City of Indifference

Damon frowned. "Only level three? After all of that pain!"

"Damon, I understand that you are eager to get revenge for what happened to you and your friends. But you have to realize that gods are designed to cultivate slower because of the immense amount of energy they need to use. Just your divine spark has enough energy to, in the right hands, destroy this planet."

"Of course I want to cultivate faster! Every day that passes increases the likelihood of the death of the rest of my friends. How can I rest easy knowing that?' Damon clenched his fists in frustration.

Hero sighed. "Everything has a cost, Damon. Cultivation methods that are faster are almost always more painful and more likely to cause permanent damage to your mind. Plus it's not like you'll be able to help your friends or get revenge with just more strength. You'll need to be able to use it effectively."

Damon took a deep breath and thought deeply about Hero's words. He was willing to accept the painful part but he needed the most efficient way of becoming strong at the same time.

"Wouldn't I just need to cultivate hard for half of the day and then fight with monsters for the other half?" Damon asked.

Hero chuckled. "That would normally be a good idea but my arrival has changed all of that. Even if only subconsciously, you feel safe because of my presence. It means that you won't be able to efficiently train since you'll never truly feel in danger. Efficient training requires one to make combat instinctual and only using intense survival instincts can efficiently achieve this goal."

As Hero's words resounded in Damon's mind, he had a sudden inspiration.

"How about I begin exploring the human society of this world while simultaneously fighting and cultivating? I'm sure they will need fighters since they seem quite isolated and alone in a sea of monsters."

Hero smiled. "That is almost certainly the most efficient use of your time. Afterall, you need to understand and conquer this world soon."

"So, then how-

Hero raised his hand. "That still hasn't solved the primary issue Damon. You need to be absolutely certain that you are fighting with your life on the line. Fortunately for you, however, I know a method that can set your mind at ease."

"What method?"

"A soul contract. A binding agreement that links the souls of the signees to each other and to the universal system of causation. Just think of it as binding agreement that has to be followed. Any failure to follow the stipulations will result in a quick and immediate erasure of the offender's soul."

Damon's eyes lit up. "That's perfect. But how do we sign it?"

Hero suddenly summoned a whole host of tools. "It's quite complex so pay attention. Prick your finger with this pin and then put a drop of blood into this bottle of ink. Then use a quill along with the ink in order to sign the document. After that, chant the words, "Praise Mother Justice, Goddess of us all," three times."

As soon as he finished reading the document, Damon began following these steps.

He quickly pricked his finger and expected a bit of pain. But surprisingly, he didn't even feel it.

'Seems like I become more resistant to pain over time.' Damon theorized.

After this, he hovered his finger over the bottle of ink and a crimson drop of blood soon polluted the inky black.

Awkwardly picking up the quill, Damon dipped it into the ink and began signing the document.

Strangely enough, the color on the paper was a dark purple rather than a black or red.

With this done, Damon got up and began chanting.

"Praise Mother Justice, Goddess of us all."

"Praise Mother Justice, Goddess of us all."

"Praise Mother Justice, Goddess of us all."

Suddenly, Hero began dying of laughter.

"Hahaha! You really did the last one. The rest of it was real but that last one was so fake. Why would you pray to a goddess when you yourself are a god? Hah!"

Damon blushed in shame. "Screw you! I'm just trying my best out here!"

Hero recovered from his laughter. "Anyway, the soul contract worked and you can be rest assured that I won't be able to help you out, even on your deathbed."

"Do you have any recommendations on how I should try to enter the human society?"

"Don't waste too much time planning it out. Observe for about a day while using your owls to collect information. After that, embed yourself into their society and then you'll be good to go." Hero casually explained.

"Okay, thanks. I'll start preparing now and we can talk before I leave." Damon said.

"Best of luck!"

—

Soon, Damon was hovering far above the distant fortress city.

He was going to observe the populus today using the owls.

The two owls each flew onto his shoulder. While they were nibbling some food from his hand, they suddenly disappeared.

If one looked closely, however, they might be able to notice a slight shimmer of light. Whoosh

These shimmers began rapidly descending towards the city.

'Time to switch views.' Damon thought.

Suddenly, the distant lines and dots grew to a monstrous size. Many skyscrapers, each at least 50 stories tall, dominated the skies. They were made of a strange and ever changing metal. One moment, it looked like the hide of a great black dragon, while the next it was the fur of a golden-eyed doe.

Almost all of the buildings were very tall, at least 20 stories each.

'Are they trying to conserve space or is it a cultural thing?' Damon contemplated.

Soon, the owls soared close to the dark pavement. Directly above the pavement, people mounted on various flying creatures flew by. Damon observed a strange occurrence. All of the animals were sectioned off into their own lanes. Majestic hippogryphs dominated a single lane while smaller, dinosaur-like birds flew beside them.

Far below this bizarre scene, even more creatures roamed the streets. The center of the street was filled with people riding magnificent animals while the sides of the street had lines of people, likely commuting to work. While this would normally cause a lot of issues, the presence of a tall wall between the main street and sidewalks prevented such issues.

As for the humans themselves, they all looked quite similar to his own people. The main difference is in their expressions and attire. Many of the people had seemingly indifferent and uncaring expressions on their faces. A divide, however, laid between the young and the old.

The younger people were often smiling vibrantly and chatting amongst themselves while the older folks showed little emotion.

Even after inspecting them for a while, the only emotion Damon saw was the extreme disgust they showed towards the emotional youths.

'The culture of this place must be in a period of flux. Otherwise, there would never be such a clear divide in age and emotion.' Damon concluded.

Deciding to investigate further, Damon commanded the owls to fly right above the people and listen in.