Arriving at the city

Lian immediately turned to Tuly after that, asking, "Say, this manual tells us to accumulate Star Energy so that we can level up, right? However, where exactly is this energy being stored? It talks about an invisible core, but what core is it?"

Tuly looked at Lian and pondered over the question for a bit. "Hmm... I'm not very familiar with the specifics. If you look into a person's body who has trained in Star Energy, you won't find anything like a core there. The 'core' mentioned in the manual is basically a way of saying that the energy is stored. There are quite a few interpretations of it. I, for example, believe that this core is the soul. After all, that's the place that allows you to do actions. But then again, I can't guarantee you that. Simply ignore this thing called the invisible core and focus on your own feelings. Once you get enough Star Energy stored, you will feel like it's time for you to increase your level."

'And so he says, Lugg,' Lian mentioned back to his crown.

-Yeah. It confirms that they obviously don't know about the existence of their crowns.- Lugg agreed with Lian.

Sometime later, Tuly called their attention. "Alright, we might start seeing Star Energy Warriors more often from here onwards as we're getting close to the city. Stick close to me so that others won't have devious ideas about you. Remember, you're our slaves that we captured during the portal openings. You are descenders."

Sure enough, Lian's group did find one or another group of Star Energy Warriors coming back from the wilderness. Other groups were instead heading away from the city, most likely going after Star Energy Creatures for their materials.

Nevertheless, one thing was quite common between them. They all tried to avoid each other, as none of the sides wanted to get into unnecessary trouble. A few curious eyes landed on Lian's group, but that was basically all that happened until they finally spotted the city's gate in the distance.

"We're finally here!" Tuly's group sighed in relief as it would be a lot safer in the city.

At the gates, the guards immediately stopped Tuly's group. "Ten copper coins for each of you."

"Ten copper coins?!" Tuly could not help but exclaim. "You're kidding, right? There's no way the price would go up this much in just a few days. It was only seven coins when we left!"

The guards immediately gathered around Tuly's group with disdainful expressions on their faces. "If you don't want to pay, we won't force you. However, you won't enter the city either," said a big man who came to check the situation.

Immediately, Tuly understood. "Shit! So it's you, Grak. Do you think no one can tell that you're trying to pocket some extra coins for yourself?!"

Grak was one of the commanders of the city guards and a pretty notorious one at that. The reason for that was his underhanded methods. He liked to spend a lot on gambling and brothels, so he always ran out of money. When that happened, he used his position to extort more coins from several places. Today, he was obviously trying to get more money by coming to the City Gate.

Grak snorted when he heard that, replying, "Hmph! And what if I am? Are you going to do something? Why don't you go to the city lord's mansion and denounce my actions? Or could it be that you want to force your way through me here?"

Lian looked at Grak's crown, which seemed to be a somewhat light brown color. However, what caught his attention was the three spikes on his crown. 'A level three Star Energy Warrior, huh?'

Sure enough, Tuly could only resign himself to the extortion and pay 10 copper coins for each one of the people in his group entering the city. His group had five people, while Lian's had three, so he had to fork 80 copper coins there.

Grak's smile became brighter as he ordered the guards to make way. "You're a smart man, Tuly. Now, go ahead and sell the Star Energy Creature parts you gathered so that you'll have more coins for me in the future."

"Hmph!" Tuly harrumphed in response but didn't say anything. With that, Lian's group passed through the gates... or so they tried.

However, Grak stopped in front of Lian's group just as they were about to make it. "Oh! Now, look what we have here!" Grak's eyes landed on Carol, who immediately felt a bad premonition.

Of course, Tuly wouldn't just stand by as he put himself between Grak and Carol. "What do you want with my slaves? If you want some for yourself, just head to the slave market."

"Slaves?" Grak then looked at another guard who worked there every day. "Did he bring his slaves last time he went out of the city?"

The guard knew what Grak wanted and immediately shook his head. "No, sir. Tuly's group didn't have any."

"Then how come you got some slaves, huh?" Grak could tell how good Carol looked, even though she was covered in leather. He obviously wanted to take her for himself to enjoy, and he had the authority to make that happen.

One might ask why he could act like he wanted. That's because Grak was related to the city lord's family. His position as commander was only possible because of that, as his strength was nothing compared to the other commanders who obtained their position on their own merits.

Tuly didn't want to let him have his way, though. It was then that he had an idea. "I captured them during the opening of the Star Portals. What about it? Stop causing trouble and let us pass. There will be plenty of groups bringing more slaves during the next few days, groups that are way weaker than us. Are you sure you want to cause trouble with my own group? I might not have the power to go against you, but I can definitely make it not worth your time."

Grak's expression went dark after that.