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nThe planet Taprisha was an extremely odd one, and its odd shape and design was part of why the Borrel Autarchy didn’t fight for control of it. There were rare resources that could be found at the depths of the oceans of nothingness, but the danger one encountered was rather extreme. From fluctuating heat from the core of the planet, to strange, earth-dwelling beasts, to devastating and powerful windstorms created by the laws of the universe.

nTaprisha had another function, however, that set it aside from other planets. A large number of World Bridges connected to Taprisha.

n23 separate World Bridges, connecting world after world, all emerged from various locations on the surface of Taprisha. Taprisha served as one of the better transport worlds if one was trying to get from one place to another quickly.

nNear each of the 23 World Bridges were massive cities, filled with a countless number of people. There were no large nations ruled by Kings on Taprisha, but, instead, 23 City Lords.

nEach City Lord controlled a large section of land, holding sway over any other nearby islands and their resources. All 23 City Lords were either powerful Wizards or had powerful Wizards under them.

nDorian had just arrived outside the city of Potor, and was, once more, waiting in a line.

n“We’ll ride into the city, and then this is where we part ways, sir Dorian.” Clarence’s voice was soothing and calm, the type of voice that would fit well on a merchant. The Aethman stepped up next to Dorian, giving him a warm smile.

n“I can’t thank you again for the succor you provided us. Without your efforts, my wife and my daughter, alongside the guards we hired, would have all perished.” Dorian’s actions had indeed saved all of their lives. Miraculously, despite the attack by Mello’s clones, none of the Aeth warriors had died. Several of them were injured, and would need treatment, but nothing urgent.

n“It was nothing.” Dorian gave him a warm smile, scratching at his humanoid arms.

nFor some reason, he felt vaguely uncomfortable in a humanoid form. After living as a beast for so long, it was a strange change to look at the world from this perspective.

nHe couldn’t help but feel a longing to return to his Myyr Dragon form.

nIt was odd. At his core, in his previous life, he had been a human being.

nBut what was he right now?

nEven Dorian didn’t know the answer to that question.

nHe mused over these thoughts as he waited in line patiently. This would be his first time ever entering a city, and Dorian couldn’t help but be rather excited at seeing how people in this universe lived, and how different it would be.

n..

nSeveral thousand meters above, a faint, black smudge could be seen in the late afternoon light. If one looked closely at this smudge, with a powerful set of eyes, one might notice that this smudge had a pair of wings, blurring in and out of visibility.

nIf one had even stronger eyes, one could see a small, crystalline skull, and a set of odd, transparent feathers. The characteristic look of the unusual and exotic creature known as a Crystal Eagle.

n“That must be you, huh? You got here before number eleven.” The bird cawed out, its voice twisted and barely understandable.

n“Still in your Titan form… I guess it makes sense since you had to pass the gate. Trying to cross in a beast form would cause a lot of attention.” The bird nodded its head sagely as it floated in space, its eyes piercing downwards.

n“But you stuck with those Aethmen, and other humanoids? My foolish, naive brethren. You cannot trust them. Perhaps you can still be saved.” A twisted smile appeared on the bird’s face.

n“They are but prey to further our growth to perfection. All of them, training their souls for ripe eating. Humans, Aethmen, Titans, Vampires. There is no point in befriending prey.” The bird shook its head,

n“Allow me to help show you their true nature.”

n..

nThe guards at the entrance to the city were similar to the guards at the World Bridge. They were mostly human, many of them clad in grey leather armor with swords at their waist. Several Wizards stood atop the stone gate, looking down, while a single wizard stood with the guards on the ground.

nThe walls of the city were not large at all compared to the walls blocking the World Bridge. They stood around 13 or 14 meters high, a relatively small height. They were long, however, stretching an immense distance to completely encircle the massive city.

nAs Dorian and his group moved to the front of the line he noticed, with a slight start, that the Wizard on the ground wasn’t a human like he originally thought. The slightly grey skin tone, alongside the man’s fine features, gave away the fact that he was a vampire. The same applied to the Wizards atop the entryway. They were all vampires.

n‘Right, right.’ He mentally nodded. This was the territory of the Aurelius Family. It was only natural he’d meet more vampires here. They were probably a common sight. He frowned, wondering what happened to the pair of vampires he had sent fleeing earlier.

n“Move along, move along.” Their caravan reached the front of the line. Like before, they underwent a similar inspection. The guards were questioned briefly, as were the merchants.

n“Oh a Titan, that’s uncommon in these parts. What brings you to Potor City?” One of the guards asked, waving at him casually.

nDorian answered the same as before, that he was seeking to work for the Aurelius Family. The guard nodded and asked a few more questions before waving him through. At least he hadn’t needed a bribe to get into the city.

nDespite the guard’s apparent lack of care, Dorian didn’t fail to notice that, up above, the Wizards standing atop the gate were watching everyone with eyes that pierced everything. While he wasn’t extremely sensitive to magic, at least not in his Titan form, he could vaguely feel that they were casting spells up there.

nIf he had to wager a guess, it was probably some form of magic designed to see through disguises or lies, to hunt out criminals.

nStill, he made it through without a problem.

nWhat unfolded before his vision as he walked through the gates could only be described as a huge shock.

nPeople. Countless, huge numbers of people, moving back and forth, in every direction. He saw humans, vampires, more of those Pyrite rockmen, a few groups of Aethmen, even some scaled humanoid which Ausra identified as Dracons.

nA huge variety of people moved along a large, twenty-meter wide road that stretched down and out of sight for miles. This road appeared to be made of paved, grey stone, well worn with time. On either side of the huge road, large, white or grey stone buildings of a variety of designs could be seen.

nMany of the buildings had large signboards floating out over them or over the street. He saw some that advertised blacksmith services, others for restaurants or eateries, and still others for inns. He saw a few shops called ‘Blood Shops’ which he assumed had something to do with the vampires and blood magic, and a few other, less common types of shops, like places to buy robes, other magic ingredients, medicine.

nThe next thing he noticed was the noise.

nIt was loud.

nPeople were yelling, talking, crying, calling out numbers, roaring in anger at people in their way. The bustle of wagons or carriages moving down the center of the street, dragged along by magic, horses, scaled lizards, or other types of fantastic creatures. It was a very different sight from even the most crowded of the cities he’d been to back on Earth.

nDorian had been living off on his own for several weeks now, in the wild.

nThe sheer shock of transitioning into a crowded and lively city was jarring to him and stunned him for a split second.

nHe snapped out of it quickly, however, regaining his focus.

n“Thank you, again, for the help you provided us. If you need any help while you’re here, please don’t hesitate to find us next to the Heldon Seamstress Shop.” The Aeth merchant Clarence walked up, giving Dorian directions. Behind him stood his wife, and their daughter, moving through the street while they waited for the wagons to pass through the gateway. Their daughter was spinning about, moving her feet to the dance step Dorian taught her. He sent her an approving nod.

nThe Aeth greatly valued loyalty and respect. It seemed Dorian had truly made a good impression on this particular pair of merchants, though he wondered if that was his soul twisting Fate at play.

nEven the guard Wizard Lor had come around, giving him a grateful nod and a firm handshake.

n“I’ll keep it in mind.” Dorian gave them a friendly smile. Maybe he would drop by, though, more likely than not, he would be out of this city in a day or two. Still, the couple was quite nice.

nAfter exchanging pleasantries, the Aeth merchants left, headed off towards their home with their goods in tow. The Aeth guards moved with them, their mission incomplete till they finished transport.

nDorian watched them go with a feeling of satisfaction. He had, at the minimum, saved their lives and done something good. That was something to be pleased with.

n“Hey out of the way!” A rude human passerby interrupted Dorian’s thoughts, knocking into him as he stood off on the side of the street.

nUnfortunately for the passerby, Dorian’s body was extremely heavy. Dorian didn’t budge at all, while the man stumbled, almost falling.

n“Are you alri-” The man, dressed in plain brown leather pants and a grey shirt, got back up and, after staring at him, left quickly. Dorian shrugged as he watched him go, holding his hands out in a helpless gesture. Was he really that scary looking that people were sent fleeing just from a glance?

nHis Titan form wasn’t even fully grown. As a young adult, he looked far closer to a regular human than anything else, just with light red skin and bulging muscles.

nAccording to Ausra, his next Growth Stage would send him to the status of being freakishly tall. The Titan Wizard that had attacked him had been in a ‘Condensed’ form, his body much shorter than it normally would be.

nA fully grown Titan was a hulking monstrosity that would easily tower over regular humans.

nDorian glanced around the crowded street and began walking down it. Several roads branched off the street, leading to other sectors of the city. He’d gotten a general overview of what the city was like from Clarence, and had an idea of where he wanted to go.

nThis was the Main Street of Potor, the first street anyone saw when coming in from the World Bridge through the eastern entrance to Potor City. Thousands of shops of various kinds could be found down this many miles long street.

nMost of them were overpriced, however, intent on catching the people traveling between worlds.

nClarence had recommended that he go down one of the side streets, to the Northern Sector of the city. Apparently this area catered more towards mercenaries and adventurers, traveling Wizards and warriors.

nHe began heading over there with purpose, his eyes gleaming.

nThe first place he’d check out was one of those Blood Magic shops. After all, why go through the trouble of hunting down beasts for their bloodlines when he could just pay for them?

n‘Capitalism at its finest.’ He nodded cheerfully.

n..

n“Well?” Ralf Tornstrew looked impatiently at the human standing in front of him. The man wore a nondescript set of clothes, making him look like any other regular person. And as far as Ralf was concerned, he was just like any other human. Bumbling, unable to understand the true elegance of life.

nThey were currently in an alley near the city wall.

n“The information you gave us was accurate.” The human said, looking up. He had a plain, forgettable face and a small, brown beard. Well, his face might be memorable, but Ralf couldn’t be bothered with it.

n“He’s a pureblood Titan, with a body that is at least at the Master Class. He is young, not a fully grown adult. He seems inexperienced.” The human continued. He was a member of the Potor Scouts Guild, sometimes derisively called the Thieves Guild. A large band of adventurers who would do anything for gold, well known in Potor.

nRiff-raff, yes, he mentally acknowledged, but they had their uses. Members were adept and agile, able to pick up things with little information to go by. It was why Ralf had a Scout on standby at all times. He shook the thoughts from his mind, however, as he smiled at the man.

n“Excellent work.” He hesitated for a brief moment. He’d forgotten the man’s name. Ralf shrugged, continuing,

n“I’ve already paid the guild, you can collect your fees from them.” He waved the man away as he left the alley, his eyes gleaming.

nHe’d sent the Scout out to check if the tip one of his subordinates had received was true. Ralf was a vampire and a Grandmaster Class Blood Wizard that worked on guard duty on the city walls, a punishment handed down from the City Lord after he was caught embezzling funds for his own experiments. He was stuck up there five days a week, for a minimum of 10 years, forced to scan visitors and search for people attempting to infiltrate the city.

nIt had already been 2 years since his service began and he was already bored out of his mind. As a member of the Aurelius Family, fleeing was not an option. Unless he broke through to the Lord Class, he would be stuck here for years more to come.

nHowever, it seemed his luck had changed. That tip the guards had received had been accurate. The Titan that was entering the city wasn’t a regular Titan, but a pureblood one with strength at the Master Class, and it was one traveling alone. Even better, it wasn’t a Wizard. No one would miss it if it disappeared.

nA pureblood Titan with Master Class blood… Just thinking of how useful that blood could be sent shivers down his spine.

nThe Titan had entered the city with some Aethmen, however, according to what the guards had told him. Ralf frowned at this. It seemed he’d need to tie up some loose ends first.

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