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Volume 5
Chapter 24: Battle City
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They stopped just a meter away, at a high cliff overlooking a distant city surrounded by green lush trees and forests.
“Now I say, we’re really lost.” Thorn said and he couldn’t help looking at Siva on his left.
Volt on their right checked the map in her vision and true enough the locator signal of the city they were looking at right now said that it was a city that goes by the name of Warjillis.
Siva could only grit his teeth but he couldn’t do a thing about it. Their escape from that forest was made in haste and they had less chance to change directions because of the number of the monsters that were hot on their trail.
Truly, the rumors about the north continent being a paradise for monsters were not a joke.
Even without Siva’s Killing Zone, just as soon as they stepped in the lands outside of that forest, they were immediately chased around by the slowworms and frozen salamanders. Both were at the peak of the A-Rank monster list and were herding types of monsters –those who like to group together when hunting for food.
Thus, with how Siva was in a hurry… they had no time to fight them and so immediately used Volt’s Cyclone to escape the area.
Good thing that the base of that mountain forest was in an altitude that allowed the use of the Cyclone. Till a few days ago that they ran out of Firestones to fuel the cyclone engines, they were now forced to use their next fastest mode of travel to get away.
The Walled City of Warjillis is actually located further north west of the City of Dragona.
“It’s because of that Snow Giant!”
Siva cursed but he knew that even if they resisted, even adding all their luck fighting that monster head on, they would still ultimately be defeated.
That Snow Giant is a Dragon Race descendant, after all. It may still be too far offed on evolving into a complete Dragon Kin but given that it has its blood roots into the Dragon Race, its might is still too formidable than even 10 Forest Dragons that he once fought in Hagonoy combined.
Eyes blazing with determination, Siva clenched his fist as he stared at the city upfront.
If one hadn’t seen a megalopolis before, then one can start imagining a megalopolis now.
The sheer size of this city can be measured with a thought by just imagining how a seemingly infinite number of buildings and roads were all stacked and lined together to stretch further into the horizons… even further beyond what the eyes could see!
If the Port City of Dragona was the same size as twice the size of Manhattan and covered most of the coastal stretch of the southeastern region of Tiara, then imagine five times the size of that… and add the fact that it’s only what the eye could see at the moment… you might even begin thinking that Warjillis was an exaggeration of the word “humongous” in every meaning.
But no… Warjillis is, in fact, still too small when compared to the Castle City of Jeremiah back in the continent of Zenturo –the world recognized biggest city in Terroa.
Looking at this scene, Thorn murmured upon himself, “According to records, Warjillis is Top 19 in the world’s biggest known cities!”
Although right now they were deep in the snowy regions of the Continent of Tiara, this city can still be called a paradise for it was surrounded not by the endless white of snow but of the green of forest and the scintillating aurora light curtain dancing from above.
Creatures carrying bags and people could be seen shadowing on high altitudes and there were also low-flying creatures with double and triple wing sets flying from one building after another.
Players and NPCS could also be seen hovering or rushing through the airspace of the city as the crowd of busy people below conducted their affairs like ants in a hive.
“It is said that every city in Tiara functions just like a country.” Volt murmured.
“One city is an entire country…” Thorn added.
Both of them couldn’t help but feel amazed. The two had been to Jeremiah and they both had an idea as to how big these ‘Mega Cities’ really are.
Even so, seeing a city this big aside from Jeremiah still ignited that almost forgotten feeling of marvel and awe.
Siva, on the other hand, although also feeling the same astonishment from the sheer size of this city, was observing the scenery and landscape of Warjillis and had a different flow of thought in his mind.
“Although this is not in the direction I wanted to go, it’s not so bad as well.” Siva faced the two and nods. “We’ll make a detour here. If you are still going to follow me until Alexandria, do what you must in the city and let’s just meet here again after we finished preparing.”
When he spoke, Siva changed the mask that he was wearing. From the skull mask with the red eyes, he now wore a white mask version of the black and red lined mask that became a trademark of the one named The Destroyer.
Next, Siva pulled off his white cloak to expose his polo and black slacks and then changed it to a tattered grey hooded coat with its hems showing signs of use and wore.
Seeing him made Volt recall some memories and smiled. Thorn… was feeling it a bit ironic. He had seen this guy before and thought that he was a different person. Never would the two imagine that The Destroyer and the Volume Hunter was just one person wearing two different disguises.
Right now, the Volume Hunter, but with a white cloth on the mouth, was standing in front of these two leaders.
After changing appearances, he pulled out a bracelet out of his inventory and this made the two breathe in a large breath. This is a Spatial Artifact, something that he received after he killed Raven back in Dragona.
Spatial Artifacts are items that have the sole and only purpose of storing large quantities of items inside it up to a certain degree.
Its main difference with the Inventory is that it’s a magical item with more space but a limited time of usage.
Siva wore the bracelet and then unlocked the sealing marks in it using his Mana. After a while, the bracelet broke into countless fragments but as soon as it did, a large building appeared 20m away from the group of three.
When the other two saw the magical artifact broke after the use, they felt their hearts broke into countless fragments as well.
Magical Artifacts like that are precious treasures that can store large quantities of items inside.
Albeit it can only be used once.
In hindsight, it has the same function as the Inventory but while the inventory only had a small limited space and could only utmost carry items that had very low magical fluctuations on them, if one wanted to store an item as large as the Warehouse just like the one Siva had, they would have to need these items called Artifacts.
Back when they have harvested the monsters and the aliens’ weaponries in that forest, the two leaders thought that leaving the warehouse in that place would only attract attention to not only adventurers but to also those territorial monsters leading to them losing all these resources.
Yet it was when Siva pulled out this item that answered their worries but ultimately made them feel that Siva is just too uncaringly extravagant.
Spatial Artifacts are items created by powerful Enchanters and are not entirely available each time a player needs one.
Raven having one such item could only mean that not only they have a powerful Enchanter on their organization, one might also think that these people are really absurdly rich.
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The reason why Thorn and Volt felt their hearts were crushed along with the Spatial Artifact also disappearing in the air like dust is because of the planetary price and galactic rarity of the item.
Such treasure was used just to carry a warehouse full of monsters preserved into a coma… how overweeningly lavish was this?!
Even so, they couldn’t do anything about it. Siva was the one who had the item and thus he was the one who has the decision on how it is used.
Besides, the two of them are the ones insisting on tagging along in this quest and so they both nominated Siva as the party leader.
They could only look at each other and sigh.
“Those are yours This is mine.”
When these words were spoken, Siva entered door at the side of the large hangar-sized warehouse and then when it opened its wide overhead doors, three Spyder Trucks were joined together like a giant centipede carrying with them five large freight containers having an overall size of 50m long.
Anyone seeing this scene would think that a Guild is just returning from a very successful monster hunt.
But then, when the two looked inside, there were also two other Spyder Trucks left there for them.
The head of the leading Spyder Truck stopped by the two leaders and then Siva peeked out and spoke, “Don’t lose your Auricles.” Then he proceeded along and left the two silent and sighing.
Siva couldn’t care less if the two would still choose to follow him or not but he had given them a large payment by those two trucks he left behind. In fact, one of them can even have the warehouse!
Thorn and Volt were not moving until Siva had practically climbed down at the side of the cliff like a real centipede with those Spyder Trucks.
Exchanging glances, they inspected the contents of the two freight containers and were both surprised to see that the two were full of sleeping A-Ranked monsters.
Thorn was the first to speak, “These resources will make me rebuild my broken sword and even make me a better one.”
Volt said, “I’ll be keeping the warehouse for use with my Cyclone.”
The two had an awkward pause before laughing wryly, recalling just how they managed to bring this warehouse that should have been left where they pulled it out.
Volt scratched his head. “Geez that guy… does he really know just how valuable that item was?!”
Thorn felt like crying as his shoulders slumped.
“You could have stolen an entire mountain with all its resources intact with that item…”
“To use it for just a single warehouse…”
“He’s really…”
““Sigh…””
*****
The walls of the city stood fifty meters higher than the tallest treetop, and the large Blackrock gates standing 20m high stopped all violent intruders to come into the paradise city.
“Battle City, huh…”
Siva was looking at the city an, recalling all the information that he had in his mind regarding this place.
“According to my research, there are five major regions or territories in Tiara. The thirteen grand cities are divided according to these regions’ territorial area. The cities aren’t divided because of their affiliations, alliances, or the country they belonged to but actually because of an Imperial Decree by their greatest emperor, Emperor Gabriel Etrama De Raizel…”
Legends say that Emperor De Raizel was an immortal, someone that belonged to the lineage that was gifted with the blood of Gods.
There are also rumors stating that the Emperor received a blessing from the Gods that enabled him to defy the flow of time and become immortal.
“Either way, all records states that the Emperor is a person who disliked internal turmoil and thus ordered that Decree many cycles ago.”
One Cycle is 1000 years of the current timeline.
The Terran History had 25 cycles of written history and all known historical events are written in the Book of Legends –even including the ‘Legends’ that pertains to some Godly works of miracles.
Emperor Gabriel Etrama De Raizel lived in the century right after the era of The Founding.
During this time, kingdoms and empires that lasted for a very long time were established and of all of these empires that were founded at the time, only two currently remains.
One is the Kingdom of Avalon with its capital as the largest city in the world, City of Jeremiah.
The other is the Empire of Korra, the reigning power in the Western Continent of Flowerion.
Of the two, the most mysterious is Avalon where the king is just a front and the real rulers are the so called «Elders of the Great Hall» who released the very first and highly treasured records of the Terran History… the Book of Legends.
These two great heritages were founded during the time of The Founding, the same time where Emperor De Raizel was said to have been born.
“I just have to pass through here and restock my items. I can’t be dragged into any turmoil.”
Siva could feel the he was nervous. Anxiety is building in his chest once again.
Nearing the city gates within the high walls, he could feel the stares of people pointed at his direction. Not only that, there were also fingers being pointed at him and this only made him look more conspicuous contrary to what he desired.
When he actually reached the large gates, instead of Knights, he was greeted by players stationed as guards on the doors instead.
Seeing this, Siva thought for a moment but did not venture on that thought for a long time as he was being summoned to personally come to the city guards’ office.
“This again…” Siva cursed. Unlike NPCs who he can intimidate with his SPIRIT, most players don’t have the built in ability to detect danger that comes from an irritated person hiding in a mask like Siva.
Time is against him and as much as possible, he doesn’t like to be restrained in this place for too long a time.
The Guard Captain wore a player’s assorted set of armor but he still looked like an imposing Guard Captain, radiating from the threatening scar that was written on his face.
Siva dismounted from the Spyder Truck and he landed on the green soil, with the eyes of the players all pointed at his direction.
The reason? With kind of load he’s carrying, he is deemed to attract the attention of all the players around him. Not only that, when Siva actually landed on the grassy hard floor, all the players actually felt like attacking him.
For some reason (they thought) they hated how he was so cool and casual with how he treated the summoning gesture of the Guard Captain.
With how they looked at Siva right now, the latter could actually feel their almost tangible desire to kill him right now.
Siva then recalled his life before he entered this game… at the alleyways in the streets, those thugs who resented the creation of RPG: Terroa and of the whole Neuro Link Device at that.
But then and now was different. Back then, he only acted on impulse on how to save himself from being hurt and at the same time, he chose to fight back and didn’t back down because he wanted to teach those guys a lesson that his family wasn’t easy to deal with.
They can curse and persecute them all they want, ambush him on his way home from school, or even try to threaten his family –they can do all that, but, they cannot deny the fact that Rex was ready to carry this burden because he loved his family… and he must protect his baby brother.
He fought them then when he was just a powerless lad so all the more now that he had the ability to fight against anyone.
When his feet landed, three burly Gonn race men in red armors approached him. They positioned on both sides and then in front of him.
As the Gonn Race was a lot taller than the Apollo Race, Siva was immediately buried on their wide shoulders.
Behind the mask, Siva gritted his teeth but didn’t let his anger explode and accidentally activate his Killing Zone. So he just raised his head and asked in a stiff voice, “Can you move aside so I can pass?”
The moment his words left his mouth, the leader in front of him made a mocking grin and slammed a hand on the leg of the Spyder Truck behind Siva.
He chuckled and then said derisively, “I hate to disappoint ya, mate, but this place ain’t some city you can go to carrying that stash without payin’ a price on ta tha powers that manage this place and keep it safe from the monstes out there… ya hear what’ am sayin’?”
Siva’s eyes behind the mask narrowed as his temper were in the verge of exploding. But he didn’t make a move and instead raised his head to look at the man eye to eye silently.
Five seconds passed when none of them made a move and this hinted the two on the sides of Siva to smile as they slowly approached.
Siva, on the other hand, have already noticed all of their movement and even though he seemed to have been pinned down by the three, he already has his guns out on his legs as he only needed to pull them out to start a fight.
With the following seconds seeming to be as hot as the wind in a volcano’s mouth, the spectators around the gates already began their bets.
“1,000 Zentra for the newcomer.”
“Oh? Then I’ll place 10,000 against the odds.”
“I’ll bet 20,000 on the Brett trio.”
“Anyone else? Anyone else before they start?”
Apparently, this kind of scene wasn’t new in the cities of Tiara. And of all of them, the most renowned of all was Warjillis, the Battle City, where battles almost happen every day for even the simplest and the dumbest of reasons possible.
In Tiara, there are no starting cities. All of the thirteen cities are player cities that one must go to if he wants to be recognized as strong.
Players risk the dangerous climate and monster habitats of the north in order to visit these cities and as well as to temper themselves along the way. In record, no player have ever completed the journey of ever going to all the thirteen cities of Tiara… after all, just along the way, not only they have to watch out for monsters, they also have to watch out for the players that doesn’t have the phrase [fair play] in their dictionaries.
And as Siva recalled all these information about Warjillis, all the more he felt irritated that so much of his precious time is being wasted just trying to shrug off trouble from himself.
He then spoke, his voice muffled by the cloth in his mouth, “I don’t want any trouble, but if you still rob me more of my time than you already have, I will promise you that your ends will not be as easy and swift than you can imagine.”
On the threat that these guys almost hear each and every day in Warjillis, the trio laughed as the leader replied to him, “Mate, we just want a small piece of your load, that’s all we want. If you can’t give us a tiny bit of it, then we’ll just have to take it all away.”
With that said, the leader gave the person on Siva’s left a look and that guy jumped at him with a swift movement.
Siva’s head snapped as he pulled Eibon from his left holster. BANG! BANG!! Two loud sound of the gun being fired rung but surprisingly, the guy on the left dodged it by leaning his head aside. He grinned at Siva. “I like your gun. I’ll be taking that as well.”
At that point, the guy on the right went on Siva’s lower part, a tackle to restrict his movements.
The leader then lunged from the front not even a moment after his signal.
As three seemed to be synchronized with their movement, one impression could be said that they are used to dealing with these kinds of situations. No, to be exact, it felt like it was their everyday job.
Just at the moment when Siva was about to be tackled by the three, he lowered his center of gravity as his temper exploded out from its container.
Behind the mask, his rage was surging.
Perhaps giving out warning was not the right choice yet he still gave it and tried. But since it didn’t work, then he just have to let out the frustrations of a detour into these three bullies.
Eyes burning with wrath, his voice then leaked out and even its muffled tone cannot hide the fact that he really wanted to kill someone.
“I told you.”