61 Investigation

This chapter is pretty big.

7K words long.

I wanted to add something more, but I decided to leave it as a small bonus next chapter since it doesn't need to be here.

Albeit I do think the comedic effect would be higher if I posted right now, but you know... Tired.

There is a high chance of some action soon, so stay tuned?

Anyway, if you forgot what was happening, allow me to explain.

Philip woke up from his new Class dream, talked with some people, taught Viera how to learn using the Multi Toll, and instead of staying in his room training, he left the Manor to investigate.

The reason he isn't training is that the training room is in tatters and is currently being renovated.

So for now, let's see what he finds out!

Peace.

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'The moon hung high in the sky, casting its great soothing light into the city bellow.'

'And together with its own illumination, the city looked as bright as daytime.'

'Philip took a few steps out of the gates of his Manor, looking at the city from a small platform on the edge of the sidewalk that led to his home.'

'It was a good vantage point, allowing him to see a lot of the city, trying to figure out what he should do now.'

'Above him were other Manors, and despite how many there were, the view above was oddly clear...'

'It's as clear as white light in the sky, there was magic at play.'

"Hm…"

It's truly beautiful in its own way.

High-rise buildings in the middle, and even these luxurious manors built into the walls of the ravine…

'He looked to the side, seeing a long street that ran along the walls, going down into the city.'

'Smiling faintly, he raised an eyebrow, saying:'

"Even though I'm here…"

Where do I go?

'So he ended up seeking other opinions...'

{Hey Laplabe} Philip asked mentally

'Although the Mimic in the format of a pocket watch would still hear him were he to casually speak, Philip wasn't ready to be seen as weird to talk alone with a smile on his face.'

'Not that he would care, but there was something about common sense he couldn't just ignore.'

{Yes?}

'His voice was a bit wobbly as if he had just been woken up...'

'After looking over Philip's unconscious body in the training room for close to a day straight, the poor Mimic was indeed very tired, taking a short resting as Philip ate in the dining room.'

{What do you know about the City of Freedom?}

{This place? Honestly, not much}

{You would be better off reviewing the many history books inside the inventory than asking me…}

{That can be left for later...}

{Well then... There is one thing I do know… Or better put, it's more of an impression I got over the years rather than something I'm aware of}

{This city has something within it, something that compels others to come to visit it}

{Maybe it's the city's position or maybe it's something else unrelated}

{Many tales have this city as a passing point, its strategic/cultural value is impossible to measure}

{If I were to say… Perhaps the ruins are worth checking out?}

{Albeit they have been explored for centuries, they are nowhere near being fully mapped out}

{The old man used to let out sighs of disappointment whenever he talked about this place, it may just be me overinterpreting things, but perhaps… You never know}

{At least, that's the only thing that crossed my mind, if I do remember something else, I won't hesitate to speak}

"Hm…"

'Philip thought for a moment before shaking his head.'

"That's not it."

{Nevertheless, thanks for the imput}

{No problem, I'll go back to sleep, I'm still a little tired}

{Go on, I'll just stroll around for now}

'Philip turned to the street, and started to walk down in it, thinking:'

The ruins… A dangerous place that's full of shit.

I wasn't planning on visiting it at all, but with what Laplace said, perhaps I can make it work.

I do have many Skills that can only Level up by dealing damage, and I can't see myself finding things to kill apart from there.

So becoming a Cave Raider might be interesting.

(N1)

The ruins are deeply tied to the underground zone and are infested with those abominations.

They are also a good source of materials and money… Not that I need it…

As for the rest... I'll read those books later and see what they can tell me.

I'm thankful that so far, Laplabe seems fully supportive of my actions and has not restricted my use of the items from the principal.

But that may be mostly because the things I've requested have been either oddly specific or of minimal worth.

I also can't forget the secondary task I received from the Principal, I need to find a student for him, and in the future, I'll have to seek his body and the place written in that book...

That's for the medium future though.

For now… I guess I'll just choose a direction and walk in it.

I should find a way to go down into the Middle zone, that's where I'll start my investigation.

'The city of freedom was built inside the ravine connecting the North and the South through the Never Ending Mountain Range.'

'In ancient times, the Dwarves used it as their home, a great city, but after their crises, it was left abandoned.'

'People reused it, and divided it into layers according to their needs.'

'Right now he was at the top, where those of higher Class lived, but the Ravine was over twice as deep as it looked.'

'There was a lot there underground…'

…

/1 minute later/

'Philip reached the bottom after "walking" down the street.'

'Honestly, he got bored of this massive slope and simply accelerated a little, the next moment, he was there at the bottom.'

'And he wasn't tired at all.'

"I'm kind of starting to understand how Flash feels…"

Why use a car when you can reach your destination in half a second?

Although… For me, the time it takes to run to a place is still there, my brain just changes to process more things depending on how fast I'm going.

If it wasn't for that, walking around would be impossible, and everything would always be slow.

It would be torture.

'Philip smiled a little.'

"The problem with being faster than light is that you can only live in darkness."

"Anyway…"

'The first thing he saw upon descending was a massive street, dozens of carriages coming and going from one side to the other…'

'And he took a small pamphlet from his inventory.'

'It was the tourist guidebook he got the day he arrived.'

"Let's see."

"To the left I have… That leads to the South, and right is pretty obvious."

This should be one of the 2 main streets in this city.

To facilitate locomotion, these were made long ago alongside the 2 walls of the ravine.

They go from the South to the North and vice versa.

"Time to move on."

'You may think that crossing the street by running is pretty viable, but that's against the law for many reasons.'

'For that, there are some special walkways made for people to cross, it couldn't get more convenient than that.'

'So he walked to the nearest one, it looked like an old England telephone booth, but black and smooth like obsidian.'

'By pressing one of the many colorful buttons inside it, a red button, the glass window turned black, blocking the view of the outside.'

'Above the buttons was a map similar to a subway system, with many stations of many different colors, and it became clear that pressing a certain combination of those colorful buttons would lead you somewhere in that map.'

'The moment the glass windows became black, a message appeared on the blackened window:'

[Please stand by as we move you from one side to the other]

[Thank you for your patience]

/Ding/

'With a clear chime a few seconds after the messages were played, Philip opened the door, and now, he was on the other side of the street, as simple as that.'

'No, he wasn't teleported, instead, he was moved underground through a series of tube passageways.'

'It may seem dangerous at first glance, but if you checked all of the specifics, most if not all of the glaring problems associated with this design had already been taken care of.'

'Pretty interesting, since as a student of Engineering, Philip felt this was pretty cool, albeit impractical on Earth.'

'Unfortunately, many such marvelous technologies would never be implemented on Earth, not because they were impossible to do, but because…'

'Humans are just dumb overall.'

'The biggest reason why flying cars would never work.'

'It takes 10000 geniuses to make a flying car, it takes 1 idiot to crash it against a building, killing dozens in the process.'

"Time to rock." Philip mumbled as he left the booth

'But he made sure to remind himself, he wasn't here to sightsee.'

'This could be left for the future together with Viera, she would definitely be happy in doing so.'

'For now, he needed to collect information.'

'So his first target… The illuminated park on the edge of his vision.'

'He could see a few old people there, they would surely be very happy in sharing their stories with him…'

'It was the very information he desperately needed.'

'Although, despite all of this, because of his hurry, Philip ended up disregarding the very obvious... Which was merely asking his butler back in the Manor.'

'It would take a while to realize this, and when he does so, he would laugh drily in self-mockery.'

…

/At the same time, not that far away from Philip…/

/Ca-Tcheng!/

'A group of 3 people stepped out of one of the elevators embedded at the walls, the same ones Philip and Viera had used not so long ago before they took their first steps in this city…'

'One man and 2 girls, all wearing distinct clothing albeit not "extravagant".'

'But due to their unique appearance, anyone would give them a glance or two.'

'Especially the girls, they had a certain aura to them…'

"... Anyway!" The man said with a haughty face

"As I was saying, bye! Don't follow me."

"I'm not joking this time." He said in a deep and threatening tone

/CRACK!/

'He vanished, leaving a dent on the floor as if something had erased that portion of the ground.'

'This made the two girls roll their eyes, one in annoyance, the other in mockery.'

"Sigh… That bratty boy, we told him to not go out on his own and the first thing he does is this?" One of the girls said, someone with a thin golden tiara that had a glaring red gem in the middle

'She was beautiful, and she had a cheerful aura that seemed to make others smile.'

(Image?)

"Leave him be, It makes me sick just staying in the same room as that dork." The other one replied, tired

'She also had a golden Tiara on her forehead, albeit, the gem was purple.'

'As for her aura, it was a bit darker, but instead of fear, it made others rethink approaching her.'

We warned him many times, and I'm sure he understands.

The only reason he came with us was because of his combat power, which very regretfully, I must admit I'm behind.

Still, working alone is irresponsible but there isn't much we can do.

If we force him and he starts to annoy us, then this trip would truly become a pain.

Hopefully, he finds something to get busy with and doesn't bother us for the rest of the day.

(Image?)

'The two ladies were very beautiful, and together, they looked like a painting.'

'Their hair and eyes had the same color, being blond and blue respectively, albeit in different tonalities, making them look like sisters from afar.'

'One had a distant gaze as if she was fed up with everything all the time, while the other one had a cheerful smile on her face, very curious about her surroundings as she waved at the children that were looking at her curiously.'

'One had a purple gem on her forehead, while the other had a red gem, one dark, the other bright, reflecting their looks and mayhaps, even their personalities.'

"Anyway, how about we take a stroll across the city first before looking around?" The one with the purple gem asked with a smile

Since we're here, better put those funds to good use.

I was fed up with those fruits in the forest, they sure are annoying about even the little details... Almost as if...

We're pets.

"That's a good idea!" The other girl replied with a smile

'Their chemistry seemed great despite all odds.'

'After asking for directions from nearby, the two ladies departed towards the South, they had no destination, merely wanting to sightsee for a bit…'

'And they sure did, as not long after taking their first steps, they had already stopped inside a perfume shop.'

…

/Half an hour later…/

'In the middle of a beautiful park where green ducks moved around and kids played around, two people sat on a bench, gazing at the distance.'

'One old, one young…'

"... And that was how I escaped, one inch away from being buried alive in those awful rocks!" The old man said as he raised his walking stick up high

"And next?"

"Humph… That was truly a scary day… Because of that, I decided to quit."

"But didn't you say you needed the money?" Philip inquired

"Yes… I did."

'The old man looked at the sky with melancholy.'

"Because I abandoned my work, I didn't have the money for my medicine anymore…"

'He then pointed at his wooden left leg.'

/Clack.../

'Slapping it, he said:'

"And this is the result."

"I'm sorry to hear that…"

"Don't be, life isn't fair to all, but you must always strive to be fair… With yourself."

"I've long, long accepted this fate, and once I did… Life opened up to me."

'He looked at the children far away in the grass.'

"Albeit she's not here anymore, I met the person I needed the most and lived a life worth 3 lifetimes…"

"And now… My life is not only about me anymore, hehe…" He said with an elderly smile

"It was truly out of nowhere… Perhaps this may be useful to you one day, but sometimes, you just have to do it…"

"I did suffer a little at the start... But only then, I've never slept a single night after without a proper meal... And comfort."

"Don't think too much and just move… I know it sounds stupid, especially in this world that punishes those who can't think for themselves…"

"But more often than not, action takes priority over the rationale."

"If I hadn't manned up and asked her out… Ha! I bet I would've died long ago… Somewhere… Alone."

'Upon saying that, the old man started to struggle to get up.'

'Philip helped him without much trouble, letting the old man put his trusty hat on his head once more.'

"Thank you for listening to my story, it's not something I have the opportunity to say every day."

'While he overlooked the children, he said:'

"My son is too fed up to hear this anymore, and those little ones over there are too young to understand my words."

"And right now, my only desire is to actually live long enough to share this with them haha…"

"You'll live that long without trouble old man."

"Ho? You think so?"

'He smiled.'

"I hope so too."

'With that, he left, leaving Philip on the bench to watch the ducks moving around.'

"Take action…"

Well, I can understand his words very clearly.

Although they were more directed toward love and romance, they can be extended to other aspects of life without much difficulty.

And even on Earth, you would find people saying that as well, take action, have courage, and bla bla bla…

When I saw the video on my cellphone all those months ago back on Earth, instead of thinking it over and over, I took action and benefited from it.

Or so I think… It looks like I did at least.

"Hm?"

'Some of the ducks approached him all of a sudden.'

'Now that the old man was left, they could approach this weird man without much thought, because somehow, they felt attracted to his presence…'

/QUACK!/

'One of the cute green ducks jumped on his bench, looking at Philip with its round eyes.'

'This duck was a bit bigger than the others, perhaps the Alpha duck?'

/QUACK!/

"Hey, buddy?" Philip said as he carefully raised his hand

'Surprisingly, the duck did not budge, merely gazing at his hand, allowing Philip to pet it.'

"I've noticed this recently…"

Birds and other animals seem oddly close to me.

I wasn't even that close to them back on Earth…

'He thought for a moment before reaching a conclusion.'

Is it my affinity?

After so many experiences to increase things such as my potential and affinities, is this the result?

Such a shame that I can't see its actual value…

Albeit, would I even understand it? Most likely not.

Well… I can't complain about being able to pat these ducks whenever I wish, can I?

/Quack!/

"Sorry friend, I'm out of food…"

'The duck seemed visibly shaken, turning around and jumping out of the bench, and once he did so, the others left after it.'

"Sigh, even ducks are after benefits these days."

'He got up from his seat.'

"It was a good rest… Has it been half an hour already?" He asked himself as he checked the time

Well… Those were some good 30 minutes.

I asked a lot of questions to that old man, and most of them were given satisfying answers.

And albeit the old man strayed off at the end, it's fine, I got what I needed.

Not only that, he left content, so everyone won.

'Philip stretched a little before moving on…'

…

/15 minutes later…/

/Ding!/

"We've arrived at stop point C12-Lambou Station."

"All passengers, please step out of the Swing, don't forget your belongings."

"In case any items are left in the Swing, remember all lost items are moved to the Guilir Station South of the Main Center Plaza."

"We'll be moving up in 2 minutes!"

'As the calm voice of the clerk echoed in cabins, people started to move.'

/Chatter/

/Chatter/

"Here I am." Philip mumbled to himself as he heard the conductor's voice echoing from within the sound boxes scattered around the Swing

'Albeit it had a grandiose name, the Swing was nothing but an ostentatious elevator.'

'It was a system of hundreds of elevators scattered around the city, with each section having a conductor in charge of making sure no hiccups happened.'

'They were also coordinated and fixed at certain intervals in order to avoid congestion and waste of energy from having someone enter it alone, leaving behind 20 others.'

'They moved across the sectors of the city, traversing on average a few hundred meters of space, looking like long tubes that connected the ceiling to the bottom.'

"The underground…"

'The first thing Philip noticed was the temperature.'

'He expected the place to be hotter, but it was actually colder.'

'By about 3 degrees! That's actually pretty interesting.'

"If in the surface is hot, around 27C, here is a more comfortable 24C."

How did they manage to do this? A cooling system?

Magic?

Perhaps it was the design of the city? Or simply because it's underground?

They do say many creatures burrow themselves to cool down in the desert, perhaps this is the case?

Although I did expect this place to be hotter due to the concentration of industries and people.

The air quality is also decent, I expected it to be terrible, but it's not that bad compared to the surface.

"The lighting… Is that magic as well?"

'Philip could see many floating 'cones' similar to those warning cones that floated in the ocean.'

(Image?)

'They provided faint light in the sky and also served as guidance to the few flying carriages that moved around the place, so they were pretty much traffic lights.'

"Hm…"

This underground section of the city…

It gives me a steampunk vibe.

'Giant metal tubes all around, strange contraptions releasing steam and devouring the air in large quantities…'

'The houses were made from a mix of stone and iron, having many tubes all around, normally, it would be rather uggly, but it was oddly pleasing.'

'The glimmering metal, the certain order within this chaos…'

'He could even see many trains connected to the ceiling, as if they were trolleys, moving around the city carrying thousands of people.'

An underground train… But in the ceiling?...

Wait, according to the geography, we're still well above ground, so is that still underground?

'Scratching his head, Philip left the Swing Station, not staying put for long.'

'He didn't have time to think over the social/engineering problems an underground city would have.'

'He came here to find a man, and even if he didn't find him today, he would so eventually.'

…

/Around an hour later…/

"This is hard." Philip complained as he sat atop the ceiling of a high-rise building

'The ceiling was just a few dozen meters away from his hand, he could easily touch it if he jumped...'

'But he wasn't here to play around. Instead, he took a small notebook, open it, and crossed out a line of words.'

If I keep this pace, even after half a year, I won't be able to meet that old dwarf.

Looks like I'll have to consult the "walkthrough" guide…

'For the past hour, Philip walked around the city, he bought things like maps and learned a bit of the common knowledge of the locals, such as how the city blocks are divided, what there is in each block and etc.'

'This was in order to have a base so as to improve the efficiency of his research, he even went a bit far as to ask people if they knew any famous researchers or the people that were "trending" recently...'

'The first thing he learned was the government of this place, or better put the complete lack of one.'

'Only a small section of the underground zone, those being the Middle section and the Lower section were actually properly regulated by the ruling party located in the Upper section of the city.'

'Those were normally neutral zones scattered throughout the underground, normally centered around the areas where there is heavy traffic of civilians going up and down the zones.'

'The reason for this was obvious, despite their complete lack of care, it seemed they still understood that they needed to keep some sort of order around otherwise the city would collapse on its own.'

'As for the rest, it is just a mix of an endless competition for power between gangs and other sub-governments, some of which are nothing but the civilians ruling themselves through the help of another power...'

'And a few neutral grounds between those gangs.'

'However, even with this chaotic environment, the city is still rather well built and planned, and not burning in flames 24/7, the biggest reason for this may actually be due to the attitude of those on top.'

'If things truly go bad, they can just send a hit squad to end it all, and end it they will…'

'Don't forget the power that the ruling party of the city has…'

"Phew..."

'Upon checking his notebook, Philip rested his head on the ground as he stared at the ceiling as one of the trolleys passed.'

'For a moment, he saw a kid looking at him from above, pulling the skirt of his mother as he pointed at him.'

'But before she could check him out, the trolley went into the distance, too fast for her to react...'

"Checking each research institute won't do…"

I thought that a famous researcher planning to announce a big discovery would be easy to find, or at least, there would be some mention of his existence and studies around in some professional circles...

But I underestimated how hard it actually is, or I was either just unlucky, or I didn't search long enough.

That's my bad either way, but I can't fully blame myself either. Not like I was a detective prior to coming here.

'Closing his eyes, he started the next section of his plans...'

'With his focus elsewhere, Philip's consciousness entered his inventory, and after a while, he found what he was looking for, a small notebook.'

'There, he flipped its pages until he arrived at the section he desired.'

'He read everything, sticking to some keywords:'

"Undetermined location until…"

Nah, this is unnecessary for now.

"Definitely within the city…"

Better than nothing...

"Look for signs of conflict?"

Conflict?

'He flipped the pages one more time, but that was all Dae had to say on this subject.'

According to what he wrote, there aren't that many records about this scientist, perhaps they were erased, or there was close to nothing, to begin with.

But if we follow what we do know something should've happened recently.

"From the remains of his diary, we concluded that something happened between half a year to a year prior to the conclusion of his research." Philip repeated as he read the book

And this time should be around now.

'He closed the notebook and retracted his consciousness.'

"It's not much…"

But it's something.

This guy's story was already a complicated one.

A scientist that managed to do the impossible yet was betrayed by his own race, eventually ending it altogether, causing mayhem to be spread across the continent…

I always felt that this was… A bit too strange.

If we add the fact not many people actually knew him apart from the dwarves themselves, with most of his data being possibly erased, doesn't that mean the Dwarves could've said whatever they wanted?

Dae told me that the scientist didn't care for politics, eventually meeting his doom at its hands, albeit, his own hand was also a tad too heavy for them to bear.

There was a period in history between the conclusion of his research and the detonation of the forges, but what happened there was a big incognito, but it resulted in the ties between the Dwarves and him sour.

One thing that's not properly stated is when exactly did politics make their way into this mess?

If the Dwarves ended up pushing him aside due to his accomplishments and lack of political influence, why did they continue to finance his research in the first place?

They could've stopped him midway after they got what they wanted, but they let him be, and that was when the trouble started if I interpreted this right.

During this period, the Dwarven race reactivated many ancient and forgotten forges, being able to reclaim many lost bastions of their race, ushering in a new Golden age...

This also restarted their system, the same one the scientist blew to bits at the end.

When did things go from "I started the Golden Age" to "We cannot tolerate your existence"?

The more I think about this, the more I picture this man as some genius man that ended up being crushed by his own talent due to the envy of others.

But something seems a tad out of place.

I don't know how to say this…

'Philip shook his head, pushing this issue to the side for now and focusing on the other clue.'

"Look for signs of conflict…"

The only conflict here would be the unending wars between the gangs…

Should I check each one?

"... What a pain…" He said as his expression twisted

But even so… Checking each one would be less work than going after every research center in this place like I've been doing.

Besides… There is one place I can check out first.

"The Street Palace and the Conjunction… I've heard that they've been in direct conflict recently, probably the most serious one between the other ones I've heard of so far."

If not that, then it's in the top 10 merely for its potential…

One Large Scale power, and one Small Scale, despite that, the Conjunction has yet to disappear, meaning, something odd is definitely going on.

Considering the Street Palace is a neutral giant and the Conjunction is the aggressive promising newcomer, their relationship is like a pot on the verge of exploding, so it's worth a shot.

A good place to start this search.

If that doesn't work… I could try a few others that were openly in conflict with one another.

'Philip kicked the edge of the roof jumping into the ground…'

…

'Like a bird, Philip flew in the air as he jumped from building to building, akin to a superhero of a movie.'

"..."

The air blowing on my face...

How refreshing.

'Albeit few, it were moments like this that reminded him of his progress, moments that made him realize that one day in the past, he used to be like those people below, walking on the street, minding their own business...'

'Perhaps like him, they also once dreamt of being unique and holding power themselves, albeit different from him, they were born in a world where that was possible, while in his case, that was naught but a dream...'

'But reality proved him wrong, it seemed that from the very beginning he was dreaming right, he was only searching the wrong place...'

'Thankfully, he was in the right place, at the right time.'

'Sometimes he thought to himself, that day, during the end of the period lecture, he had seriously considered not going, it wasn't like he was going to lose that period, he had already passed with flying marks after all...'

'Most of his few class friends had actually done so... Now they weren't here.'

'But maybe that was for the best.'

'There aren't that many people he left behind that he cared about, but if they were, that number would've likely doubled.'

/Thud!/

'Philip graciously fell on top of another house's roof, quickly taking a look around and checking one of the maps he brought.'

'He was just about to jump again when...'

"Wow..."

"Hm?"

'Philip heard a youthful voice coming from behind him, only to realize a little kid in boxers was staring right at him.'

'He also noticed a small pool on the side, it seemed this kid was enjoying some night swimming, only to have it interrupted by him...'

"Sorry kid, I'll be on my way."

"Ah! Wai..."

/Fwoosh!/

'But before the kid could stop him, Philip had already jumped, being high in the sky.'

"Wow..."

/Chatter!/

"I'm going down mom..."

'The little kid eventually went back home, taking a small glance into the sky, but it was now empty.'

...

/Fwoosh!/

/Thud/

'Landing with his two feet on the ground, Philip walked out of an alley as naturally as he could muster as if he hadn't been flying in the air a few moments ago.'

"Well..."

Here I am.

'In front of him was yet another section of the town that looked a tad like any other.'

'However, there were some things worth pointing out.'

'First, it was the atmosphere, this place was darker, having a more sinister feel to it as compared to the rest of the city.'

'The type of feeling someone with a decent sense of danger would have the moment they strayed a bit off the path, finding themselves in a not-so-safe neighborhood.'

'Not only that, Philip noticed a few factories, their density was a bit higher here than in the rest of the city, making the air a bit rougher, and technically, this would dub this place as an industrial zone.'

'Everything was a mix of gray and brown, and it was overall, pretty lame.

'However, he didn't care, it was time to look for trouble...'

'Not quite like that, he was looking for trouble, to see it in a third person view and not to be part of it...'

'As he was told to keep a close eye on any possible conflict then perhaps he would find some clues.'

'But first, he had to find one.'

'So the first thing he did was approach a rather sketchy fellow on the side... The first person he saw.'

...

/Step step.../

"Hm?"

'Seeing him approach, the sketchy fellow frowned.'

"Wow there, that's close enough." He said quickly upon noticing that Philip's target was actually him

'One of his hands quickly approached his pant pockets, Philip's senses were quick to recognize a metallic object inside it, probably a small knife.'

'He didn't even consider a gun, albeit, Philip would be more impressed if the fellow wipped out a gun rather then a knife...'

'Not that it would make a difference, but if that made the man feel safer, and in consequence, more prompt to talking, Philip didn't mind his actions.'

"You seem quite on edge."

'The man looked Philip up and down, and a strange feeling took over his body.'

'He gulped drily, before saying:'

"Well, you know how it is, this isn't the type of place where carelessness is left unpunished, it's quite the sad reality, to not even be able to trust a passerby, but the last thing I want is to get stabbed in the tummy."

"Now... What do you want? Otherwise, let's make this easy for the both of us and just go on our own ways."

'Philip smiled, it seemed this fellow was more approachable than he looked, he was 90% expecting him to just have him go fuck himself.'

'And he was very much ready to take it to his own hands...'

'Perhaps that won't be necessary.'

"It's pretty simple, I'm kind of new here so I'm quite lost..."

"You can always go to the police station, they may be completely useless and a bunch of clowns, but they aren't mindless slimes, they can easily point you the way out of this shithole if that's what you want, they're but a few blocks away." He said as he point at the south

'Philip knew he wasn't lying, otherwise, he would be down on the ground already.'

"No no, you misinterpreted me, I'm not entirely looking for directions."

"..."

'The man said nothing, only giving him a silence expression that meant "Go on".'

"Simply put, I've been wanting to know just what's going on between the big guys."

'The man's eyes opened a little, and he easily replied:'

"You mean the Street Palace and the Conjunction?"

'Philip's expression turned awkward.'

"Yeah..."

'The man smiled.'

"Ha, there's no need for such discretion, albeit I applaud you for even thinking about it."

"There are many people that have the knack for... Talking too much."

'He didn't even look around, merely resting his back on the wall.'

"If it was half a decade ago, I would've definitely kicked you away before scurrying away myself, but this isn't needed anymore, their priorities have long changed."

"Especially now, everyone's talking about this matter, ask any homeless bum out there and they'll tell you in exchange for some bread."

'Philip raised one of his eyebrows.'

"Do you want some bread?"

"No way dude, do I look like I need charity?"

"..."

"Yeah... Better not reply..." He said with a self-deprecating smile

"There isn't even a point in asking for something, and since I'm waiting for someone, why not strike some empty talk to pass the time?"

'He took something from his other pocket, a small box full of cigarettes.'

'Be it in this world or back on Earth, Humans and other intelligence species around would always find a way to drown their own sorrows away...'

'And as such, alcohol and drugs were pretty easy to find.'

"Want one?"

"Nah, I don't smoke."

"That's how it should be."

/Lit.../

"Pohoo..."

"As I was saying..."

"This information has no value, and there are no dangers in sharing it either, its more like gossip than anything really."

'He pointed at Philip with his cig, saying:'

"You're asking me about their most recent conflict right?"

"What else could I ask?"

"Heh, there are a tad too many awful things going on... Always."

'He took a puff of his cig.'

"Simply put, the Conjunction suddenly decided to strike some beef with the Street Palace over their own business... Pretty crazy stuff if you ask me."

"Was there ever any sort of indication to that?"

"None, I mean, their territories aren't even bordering each other, they are like far away neighbors than anything, it was truly out of the blue."

"It's not like there is nothing to gain from challenging the Street Palace's rule, however, it's not like it would be easy to take over them either, much less occupy their place once everything's over."

"Things aren't as simple as going to them, taking them down, and assuming things the next day like some boring ass Office job."

"In here, they have to worry more about the other fishes in the weeds than with the big one threatening to bite a chunk of their fins."

"But they still did it?"

"Pretty aggressively at that, I heard they even started to taunt them by sending some of their own to attend their auctions publicly under their banner."

"It's not like the Street Palace stops anyone from attending those, but they were clearly being pushed around beyond their tolerance limit."

"Like, if you're dating a hot chick, you don't flaunt to her dad how great her ass felt you get me?"

"A little bit." Philip said with a thinking expression

Through their actions, you could say they got something that greatly boosted their confidence, that may be worth checking out.

"In the past few years, the Conjunction rose steadily with a mix of threats and shows of power, the usual you would expect from these parts..."

"But in the past few days, they suddenly exploded in aggression, as if someone had..."

'For the first time, he looked around, making sure no one heard them.'

"Stepped on their tails, like a cat frantically clawing around."

"This even resulted in some beef in their last auction yesterday."

"Beef?"

"Yeah, I heard that Alicred himself involved himself in the conflict."

"Who?"

"You sure aren't from here."

"Alicred is none other than the son of their Manager Director, the very person in charge of everything... Only beneath the Big guy."

"Not the type of person you'd see moving around, much less causing trouble in enemy territory."

"How did it end? He must've been..."

Killed? Or perhaps he just left after causing trouble?

"Yup, he was beaten pretty heavily... But funny enough, not by the people of the Street Palace, but by the very person he annoyed in the first place."

"Oh?"

That's some Karma.

"I know, I also found it pretty ironic."

"What about the person that did the deed?"

'The man shrugged.'

"No idea, likely just one of the many fearless sons of bitches scattered around the place..."

"Either that... Or a soon-to-be piece of dead meat."

"Alicred doesn't really have the best of reputations... And he'll likely not take kindly to what he was forced through."

"Whoever did it is likely to have their fair share of troubles soon, some of which I would prefer to not even think about."

'He puffed one last time, moving his head to the side after noticing something from the corner of his eye, it was someone, moving to their location.'

"Looks like that's it for me today."

'Philip nodded.'

"Much appreciated for your time."

"Be sure to be careful stranger."

"By your look, it seems you want to dig deeper into this matter..."

"If you want, search for a place called, Dead Cold, it's a bar that always seems to have something to say about... Literally, anything I can think of."

"If you're in for spending a few coins and drinking the worst drinks imaginable..."

"Was there such a place nearby?"

Where people gather, information flows...

'The man said nothing, merely pointing at the alley next to him.'

'Philip saw another street at the end, likely meaning that he was supposed to find the rest of the way himself...'

'Perhaps there was some weird rule in place?'

"I don't really frequent the place, many shady people around those parts, but if you consider yourself up for a challenge and decently tough, then just go on these alleys."

"Ask a few people here and there, one of them is bound to know considering Dead Cold is the only bar nearby."

"The only one?"

"All of the others ones 'mysteriously vanished' over time..."

"Oh..."

'With that, Philip thanked the man before turning around, and entering the alley.'

/Poof.../

'The man continued to smoke his cigar, taking one glance into the dark corridor, seeing Philip's figure mix in with the faint mist laying around, vanishing from his sight.'

'When the mist dessipated, he wasn't there anymore.'

"..."

'He puffed one last time, throwing his cigar on the ground.'

"Hey man, wats up?" The newcomer asked as he raised his hand

'But his friend did not move.'

"Bro?"

What's going on?

'He quickly approached him, touching his shoulder, only to realize he was sweating crazily!'

"You okay?!"

"Y-Yeah, just a bit... Let me rest a while."

"You look like you saw a ghost!"

"I... Wouldn't say a ghost."

'He closed his eyes with a silly smile.'

"For the first time in my life, I felt glad to have been born with that..."

"You're talking about that useless ability you have?"

"What else?... Albeit... Not as useless anymore."

"I... Don't think I can move my legs." He said as he looked at his friend

'The man was shocked by this, and for a moment, he looked at the alley with some shivers.'

'Because he had also seen a man walk inside.'

'Just what...'

...

/Around an hour later.../

/CRUNK!/

/THROW!/

/THUD!/

"And done! One more down the bars, its been so busy lately." A man with a heavy voice said as he closed a heavy metallic door, trapping a man inside a claustrophobic and dark room

"I need a raise." He said as he cleaned his hands, turning around to leave

'However, he failed to realize this man's eyes were faintly glowing in an eerie blue light, casting a shadow onto his thin smile.'

...

.

.

.

Notes

N1 Go back to chapter "A place to call Home" and read Philip's description of the city, most of everything exposed so far is done at that time at once.

Aside from that, what did you think?

I'll drop the images off soon in case you didn't see them.

Goodbye and until next week!