Inner Provinces, Empty Star Province
The Dao density had shot up again. Jack, Brock, and Starhair felt even more restricted, like swimming in a mire. The very air itself was made of Dao.
Lush greenery spread below them. Forests teeming with life, beautiful lakes, snow-capped mountains. Nature spread all around, vitalized by the extreme Dao energies in the atmosphere. Of course, not everything was pleasant. The beasts inhabiting this place were hellish, with horns and dark flames and all sorts of dark signs on their bodies. Jack had tried to feed a squirrel only for it to unhinge its jaw like a snake and try to eat his hand. Brock had befriended the critter anyway.
Besides hellish, everything here was strong as well—a direct product of the high Dao density. Even the snake-squirrel thing possessed power at the D-Grade, with the various wild animals reaching up to the B-Grade, if rarely. They killed each other at all times as well. The forest floor was strewn with low-level space monster cores, which one could gather if they only had the courage to wade into hellish beast territory. If left untouched for a bit, worm-like creatures emerged from the ground to consume these cores, using their power to transform into stronger monsters. Jack saw a worm absorb a D-Grade core, then grow into an early D-Grade, hippo-like creature.
His biologist sense was tingling. These things were not, of course, animals. The most plausible scenario was that space monsters were basically bundles of energy, with their bodies being only an instinctive coating of that energy. Kind of like clothes were to humans. As space monsters consumed the cores of others, their own power increased, and they chose more powerful bodies to reflect that. Even the trees were monsters.
It was a unique ecosystem. One that worked despite being in constant violence.
These were the inner provinces.
Jack took a deep breath, letting the ambient Dao purify his lungs. “I like this place,” he said.
“It gives me the creeps,” Starhair replied from the side. The two still wore their double devil disguises, which made Starhair’s response seem out-of-place.
“Where there are bros, everything is okay,” Brock said. The squirrel sitting on his shoulder unhinged its mouth and tried to bite Brock’s ear off. The brorilla swatted it away. “Bad bro. No biting bros.”
The squirrel whimpered in disappointment.
“The city shouldn’t be far,” Jack said. “Let’s continue.”
It had taken them an entire day to cross the outer provinces, even at their speed. At some point, however, the desolate landscape and terrible environmental conditions had disappeared, giving way to a lively world. The Space Monster World wasn’t as uniformly desolate as Jack had originally assumed. It could be beautiful.
Their destination, Empty Star City, was proof of that beauty. They saw it shortly after.
A rising of white houses over the water. An entire city built on a rock in a river, with a titanic waterfall cascading just to the side. This waterfall tumbled down a steep cliff, a mountainside which arced out like a ring, placing the river and the city on a flat surface dozens of miles above the ground, the cliff itself stretching beyond where the eye could see.
The natural environment was on a different scale here. The cliff was taller than Mount Everest. The river was wide like a sea. A single rock island on its path was large enough to host a city.
It made them feel small.
As Jack and co. approached Empty Star City, they witnessed more signs of civilization. Space monsters arrived in boats, swimming, or walking on water. Some were climbing the cliff to reach the city, while a few rode flying treasures. Even fewer were the ones who could fly by themselves—B-Grades, or Barons, as they were called in this place. Jack saw hundreds of space monsters moving in and out of the city, the diversity of species striking.
Besides those who came in groups, everyone basically belonged to a different species than everybody else. Moreover, since these weren’t real bodies but more like placeholders, they didn’t need to make biological sense, leading to a plethora of appearances. Everything was possible, from floating eyeballs to golems of clay.
Jack remember some creatures back at the original Cathedral who resembled glass panes with limbs. In hindsight, maybe they were space monsters too.
This was by far the largest city they’d come across in the Space Monster World, and also the first they were going to enter. All the others, they’d just watched from a distance. This was the first time they truly allowed themselves to merge with the coming and going of space monsters. It was an awe-inspiring experience.
Of course, merging was just a word. The moment they arrived at the city gates flying, indicating they were Barons, the surrounding space monsters fell over each other to give them space. An alligator thing accidentally stepped over a hyena thing—the two monsters and their groups quickly came to blows. Blood flew.
Jack looked at the carnage with indifference, just like the rest of the crowd. This was the Space Monster World. Killing was their way. Even the C-Grade guards posted at the city did nothing to stop the battle. Their only job was to guard the buildings. Everyone could enter, exit, and fight as they pleased.
The hyena group won, triumphantly tearing out the cores of the alligator group and swallowing them whole, blood and all. Jack didn’t pay them too much attention. The rest of the crowd closed again around them, uncaring as well, and the hyenas went on their way.
Jack, Brock, and Starhair were already busy. Jack and Brock reached into their inner worlds. In the next moment, two hellhorses stumbled into reality, their intense body heat scaring away the nearest space monsters. It took them a moment to orient themselves. When they did, they were overjoyed.
“I AM HERE, MASTER! LET ME SERVE YOU!” Dolly said as Jack jumped on her back. She glared towards the gate. “ANYONE WHO BARS MY MASTER’S PATH IS COURTING DEATH!”
The space monsters all stepped back even farther.
Jack patted her neck. “Easy, Dolly,” he said. “Let’s just walk in.”
“When in space monster land, do as space monsters do,” Brock told him telepathically. His own hellhorse, Eza, was already slinging slurs at the nearest space monsters. Or, at least, Jack assumed they were slurs. No space monster would enjoy being called a “MOLD-COVERED SNAKE WORM.”
“You know what?” he told Dolly. “You can scare them a bit. Just don’t eat anyone.”
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“BUT I WANT TO EAT THEM.”
“Maybe only the ones who start trouble.”
Dolly neighed sadly but obliged. Starhair jumped on her back, right behind Jack, and the five of them entered the city.
White buildings surrounded them on all sides. They ranged from one to three floors. The streets snaked in odd directions, clearly built without any care for order, and it went without saying that thieves and murderers waited behind every turn. For a weaker monster, entering those streets was suicide.
There was, however, a larger, straighter street heading from the entrance to the center of Empty Star City. It was exactly this street that Jack followed. Shops lined its sides, manned by C-Grade space monsters and selling everything the mind could think of. Weapons, armor, fabric, clothes, food, drink, prostitution, building materials, and much more. Everything was thrown haphazardly onto this street, all cobbled together into a huge mess.
Notably, despite the vast diversity in strength and species between space monsters, there were no children. They didn’t procreate like humans did. New space monsters emerged as the worms Jack had seen in the forests outside the town, and then they slowly developed over time. Sex was a thing, however, so he had to wonder just how space monsters came up with that.
“What exactly are we doing here?” Starhair whispered.
“Recon, mostly,” Jack replied. “This place should have at least one A-Grade or two, but we can’t just hunt them down. Let’s find a place to stay, talk to some locals. If we want to go around hunting A-Grades, we can’t do so blindly. We need to know exactly how things work. We need a plan, and this is the best place to make one.”
Starhair nodded. “Alright.”
“LOOK AWAY, BUTTERCUP. MY MASTER IS THE SUN TO YOU.”
Dolly remained on fire—literally and metaphorically. As they walked through the streets, she and Eza were cursing at any pedestrian slightly late to walk away, or snapping their jaws in the direction of people they disliked. The horses themselves weren’t particularly powerful, but the towering aura of Jack, Brock, and Starhair kept everyone else at bay. There was clear awe in the eyes of any space monster around them.
Taking the hellhorses was a nice idea after all. It helped them blend in. The surrounding space monsters seemed to approve of this chaos, and Jack had a tendency to remain low-key. Usually until he spanked someone.
The crowd thickened as they approached downtown. Jack was forced to slow down a bit, unwilling to let Dolly and Eza stampede the crowd. Eventually, they reached a wide square. Tall buildings surrounded it, looking grander and more orderly than the random assortment closer to the gates.
The largest building was stadium-like and currently closed. A plaque over its entrance announced the “Bi-Canal Auction.” Jack looked at the rest. They looked luxurious, but none indicated its function.
“Do you know which is a hotel, Dolly?” he asked.
“WHAT IS A HOTEL?”
“A place where we can stay.”
Her neck snapped to the side, stretching more than seemed possible. She grabbed onto the collar of a random passer-by and dragged them close. “POINT THE INN TO MY MASTER, VERMIN,” she ordered through closed teeth.
The person she’d grabbed was a cloaked figure. Dolly’s actions had pulled back its hood, revealing a furred, scarred face—a sort of humanoid rat person. The moment its hood fell back, it looked incensed and ready to slice at Dolly with the dagger which magically appeared in its hand. Jack’s heavy aura, however, forced the monster into inactivity.
“It is there, my Baron,” it said, its voice suddenly subservient. Its previous rage had all but disappeared.
Jack nodded. Dolly spat away the ratman’s collar. “FUCK OFF,” she told him, and the ratman disappeared in the crowd.
Jack kept his eyes on it for a little longer. He wouldn't normally be so overbearing, but this was space monster society. It worked on a foundation of personal strength and bullying. He couldn’t afford to seem different.
At least, nobody seemed to suspect their double devil disguises—or Brock.
“Be a little careful, Dolly,” he whispered to her. “The Empty Star faction’s headquarters are in this city, and their leader is an autarch. We don’t want to accidentally start a feud with them.”
The horse’s eyes went wide. “YES, MASTER.”
Jack fed her a carrot. He knew that the faction’s headquarters were in the back of the city, far away from here, but there was always the chance of some disciple wandering out.
The ratman had pointed them to one of the most luxurious buildings in the square. It was four stories tall and built entirely of green jade. Each floor had its own roof spreading outward like a pagoda, while the entrance was guarded by two C-Grade monsters. They bowed as Jack and the rest walked through. Since this place was built to accommodate a wide variety of space monster species, they didn’t need to dismount.
Tables covered the floor, some with chairs, some not. Various space monsters huddled around them, all at the peak D-Grade and above, while a lone C-Grade snake sat behind a bar at the back.
Dolly approached a random space monster—a floating eyeball wearing a comically long cloak. “ARE YOU WITH THE EMPTY STAR FACTION?” she asked.
The eyeball turned around. “No,” it replied suspiciously. Jack didn’t know how it produced sound.
Dolly bit at its cloak. “POINT US AT THE INNKEEPER!” she commanded.
“Easy, Dolly,” Jack said, placing a hand on her neck. “The reception is right there. Stay quiet for a bit.”
“YES MASTER.”
She let go of the mortified eyeball, then walked Jack to the reception at the other side of the room. The snake looked up. It was an actual, little green snake, though it possessed power at the late C-Grade.
“Three rooms,” Jack said, tossing an item over the counter. They’d run into an early B-Grade space monster on the way. Killing it was easy, but Jack hadn’t absorbed the core. It worked as currency around the space monster world. Brutal.
The snake gazed at the early B-Grade core and nodded appreciatively. “Yesss, my Baron,” it said, coiling its tail around the core before pulling it away. From the way everyone around the inn stopped to stare at them, Jack suspected he’d overpaid, but it didn’t matter. He wanted to connect with big-shots, and the best way to do that was to act like a big-shot himself.
Besides, getting B-Grade cores wouldn’t be too difficult.
“Our top floor is almossst full,” the snake continued. “Would it be okay if one of you resided in the sssecond floor from the top?”
Jack considered it. The top floor sounded like a sign of status. “No,” he said.
“Very well. Give me a moment.”
The snake stood there, sending telepathic instructions to someone. A few moments later, it said, “A third room has been opened asss well. Please follow me.”
Jack and Brock finally dismounted, absorbing the hellhorses back into their inner worlds as they climbed a set of spiral stairs. Even the railing was opulent. This inn was no joke.
They climbed three flights of stairs. On the fourth, they ran into an early B-Grade, humanoid space monster with skin the color of sand and equally dry. It glared at them angrily but didn’t dare speak. It was carrying its things as it moved from the top floor to the one below. Jack assumed he’d kicked it out, but he didn’t care—this was how space monster society worked. The other monster could only blame itself for being weaker.
As they entered the top floor, however, Jack saw there were over twenty rooms. Heavy auras emanated through the doors. If all these rooms were occupied, and the one who’d been kicked out was an early B-Grade, didn’t that mean there were over twenty B-Grade space monsters staying at this inn alone?
“Is it normal to have such high clientele?” he asked the snake.
“Our inn hasss quite a reputation,” it replied. “Of course, our current guest list is grander than usual. The bi-canal Empty Star Auction is held in three days. Every powerful space monster in the surrounding provinces wants to attend, just like you do, my Baron.” At this point, the snake’s voice took on some excitement. “I hear that even several autarchs will be present! They would never grace our inn, of course, but it’s ssstill an event.”
“Oh?” Jack asked. “And where would they stay?”
“They’re guests of the Empty Star Faction, of courssse. Rumor has it that during this auction, the faction will offer several items worthy of being bid on by autarchs. That’s why the Empty Star Autarch personally invited them.”
Jack’s eyes shone. An auction with valuable enough items to tempt A-Grades? Several of them in attendance, alongside who knew how many B-Grades? This was just dreamy!
“Tell me more,” he said with a smile.