“Now approaching sector 0, home to the Dungeon District,” A voice called and Rose looked at the center of the bus’s lane to see the display film momentarily transform into the hologram of a white-clad woman. Further back, there was another screen, a stationary television that displayed the lady’s smile.
The bus had no human driver. Automated, she assumed, most likely controlled by the city’s central core. It slowed down naturally as it began its descent and Rose’s anticipation built. How would the great dungeon look up close? She couldn’t say she wasn’t at least a bit curious.
There was little signal that the vehicle had stopped when it did.
“The bus will remain stationary until it detects no individual wishing to board or deboard. Please, if you wish to, orderly vacate your seat and leave through the door.” That same woman spoke once more.
The three girls unequipped their seatbelts and stood.
“Ah-right,” Elsa laughed, the two finding themselves unable to move at once with hands still grasped, “Sorry sorry.”
As the girl let go, Rose stared at her hand momentarily then walked, following her two companions, behind a slew of also-departing individuals. Most of them, she noted, were armored in some shape or form. Though many wore leather, they were more akin to tactical gear than anything of brashness she would find on a common slummer’s body. In honest, it reminded her of the grunts of slumlords, though these were far more colorful and personal in their design.
They stepped off of the bus and, immediately, Rose found her golden eyes dancing to take in the scene.
Around the base of the cream-colored dungeon was a massive building of glass, circling the structure. It looked to have at least three floors and her superior eyesight allowed her to catch sight of people walking within.’ Floating above that structure were large screens of mana, slowly rotating and displaying faces, rankings, and even advertisements.
The world around the dungeon was still very much metropolitan, but few cars flew in the air here, and the skyscrapers weren’t so tall. There were also smaller shops and stores and even what she spied to be a cafe of sorts. It was a large place with a field of concrete where an endless amount of people walked. If Rose had to put her finger on it. . .it looked like a glorified shopping zone.
At least, that was the impression it gave her until she saw someone blinking through the crowd at an insane speed she could barely keep track of, an armored individual riding above them all on a hoverboard, a person floating down from the sky with a sniper strapped to his back, and another in pajamas sleeping lazily upon a pillow that drifted forward.
She was speechless.
“. . .what’s that?” Rose stared wide-eyed.
“A Gear, most likely,” Lilias answered her, squinting her crimson eyes. She seemed perturbed by all the noise and chaos.
“A pillow of all things?”
“People come in all manners of shapes, sizes, personalities, and oddities,” The dragonian replied, “As Gears are a representation of an individual’s soul, it’s not a surprise that very peculiar ones would exist; some become armor instead of weapons, some become cherished items, and some do not even show themselves as a physical form.”
Rose furrowed her brows. “So you’re saying some Gears exist as essentially powers or abilities, not concrete weapons?”
“That is not incorrect. . .” Lilias smiled.
Elsa, on the other hand, simplified things even further. “A Gear’s a weapon but what’s a weapon’s different for everyone, right?”
Lilias nodded. “Correct. To some, the simple advantage of one specific ability is a weapon on itself.”
The tomboy laughed. “If I had one, it’d probably be a mecha then.”
Rose had to agree with the mechanic-obsessed girl.
“Come,” Lilias led them, “That circular building should be the dungeon association. It’s different from my home, but its location is always the closest to the Great Dungeon of the city.”
The three entered into the advancing crowd. Rose found herself having to dodge many in her way. She looked in the air to see a drone pass overhead, then she stared at the screens above the building they were approaching.
[New model Xenfer Sniper Rifle from Encore! With night vision, 500 meters of optical power, and 3 spirit cores, it starts at 3.7 Million Lixels! 7 product numbers remain personally crafted and signed by the Hideous Witch! Order now!]
“. . .”
It was a blatant advertisement for a weapon. It showed the sleek thing for a moment, spinning, then a video was displayed where one shot from the barrel of the gun, aided by the cry of 3 spirits, destroyed a rather tanky looking mecha. Honestly, Rose herself thought she would buy one if it wasn’t 3.7 million lixels. Who had that much money?
Her eyes trailed down and she stared at the glass building as they approached it.
“Is it made completely of glass?” She asked, “That doesn’t seem very safe.”
“The glass of the building could probably survive quite a large Mana Eruptor,” Lilias spoke, then remembered that the two people with her probably didn’t know what that was. “A weapon that, quite simply, explodes all the mana within an area that isn’t already in use.”
As they lived in a world where mana existed everywhere, Rose thought that was the most deadly thing she had ever heard of. Then, she realized, her Gear could practically do the same thing. Granted, it would come out as a blast of flames rather than the pure force of mana.
They soon reached the entrance to the building, a large, square segment that seemed as if it had been sliced out of the volume of a glass cake. There, a hologram blimped up at the side of the door-less space, floating above a circular pad.
“You three seem to be new,” The woman displayed smiled. “Do you require any assistance?”
‘It knows we’re new. . .’ Rose thought as her eyes narrowed, ‘Out of this sea of people? That’s a rather large bank of data it’s collecting.’
Though, she had to admit, she herself was also a being who couldn’t forget a face if she saw it once. It wasn’t strange that a hologram stationed at the entrance of a building such as this was the same. Yet, if it could do this, did that not mean there was an endless amount of things that could do the same within Alos? Rose suddenly felt as if privacy might be a limited commodity in the city.
Elsa answered the hologram. “We’re looking to register and be able to enter the dungeon. Got anything?”
The hologram smiled.
“If registration is your aim, then it would be on the first floor, due west, sector 1. If you tap your pads to my base, I’ll be happy to download the building’s navigator for you.”
The girls did as it recommended and entered the building with the wave of people. They turned left and began walking upon a glass ground that, though made of that material, was not as smooth as Rose thought it would be. The three of them looked up and found that the floors of the building were not see-through.
“Y’all trying to peek underneath girls’ skirts?” A voice called out with a laugh.
“Afraid there’s no luck there.” Another added.
“Can it!” Elsa held up her fist.
“Just ignore them,” Lilias said.
Rose watched a group of geared individuals, guns and swords to their waists, laugh as they walked in the opposite direction they were headed. Of course, they were merely teasing newcomers.
“Aye aye,” A red-headed male waved behind with his gloved hand as he walked, “Good luck to you girls. The examination can be tough.”
The man was smart. Based on their actions and the lack of any weapons on them and no armor, he easily surmised they were newbies looking to register. At the very least, Rose thought, the people here seemed genuine. Yet, she had already met a group that had once appeared the same.
She looked on as Lilias took the lead, still unsure of what to make of the girl that had once attacked her. Still quite sure she knew nothing about the dragonian. Of course, she had yet to trust her. Right now, it was merely a mutually beneficial companionship.
