Upon entering, Luo observed the previously open door transform into a closed and impenetrable wall once again.
Beyond the wall, Luo was confronted with pitch-black darkness, devoid of any light. However, the ground suddenly illuminated, revealing a path that extended from his position deep into the structure. After contemplating the path ahead, Luo proceeded to follow it.
After walking for a while, an idea occurred to him, causing him to abruptly stop. He knelt down and removed his left shoe, turning it upside down to dislodge a stone. Retrieving the stone, he tossed it to his right with moderate force.
*Ting*
It sounded like contact with a metallic object.
Luo's curiosity was piqued by the darkness that enveloped his surroundings. He attempted to gauge the width of the space by tossing a small stone. The stone had entered his shoe a while ago, but he didn't have the chance to take it out. He easily estimated that this space stretched for about ten meters at least to his right side. After conducting this small experiment, he continued walking for approximately eight minutes until the lights on the ground ceased. Before him now was a section of the ground illuminated in the shape of a circle. He stepped inside without much thought when he heard the mechanical voice once again.
"Base 54 welcomes the dimensional traveler."
"Please refrain from moving. I'll be transporting you inside the base"
Luo remained composed. Hearing that, he didn't move. The place where he stood was detached from the ground and floating above it. An entryway was visible below, which opened as the detached section acted like an elevator, descending down the passageway.
After descending for a while, Luo felt that he was about forty meters deep when he passed through the dark passage and was suddenly blinded by the bright light.
"What's this place?!"
As his eyes adjusted to the light, he couldn't contain his awe at the breath-taking scene before him. What he was seeing right now was something that only appears in movies. It was a full-on underground city, a city right out of a sci-fi movie.
Luo was admiring the view from above when he realized that something was absent.
"Where are the people?"
There was no human in sight. All he could see were robots going in and about, doing some odd tasks.
"Welcome once again, Dimensional Traveler. This is the 54th base underground city, known as 'Yelpis'"
"I asked, 'Where are the humans responsible for this base?'"
Ignoring Luo's question, the mechanical voice continued speaking as if it were programmed to do so.
"Yelpis is the last remaining base left behind by the original inhabitants of this planet. Its purpose is to guide any human traveler it comes across."
Luo didn't insist on asking questions this time, but instead waited silently.
"If you have any questions, please wait a moment as my primary consciousness will take over shortly to provide you with further details."
The voice stopped talking as Luo no longer paid any heed and started focusing more on looking around. Around three minutes later, the hovering plate floated west towards a towering structure. Luo looked in the direction of the tower. He soon stood before the door at the bottom of it when he heard a very gentle, feminine voice.
"Come in, child."
The door opened as Luo walked at a steady pace, looking around him. The passage was made of white marble, and ahead of him, he could see a larger door. When he reached it, Eijaz, who had been silent the entire time, spoke to him.
[Luo, there seems to be an illusion formation deployed ahead, beyond the door]
Hearing Eijaz's heads-up, Luo didn't change his expression. Rather, he acted normally as he touched the door, which prompted it to open. Stepping inside, Luo was greeted by the same city he had just seen, but now he found himself in the middle of a street surrounded by people, not just robots. Some were walking at an inhuman speeds, wearing all kinds of high-tech outfits, while others were flying on various technological gadgets. Hell, even flying cars could be seen. Strangely, even though he was standing in the middle of the street, no one even spared him a single glance, as if he wasn't there at all. The scene continued as is until the same woman's voice was heard from behind him.
"How is it? Quite peaceful, isn't it?"
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Luo turned around to see a very unique sight - a cyborg. She had short black hair and blue eyes with streams of data running through them. The rest of her body was half made of human skin and metal. She wore an outfit similar to a military uniform on Earth, but with slight differences. She was not conventionally pretty, but exuded a sense of dignity that surpassed mere physical beauty. Luo only took a quick glance at her appearance, so as not to appear disrespectful. Assuming that there might be cultural differences compared to Earth, he was being cautious about his behavior.
"It seems so"
He answered with a respectful tone, while at the same time, he said to Eijaz.
'Eijaz, could you look her up and provide me with more information about the culture of the humans here?'
[I'll try, but it might take some time.]
"It has always been like that. Did you know that our civilization is one of the most peaceful compared to other human civilizations?"
"We haven't had a single war since arriving on this planet 5000 years ago."
Luo's eyebrows twitched upon hearing this revelation. He was a bit surprised by the fact she had just stated. Noticing Luo's subtle reaction, it smiled as it continued to talk.
"Tell me how you arrived here, human child."
Luo could smell the sincerity and truth in her words, but he still didn't know who he was dealing with as his senses were telling him that the being in front wasn't simple but he still answered truthfully as there was not much to hide.
"I've got here through a spatial gate. What happened here exactly, and why are there no humans present in what was supposed to be a human base?"
The cyborg couldn't help but say in a somewhat sad tone after she listened to his question.
"This planet was once inhabited by humans, but after the invasion by the giants, they lost their home. I sent the surviving humans to an allied world as refugees."
"That is why there are no humans left."
Luo acted as if he were clueless about the situation and faked his reaction. Trying to delve deeper into the identity of the cyborg in front of him, he asked.
"Then why did you stay behind?"
"I am bound to this place and cannot leave, so I have taken it upon myself to guide any humans who come across this planet safely to their destination."
"What is your name, child?" "And where are you too?"
"I'm Luo and I'm a bit lost on my journey. I was hoping to find a place to settle down and stabilize my situation."
"Hmm, if not for the giants' invasion this might have been a good place. However, at present, the only place I can recommend is the same planet where I sent the inhabitant of this planet."
"Ilheim"
Luo was an extremely cautious person, so he constantly checked whether she was lying. So far, it seemed that she was genuinely trying to help him.
Just as he was about to speak again, Eijaz's voice resounded inside his mind.
[Luo, there seems to be a bit of a problem.]
'What happened?'
[I believe it is very risky trying to pry information about this entity.]
'What do you mean?"
[See for yourself]
A hologram appeared before Luo, stating:
[To reveal the identity of the selected entity, 45,000 Soul points are required.]
'W-what h-how is it that much?'
[Do you know what this means, Luo?]
'Let me guess, her identity is just that valuable, right?'
[Exactly]
[However, I have a guess as to who she is]
'A guess?'
'Who are we dealing with then?'
[She is -----.]
Only two seconds had passed since they started speaking, but his sudden silence prompted the cyborg to frown at him, as she misunderstood the reason for his silence.
"Are you having any trouble with the destination I chose, child?"
"If so, please tell me."
Luo suppressed his surprise, caught off guard by what she had said. He realized that he had been careless, but quickly thought of a way out.
"Not that I have a problem with the place, it's just that..."
He paused as if hesitating on whether to say it or not.
"You have to worry about, I won't harm you because of your words."
Upon hearing the thing he was waiting for, he nodded at her and resumed
"I don't mean to be rude, but I can't bring myself to accept help from someone I've just met without offering something in return."
"I'm a firm believer of the Law of equal exchange"
The cyborg stared deeply into Luo's eyes, as if she was contemplating something. After a moment, she nodded and spoke.
"Fair enough. It does indeed seem suspicious for me to offer help from your perspective."
Pausing for a moment, she closed her eyes in thought before stating with her eyes still closed.
"I actually have been bothered by something for a while now. I had been preparing to resolve it on my own, but since you are willing to help, I will let you in."
Luo listened closely to what she was saying as he thought to himself.
'It's not that I can't trust her 'goodwill', but she bought it like real fast though'
"To proceed further, I believe an introduction needs to be put in place"
"As such, let me introduce myself."
"I am the Queen of this world, ruling over both AIs and humans. I maintain order and ensure the prosperity of my subjects. They call me Sarah, the Mechanical Goddess."
"This is the identity that most people know me by. However, since we will be working together, I feel it's important to inform you to prevent any potential unclarity."
Pausing, Sarah stood up straight. Her eyes, once filled with data, receded and transformed into starry blue orbs with no visible retina. A velvet blue halo appeared behind her, giving her a majestic aura. She levitated slightly off the ground, exuding a regal dignity.
'Bingo'
Looking directly in the direction of Luo, she stated.
"Let me reintroduce myself, I'm Sarah, the World's Will."
Luo utilized his acting abilities to feign surprise and awe, although a portion of his reaction was authentic. Sarah looked at Luo's apparent surprise, but her expression didn't change as she snapped her fingers.
'W-what?'
Luo could sense the spatial tissues fluctuating, causing the scenes around him to halt as if time had stopped. Everything was slowly being devoured by a starry blue energy.
Luo couldn't help but put his guard up, upon noticing this Sarah said in a gentle tone.
"Fret not, I'm just taking us to the location where I will explain your job"
Luo nodded at her as he relaxed.
After the blue starry energy reached them, it stopped and a blue gate formed.
'Wait, isn't that...?'
Luo was surprised by the sight of the familiar gate, but he didn't show it as he followed Sarah inside.
--------------------------------------------
[Yelpis means hope in this planet's language]
[Ilheim]: A second Order world, inhabited by elves, it is home to one of the strongest Elf Empires in the Second Dimension which stretches to the 4th Dimension