, he had yet to encounter anything beyond his capabilities to fight. That was another question to ask when he reached the city. He needed to find out more about the Infinite Hells, if he was to be able to create a proper plan going forwards.
All that he knew about them so far was the name of this circle, the fact that there were others, and the names of two of the circle rulers, the first one, and the final one. Other than that, he was basically clueless.
Sure, he could try to muddle his way through everything, living by virtue of his strength, but he knew that road would only lead to ruin, and to truly thrive, he would need to strategize a little bit. It had been only pure luck that had gotten him this far, and there were more times that should have spelled his end than Jonathan could count. Whether from the first Fetid Ooze, or the various monsters of the wastes, Jonathan had been toeing the line a bit too closely for his taste. There was only one true path to victory, and that path was an exceedingly narrow one, one so narrow in fact that Jonathan had no idea whether he was on it or not.
He spent the rest of his journey to the city occupying himself with training and progressively more fatalistic thoughts. He was slowly starting to succumb to the curse of melodrama, and within his head, his view of the world was gradually growing more and more stark. He was the sole source of goodness in this twisted hellscape, and everyone else was the demons. So far, he had been proven right on this account, and he found it hard to believe that there was a single good soul in this world. Even Kyra, who had rescued him from his predicament, had been looking for money off him, rather than having done the deed out of the goodness of her heart. It was a depressing viewpoint, but one that was all too accurate.
Lost in his haze, Jonathan only realized that the city was coming into view when it was literally in front of him. It had been a day since his rank up of his mana manipulation abilities, but he had been so engrossed in his own tortured mind that the time had slipped through his hands like water.
This city was about the same size as Taran, and it was made out of the same material too. However it was a lot more imposing than that city, and there was a whole platoon of guards waiting outside of the gates. These ones did not look bored either, instead standing at attention. He knew that he could not brute force his way past these ones. More importantly, the walls were almost double the heights of those in Taran, and he could see defenders waiting on the battlements, manning siege engines and bows. Jonathan paused, and deliberated on what to do next. Remembering his experiences in Taran, he realized that there wouldn't be any impediment to his entry, seeing as he had money to bring. Last time, he had been denied entry because he had been a pauper, but now that he had actual Leviathan Marks to spend, he was sure to be allowed entry. In addition, he didn't look like a vagrant anymore. No, he simply looked like an adventurer who had fallen on hard times, which was hardly better. Still, one of those people could actually enact change in the world, and Jonathan knew which one he was.
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He began walking towards the gates, keeping his motions slow and steady so as to not attract untoward attention from the defenders. He was just one man, and he doubted that they would see him as any sort of threat, but it was better to be safe.
The guards perked up upon seeing him, and one of them drew their blade, but put it away after seeing how bad of a shape Jonathan was in. The defenders on the walls did not even glance in his direction, instead eyeing the distance, most likely watching out for monsters or marauders.
Jonathan reached the gates a few minutes later, and stopped in front of the guards. They regarded him in stony silence for a few moments, and then one of them spoke. He had a dark plume on his helmet, and his armor seemed more ornate than that of the other guards. In addition, there was a faint aura of power that wafted off him, one that Jonathan was wary of.
“Are you a marauder, or have you come here for trade? I have to say, your appearance does not exactly make me hopeful about your potential worth to this town.” His tone was conversational enough, but there was an edge of hard steel to it that Jonathan took note of.
“I ran afoul of some monsters a few days that way,” he replied, pointing in the direction that he had come from. “I come here seeking refuge.” It was close enough to the truth, and Jonathan hoped that would be enough.
“Are you here to beg from our city? For if that is your purpose, you had better leave now, before I slit your throat and let you bleed out on the ash,” the man replied, further reinforcing Jonathan’s opinions of him.
“I have money to spend, and I wish to spend it here.” Jonathan withdrew a clinking handful of Leviathan Marks from his pocket, showing them off the guards. To their credit, none of them seemed inclined to steal any from him.
“Very well. The entry toll is 1 Mark. Pay it now, or you will be refused entry,” the guard captain said, holding out his hand. Jonathan sighed, and dropped a single coin into the man’s hand. At least he had been honest about his desire for Jonathan’s hard earned money.
The man whistled at the people manning the walls, and the gates behind the guards opened slowly, without a single creak. They were obviously in a state of constant use, and Jonathan wondered why this city was so focused on defense.
The ranks of the guards parted before him, and Jonathan entered the city. The buildings were a step up from the ones in Taran, with most of them reaching two stories in height. In addition, the people were not as disconsolate as the citizens of that town had been, although that could have been because they all looked like hard bitten warriors. Even the children ran around carrying wicked looking serrated knives in their belts. Guards patrolled the streets, and each of them was over level 15. This was certainly the right place for Jonathan to have come in search of armaments.