I stare at the shimmering crystal in Maria's hand, with a million questions still on my mind after the hour-long conversation we just had catching up on everything my teammates have been through while I was away.
Now, I finally have a way into the Inner walls of the city, but I'm hesitant to make the first move.
"How will we get back out? Won't a sudden transport into the city's inner walls alert the wristband system that we're not where we're supposed to be?"
Maria gets up from the couch.
"You're right, we'll leave the city and transport in from outside the walls. Getting out is the easy part, there's a private teleport platform in the Galeheart Tower that connects to the station in the town below the mountain that can be used at any time, leaving is the easy part."
The room goes silent as my curiosity hits an all-time high. It's a roundabout method, but the logic adds up.
I nod in approval and stand up to move toward the door.
"Fine, let's go then."
Maria follows close behind, putting on her Ring of Total Alteration while I put up a strong mana shield along with my concealment skill to alter my face. Both doors open, and we walk out together into the dimly lit hall from the private suite.
I feel a warm hand interlock between my fingers, easily bypassing my layer of mana shielding and putting up her own to keep the seal of intimidation energy constant.
My gaze falls down to Maria holding my hand, but her grip only tightens and a whisper comes from her lips.
"Don't overthink it, I just missed you while you were gone. Don't pull anything stupid like that again without warning me first."
Her face blushes slightly, but in the dim light and concealment items, it's hard to tell if I'm imagining it.
I come to realize I really didn't leave many clues behind when I decided to self-destruct my body double to win that fight back in Solara... My teammates had to have faith that I'd come back with no solid proof I was still alive.
My mouth opens, and I look her in the eyes, but don't reply for a few seconds.
"I'll try my best to make sure that won't happen again. "
We walk down the hall and make our way to the exit.
Every table is empty, and the concentration of mana in the air has lowered to save energy while customers aren't around. A familiar woman's voice rings out as we step toward the restaurant's exit.
"Thank you again for stopping by. I hope both of you enjoyed your stay. Come back anytime."
Elen's white outline is visible as we leave the restaurant, walking out into the cool nighttime air with bright stars overhead.
Making our way back through the Gold District is quick, and neither of us say a word to each other. We just enjoy the company in the silent night. My mind is still racing over all the information Maria just dropped on me about the Dark Continent takeover plan.
Up until now, I've only ever had to worry about myself. My only goals have been to survive until tomorrow and to be a stronger fighter after every battle. This focused and single-minded mentality is what has gotten me this far, changing what's working is a scary thought.
Maybe, just maybe, if I just get even stronger, it's a thought I won't have to worry about anymore...
However, the window has been opened in my mind again. The reality that my new enemies are much bigger than just a strong monster in front of me is starting to sink in.
The night sky always makes my thoughts go wild.
As I ponder my new fate, the guards let us through to the outermost walls of the city.
The walk through the Silver District goes just as quickly as the Gold. Most of the shops are closed and their lights are out, but the mana-powered street lamps on every corner still dimly light up the whole area.
We make it to the final outer wall of the city and are met by two silver-armored guards.
They both step forward and speak to each of us separately but in unison.
"Thank you for visiting Valor City. We hope you enjoyed your stay. Would you like to save your credit ID for another stay or cash out what you have in your account?"
Maria replies.
"Cash out, please."
So I repeat the same thing to the guard in front of me.
"I'd like to cash out too."
Both of the guards bring a tablet to our wristbands, and they glow light green before a white flash of light that feels like transport magic envelops the entire tablet.
My eyes widen at the sight before me on top of the tablet the guard is holding.
There are piles of thin rectangular platinum bars and a mountain of gold coins beside them.
In the same flash of white, the wristband on my hand turns clear, then breaks in half, falling off my wrist and to the floor.
"Here is your 65.8201 Platinum balance, paid out in full. We look forward to seeing you in the city again soon."
My head turns to Maria as she collects a sum of precious metals about a quarter of the size, but still enough to set up a normal family for generations.
She throws the platinum bars and gold into her item box, and I do the same.
I count all 65 of the small shiny bars and shovel the gold into my item storage beneath my clothing as the doors open, showing the long trail down the mountain. In the same motion, I decide to push the silver container holding my Qi pills and block of black stone into my item storage. It disappears and sits inside like any other item without a problem.
Both of us walk off, and the large metal doors close behind with a thud.
"65 Platinum, not bad. I was wondering if you were betting all in on yourself every match, that answers my question."
She lets out a chuckle as we continue to walk down the mountain.
The lights of Valor City fade away until it's nothing but a faint glow, and we're walking through the wilderness under the gaze of no one but the night sky.
Maria is the first to speak up.
"I think we're far enough away, we won't cause any disturbances teleporting from here."
I take out the transport crystal from my storage, and Maria does the same.
Without saying another word, we both crush the crystals in our fists, and a blink of white light brings us into a white room with no ability to sense the outside world at all... The air is so dense with mana I can't help but start plundering it.
My eyes begin to focus, and I see the outline of two men in suits behind a white desk fall over onto the ground to either side of where they're sitting.
I curse under my breath as the instant we were teleported in here, my mana shielding was disrupted and a pulse of intimidation energy was released.
The moment I start to walk over and apologize with a friendly expression across my face, two Black Suits of armor emerge from white doors that open in the walls. I reach into my item storage to pull out my sword on the spot.
The small wave of energy I was letting out before is a drop in the ocean compared to the wave of fury that erupts from my body when my real intimidation skill is actually activated along with every one of my stat enhancing buffs.
One could say I'm overreacting, but the sight of 2 Royal Guards emerging from nowhere in a concealed room is not the welcoming invite I was expecting to receive.
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