The city streets enjoy the same artful curves as the palace above but as with all things between peasants and nobility, there’s a stark contrast between what’s here and what’s there. The facades are stained with dirt, and show the pits and cracks brought about through ages spent without proper care.

The dull grey stone is less marvellous, and what banners hang from beside the doors have had their colour bleached by countless days spent in sunlight.

Yet, all this somehow makes it more charming than the grand stately nature of the castle that stands above all. Great care was still taken to ensure that sharp angles are absent from the designs adding to the strange beauty of the town. There’s a warmth here that the palace lacks, partly from the sun, partly from the warm breeze, and partly from the people.

The feathered lizard folk seem be the only intelligent species here, they ogle me as I walk by. With each of them standing another half a metre taller than me, the busy crowd blocks sight of most else. I feel like some attraction, and I’m sure there are people coming here for the express purpose of seeing me.

On the positive side of things, I’m given plenty of room to walk while others must shove their way through the thick crowd. They’re all polite enough, disguising their interest by only glancing my way in passing, though upon their fourth and fifth laps, even I’m able to recognising some of their faces.

Others are here for their own business. This being the markets, most are here to trade goods. Watching and listening with my split focus, I notice with some surprise that some things are given without barter or trade, thought the words shared in such moments imply an exchanged debt instead.

Sometimes it’s a shopkeeper paying a debt they owe to a customer, and sometimes a debt formed as the customer takes what they need. The sort of system that can only work in small tightly knit communities.

The local King, following Arduelle’s insistence, released me into his city with nary a word to describe the problem that I’m apparently meant to resolve. He seemed to find it rather amusing, and assured me that his city is safe to wander, but if that’s really the case, then why am I here at all?

Alone in a crowd of aliens on a world where my ‘phone’ has no reception, I walk the streets aimlessly, hoping that the quest objective will come to me. I honestly have no better plan.

The King’s claim of safety is not a lie, at least as far as I can tell. The people here seem not only to be in good cheer, but they walk the streets without weapons, a few carry knives but clearly more for work than fighting. I can’t even find a single warrior or guard around the town.

It’s a good thing that my armour doesn’t look so much like armour, and my gun doesn’t look much like a weapon. It almost feels awkward to be carrying it around with me at the moment. This is no wild west, and from the atmosphere, I can’t expect a sudden shootout.

I check over my shoulder but find only strangers looking back. A creeping sensation crawls up the back of my neck, cold fingers grip around my heart, and my very breath is frozen in my throat. It takes some force of will to force myself to swallow the sensation back.

I’m alone.

It’s been so long since I’ve been alone, with no one to watch my back, no one to talk to. No one…

“Sooo Vii.” I whisper under my breath, feeling the recording Skill actively feeding from my mana. Only a trickle, but enough for me to know that it’s doing something. “It’s a neat planet, isn’t it? Shame you couldn’t come with me.

“Feeling lonely really.”

Slow deep breaths keep my panic from developing further, but it doesn’t even take the edge off of the anxiety pounding away in my chest.

Now isn’t the time for a breakdown. I’m not some weak, foolish child, sent out on their first errand. I have people I’m responsible for and will not show weakness until I know who the enemy is here.

When I’m back home, I’ll crawl into bed with my new soft toy, but for now, it’s time to keep my brave face up.

A few slightly insane chuckles escape my lips, bubbling up from the anxiety, and feeding off of my fears. I swallow it back and try to recover my focus.

“So, Vii apparently this recording thing is working. The locals all seem nice at least, and the shops here have plenty of things.” I mumble trying to find something that can distract me. “I’m here to deal with ‘pests’ apparently, so I guess I’ll start poking around, maybe?

“I’ll get everything done and be back home in no time. It’ll be fine, it’ll be easy. I can work on my own just fine.” I whisper, smiling up at the locals who look my way. “Everything is just fucking fine.”

Walking away from the thicker crowds and down a few darker streets, I find rather less people, which makes things a little less stressful.

“Hey finally someone who’s as short as you are Spike.” Shouts a girl as she shoves a boy towards me. Without time to sidestep, I lift up my hands, catching the boy, around my own height, and push him back to his feet.

“Sorry miss!” The girl shouts, stepping up to me and bowing her head. “He was being a jerk.”

“I did nothing! She’s just bullying me!” He shouts back.

“Yeah, I don’t really care.” I say, looking between the two. They don’t seem to be up to anything important, and unlike the other giants living here they stand at around my own height. “You two wouldn’t be able to give me a few directions, could you?”

“We can help! I’ve always wanted to talk to an alien!” She shouts, bouncing to my side as she starts poking at my armour. I can’t even begin to guess at her age.

“That’s why you pushed me into her isn’t it?” The boy grumps, running up to the girl.

“No, it isn’t.” She says, looking away without coming up with any further excuses.

“Whatever,” I say, trying to keep them from the inevitable argument that I can feel coming. “I just want directions. Do you guys have beasts around causing trouble or something?”

“Beasts?”

“Violent animals that hurt people and cause trouble.” I say, trying to explain it as well as I can. I rub at the side of my head as a headache starts to form.

“Nope, nothing like that.” The girl says, looking down at me. “Is that a thing where you come from, that sounds exciting.”

“Ah, sure, that’s one way to describe it.” I say, thinking back to my last near-death experience. “Is there really nothing going on here? Happy people, no stress, not even a food shortage as far as I can see.”

“Everything’s great here.” She says happily. “Which is so boring.”

“Ah, okay then.” If there is something going on it could be that the parents are keeping the truth from their children. I can’t trust a random kid on the streets to know every problem plaguing the kingdom.

“We can show you the edge of the city. You’d like it.” She says. “Come this way.”

“Off we go then.” I grumble, following her through the crowd while keeping an eye on my surroundings. There’s nothing wrong here as far as I can see, but there’s sure to be something going on, else I wouldn’t be sent here.

Unless Arduelle sent me here for the express purpose of messing with me.

I am in a nice alien town, being treated nicely, and here I am grumping because they’re politely hiding the pests that I’ve been sent here to kill.

“Here. This is the best view you can find outside the palaces.” She says rather proudly as she waves an arm out over the expanse.

This city exists here atop a mountain range that feels entirely unreal. Sharp peaks of stone rise like teeth, not merely on the horizon but in places near to us too. One rather close to us is only a few dozen meters tall and round as a tree. A man stands atop it, his feet angled to grip the surface, he looks down into the flowing waters below as if a lifesaver on duty.

People gather to enjoy the pooled water below, swimming and playing in the crystal-clear waters, as small fish swim about them. Some sort of seaweed glows slightly red in the depths, but the children pull out handfuls to throw at one another.

Stolen story; please report.

The man standing on the peak notices something and unfolds wings from the feathers on his back. The limbs are long and delicate, but he wraps arms through them as if it’s second nature, and glides down into the pool below, to break up a fight that has grown a little too serious.

The deep purple blue sky extends out into the distance, how much of it is claimed by the dungeon I can’t know.

It’s peaceful.

No more violent than an excursion to the local swimming pool.

My youthful guides are excitedly pointing out pools and small grassy valleys that only seem as large as a small field. Some are farmed, others filled with wild plants.

It’s all so peaceful here.

“How far does this go?” I ask, waving out to the horizon. “There are other cities out there?”

“Other cities?” The girl asks, “This is all there is. Unless Selene brings someone like you around. Which she doesn’t. It’s like really, really rare.

“Our ancestors were brought to this city by Selene too, you know. Scary monsters were causing trouble, so our ancestors came here and Selene has let us live here ever since.”

“Huh…” This is not at all what I’d been expecting. Not from the dungeons, not from this quest, and not from these people.

It feels unnatural.

There has to be something going on under the guise of this peace. There has to be some horror hidden from the public eye. Nowhere is so kind and peaceful as this.

“So, what if you go too far that way? What’s out there?” I ask.

“The edge of the world.” She says. “We’re not allowed to go there, it’s dangerous. Really dangerous. No one comes back.”

I’d like to disregard her statement, but the world is such a strange place here, that I can’t really deny the possibility that what she says is literally true. Even if it’s difficult to imagine it.

“Do you all have wings?” I ask, looking back at the man now climbing back up to his post.

Thinking back to the people I met in town. It’s difficult to be sure, but the feathers seem to be slightly different on each person, and some, like these two kids, don’t seem to have wings at all.

“You don’t know?” She asks, “Of course you wouldn’t know. They’re the nobles. Only nobles have wings.”

“They’re a different race?” I ask, feeling that implication carried in her words.

“I mean, yeah? They’re nobles, we’re not.” She says, as if it makes complete sense.

“I’m hungry.” The boy says, rubbing his belly.

“Ugh, fine. We’ll get you some food.” The girl says, her own stomach growling a moment later. “Do you want to come with us?”

“Sure.” I say, hoping for a meal to distract me from my problems.

What the hell is this ‘pest’ meant to be?

The king seemed to be aware of the problem, but Arduelle wants me to find it for myself.

“Here’s home.” She says leading me into a large room filled with chatting people, eating and drinking at large stone tables. There’s a busy kitchen barely visible through an open door and an internal window between rooms, everyone working is yelling to be heard over the loud customers.

“What a big family you have.” I say, as she leads us over to a tall bench facing the kitchens.

“They’re not all my family.” The girl laughs, “Wait, how big are families where you live? Do you have families this big?”

“Some people do.” I say with a shrug, thinking to some of the weirder species out there, surely some will reproduce like rabbits. “Not many.”

“Aww.”

“What’s this then?” A tall lizard lady says, looking down at us.

“Oh, you brought the visitor over.” She says smiling with a show of sharp teeth, “You wouldn’t have caused her any problems, would you?”

“They’re no problem.” I say, when it’s clear that the pair are too nervous to explain themselves. “They showed me the sights around town.”

“Is that so?” She asks, looking between them and me. They nod eagerly accepting my explanation.

I get the feeling they get up to so much that they’re convinced that they’ll get in trouble now, even though they’re telling the truth.

“Anyway, are you here for a meal?” She asks, relaxing a little and patting on the table. Following the lead of the other two, I climb onto a chair and rest my arms on the table.

Oh, I really do feel like a child again…

“I don’t have anything I can offer in trade.” I say cautiously.

“Nonsense, it’s not like we’re too desperate to spare you a meal.” She laughs boisterously while looking proudly over her establishment. “So, what’ll you eat?”

I look around at what everyone else is eating, and while I see only sparce fruit and vegetables, the fish and meat seems perfectly edible.

“Fish or whatever is going around is fine.” I say, nonchalantly. When eating for free, you shouldn’t be too picky, or at least that’s a personal pet peeve of mine.

“I’ll get you something right away.” She says.

“Mom.” The girl whines, clearly feeling forgotten.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you your lunch while I’m at it.” She says, shaking her head.

“So where does the meat come from?” I ask, “You have farms here, or is there somewhere to hunt?”

“The lords provide it.” The boy says. “Apparently they have the widest valleys, with massive animals they keep to make the meat from.”

“Huh…” Everything weird or suspicious keeps coming back to the nobles. Knowing my luck, we’re all eating people again.

The girl’s mother returns with our meals and I keep the kids company as I think and try to figure out what I’m doing wrong.

A peaceful society, led by a group of nobles from a slightly different species.

Everything seems fine, and though I considered the possibility that they’re lying, it doesn’t feel like that’s the case here.

If there’s nothing wrong, then what are the ‘pests’ in this situation. Is there literally a mice problem that no one has brought up. It almost seems the most probable answer at this point.

The kids wander out at some point while I’m lost in thought, disinterested in my quiet thinking. The girl’s mother has been checking in on me, while glaring at the kids, sending them off quite happily with a wave and a show of teeth.

I concentrate on my multi-mind Skill, trying to give it a new purpose as I sip at a mug of water that’s way too big for me.

I close my eyes and listen. My split focus is able to pull at every conversation at once, and I try to keep track of as many as possible.

If something is wrong, there’ll be passing conversation about it, I’m sure.

It doesn’t take long to learn about one young woman’s infidelity, though I don’t hear a name.

One of the lesser lords apparently enjoys keeping the company of peasantry of a night.

Someone in one dark corner is mourning the death of an acquaintance who was ‘taken by the edge’. I try to pay close attention but they quiet down rather quickly and head back home.

There are conversations about debts owed and people who aren’t working their share. People converse and conspire to pressure others into paying their debts, though never anything through violence.

I overhear a few lovers on dates but listening in only stirs at my own loneliness. I really am much more clingy that I let myself realize. When I get back home…

No, that’s a dead-end thought. Focus.

I stay like this all through the rest of the day, fending off conversation here and there. I’m largely left on my own as people talk about me rather than to me, I’m sure sitting here like this isn’t giving anyone good impressions, but I’m not in the mood to be chatting right now.

The biggest conversation going around is my appearance here, though none complain about it. They all wonder why I’m here, but they trust their King, and none say anything rude to me.

Some think that I’m cute, some think that I’m ugly, and many think my style of dress is strange.

I could call my day productive if I was a better liar, but all in all I’m tired, grumpy and dinner doesn’t sit well on my stomach.

I say farewell to the restaurant, and the kindly people who kept me fed and watered, and showed me to the bathrooms when the time came. It was quite the affair with my armour the way it is, but the cleansing stone cleans perfectly, so there’s no worry about lack of paper.

Just the awful sensation of the remnants crawling down my legs to the ground, almost tickling as they run down the drain.

The city seems just as peaceful of a night as it was of a day, and as frustrating as it is. I don’t know what to do.

Walking through the dark alleys, keeping an eye on my surroundings, I catch sight of a few shadows here and there. There are still people about, many sparing me a look or two before rushing back to their own homes. The bedroom that the King has offered me is sounding awfully pleasant about now.

I’ve found nothing. Not sign of dangerous beasts, not even so much as a complaint about rats eating the food in their basements. As I lose hope of finding anything today, a tall figure—though aren’t they all—stops on the path ahead of me. I quickly reach for my gun, cycling my mana in tight vortexes ready for rapid casting.

“Thank you, Selena.” I whisper to the dungeon. “You brought the pests to me? How nice of you.”

“Why did he bring you here?” The figure asks me, as others move to surround me. I look up to see shadowed silhouettes on the rooftops, and one blocking the street behind me.

“For your information I was brought here by a ‘she’ not a ‘he’, so there’s that for a start.”

“What’s she on about?” A woman says, walking up behind us, “We should take this somewhere else. Somewhere they won’t hear us.”

“They can’t hear us here.” The man says in exasperation, “They’re powerful but they’re not gods. Focus.”

He turns back to me.

“Why were you brought here.”

“I was brought here by a dungeon called Arduelle with the vague quest to find and deal with ‘pests’” I say, “By sounds of it you might know something about that.”

“We should go somewhere else.” The woman behind me insists, “Even if they can’t hear us, someone could notice us.”

“Argh, Fine. Let’s go.” He says. “You’re going to come with us.”

“So long as you’re not planning on killing me.” I say, looking about nervously.

“We’re not like them. Don’t try anything on us and you’ll be fine.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Skills & Stats

~Mana Form:

Current mana density: 855 units

~Mana distribution:

Catagory Current Max. Defence 0% 32% Offense 0% 57% Mana Sense 0% 72% Recovery 0% 30% Gluttony 0% 26% Misc. 39% 39% Efficiency 39% 85%

~Favourited Skills:

-Chip Shredder

-Multi-mind

-Tag

-Mana surge movement

-Mana surge punch

-Reactive mana skin

-Infused delayed Casting

-Fire burst punch

-Annihilation magic

-Mana form flow fixer

-Rapid fire casting