"It's old," Marcus answered without breaking his stride. "People have been coming to settle here for decades and decades."
"Still."
Seth's gaze drifted over the endless sea of rooftops before landing on the giant tower of shimmering blue stone that stood beside the palace at the city's heart. "It looks like this place is more populated than all of Kastal put together."
"It is," the Alchemist replied.
Seth's eyes widened. . "The number of people guarding this place's Domain Flower must be insane."
Marcus shook his head. "No. It's taken care of by a single beast."
"Just one?" Seth frowned. "Aren't they afraid someone stupid… or extremely evil… would try to harvest it and make everyone die in here?"
"No one would be dumb enough to try," Marcus said before pausing and letting out a tired sigh. "This is a Platinum Rift, boy. And Shenlong, the beast guarding the flower, is at the Peak of the Diamond Tier."
Seth's jaw almost dropped, his steps faltering for a moment. Diamond.
his thoughts halted as he shook his head.
Nightmare said inside Seth's mind. ''
'' Colossus added. ''
'' Seth answered. He was taken aback by the lack of hesitation in his own answer—there was no doubt in his mind they'd reach it. This was a simple statement of fact.
"If that beast, umm, Shenlong is close by… why is there no distortion field?" Seth asked Marcus.
The old Alchemist glanced at him. "Shenlong suppresses his aetheric aura. Like the two guards back at the Recall Altar were," he answered, nodding toward the platform surrounded by monoliths behind them. He then pointed at the dozen people walking around them. "It would be unlivable for the lower-Tier Wielders in the city otherwise."
"What's the average Tier of the people living here?"
"Most are Iron or Silver, but there's a significant number of Golds as well."
"And Platinums? Are there Diamonds too?" Seth prompted.
"How many more questions have you got?" Marcus replied as he pulled down his face with his hand. "I don't know the specific numbers, but there's a fair number of Platinums. And as for Diamonds, they must have broken through inside the Rift and never left afterward… so from what I know, there's barely a dozen."
Seth gulped. A dozen? That was an absurd number. "So there are a dozen people who have been in this Rift for… years?"
"For decades," Marcus answered, correcting him. "And yes. As I said, Asethka is more populated than Kastal, and the Rift itself is enormous. Probably many times bigger than Kastal's entire landmass. They don't find themselves lacking anything. Also, they're basically treated like gods in here. Outside, they could be killed by a Diamond squad, or… something else."
"A Diamond squad?!" Seth blurted out, the words slipping from his mouth. "Such a thing exist?"
Kastal had only two Platinum Wielders: the king and Marshal Vancaws, Marine's grandfather. The idea of an entire of Diamonds was both terrifying and . "How many of those squads are there on the whole eastern continent?"
Marcus waved a dismissive hand as they reached the bottom of the hill, where a large inner wall of black stone rose a few dozen feet before them. "Enough with your questions, boy," the old man said while he led them at the end of a line waiting to be cleared by the two guards flanking the gate ahead. "Do you have your Adventurer Vita?"
Seth nodded. "Yeah."
"Good, take it out."
As the queue of people in front of them slowly shortened, Seth watched the guard on the left of the gate. The man sighed with intense boredom each time someone stepped forward before grabbing the small, rectangular piece of metal they all offered to him. Contempt flickered in his eyes each time he glanced at those things then back at their owner, before handing the items back to them.
, Seth realized.
The memory of Identifying the guards at Arthuri's gate with Renwal resurfaced in Seth's mind. He wondered if the younger one was still stuck at Rank 30. If so, Seth would easily outclass him now. And even if the guard finally advanced, Seth would likely still be able to crush them thanks to Link.
Lost in thought, he barely noticed Marcus's hand as it slapped his own arm to snap him back to the present. They were at the front of the line.
Without waiting a second, Seth handed the guard his Vita.
"Huh?" The man frowned, then glanced up at Seth with open contempt. "There's no country listed in your—"
Before he could finish, the second guard elbowed him and nodded toward Marcus.
The first guard swallowed hard, and his expression immediately shifted. He gave Marcus a slight bow, handed Seth back his Vita, and stepped aside. "Sorry for the inconvenience. You may enter."
As they entered the inner city, Seth cast Marcus a sideways glance, wondering what that had all been about. Many times in the past he'd tried to Identify the old Alchemist, but the man always wore a concealment artifact, stopping Seth from seeing his Rank or Tier. This was the perfect chance. He couldn't make out the details of the piece of metal in Marcus's hand, so he cast Intermediate Identify on it. Aether flowed into the spell's grooves, but just as it was about to reach his eye, it vibrated and dissipated.
"It's impolite to Identify someone's Citizen Card without asking," Marcus said dryly.
"Sorry," Seth mumbled before rubbing his neck in shame. After a moment of hesitation, he then spoke up again, "What's a Citizen Card?"
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"It's like an Adventurer Vita," the Alchemist answered, "but for people who live or have lived in Asethka."
"You lived here?"
"Yes, for many years. Until I left for the Illumineda Kingdom with your father."
Seth frowned. He'd always thought the Alchemist had met his father near their home in the forest. "Why did you leave? Did my father live here too?"
"Enough with your questions," Marcus grumbled.
A flicker of irritation instantly flared in Seth's chest.
The street was wider than any Seth had seen, yet it was so packed with people that they were forced to move shoulder-to-shoulder. He looked at all the men and women nearby, barely able to contain his awe. They all emitted a notable aura of power and wealth. He couldn't see any tattered clothes. Or beggars. Which made sense since every single one of them was a Wielder.
"Seth!" Marcus called out, his voice cutting through the surrounding noise.
Seth realized he'd slowed, so he hurried to catch up to the old Alchemist. He once again noticed the giant tower of blue stone in the distance ahead. The air around the imposing structure seemed to shimmer while its sheer size dwarfed every other building around it. "What is that thing?"
"Shenlong Tower," Marcus answered. "A tower with a beast on each floor. A trial for showoffs."
"It's like the Trial Tower at the academy," Seth said.
Marcus grimaced while still looking ahead. "Yes and no. The director of your academy took his inspiration from that one here. But from what I heard, he made it far less realistic."
"Less realistic?" Seth repeated with a frown.
"Shenlong's Tower is filled with beasts, not summons. And there's also no aether barrier to protect you."
Seth's eyes, still green from the potion, widened. "Wait, so you can get killed in there?"
Marcus shook his head. "Shenlong itself supervises every trial. If he senses you're about to die, he'll stop the fight."
Seth's step faltered.
Nightmare said through Link.
Seth answered to the direwolf.
Marcus motioned for Seth to keep up as he continued, "That personal attention is why Wielders only get a ninety-five percent discount on their first attempt of the year."
"A ninety-five percent cut?" Seth retorted. "Then the first try must cost practically nothing."
"It depends," the Alchemist replied. "If I remember correctly, it's still around a hundred gold coins after the discount for the Iron Tier."
"That's insane!" Seth blurted. "How could anyone pay such a—"
Suddenly, Seth stopped as his eyes were immediately snagged by a building ahead—an Adventurers Guild's outpost.
The structure was an imposing, eight-story mix of rock, oak, birch, and some kind of wood Seth had never seen before. It loomed like a titan over the street, and numerous clusters of people had gathered at its base, laughing and chattering together.
However, what truly caught Seth's eye were the other establishments surrounding it. Each one of those two-to-four-story-high buildings was dedicated to one of the six basic classes according to the signs above their door: the Elementalist Scriptorium, the Priest Temple, the Rogue Hideout, the Warrior Arena, the Guardian Fortress… and finally, the Primalist Den.
The last of the buildings matched the others in terms of size, yet far more people were talking near its front door. From their rugged appearance, Seth could tell they all had been hunting hours before.
"Are there really that many Primalists here?" Seth asked while turning to Marcus.
The old Alchemist nodded. "It's a widespread class for adventurers. While Kastal's economy relies on farming and husbandry, that isn't the case everywhere. Most people here are from the Republic of Eryndor or the Illumineda Kingdom—two countries with vast territories where hunting is a primary source of food. Also, those born here bathe in the Rift's high-density aether all their childhood, which makes them naturally more inclined to awaken as Primalists."
Seth frowned. "People are born inside the Rift?"
Marcus tilted his head, and a smile appeared at the corner of his dry lips. "Are you expecting pregnant women to live here but leave just to give birth?"
"Right. That's true," Seth muttered, realizing how dumb of a question it was. He glanced back at the Primalist Den. "Can we go in for a bit?"
Marcus shook his head. "Later. We're heading to the Oracles' Guild first."
Seth didn't argue and fell into step behind the Alchemist before glancing one last time over his shoulder at the building. "How is the Primalist class seen as a bad thing in Kastal, yet it's so popular here? Aren't they considered a class of madmen? Wielders who always dive into danger until they finally get killed?"
"It's a difference of culture," Marcus replied. "In both Eryndor and Illumineda, the academies teach risk management. Professors take students inside Rifts to learn how to handle encounters with Iron-Tier beasts and hunt in parties, among other things."
The Alchemist paused, rubbing his white beard for a moment.
"From what I know the academies in Kastal decided not to risk students' lives with hunting expeditions," he continued. "Which makes sense when you prevent the vast majority of commoners from awakening. With so few Wielders, you can't afford any deaths. And also, the king has always hated that class for… hmm, some unknown reasons. Perhaps because Primalist is often seen as a commoner class... your guess is as good as mine."
Seth frowned, sensing something hiding behind the Alchemist's words, but decided not to press on. "That sucks."
"It does," Marcus answered, a rare bit of sympathy from the old man. "For Primalists like you, it means having to work twice as hard, figuring everything about Rifts by yourself, and taking greater risks… but with that Tenebrous Direwolf of yours, it's certainly manageable."
The Alchemist kept walking before looking back at Seth after a moment. "But honestly, the other Wielders at your academy probably have it worse. They just don't know it. Later, they'll be forced to learn how to survive during Rift Diving for the first time while Silver or Gold. And the danger will be far higher."
Seth nodded. Marcus was right. Facing a horde of Coppers or Irons was more forgiving now than it would be if he were higher in Tier. Beasts by then would be way more cunning and organized.
He and Marcus wove through the crowd until they arrived in front of a large building marked with a crest of a white serpent head with purple eyes. Seth recognized it immediately: the Oracles' Snake. The same beast that had accompanied the empress earlier that day.
"The name Oracle Guild makes sense now," Seth said.
Marcus pressed his lips together in response and stepped inside the building, forcing Seth to follow behind.
The interior was immaculate, with a single row of desks in the back where people in black gowns worked in silence. Each of them bore a pair of purple eyes that remained fixed on the papers in front of them. Two armed guards stood on both sides of the narrow path leading to them.
After waving to Seth, Marcus made his way straight to the last desk at the end of the row. Behind it sat a man with a freshly shaved head and a stern face marked by a constellation of age spots. He looked up from his work; a magnifying lens was squeezed over his left eye, which caused the glass to enlarge the purple iris.
"What can I do for you, gen—" the man stopped mid-sentence as he caught sight of Marcus. His tone shifted instantly. "Welcome, sir. What can I do for you?"
Seth's eyebrows shot up, though before he could say anything, the old Alchemist answered, "I need a private chamber and the director of the outpost for a special request, please."
"Very well, sir. Follow me."
The man from the Oracle Guild walked out from behind his desk and led them deeper into the building. After weaving through a labyrinth of corridors, he finally halted in front of a large door.
Seth could feel aether swirling around the dark wooden frame as all three of them stepped through. Inside lay a sparse room with a single desk—two chairs were set on one side, a single seat on the other.
The man from the Oracle Guild gestured toward the pair of cushioned ones. "Please, have a seat. The director will be with you soon."
The moment the attendant left, Marcus sat and looked at Seth. "Alright, listen carefully. Just like the Oracle Snake, people from this guild can read thoughts. Some can even look into your past through your mind. You need to stay focused. We're here to prove you have lived most of your life in Kastal, so think about Sunatown and your childhood there, nothing else. Don't let your thoughts wander from that. Understood?"
Seth frowned. "Yeah, but then why do we need a private room—and the director? Is it just in case I mess up and reveal something I shouldn't?"
"No," Marcus answered. "That's because the people here who can see the past to prove citizenship are also powerful enough to see through the concealment spell your father placed on your Well, which means they would see your Clan name"
"My Clan name?" Seth repeated, his stomach knotting. "Elrod?"
"Yes," Marcus replied. "There are no such things as Noble Houses in Draeria. Instead, there are Clans. Groups of families that have merged together to defend their people."
Seth felt his heart racing. "And I guess no one here can know I'm from Draeria? That's the reason why we need all those precautions?"
"No", the old Alchemist answered. He hesitated for several long seconds before finally meeting Seth's gaze. "It's because after your father's desertion, the Elrod clan was totally… eliminated."
(NOT UPDATED):
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21 24!! advanced chapters on !