Marlon had been out of his cave for two days, and he could clearly see the change in atmosphere and scenery as he approached the capital, Delia.

He couldn't see the capital yet, but the path he was on was no longer a path. It had become a paved road, clean and very wide, much busier than what he had seen so far.

He had passed a few intersections that must have led to places that were busier than where he had come from, for he now had to be careful and walk on the side of the road as many carriages came and went throughout the day, in a din that he was no longer used to.

The first time, he had been insulted and almost ended up being run over by a cart carrying pieces of wood. Fortunately, he had quickly thrown himself to the side and avoided his fate as a crushed dog, swearing and threatening the driver as he got up. But he had quickly caught on.

Nature had clearly given way to civilization. Only a few trees were now visible in the private, fenced-in lots, dwellings dotted along the road. Made of red brick, the walls seemed much more solid than those of the last hamlets Marlon had passed through, and especially much better maintained. The large plowed grounds adjacent to these houses had made the young man understand that they were farms. And if he wasn't sure, the grunting of pigs and the bleating of sheep in the distance confirmed that they were indeed farms.

There was also the smell of manure, powerful and omnipresent along the road. They were caught in the throat and at first, the young man thought he would not be able to bear this stench. But finally, he got used to it and ended up not smelling it anymore, his brain having put his nasal perception in the background relatively quickly, more by survival instinct than by adaptability.

He could see behind these farmhouses many mills whose blades were slowly turning, no doubt producing the flour needed for the city's needs. The aromas of crushed grain mingled with the animal scents, an enchanting mixture that truly transported Marlon into a state of youthful excitement he had known little of in his former life.

There were also roadside stalls selling the produce of various farmers, at least those that were not sent directly to Delia in the dozens of carioles traveling on the road.

Usually kept by the youngest members of the family, they were well stocked and allowed Marlon to eat with a little more diversity during his journey to the capital.

So, during those few days, he ate richly. Round fruits as big as a fist, whose skin was more yellow than the sun itself and which gave off a powerful aroma when peeled. They were rough to the touch but melted when peeled and put in the mouth.

Others looked like small nuts, but when you opened them, white and juicy flesh was revealed, the taste was close to coconut while they had no smell. Small beads on the surface of the fruit gave them a cottony texture that was also present in the mouth.

He was also able to buy some crunchy vegetables whose names he did not remember, as well as various nuts that made him forget the diet of unseasoned grilled meat and fish that he had been living on since he left Akranio.

Thanks to the discussions he had with the different vendors throughout his journey, he learned several interesting things that confirmed some of the doubts he had.

First of all, Delia was a little further away than Loki thought. Four days of walking from the cave instead of the two announced. But it had to be said that Marlon was in no particular hurry, taking time each day to train to his limits with his sword.

And he would stop walking relatively early, just long enough to find a suitable place to camp and continue training with the Runes.

Next, he would be able to find information on the various 'professions' listed in his status, such as survival and fishing. Delia included all the craftsmen and magic specialists that could exist.

Only, Marlon wasn't sure he would find a Runemaster. Loki had said it was a rare thing, so he could only keep his fingers crossed.

Finally, there were lots of other players in the capital. A young boy selling what looked like apples had a great discussion with the young man, while he still had a big day of walking to do before he could see the capital.

Very rough and violent newcomers had invaded the western and northern areas near the capital. These were mountainous areas filled with creatures more dangerous than any other. The only reason the locals put up with them was that they were very good at cleaning up the areas infested with the monsters that were ruining the lives of the locals.

The southern part of Delia, where Marlon was located, was an agricultural area with few dangers other than the occasional bandit raid and invasion of mice in the granaries.

Few quests were available in this area, which explained to the young adventurer the non-existent presence of other players.

"And don't forget that I made you appear in a very quiet area, giving you time to adapt to the environment. Your vision made it a great success, but not for everyone. Before leaving the earth dimension, more than five thousand players had already breathed their last."

This left roughly forty-five thousand people from the earthly dimension, who still believed they were playing an ultra-realistic video game. Only a part of the 'chosen ones' had to be aware of what was really going on.

"Bet on the fact that all fifty players in the bet know about it. I made an extreme choice in coming, but the others may well have sent data and explanations as detailed as mine before the dimensional firewall was put in place."

Marlon had thanked the young salesman for all this information by giving him some copper coins, making his eyes shine, and had set off again without further delay.

He would visit Delia first, as he needed to find the artisans and especially the arena to increase his swordsmanship to another level. Then he would decide. His long-term goal had not changed, but this world was so complex that he knew everything could change overnight, so he did not make plans for the too short term, thinking it unnecessary.

He had to adapt as events unfolded. It had worked pretty well for the moment, he was still alive, after all.

He could also feel the change of season coming on. Loki had told him that winter would not arrive for a few months, but the trees had yellowing leaves and the days had grown cooler as he recovered from his injuries in his cave. The tops of the mountains in the distance were dotted with white, and when the wind picked up, it was chilling.

It is immersed in his thoughts that finally Marlon arrived in sight of the capital. And what he saw clearly took his breath away.

The city was still a good ten kilometers away from where he was, and yet its immensity was already more than perceptible by the young man.

First of all, the walls. They were preceded by a moat twice as wide as the road he was walking on and went up at least fifty meters towards the sky. From here one could see the various loopholes that were present like small windows along the entire length of the fortifications.

At a regular distance were imposing towers made of gray stone, just like the walls, each of which could easily accommodate about twenty men. Marlon could even make out large devices resembling giant crossbows present on each tower.

The road wound down between the increasingly condensed buildings and was slightly higher than the fortifications, which allowed him to observe a good part of Delia as precisely.

From where he stood, he could see one of the main entrances to the city, or at least what he assumed to be one. The arch looked as if it had been cut directly into the wall from this distance, and stood a good thirty meters high. Large chains ran from its top, attached to the drawbridge that allowed passage over the moat, and looked bigger than Marlon himself.

But the most impressive sight was behind these walls, the end of which Marlon could not see. With such high walls, he thought he couldn't see anything of the city, but that was not true. Many buildings exceeded the height of the fortifications and were majestically overlooking them.

The architectural style was very different from the skyscrapers the young man had seen in his former life, but apart from that famous style, they were indeed skyscrapers made of rock or some other material Marlon didn't know. But he had no idea how structures like these could stand with this type of material.

"Sometimes you're brilliant, but other times I really wonder about your intellectual capacity. Haha, it's obvious that somehow magic is at work here."

The young man refrained from answering with a scathing reply because he had to admit that the AI was right. Now that he was paying attention, it seemed obvious that a form of magic was at work.

Once this reflection was over, he stood in awe of one building in particular. It stood high above the others, and its top was a gigantic sphere whose walls reflected the sunlight, an incredible brilliance resulting, almost dazzling Marlon despite the distance.

Outside the walls, the buildings were more compact, denser than what he had passed through until then. He was approaching them very quickly and the landscape changed once again.

The gigantism of this city seemed to match its status as the capital of the continent. The young man felt feverish just at the idea of visiting it and discovering its many secrets.

He was sure that what he saw was only a small glimpse of what was to come. As he approached it, its heights and fortifications became more and more imposing, and the flow of carts, wagons, and pedestrians increased steadily.

Marlon was now in what he called the 'suburbs' of the capital. There were no longer any farms, but many attached buildings housing cloth merchants, blacksmiths, and two- and three-story dwellings.

The road was still as wide as ever, but he found it difficult to make progress, having to avoid merchants unloading their goods and others shouting more or less flowery invectives to get through with their loads.

Sounds echoed from all sides. Here, a blacksmith struck a glowing iron as sweat poured down his body. There, a crier praising the merits of a magic lotion against baldness.

The smells also became more pronounced, more varied. He recognized the strong scent of a tanner's shop as he continued along the road that had become the main avenue.

The smell of fish reached him as he passed covered markets larger than any he had seen since his arrival on Gaia.

Life was overflowing, and he had gone from the countryside to the heart of civilization almost without realizing it. The transition had been gradual, but certain.

"It reminds me a lot of eighteenth-century cities on Earth, as recorded. Except for the smell of excrement and urine. Disorienting, compared to what you've seen so far!"

Marlon couldn't help but chat with a few merchants as they passed by him, also heading for the capital's drawbridge.

Thus he learned that the building surmounted by the giant sphere was in fact a tower of mages, where the elites of the profession met and took care of protecting the city with an invisible but powerful dome.

Moreover, the closer he got, the more visible it was. Ripples were indeed visible for those who paid enough attention, seeming to form a dome above the capital that stopped at the giant walls.

The lesser distance allowed Marlon to see the soldiers who were going back and forth on the guard paths at the top of the walls. They were literally counted not in tens, but in hundreds of guards! Incredible!

He could now see the entrance to the city, and the majesty of the sight gripped his heart. Everything was huge, gigantic as if it had been made by people ten times his size.

What enemies would dare to attack such a citadel? Who could survive an arrow launched by those gigantic ballista that the young man could now see much better?

"You ain't seen nothing yet, kid! Delia may be majestic, but it has been razed to the ground many times before. Whether it's powerful mages or legendary creatures such as dragons, there is no shortage of danger for cities like this. The continent we are in is safer than the others, but great calamities often befall this world. But don't think about that right now, you have a city to explore!"

Don’t think about giant dragons that could burn him to a crisp in less than a second? Well, easier said than done, for sure!

Marlon hadn't even passed Delia's entrance yet and was impressed by everything around him, so what could he say once he got past them?

He stopped near a wooden platform where a crowd had gathered, and realized that this was the stronghold of the town criers. These young men were going non-stop through the crowded streets and shouting out the various news about Delia. This was an opportunity to learn more about what was in store for her and the latest trends in the city.

"On this day, Delia the Undying needs you! The Merchants Guild is hiring bodyguards for the Northern Caravan. One hundred silver coins to be shared among the various participants! ...A great hunt is organized to flush out the Draconic Basilisk! Minimum of two silver weapons required! Mages and Healers welcome!"

Thus, the news went on and on, quests and other news intermingled, covering the background noise of the avenue and a platform was present every few dozen meters. Everyone stopped in front of the criers at least once, as they were interested in the latest news. Moreover, each crier did not necessarily deliver the same information as his colleagues, so a little vigilance was necessary.

Marlon did not linger at each podium but listened carefully as he passed by, in case something interested him.

And it was at the foot of the drawbridge, as he was about to cross the moat filled with opaque water that he heard two pieces of information that made him freeze instantly.

The first one was about runes. A master was visiting the city and was looking for an apprentice, waiting for applications at the Tower of Magi. A list of prerequisites as long as the arm had been declaimed next by the crier, but Marlon didn't care. He could go there anyway to get information about his class, and with a little luck, he could move up in mastery.

He understood that to progress one level, you needed a master. Even from beginner to apprentice, you needed someone to guide you and give you the basic techniques. Perhaps it was possible without one, but it would take a considerable amount of time and a lot of trial and error that could lead to significant mistakes.

The second piece of news that interested him was about what appeared to be a gambler. But it wasn't the information itself that intrigued him, but rather Loki's reaction.

"Adventurer Niclos gathers fighters of all types to set out into the Silver Mountains in search of a lost treasure. Each participant deemed worthy will receive a gold coin in advance as well as supplies needed to complete the quest. All those interested... "

The rest was lost in the AI's very colorful and inventive swearing.

"What's going on Loki? Why are you swearing like that?"

"Whatever happens, Marlon, you must not approach or cross paths with this guy, Niclos. He is extremely dangerous!"

"I don't even know who this Niclos is!"

"He is simply the Emperor's protégé! And knowing him, Niclos has inherited one of the most powerful classes. Which one exactly, I can't tell you. But if he's been here since the beginning, he's bound to have progressed a lot, especially considering the type of quest he wants to accomplish."

"Why do you think he's necessarily stronger than me?" asked Marlon, genuinely curious.

His progress, while not perfect, was far from slow.

"Your reflection is right, you still made good progress. But I've spared you to go far. Imagine how much time you would have saved if you had appeared directly in a city that offered you all the resources available on the continent? Masters of every class? Powerful equipment and multiple well-paid quests? But you would have come across so many players that your life would probably have ended long ago. Your class is special, it will take a while before it reaches its full potential."

Marlon fully understood the AI's reasoning and decided he was right. He would avoid Niclos. But he would soon find other, weaker players.

Being in this crowd again, in the middle of stalls and passers-by, had rekindled his bloodlust, and he was now very eager to be able to quench it. Only, it would certainly be more difficult here to spot a player and isolate him. Especially if they were in a group...

And the city guards were certainly not going to let him get away with it.

Speaking of guards, he was now arriving at the entrance to the city, and what looked like a checkpoint was in front of him.

About twenty soldiers, all wearing dark blue uniforms strongly reminiscent of military uniforms that Marlon had already seen on Earth, except that these ones did not seem to have stripes, seemed to be busy checking the cargoes of the various carts returning to the city.

No one was checking people coming out of Delia, but even passersby entering Delia seemed to get a few questions from the men with military demeanor.

When the young man reached them, one of them came towards him and greeted him politely.

"Hello, sir. Routine check for entry into the capital. Can you tell me what you're here for and where you're from?"

Marlon lent himself to the interrogation, saying that he was from Akranio and that he was coming to see Jacob, on Rastan's recommendation. The soldier's eyebrows furrowed at the mention of the swordsman.

"You know Rastan? How?"

The young man recounted his encounter with the old man and no sooner had he finished his explanation than the latter shook his head in annoyance.

"That old fool hasn't changed. I feel for you, he's the one who did our first-class training when I was just out of military school. He's good, for sure, but he's a sadist! He's the reason I got to Silver Rank in swordplay!"

Marlon laughed and felt sympathy for the young soldier, who let him pass immediately. He didn't know what this Silver rank he had mentioned was, but he would soon have answers in the arena, when he met Jacob.

He now passed under the wall of Delia, and was still stunned by the thickness of the walls! There was at least fifty meters of rock above his head! He had not been able to estimate the width of these walls before, but now that he had them over his head, he felt tiny in comparison. If it were to fall on his head, nothing and no one could save him and the others going through this near tunnel of compact but man-made rock.

Illuminated globes were placed against the walls and diffused a powerful white light that helped to erase the darkness inherent in this kind of structure. Rune-like engravings carved into the rock decorated every inch of the passageway, giving the place a mystical air that Marlon appreciated.

He was wide-eyed and looked at everything like a tourist, earning him a few quips from merchants who had to go around him or wait for him to move over so he could make progress in the city.

He also saw doors in the rock, seemingly leading into the walls, but each of them was duly guarded by two soldiers on guard, their hands resting on the hilt of their swords, alert and vigilant. So he paid no further attention and finished crossing the rocky passage to finally find himself, after so much time, inside the city.

"Hehe, it's about time. Kid, you've finally arrived in Delia, the Immutable. You've taken the first step towards our ultimate goal of becoming Emperor of this incredible world!"