“Just drop your blood on the cards, and you will be done,” the red robed woman said, placing the metal cards on the table lying in between them. Alnea picked up one of the cards, and looked at it for a couple of moments. Other than its colour, and the faint stench of blood, it did not seem to have anything special. It did not even have any Glyphs engraved on its surface. Would it really work with just a drop of blood?
Curious, he slipped his dagger out of its sheath, and pricked his left thumb, before passing the dagger to Yuri, and placing his bloody thumb on the card. Almost immediately, he felt a strange force from within the card, trying to suck something out of his thumb. Moments later, the card shimmered as weird symbols materialised on its surface, which quickly arranged themselves in eight rows.
Of those eight rows, the symbols on the first, second, and the eighth rows formed a single sequence, while the symbols in the rest of the rows each formed two sequences. That was all that Alnea could understand about the symbols. What those symbols represented, or how to read them was beyond him. The red robed woman though, had no problem reading the weird symbols.
“Fifth Level of the Intermediate Stage?” the red robed woman said in much higher pitch than her normal voice as she peeked at his card. After a few moments of stunned silence, the woman turned her head, and peeked at the cards of the girls, noting down their level. “Another one at the Fifth Level of the Intermediate Stage. Counting the Shadow Prowling Cat… Fourth Level of the Advanced Stage?”
The woman’s voice went even higher, as she read the weird symbols on Yuri’s card. But that was understandable. A girl reaching the Advanced Stage of the False Wanderer Rank at the mere age of fourteen… that news in itself was enough to shock the Lightning Region. However, the woman was quite experienced, and quickly regained her composure.
“You are indeed geniuses, but there is no lack of geniuses in the Lost City. You should be careful of everyone… it would be a pity if any one of you fell here.”
Though she included Alnea and Cecilia in her warnings, the woman’s eyes were trained only on Yuri. And the way she darted her eyes as she warned Yuri, it looked as if she was warning her to remain wary of her two companions…
“Just complete the formalities. I have to go back to my post as soon as possible,” the guard said to the woman, who in turn let out a snort.
“It is not as if I am eating them,” she mumbled, before pointing at the cards. More specifically, at the weird symbols on the cards. “Do you see the eight symbols in the top row? They represent your identities for your duration in the city. More specifically, the first symbol from the left represents the northern district. The second and third symbols represent the Sixth Blood Hall. And the last five symbols represent your identity in the Sixth Blood Hall.
“Other than recording your identity, you should have already guessed that the Blood Cards also record the level of your Spirit Power. Another function of these cards is to record how many blood coins you have. Since you are new to the city, the Blood Hall will give you a hundred coins as newcomer benefit. But in the future, you will have to earn them on your own. As for how to earn the Blood Coins, and how to use them… Ronan will explain it to you.”
“Alright, I will take it from here,” the guard said, before turning towards Alnea, and the girls. “Let us leave the Blood Hall for now. I will tell you all the rules of the city as we look for rooms for you to stay in.”
None of them refused the man’s offer. After all, compared to the woman who tried to warn Yuri of him and Cecilia, the man seemed much more docile, and friendly. However, before leaving, Alnea did not forget to etch the woman’s face into his mind, and mark her as an enemy.
“Martha may be a little outspoken, but she has a kind heart,” the guard said, as they left the Blood Hall, and walked down its stairs. “Her brother was a genius that was rarely seen in her clan in hundreds of years. But he was a little too overconfident, and naive. And the Lost City is not kind to such people… She probably saw her brother’s shadow in you, so she decided to warn you of the city’s dangers. You do not have to take her words to your heart.”
It looked like the guard had also seen the implicit warning hidden in the woman’s words. But…
“What happened to her brother?”
“He…” The guard trailed off, and shook his head after a moment of silence. “It is not my place to tell his story. If you are curious, you can go ask her yourself.”
Alnea was curious about the story of the woman’s brother, but not curious enough to humiliate himself. Besides, though the man had not said anything, the grave tone that he had described the woman’s brother in, and the man’s silence on his story were enough to tell Alnea what he needed to know. It looked like the city was much more dangerous than it appeared to be on the surface. But that was how it should be. After all, there was a reason why it had to be deemed as a Forbidden Area.
“Let me tell you more about the Blood Cards,” the guard said, taking out his own Blood Card from the fold of his robe near his chest, and pointing to the symbols on its surface, while he continued to lead them away from the Blood Hall.
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“As Martha said, the first row of symbols on your Blood Cards records your identities in the city. Although they are only your temporary identities, they will stay with you until your stay in the outer city. So, you better remember them with your heart.”
“…How do we remember our identities if we cannot even read what is written?”
“…That you will have to figure out on your own. Moving on, the second row of symbols represent your Spirit Power. From the left, they represent your Rank, Stage, and Level. As for why the city needs to record your Spirit Power… I will tell you in while. Coming down to the third row, fourth, and fifth rows, the two sequences in the three rows record your points in the Hall of Arcanists, Scholars, and Warriors, and your ranks in the three halls.
“Once again, before you ask, what these points and ranks mean, and how to upgrade them… you will have to figure these things out by yourselves. The only thing I can tell you is that each of the three halls have a few trials that you can try challenging. If you are confident in your abilities, that is.
“Just a friendly reminder. With your current strength, completing these trials may be your only way of earning Blood Coins at the moment. Do not think about the other rewards of the trials. For now, just focus on earning as much Blood Coins as you can. Otherwise, let alone earning some extra rewards, you might end up losing what few Blood Coins you have. You should be careful, and try not to chew more than what you can.
“Anyways, coming down to the sixth and seventh rows, the two sequences in these two rows also record your points and ranks. But this time, instead of any halls, these symbols will record your points and ranks in the Blood Arena, and the Black Desert Trial.
“The Blood Arena is where Wanderers of the same Rank can challenge each other, generally with some bets of Blood Coins. And this is also one of the reasons why the city records the Spirit Power of all the Wanderers. However, fights between Wanderers can be dangerous, making some injuries unavoidable. The Blood Arena, of course, provides all the participants with healing services, but nothing in the Lost City is free. It would be fine if you win, but if you were to lose…”
“Is that where these Wanderers were injured?” Alnea said, staring at some of the battered Wanderers on the streets, only to have Cecilia pinch his waist, and bring him back to reality.
“These Wanderers are eyeing us like their prey… probably thinking of dragging us to the Blood Arena, and steal all our Blood Coins, and you are feeling pity for them?”
“Cecilia is right,” Yuri added, while staring coldly at the Wanderers eyeing them with greed. “There is no need to pity our enemies.”
“…I am not pitying them,” Alnea said, shaking his head. “I am just lamenting at the nature of humans.”
“…In the Lost City, there are no humans,” the guard said. “Everyone here is your competitor… Yor enemy. They will try their best to climb over your head. And if that does not work, they will try to pull you down to be like them. If you still have time to worry about useless things, it would be better if you spend it on your training.”
“…What is the Black Desert Trial that you were talking about?” Alnea said, changing the topic away from himself.
“…The Black Desert is, after all, a Forbidden Area. No one know how many Oren Beasts are hidden within its sands… If left unchecked, then these Oren Beasts might even overrun the Lost City. It is for this reason that the Black Desert Trial was set up. All the Wanderers in the city, even those like us, who have become permanent residents of the city, need to go out into the Black Desert, and hunt a certain number of Oren Beasts every year, or risk facing punishment of the city.
“How many beasts we need to hunt, and what their strength needs to be… these things are all decided by our strength, and a few other factors. But there is no need for you to worry about those things. Because if you wish to leave the outer city, and enter the core city, then just passing the Black Desert Trials will not be enough. You will need to perform exceptionally well in the trials. The greater the depths of the Black Deseret you challenge, the greater number of Oren Beasts you hunt, the greater your chances of entering the core city will be.”
“…And I am assuming completing these trials will also grant us with Blood Coins?”
“They are a part of the benefits, yes. If you want to know what else the trials can offer you though, you will have to explore on your own.”
“…In the Blood Hall?” Yuri said, glancing at her Blood Card with interest. “Are the other three Halls also in the Blood Hall?”
The guard paused, and turned around to look Yuri for a few moments. He did not say anything, but the silence, and the strange light in the man’s eyes was enough for them to get their answer.
“…As I was saying,” the guard said, and turned around, pocketing his Blood Card back into his robe, as he continued leading the way for them. “The last row of symbols on the Blood Card represents how many Blood Coins you have. And it also decides how you live your life in the Lost City. From luxurious houses to special training rooms in the Blood Hall, and even some precious resources that can only be found in the Lost City, as long as you have enough Blood Coins, you can have anything you want. However, if you do not have enough Blood Coins, then…”
“How about entering the core city?” Cecilia asked. “What are requirements for entering the core city?”
The guard paused in his steps once again, but only for a fraction of a moment.
“There are only two known methods of upgrading your status, and entering a deeper part of the city,” the guard said. “The first method is breaking through a Rank. As long as you can break through to the True Rank, you will be allowed to enter the inner city. And breaking through to the Mystic Rank will grant you access to the core city.”
“…That will take too much time.”
“…At least it is much more doable than the second method.”
“What is the second method?”
“…If you wish to enter the core city as soon as possible, then you need to gather enough points. Whether it is by completing the trials, or by competing in the Arena, as long as you can gather enough points, you can naturally earn the qualifications to enter a deeper part of the city. But the amount of points you need to exchange for such qualifications…”