“How the tables are turned, huh?” said Davis with a smirk. At this exact moment, these words could have many meanings. But his next action made it clear what he meant.

He showed a pair of aces and immediately went for seven silver coins placed in the middle. Gleefully adding them to his measly four, completely ignoring the big pile of coins his opponent had.

Tora, throwing her useless hand away, disregarded Davis’s remark, and rightfully so. The giant pile of silver and even gold belonged to her. It displayed a disparity in their skill. There wasn’t a need for her to say anything. The result spoke for itself.

“What’s wrong with you?” She targeted those words at Veles. Who, after a couple of rounds of poker, suddenly grew pale and decided to forfeit, leaving all his coins at Davis’s mercy.

For the past hour, Veles was just staring through the window with occasional grunts leaving his mouth.

“I guess we are close to the Acelia City?” Asked Veles hoarsely.

“We are,” Tora confirmed. “It would take us less than an hour to get there. However, that doesn’t answer my question…”

Veles just blankly looked at her, “There are a lot of teleport stations there, I presume?”

“Obviously, yes, Acelia City was built with the combined resources of six nations. Accessibility was their main priority when building a foundation. So, there should be close to a hundred warp gates throughout the city,” replied Tora.

“Well, to be exact, there are one hundred and sixty-three spatial channels currently open, and from this distance, I can sense many more minor tears in space happening all the time. What a disaster,” commented Veles as he leaned his head against the airship’s wall.

“Whoa, that’s neat to know,” said Tora. She hurriedly stood up from the floor—where they had previously played poker—and neared the small window Veles was looking through. Once she looked outside, she noticed they weren’t even that close to the city. Pursing her lips in wonder, she tried to pet the arrogant owl standing nearby, but the glare from those cyan-beady eyes told her that it would be a bad idea. “I still don’t get it. What’s the problem with you?”

Veles blinked, debating with himself if he should tell her or not. But deciding there was no harm, he started, “I’m very sensible with any change in the fabric of space around me. Because of that, this entangled mess we are heading to is weighing down on my psyche,” then he tapped the side of his head. “If I had to describe it with words. It’s like someone is tearing hundreds of papers directly inside my head. It isn’t that bad, the sheer quantity is overwhelming, but I just need to get used to it. I kind of underestimated the difference between Acelia City and the one where we switched the airships.”

Tora nodded thoughtfully. And Veles left at that. For the past four days they’d spent together, he’d learned that she was very… very clever. Even at first, she appeared to have some smarts inside her head despite all the holes left by the screws that were clearly missing, but only later, when they had switched their airships in one of the Atus Kingdom cities, did she show her true capabilities.

Apparently, what Tora said about getting papers for themselves didn’t go as Veles had expected. She did say her sister would help them, but he’d figured out that it would be a more permanent solution. So, for their temporary fix, she did something crazy.

The moment they left the previous airship with the intention of hitching one that leads directly to Acelia City. During the two-hour period between the flights, Tora dragged them straight to the shadiest place one could imagine, basically a back alley club filled with the lowest dregs of society. There, Veles thought she would get in contact with someone she knew or perhaps use her family connections, but oh, did he guess wrong…

She broke all his expectations. She brought out a strange flask filled with shining blue gas and demanded they hand over two fake IDs for him and Davis, or she would open the thing… The thing Veles later learned was called ‘Toriacs Manacid’, a hard-to-come and highly illegal biological weapon that basically contaminated the air, and everyone who ingested it would end up getting burned from the inside out.

So, that was the story of how they got their current fake IDs… Honestly, Veles was impressed by her confidence and brazenness, but he was also sure it came from all the protective artifacts she wore. During their travel, he did stealthy check some of them, and they were, without a doubt, an expensive commodity not everyone could afford. It seemed whoever her family was didn’t shy away from providing the best protection they could.

While thinking about useless stuff—mainly to decrease the stain on his mind—Veles finally saw their destination, and it was in its own way. Beautiful.

The height at which their airship was cruising gave him the perfect view of Acelia City. The sheer landmass it covered was truly mind-blowing. Kilometers of neatly organized buildings encompassed the whole right or, rather, the west side of the giant lake. The lake itself was another beauty on its own. Even from this distance away, no signs of filth stained its beautiful blue surface, nor did the rivers that left it have any imperfections.

“The Lake of Cetilas,” said Tora. “Since the beginning of time, it stayed pure. Untouched by the filth, or so the texts say.”

“Is the water special in any way?” Asked Veles out of pure curiosity.

“Kinda,” Tora replied unsurely. “The water is just heavier than the normal one. Strangely, it's still perfectly drinkable and useful in many ways while not possessing any magical properties.”

“Interesting…” Veles then again focused on the lake. It was surely four times bigger than all the surface the city covers. “Was nobody able to investigate the lake thoughtfully?”

Tora shook her head. “They tried, but the water pressure was too much. Even the Tenth Stages aren’t able to find anything.”

Out of the corner of his eye. Veles caught Davis staring in awe. This made him release a small smile. The guy was standing far away from the window, still scared of heights obviously. Their ridiculous method of curing his nausea did work, albeit not entirely. But seeing his eye sparkle despite the discomfort, Veles was reminded of his early days. When he was just like him, an adventurous youngster looking to see the wide world… Unfortunately, for Veles, some experiences were meant to be savored just once…

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He yet again focused on the nearing image of a beautiful city. “I was wondering. Is this city built upon the previous battlefield?”

“What a weird question,” Tora said with her hands crossed as she leaned against the wall facing Veles. “But you guessed right. The whole territory of Acelia City was previously no man’s land that served as the main point of conflict between almost all the nations in the union except the Skljavi, who live far north. Even Theocracy that doesn’t share the border with Acelia City used to send their soldiers to battle here.”

He then spent a couple of minutes thinking, his mind connecting various dots and creating a number of scenarios.

“Hmm, I do wonder what would happen if this union breaks… Will the city suffer?” Veles mumbled quietly after a minute of silence. It wasn’t a direct question. He said it more like a loud thinking.

“I doubt anything would happen to the city. All the nations poured enormous amounts of resources into its making to just blow it up now. Tough, there have been minor silent conflicts occurring between the Theocracy and Bistaiya due to the Forest of the Forgotten. After all, it’s a new land ready to be conquered. Sharing this pie was expected to cause trouble.”

Veles had to give his all not to smirk in amusement. Conquering the Forest of the Forgotten? Dream on. No matter how ignorant he was about this whole Acelia Union and the eastern part of the forest in general. Veles was sure nobody could easily challenge and win against the beings inside the forest. Not only were so-called Overlords like the Squirrel guarding it, but the other beings treating that forest as their home wouldn’t take it lightly if anyone dared to invade them.

“Let’s ignore the boring stuff,” said Veles. “Tell me more about the city. Some interesting places or stuff like that.”

Tora peered through the window and pointed at the other side of a lake opposite where the city stood. “I don’t know if you can see it, but there is an enormous Academy complex on the other side. It’s the most famous place in the world. Not only do the most talented in the union attend it, but also those from the outside do too.”

“Oh, what’s so special about it?” Asked Veles.

“Almost all the knowledge of the numerous nations is concentrated there. And I’m not talking about just magic. Those who invented this airship or other major technology. Famous Blacksmiths, Artisans, and Alchemists, all spend years honing their knowledge there. Even the mighty Warriors or other martial classed individuals gained their expertise in this exact place.” The way Tora said it sounded like she didn’t like the place that much, or she was just bored of constantly explaining things to Veles.

For this reason, Veles decided to ask one more question about this place and not bother her anymore, “Have you attended it?”

“Not yet, I’m still young,” She released an annoyed humph. “But according to my family, I must try to enroll this year or the next one…”

“I see that this makes you somehow grumpy,” That was all Veles said before changing the topic. “So, anything else interesting in this city?”

“There is!” Tora then pointed at the center of the city and squinted her eyes. “Hmm, you can’t see it. But there is an enormous crystal building in the center, and it’s so cool! It’s like a combination of a trade center and a tourist attraction. I absolutely love that place! It has everything a person can wish for!” She then pursed her lips, “Tough, it is very expensive…”

“Isn’t your family like rich? Why the long face?” Asked Veles in amusement.

“You could say that. But the thing is, our father is very strict. Most of the stuff I own was earned by me…”

“Even all dangerous potions you keep under your robe?”

Tora raised her chin and stuck her right hand inside her robe. “That’s right! I made all of them, and I worked my ass off to do it! Praise me, peasant!” She even took one of the potions by the top and dangled it in front of his nose.

Veles shook his head with a smile. “Good job, I guess.”

She nodded in satisfaction and placed it back under her oversized alchemist robe. Veles wasn’t really sure, but the only things he could ‘sense’ on her were artifacts. As for potions and similar stuff, who knows what she hid under that robe of hers?

“We are close, aren’t we?” Asked Davis. He stepped away from the window, still having a hard time with the heights.

“Probably around thirty minutes, and we are there,” Replied Tora as she turned around and started packing her stuff. Despite having the storage ring, hers had much less space, practically forcing her to drag around two rather large backpacks with her.

Seeing this, Veles gestured for Davis to take one of the bags while he took another. He might as well be a gentleman…

So, an hour and many shoulders bumped later. Veles and Davis stared at the sea of people busily walking through the streets in front of the airship station. Davis was obviously staring at everything and everyone in amazement. And Veles wasn’t far from his reaction.

The clash of cultures in front of him was just too much of a novelty. Even for his age, he must admit he’d never seen so many different individuals in one place. Humans, different types of Elves, Dwarfs, numerous Beastfolks, he’d even seen some plant lifeforms. And probably, the most shocking part was that everyone here didn’t show a hint of animosity towards each other…

“That’s new,” commented Veles as he watched an ever-beautiful elf lady talking with a short burly dwarf. They were clearly having a great time, both laughing and joking as they exchanged pleasant words.

“Come on, stop staring and follow me,” Tora reprimed them. “The station is always crowded, and people tend to get lost. I can’t be bothered to look for you if you suffer that fate!”

She then skillfully dodged the busy crowd, with Veles closely following from behind. He gave his all to ignore the curious gazes coming his way. He knows his looks tend to attract a lot of attention, even more so because of his above-average height, or even perhaps what people were looking at was actually Vera standing proudly on his shoulder.

After another fierce crowd dodging, Veles felt his previous headache increase. Which meant…

“Here we are,” said Tora after gesturing toward the circular marble building in front of her. “Just so you know, I don’t have many tickets left, but I feel generous enough to let you experience this.”

She didn’t wait for them to say anything. She just went inside the building, and they followed along.

The interior was as Veles had expected. His headache told him everything. All around them were dozens of slightly bigger stone ‘gates’, each having hundreds of runes drawn all around their frames. Their middle part had a beautiful swirl of grayish mana, their purpose was clear as day.

Tora went to the counter in the middle and displayed some kind of card to the clerk. Who later nodded to the guard who proceeded to politely escort them to one of the gates.

“Is this what I think it is?” Asked Davis, his voice quivering…

“You are spot on,” it was Veles who replied. “Don’t worry, it won’t be the same.”

It appeared that small teleport back in the Koria still weighed on Davis’s mind. And Veles understood why, back then, his dash skill was rather crude.

Tora obviously hoped for them to show more of a reaction. But Veles casually took a step forward and crossed the mass of greyish mana. He didn’t care if anyone noticed an anomaly or not. The warp gate practically ‘bowed’ to him, offering him the smoothest ride one could wish for. However, to Veles, this was expected.

On the other side, he appeared in the same shaped building. The guard who was stationed nearby looked at him weirdly, which after a few seconds disappeared, making the guy look as professional as ever.

Turning around, Veles noticed the swirl looked the same as every other, and then Tora and Davis walked in like they’d just taken a step through the wall of gray water.

“So, our humble guide,” said Veles after tugging the Tora’s backpack he carried. “Where are we heading to?”

“Sis lives nearby.” Tora then glanced at the guard. “She can help you with settling here and other stuff…”

Veles nodded. The last part was probably meant to help with the IDs and other papers. “Then, lead the way.”

After leaving what was locally called a Warp Station, they found themselves walking through what Veles could describe as a ‘wealthy neighborhood’. It wasn’t that over-the-top rich place. The mansions placed in rather large yards were truly beautiful and screamed money, but Veles was sure there existed bigger fish in this enormous city.

Tough, that was the last thing troubling Veles right now. He did forget to ask Tora one very important question, which if asked now, would only make things awkward. It was about this sister of hers. Was she wrong in the head, like this girl leading them right now?

He hoped not…