Chapter 216: 219 Information Gathering

[Vast Plains and Hills | Jeong-Hui]

The trail to the city was long and tedious; the grasslands were filled with mounds and tall hills that continuously needed to be traversed. Though Archie seemed genuinely excited for an outdoors adventure, the red-haired young man, on the other hand, didn't like having to take so much time in reaching the place where he could most likely rendezvous with his friends.

"I wonder what the people of this world are like!" Archie said, walking with an energetic strut.

He glanced around, keeping an eye out, "...Yeah, I wonder."

They were both curious of the new reality they marched through; whether it was simply a floor, part of a divine tower, or an entirely new world altogether, there was far too much unknown to them. However, the curiosity they both possessed was not inherently the same.

He was cautious; in his mind, he felt as though anything or anybody that naturally inhabited this realm was likely an enemy. To Archie, however, the Australian man seemed a lot more optimistic.

Still, there was no denying the natural beauty of the great plans; the grass was flourishing and full of life as a crystal-clear river ran through the valley, leading into the mountain-walled city.

"So, whatcha thinkin, mate?" Archie asked him.

"Huh?"

He looked to the side at Archive, who had his hand up, using it as a visor to the bright, orange sun as he looked on ahead towards the city.

"I mean, about all of this!" Archie clarified, "This "Tower" thingy!"

"Ah…" He looked forward, "...I don't know if it's possible to put into words all the things I'm thinking about right now. It's all just…a lot."

"Ain't that the truth?" Archie laughed.

As they spoke, they neared the naturally-formed gates of the city; the mountains were perfectly lined up to act as walls around the great city, though it was visible through gaps in the stone and the large, steel doors at the forefront.

By all means, it was an imposing entrance; pillars reached high along the front gate and two guards stood tall at the doors as they reached.

The guards were dressed in black-and-red lamellar armor; it was thin leather layered by steel plates. Each of the men were no doubt large in stature and built like olympic strongmen.

He was unquestionably cautious in his approach, keeping his hands near his daggers, though Archie seemed to notice this as he took things into his own hands.

"Leave the talkin' to me, mate," Archie said with a big smile.

"Huh? Sure," he nodded.

Will that be alright…? He questioned.

There were some hesitations with allowing his eccentric companion to handle talking to the unknown denizens of this floor, mostly due to the wild, unprofessional tact of Archie, but he obliged.

The appearance of the garbs and the general existence of spear-wielding sentinels made him realize the sort of era this unfamiliar realm was set in.

I'm getting massive B.C. China vibes here…It's like I'm staring straight through a history book, he thought.

"Halt," the guard with the bushy beard commanded in a deep voice.

He stood behind Archie as they stopped in front of the two guards, keeping his emerald eyes carefully locked on the two gate watchers.

By the looks of the guards of the foreign land, they weren't to be trifled with; they stood firmly, holding tall spears upright while watching the two with their wizened gazes.

Still, Archie didn't seem to even register any fear as he waved to them with a smile, "Good day, mates! We're not from 'round here, so we were hopin' to get to stop by this lovely city here! Mind letting us through?"

The way the blonde-haired man of the outdoors spoke was anything but respectful, but instead treating the pair of mean-looking guards like some friends that he went way back with.

He had to stop his palm from meeting his face as he quietly sighed out, shaking his head at the fact he allowed Archie to handle the talking.

The bushy-bearded guard with bright-blue eyes looked down at Archie, who only came up to about the man's sternum, "...Outsiders? I see. You two must be adventurers. That's clear enough from the gear your friend there is wearing."

"Adventurer–? Eh, yeah! Ya betcha we're adventurers–through n' through!" Archie smiled brightly, laughing out.

Why did I trust him to handle this…? He questioned, watching from the back still.

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"Due to the ongoing war, the city of Minjing now requires a fee to enter," the guard explained, "Three coins will suffice."

Ongoing war? He thought.

"Oh, yeah! That's no problem!" Archie said, glancing back at the red-haired adolescent.

The look that Archie gave him with that pure smile practically said "My wallet is empty, mate! Leaving this one to ya!" To which, he sighed and manifested three angel coins into his hand through a thought.

He didn't know for sure that this was the same currency the guard requested, but as he handed it over, the guard seemed to accept it as he nodded.

The two, tall-standing guards moved to the side, signaling upward for those that controlled the gargantuan, metal gates to open up, "Welcome to the city of Minjing–in all of the kingdom of Scalyue, it's the most beautiful city. Enjoy your stay, esteemed visitors!"

It was a brighter welcome than was expected, but what caught both his attention and Archie's was the sight that laid beyond the massive gates, which spread their thick, steel form to reveal an illustrious city tucked within the barriers of mountains.

"Crikey!" Archie let out.

"...I agree. Crickey…" He nodded slowly.

The beauty of the city within the veil of mountains was surpassed by none; the streets were paved by smoothed stone and were filled by denizens of the unknown world. There were natural shadows cast by the exterior of mountains that loomed over the city, but the rays of sunshine danced down all the same.

As they entered the city, they found tall, lavish buildings all around; wagons filled with fruit and vegetables were pulled by moving merchants and streetside shops were set up.

"Get your appuns! Get your appuns!"

"Fresh turun here! The highest quality in all of Scalyue!"

–The owners of such shops constantly called out, advertising their wares to the passing citizens of the city. Citizens were varied; though most looked to be of a race similar to asian, there were a lot that looked more western, and definitely so by their garbs that were different than the norm.

Some of these people were dressed in varying armor, carrying swords on their backs, though they didn't seem affiliated with the city guards or some sort of military.

"Would ya look at that! It's humongous!" Archie said with his arms spread, gawking at the city, "What's first on the agenda, mate? Got a whole world ahead of us!"

He glanced around, "...First thing's first, we need to gather more information on this world."

"Good idea, yeah," Archie nodded a few times.

"Those guards said this city was called "Minjing", and the country we're in is called Scalyue. I don't know about you, but this definitely isn't a place that existed before," he noted.

"Ah–yeah, I know whatcha mean!" Archie laughed.

By the way Archie nervously scratched his head and chuckled, it was clear that the man didn't actually pick up on that information before.

Really…this is life or death here, he thought.

"...There's that, and that guard…He said something about an 'ongoing war',' he said with his hand to his chin.

"Ah! I do 'member hearing that one!" Archie said.

He looked at the man for a minute as if deciding whether or not what he was about to say was safe, but ended up going with what he had in mind, "I was thinking we should split up for the time being."

"Split up?" Archive tilted his head.

"Yeah," he nodded, "We'll cover more ground that way. While there are a lot of people in this city, we're still able to tell who is from our world just by looking at them, thanks to our Systems."

"Oh! I get whatcha mean!" Archie looked at him in surprise, "It'll be a cinch to find your friends, then!"

"Not just that–make sure to ask around as well. Anything information you can get about this city, kingdom, or anything about this place is invaluable right now," he said, "We'll meet…"

Glancing around, he looked for a clear object of rendezvous so that they could meet back up without any trouble in the unknown city. What stood out to him was the gargantuan tree that stood in the center of the city, reaching high with rich, ancient bark and golden leaves sprouting from its many limbs.

"--There," he said, pointing to the tree, "Let's give ourselves an hour."

"Gotcha! Leave it to me!" Archive confidently nodded.

Before they separated for the time being, he gave the names of his lost companions to the eccentric fellow so that he'd be able to identify them. Though Archive, somewhat creepily, suggested he'd be able to tell if they were his friends by their scent.

…Alright, where to start? He thought.

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