The Outer Lands, possibly the closest example of what the world will look like if humans were wiped from the face of the Earth. It would be a lie if someone told you that humans can't survive in the Outer Lands though. As dangerous as the rabid beasts, monsters and demons are, humans always find a way to live wherever they go. Fortunately, as Emily and I are both low-tier power holders, the area that we're going to has already been fully explored and patrols monitor it.
With how the patrols monitor the area, the guards and patrolmen being employed by the DOLA (Department of Outer Land Affairs), Gortum Fields is perfect for new Supers to get a feel for real combat.
"Speak of the devil," I say, finishing my thought aloud. "Look, Em, there are already academy classes that are out here on field exercises."
Emily lifts her hands to her stomach and keels over to pretend that she's throwing up in disgust. "Bleh! Those classes get boring so fast!"
"I wouldn't know," I say and laugh it off. "I wasn't in the academy for long before I dropped out."
"Oh, right!" she nearly shouts, beaming with self-pride. "That's why I'm the smart one, and you're the dumb one!"
"Yeah?" I chuckle to myself without looking at her. "How can someone who actually wants to go into the Outer Lands consider themselves 'smart'? The 'smart' choice would be to stay where it's safe."
"Tsk tsk tsk," the smacking of her lips signalling that one of her famous lectures is about to start. "Don't you know, Marc? It is the pride of the Supers to be able to venture forth into the unknown that is 'The Outer Lands' in search of precious materials, be they ores, plants or different types of animal or monster meat."
Emily uses her Rush to demonstrate to me as she continues with her monologue. "Our powers give us the ticket to enter a world of freedom that's just waiting yonder, but we, as the human race, still need to walk up to the ticket booth so that we may present that ticket. If holding onto a ticket, and just standing there looking at the ticket booth and prize behind it, is what you consider to be 'smart'..."
"Yeah, yeah," I say, continuing to walk around her. "Go preach your sermon to those who care to listen. Until you graduate from your studies, and actually venture 'out there', your words will only continue to sound naive. Like a frog -"
"In a well." another voice finishes off.
Stopping in our tracks, Emily and I turn to face the person talking to us. A young woman, with light blonde hair and smooth, fair skin is walking up to the both of us casually. Lightly swinging from her side is a heavily decorated sheathed sword, the likes of which a poor family like Marc's would never get to see up close, let alone get their hands on.
Emily and I recognize this young woman. Her name is Amelia Arden, and she's considered one of the top geniuses in our generation - likely to succeed her current family's head in the future. When the three of us were younger, we'd often play pretend Supers together at the park. My parents were well-known back then, many would stop to say "hello" if they saw them, so it was still acceptable for Emily and I to be around a daughter of one of the stronger families.
The Arden family, currently sitting on top of all other houses in the east side of The Wall, has always been a noble family. History within The Wall states that five families, having nearly exhausted all means of survival, stumbled upon a ruined and vacant city. They worked together and built upon what they had taken as their own, each family contributing what and where they could so that they would continue to survive in this world of demons and beasts.
It had been generations down the line before The Wall saw its first dispute between the families. By this time, each of the five families had established their own area for business and residence. Each family also had their own specialty, a product that no other family had specialised in, allowing for the market and economy to bloom. This dispute, according to historians, started when the Belvior family head came to a decision that his cup wasn't full enough; he needed to take more for himself and for the Belvior family.
War had been waged between the Belvior family, whose specialty had been the production of alchemical enhancers and healing salves of the highest quality, and the other four families: Arden, Chatsworth, Deacon and Exton. In the beginning of the war, each family had fought with Belvior separately, their efforts to defend themselves annulled by the Belvior family's capability to have their best fighters recovered almost instantly after each fight. They were feared as immortal.
Until the four families came together, to push the Belvior family back, it looked as though the entirety of The Wall would have fallen under the Belvior name. It was only when each family had shared their resources, and made use of each others' specialty, that they could stand above the Belvior family. Arden, whose specialty lay in the manufacturing of high quality enchanted weaponry, Chatsworth, whose specialty encompassed all that had to do with the processing of food, Deacon, whose specialty of raising stronger individuals and setting the standard for the power ratings made the other families green with envy, and Exton, whose specialty walked hand-in-hand with Arden family's enchanted weaponry, was armour crafts and enchanted items with defensive properties in mind.
Historians glorify how the four families pushed the Belvior family into exile, however it really is just a story of how human greed can make any man lose all sense of reality. These days, much of the resources brought back from raid parties out into the Outer Lands is used on expanding the area within The Wall. Mortality rates, at least in the last few decades, have decreased giving way to the trend of overcrowding within The Wall. Unfortunately, because mid to high-tier powers are not as common as one would like, the ones with the ability to venture out often times never come back in, leaving only the weaker tiered powers in a tough situation.
Academies, universities, and various other institutes of learning, have given humanity a higher percentage of survival when going outside of The Wall. High-tier power holders, like Karen and Amelia, are treated as treasures.
"Thank you, Amelia," I say with a smile. "That's exactly what I wanted to say."
Emily harrumphs and crosses her arms at Amelia. "What do you want, Arden?"
"Oh, nothing," she replies, her cool eyes staring daggers at the two of us. "I was chatting with some friends, before we head out together to the Rocky Plains, when I heard a familiar voice. Hello, Marc."
Her charming voice, and the way that even her sneer looks beautiful, is lost on me. "That's nice of you, to come see us just as we're heading out."
"I thought that I would take this chance," she started, flicking her hair back. "Seeing as I was going to come visit you anyway, to announce to you that our engagement is cancelled."
"E-e-engagement?!" Emily shouts in surprise. "What engagement?! W-w-with who?!"
"What do you mean 'our engagement is cancelled'?" I ask, ignoring the girl to my side jumping up and down in shock. "How can you so casually take back what our parents had agreed upon back then?"
Emily stops jumping up and down when she hears me say this, and stares at me silently. "Well, Marc," Amelia replies, seemingly with little care for the current topic. "Everyone knows that I'm a high-tier power holder, with my 'Sea of Blades' already developing to the point where I could rival any of the top 20 Supers. You, however, are a low-tier power holder - something something reaction, was it? - and a drop out. We just don't match."
She stands closer to me, until we're almost touching cheeks, and whispers into my ear. "The Arden family head, my father, says that I'm going to be the next head. I just can't have a stain like you on my name."
As Amelia goes to walk away from us, I grab her wrist to hold her back. "Wait a second!" I exclaim, the frustration of having my dignity stepped on like this coming through my voice. "Our parents decided upon this all those years ago. I can't just let you cancel our engagement on a whim, that would be disrespecting the dead!"
"Hands off," she says, easily shaking my grip off of her wrist. "What don't you get, Marc? You're poor and weak. Honestly, you aren't all that good looking either. You aren't good enough for me. But don't feel bad, because not many people are."
"You take that back!" Emily interjects, her brows furrowing to show her anger. "Someone like you, who's pampered by your entire family, would never understand the kind of life that Marc has! What right do you have to call him poor and weak?"
Amelia covers her snickering with the back of her hand, her eyes squinting as she tries to hold her laughter back. "Having a girl defend you, now, Marc? You're already poor and weak, now you're not even a man who can stand up for himself?"
Emily's frustration showed on her face, her cheeks glowing red already. "Amelia," I start, pulling Emily back lightly. "Take your words back. I'll treat today like it never happened, but I'm going to go see your family head; your father and demand an explanation from him directly. Let's go, Em."
Turning back toward our original destination, Emily and I walk away with clenched fists.
"Don't mind her, Marc," Emily says, trying to comfort me. "It's her loss, if she doesn't want to marry the hardest working guy inside of The Wall."
"Thank you," I reply softly, forcing a light smile. "Sorry for not having told you about the engagement before."
"Oh, my gosh!" she exclaims, now remembering her shock. "I can't believe you had an engagement, and with that woman!"
With lighter steps, Emily and I continue making our way to Gortum Fields. At times like this, I'm glad that I have a friend who I can laugh away my sorrows and frustrations with.