One could not enter Trident via carriage, wyvern, or boat. An artificial sea of lava was built underneath it, so digging your way in was an equally suicidal idea.

The city was underneath the waves, 300 feet below the surface and 500 feet away from the shore. A giant, semi-transparent, bluish bubble kept the air in and the water out.

As for why anyone would build a village, let alone the fifth largest city in the empire, here of all places, the reason was rather simple. There was a long, steep, almost impenetrable mountain range where the water met the shore at the empire’s western border. There used to be more land after these mountains, but years of magical warfare created more craters here than on the surface of the moon.

The enemy had advanced up to this point, but climbing these mountains while magic missiles rained from above proved to be rather impossible. They had also considered digging underneath, but after several legions were mummified by lava, they soon gave up on the idea.

However, this impenetrable mountain range of dormant volcanoes did have one weakness, and it was a rather big one. Right in the middle, two of the countless mountains did not properly connect.

This path was why Trident existed, why the city was armed to the teeth and why it was garrisoned year-long. It also explained the giant, black crystal ball above everyone’s heads. Placed right in the middle of the city on top of a huge tower made out of stone, the entire structure looked like the staff of Loki himself.

“Mana should not be treated that way.” Annie frowned upon seeing it. Since the city was not connected to the shore, the teens were ferried by a boat and then thrown into the water inside a huge semi-transparent bluish ball.

Unlike at the academy, where the bluish balls along with all the illusions were sustained through a complex magic system, the ferryman who guided the group had to rely on an ordinary, fist sized, blue crystal. There was barely enough power within it to maintain the bubble until they reached the landing deck. If anything were to strike them during this time, it was game over.

“How safe are we exactly?” Finn asked out of a sense of morbid curiosity. “If we get attacked...”

“Then they’ll get what’s coming to them.” The man in charge of their transportation did not seem particularly worried. "As long as we land between the city and the shore, we’re safe.”

Truth be told, the area he mentioned was indeed peaceful. Beautiful corrals of countless shapes, sizes, and colors covered it like a blanket, while unusual fish, some looking alien while others cute, searched for food all around it.

As for the place beyond the city...

“Are we seriously going to be fighting that?” asked Natalie. Her complexion looked rather pale, and it was not because of the water.

Beyond Trident, an army of several thousands attacked the outskirts of the city. They looked like fish from afar, but some were shooting projectiles and their sizes and shapes were abnormal.

‘I do not want to see them up close,’ muttered Finn.

Since energy was not limitless, the city’s bubble did not keep the enemies out, just the water. It was up to the city’s dwarven warriors, archers, and mages to hold the line.

While the majority of the creatures charged at these warriors, a few swam above the city instead.

‘If they reach us, we’re dead.’ The group's bubble was half-way down, more than 150 feet below the surface. Finn looked at their guide, but he still seemed to be calm. ‘You know you’re the first one they'll eat, right?’

As their bubble descended a bit further, the monsters got close enough for the teens to distinguish their features. Some of them were huge, conjoined sea snakes, larger than anacondas with several heads fighting for control. Others were similar to clownfish, but 30 times the size and with serrated teeth. Despite being on the same side, they took huge bites out of the snakes who were trying to outswim them.

“Those will taste great over a fire.” Yeren laughed, for the monsters were still tinier than him.

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“What’s stopping them from getting here?” Finn frowned, at which point Luca the priest rolled his eyes.

“Look, dumb dumb.” He pointed at the giant, black crystal ball in the middle of Trident. As soon as the monsters passed the mid-way point of the city, small balls of black energy shot out of the crystal.

Like missiles with a homing beacon, they locked onto their targets and burned a hole in each of the creatures’ chests regardless of how much they dodged or flailed.

“Serves them right,” Michael rubbed his nose, now a bit more confident in their chances.

“That’s the least that crystal is capable of,” their guide showed a proud smile. “No ship, monster, or even demon can get past this place in one piece.”

“Then, why are there still warriors fighting?” Finn crossed his arms.

The bubble approached a landing deck, a portion of the seafloor that was cleared of corals. In front of it, beyond the bubble, there was an open square with no less than 50 soldiers surrounding it.

A fit beastwoman in her forties stood in the middle of the square, watching the group as they landed. Once the two bubbles touched, they became one and an opening was formed connecting the passengers with the city.

“State your business,” the beastwoman ordered while her soldiers moved in front and surrounded the teens.

Annoyed, Luca walked forward and showed her his ring. “God is my business. Will you get in my way?”

The others picked up on the cue and they all revealed their blue crystal rings. Even Yeren struggled to hold his own between his nails.

“So?” the woman shrugged. “I have a mountain of those back at headquarters. Show me some real identification or go swim with the fishes.”

“What!?” Luca’s eyes went wide and he tried to take another step when several sword tips materialized near his throat.

'When did they move?’ Finn took a step back.

Fortunately, there was an easy solution to their problem.

After some thought, he took out Madam Isabella’s quest paper and handed it over to the border patrol. Realizing his mistake, Luca searched his pockets, but the woman officer raised her palm and the soldiers gave way.

“Report to Marquis Flintbender,” she ordered. “Cecil, guide them.”

One of the swordsmen stepped forward and did a military salute. He then turned and walked towards the city’s main street without even checking if anyone was following.

“We haven’t even finished school, and they’re enrolling us in the military,” Michael whispered.

“Maybe our job will be different,” said Annie.

“I hope not.” Yeren laughed so loud people closed their windows with annoyed expressions.

The buildings around them were tall, made of bricks, and covered in blue and indigo colored stones. The streets were paved and lit by magic crystals on top of tall posts. There were open stores with ads for marketing and kids rushing through the streets on floating skateboards powered by magic.

If not for the different species of people walking the streets, Finn might have mistaken himself back on Earth. Barely any sunlight reached Trident from the surface and the giant bubble shined only a little, so it was like Paris, but with an ocean/medieval theme and with the clubs always open.

‘If the war ever ends, I'm moving here.’

After following the swordsman for around 40 minutes, the group reached the city hall, a wide, two-story building with small towers on top to make it seem like a castle.

“It looks like a crown,” Annie smiled.

‘It looks like crap,’ Finn patted her head.

The group was told to wait inside the lobby for the Marquis, and after more than an hour, they were still waiting.

“I swear to God, I've seen the Pope faster than this!” Luca and the other priests paced back and forth like they were doing marching drills. Yeren fell asleep while sitting on the floor, and the beastpeople huddled near him to do exactly the same.

Annie was hiding in a corner with her purple crystal while Natalie and Michael were sparring in the middle of the room.

“If they break something, they can pay for it themselves,” said Finn.

Tommy nodded seriously and pulled out his sword. “We should take the chance to clean our equipment.”

Suddenly, a large pair of doors opened in the back of the lobby, then a dwarven secretary came and called out their names.

“The Marquis will see you now,” she gestured towards the doors. “Hurry up. We don’t have all day.”

[Somewhere in the endless ocean.]

The Marquis was not the only being in a hurry that day. Beneath the waves, in an unknown location, a tiny blue ball was speeding near the bottom of the ocean.

The creature inside it was sweating profusely for it was terribly late. It did not have a crystal to sustain its bubble, but it did not need one either.

Despite it being pitch black at the depths the tiny creature was swimming at, it knew exactly which way to go.

It had to know. The creature’s life depended on it.