"Welcome to the central island. We have three districts here. The heavy outer wall, the light inner wall, and the core. They are often called front wall, middle wall, and back wall by the kids nowadays, but I always find it weird to name walls front and back since the wall is surrounding you all around."
"I see."

I don't need to know that!

"The centibus sure are interesting, that is the first time I saw such a thing. About how long until it comes here."
"The centibus are one of the the native monsters here in the central island. When the hero raised this land, they crawled from under the rocks so the hero used it as transporters. When the hero passed away, they were left to his friend who takes care of the insects. The friend then pass the ways to care and raise of the little critter to her family, which now became the major transporter of goods and people in the central island. There are at least thousands of them all over the island so they come in the stops every 3 minutes."

Three minutes, I only have to endure for three minutes. Oooh!! I'm such an idiot, since this guy seems like a native here, I might as well collect information from him. Exploring myself is fun and all but I don't really have the time and interest to do such a bothersome thing.

"This is my first day here. From the rumours, it seems like this is a lawless place where you have to be careful or lose everything but its much more peaceful and orderly than I thought."
"Ha ha ha, to think that you are a really fresh newcomer. Let this busybody help you then. Actually, the only peaceful place here in the island are within the walls. There are north, south, east, and west gates that you can use to go to the free land. Don't you find it weird that even though this is an island, you can't feel the sea breeze? That is because this island is ridiculously big, so much so that it is actually a continent. The only reason this place is called an island is because the hero said so."

I thought that the wall is some kind of fancy tsunami protection, and the docks are outside of it. If you think about it, since no one can travel via the sea, no one would have a need for a dock.

"The free land are outside the walls, the rules of the island don't apply there. Originally the hero wanted this to be a peaceful place but there are always troublemakers so the hero let his army of sea monsters keep watch at the beach. From then on the shallows became their territory. They like to play which causes waves and wave to wash the people doing business so they built a wall, which then became the core. The guarding were then left to the krakens which can safely capture the offenders with very little surrounding damages. The hero made the beach monsters stop guarding since the krakens took over so their territory, the area near the beach, became the lawless zone. The kraken was only given order to care for those inside the walls after all."

*Clack* *Clack* *Clack* *Clack* *Clack*

The bus is finally here.

"Most battles and disagreements are done outside the walls because of it. They even built an arena to have a place for gambling. Also-- oh, Looks like the centibus is here. Where are you going?"
"I plan to go to the centre."
"Oh, as expected. The main thing to go when you are here at the central island is certainly that. Of course you want to see the hero's legacy."

Huh? The hero left something here? It won't be a statue of him as he was building this island right?

"I have some stuff to do so I can't guide you around but... Very well, I can at least show you part of the way. Come the centibus is here, as a small welcoming gift I will take care of your fare for you."
"I see... Thank you...."

Why do you even need to do this? Don't you have your own shit to do!?!? Also the fare is only 2 copper coins, I know I am cheap but I can pay for my own fare!

"Good afternoon, Please drop your fare at this box and hop into one of the segments and don't forget to keep a hold on the bars. We take no responsibility for your injury if you aren't following our guidelines. Thank you and have a good day."
"Good afternoon nelson."
"Oooh! A very good afternoon to you mayor. I didn't know you would be commuting today! You don't have to pay mayor, it is my pleasure to drive for you."

Hm? Huh? Mayor? This overly friendly guy? This place has a mayor? I thought this place is neutral ground?

"We can't have that. If everyone I don't pay for my own fare then what kind of mayor does that make me? Just as much as I make sure everything is in order, I also need to follow that order. Come on, friend let me show you the splendour of this haven the past hero have left us."
"Yes, thanks. So you were the mayor, huh?"
"Hahaha, that is but a title. I am more of a representative for the people inside these walls."
"I see."

I don't dare to ask what he means by representative since he will probably explain the history that comes with it too. From context, I think the monsters, or more specifically the kraken, needed someone to manage this walled city. The rules needed to be followed, the newcomers needed to be informed and things need to run but a gigantic tentacled monster can't and won't manage such tedious thing, that and the communication problem.

"Hold on to the handle tightly. We have some tough ones that boast from time to time but they end up rolling on the streets because of it."
"Alright."
"Now then, let me tell you all about the centre of the city."

I need the info so thanks for this.

"You already know the heavy and the light districts, right? The core is where all the food stuff are sold. The hero, and probably most of the heroes, love food. They made a lot of different recipes throughout their life so the very core is dedicated to their love for food. The hero built a temple and that became our centre."
"Temple?"
"Yes, a temple, not for worship but a trial. You know that this island is made as a common ground, yes? The truth was, the common ground is just a ground. The different continent representatives just stood at their respective gates and stared at the others, no talking, no fighting, no interactions of any kind. The hero made the temple as a common point and started cooking as a way to 'break the ice' as the hero put it. This lead to everyone cooking and sharing food to the other continents which then became a whole city made for food trade. The light inner wall followed after that since they don't directly impact the power of a continent. The heavy outer wall became the last addition with a heavy reluctance since most of it are weapons. No one likes the feeling of selling weapons to previous enemies after all."
"What is the temple?"

Is it? Could the hero be that arrogant, that dumb, that of a troll?

"The hero said it was a trial he made for everyone who wants his legacy. You could try but I have to warn you, not a single one has been successful at the gate and most of the participants end up dead."

That idiot!!! That hero must be the ancestors of the welcoming committee! That means the blessed equipment set is kept at that temple! He set up an ambush so future heroes won't hunt each other and create a mess for the residents of this world. He made a neutral zone so residents could slowly reconcile after the war. It is too similar for it not to be him!

"To tell you the truth, the centre of the island is where everything started. At least a kilometre around the temple are full of old stalls that never got demolished. We tried before but the hero helped built most of the stalls so there has been a lot of opposition. My family is related to the first few people who ran those stall so even I feel reluctant to demolish them. However, progress needs to proceed to we re purposed the stalls into a small one room house for those who can't afford a house. Amazing, right!?"

It is amazing. It seems inconvenient to live in a one room house but you don't really have a choice when you are poor.

"The core is still large despite this so we made it especially luxurious. You will see restaurants, cafes, markets and different classes of inns. Well, my stop is coming up so I hope you enjoy your day."
"Good day to you too."

Finally! As much as I need the information, I can't stand the awkward atmosphere. Our personality just doesn't mesh. He is too lively, friendly and sociable. Its hard to keep up with him.

"Wait, before you go, I advise against taking the trial of the temple. Even if it is the very highlight of this island, it is still the most dangerous place here. I doubt the hero intended for someone to overcome the trial too. When people asked for hints in solving the trial, he always said that 'Only I can complete this trial'. As only the succeeding heroes passed the 3rd gate and came back alive, we know this means that the trial is designed for heroes only. That won't stop others from dreaming to become one of them though. Do you have any other questions before I go?"

Only you huh, hero. So he intended for only the hero to win it. However, he is one of the early heroes that came to this world. He is also one of the most famous heroes in this world. All heroes are famous in this world because of the hero fan obsession but the three heroes, the one who stopped the war by dividing the continent, the one who prevented future continental war by stationing naval monsters, and the one who wanted to peacefully connect the continents by building this island.

After those three, most of the heroes simply traveled or created innovations, recipes, or reforms with the most recent becoming a king. I won't say they are living selfishly, since they are brought in this world without consent, but comparing their 'legacy' to the big three is... Well they did make the continent more livable for a modern person like me but all their changes are mostly limited to their own base continent.

"Oh, you mentioned the arena is outside the walls?"
"Ah! So you are a fighting dwarf! Well, don't worry about that. The arena is called 'life and death', the death arena is outside the wall while the life arena is inside. It is the only structure to ever extend outside the walls. You can't kill in the life arena and the payoff for gambling and winning is low, and the death arena is the opposite. It sounds like a bad idea when they first created it since this island is for people to reconnect with the other races but arguments still happen, and they also say that some people speak with their fist, thus the arena is created. The death arena being added after for irreconcilable grudges. Well, as much as I want to stay to give you a tour, I need to go to work. Have a pleasant stay at this island. Bye!"
"Bye!"

The arena is intriguing. I wonder if you can safely watch the death arena without being in danger yourself since it is outside the walls. He did say that the two arena are the same building so I maybe their is a viewing platform from the life arena to see it.

For now, I should still visit this temple the hero made. I won't take the trial right away since that would attract too much attention but it never hurts to know what kind of trial the hero left behind. Maybe when I become more skilled in my craft I would take the trial to further solidify my presence as a master blacksmith.