Looking around, this place didn't look at all like the city I had been viewing earlier from the sky. It looked like a hurricane had been through here recently.
There also wasn't very many lights around, giving this place an air of mystery and abandonment. Furthermore, everything was in ruins.
It's like my hometown, but worse I thought. Every now and then I would see people off to my sides, eyeing me.
"Why hadn't I see all this earlier?" I asked Erythro.
"You simply weren't looking for it. It wasn't within your immediate sight, so you subconsciously ignored it. I saw it and made the deduction that it was the safest point of entry." Erythro proclaimed.
Erythro was right, I didn't even pay this place a glance. I couldn't believe myself.
Up ahead of me, I could see another border about 8 meters tall, it too had several guards stationed in front of its gate. Through the gate, I could see the vibrant, bustling city I had first laid eyes on earlier.
That's where I needed to go.
"Young man, if you're trying to go to the main city, you should give up now!" Said the voice of what I assumed to be an old woman.
I looked off to the side of the broken pavement. My eyes met with an old lady holding a stick for cane standing outside what looked to be a tent. He hair was a mess, and she wore a dirty robe that was riddled with holes.
"Why's that?" I asked concernedly.
She shuffled over to me and pointed her cane at my face.
"Many have tried, and few have succeeded. These are the Slums. The city dwellers don't take kindly to the poor. This is where those who can't contribute to society are sent. See for yourself what happens to those who try to leave." The old lady explained in a matter of fact tone.
She slowly moved her stick away from my face, it eventually came to rest on the tent she had been standing in front of.
We walked over and I peered inside nervously.
I saw a man lying down covered is several make shift bandages. The bandages were soaked with blood. The parts of his body that weren't covered in bandages were heavily bruised.
The old lady started talking again.
"He tried climbing over the border that leads into the main city just one day ago. The guards beat him within an inch of his life. Luckily, some of the slums inhabitants managed to drag his ass out of that mess. I act as the nurse around this place, he'd be dead without me." The old lady said pridefully.
Learning about what those guards did made me a little angry.
"...I see, even so, I still have to get into the main city."
The old lady wacked me on the head with the stick. I didn't dodge. I know she meant well, she went out of her way to show me the path to safety.
"Are you deaf or just plain stupid? I told you what would happen didn't I? And you still want to go? The exit fee is 35 silver you know?" The old lady scoffed.
"Thank you ma'am, but I really must be going." I said truthfully as I ran off.
She stood there is disbelief. I managed to hear her mutter something under her breath.
"Kids these day. Tch, I'll go get the med kit again."
I contemplated my options. I could knock the guards out, but I have no idea how strong they are and I'm afraid of causing trouble for the residence of the slums. I could sneak past them maybe, but that still leaves the gate.
Erythro finally spoke up.
"Jump over the highest part of the wall, you should aim to land between the two bulidings." Erythro prompted.
Wait, is Erythro suggesting I land in an alleyway? I shivered at the memory of lying in an alleyway, bleeding to death.
I guess it is the best option I have though. I snuck behind some metal barrels and picked up a rock. I threw it at another barrel off to the left of the guards. A loud metallic sound resounded throughout the fairly quiet night.
The guards turned their attention toward it, in turn, breaking their focus away from the front.
"What was that?"
"Probably another hood-rat trying to escape. Let's go teach them a lesson."
All of the guards rushed off to investigate. Chance.
I ran toward the wall putting about 20% effort into my legs. I effortlessy scaled the wall. I looked back over my shoulder to find the old lady looking at me in shock. I just signaled a "good-bye" with two fingers to the temple.
I turned back as the ground approached me, I braced myself. Upon meeting the ground, I rolled onto my feet. I still can't get over how amazing this is.
I checked my user-interface to find that it was now 9:00pm.
"What's our next move, Erythro?" I said seeking input.
"We need to find a map of some sort, look around. Also, talk to a merchant; we need to learn about the currency of this place." Erythro suggested.
"Alright, I'm on it."
I see a notification appear within my user interface.
Current Objective(s): Find a merchant, Find a map.
This is new.
"I'm initializing new processes that can help with our survival."
I dusted myself off and made my way out of the alley way. The divesity here really was amazing.
"Beastmen, Elfs, Humans, even intelligent monsters...incredible." Erythro expressed.
"It really is." I agreed.
"Hey kid, you look lost. Need a map?" A very masculine voice said to me.
I turned in the direction of it to find a burly man wearing blacksmithing equipment. His bandana gave him a pretty serious look.
"Yes actually, could you tell me where I could find one please?"
The man reached into one of the drawers at his stall and handed me a huge map.
"Thank you, you're a lifesaver," I exclaimed.
"Don't mention it, now go on now, I've got customers," he said, shewing me.
I walked away, absorbing the map into my hand.
A mini-map appeared in the corner of my sight, but I didn't question it.
"Now let's find a merchant." Erythro said.
After a while, I find an old man counting change. He seems to be a merchant. He was about 134cm tall and rather skinny. He seemed to be a Beast man judging by his dog like ears and tail.
"Sir, excuse me. Could you help me out?"
The old man looked up, showing a bright smile.
"Oh, of course young lad. Come have a seat." The old man said happily.
I sat next to him.
"So, how does currency work here?" I asked.
"We have a coin based system. It's sort of a socialist society here. We provide funds, and the royalty take them to fuel the city of Dsor." The old man said.
I nodded taking in every word. I then asked another question.
"How is coin quantified?"
"There are 4 levels of coin. Copper, silver, gold, and platinum. Copper being the cheapest and platinum being the most expensive. 10 copper is 1 silver, 10 silver is 1 gold, 10 gold is 1 platinum." The old man said as he showed me each coin.
Didn't that old lady say that the exit fee for the slums was 35 silver? There's no way anyone would be able to escape that place. Something tells me this problem is worse than I originally thought.
I stood up and thanked the man.
"Come again soon. I'm Ruu by the way." The old man said.
"Thank you Ruu, I'm Milo." I responded.
Ruu waved goodbye as I made my way down the street.
"Stop, approach that pile of scrap metal." Erythro instructed.
Off to the side of the street behind an unoccupied stall was a pile of scrap metal.
"Uh, sure." I said sounding confused.
I did as Erythro said.
"Place your hands on it." Erythro commanded.
I did so. Upon placing my hands on the pile of scrap, red fluid seaped from my arms, consuming the pile of scrap.
After about 2 minutes, the red fluid made it's way back into my body.
In the place of the pile of scrap metal was now a pile of copper and silver coins. I counted 100 copper and 15 silver.
"Erythro, what'd you just do?!" I asked.
"Simple transmutation. I told you, my race possesses the ultimate regenerative and metamorphic abilities as well as superior intelligence. Learning this was quite easy. Now place the coins in your pockets." Erythro said sounding cokcy again.
I did as Erythro said and placed the money in my pockets. My pockets felt bottomless.
A notification appeared on my user interface.
Current balance: 100C, 15S, 0G, 0P
"Can you do this with everything?" I questioned excitedly.
"Not everything. Elements must remain the same, or at least close to what they initially were. The more complex the material, the harder it is to transmutate." Erythro confessed.
I heard my stomach growl. Oh no, not again. Please, not again.
"Do not worry, I've patched the previous issue. Although it wouldn't hurt to eat." Erythro suggested.
Now, that I think about it, I haven't been thirsty or had the urge to relief myself for the longest time.
"In the Elven forest, I was taking in trace amounts of water from each step through the soles of your feet. As for waste, that is a thing of the past, resource usage efficiency is at 100%. There should no longer be any waste." Erythro said.
I'm beginning to lose pieces of what made me human. Although, maybe this is for the best.
I approached a stall that was selling some sort of grilled meat. It smelled so good.
"Excuse me, ma'am. What type of meat is this?"
She was a girl with cat like eyes, cat ears, and a feline tail. Her hair and fur were black, while her eyes seemed to be Heterochromatic. Her left eye was green, and the right was yellow. She was a few cm shorter than me.
"It's wild boar, dear customer." She said with a cutesy affliction to her voice.
"How much?" I asked.
"5 copper per cabob." She informed me.
(1 moment later)
Current Balance: 80C, 15S, 0G, 0P
"Come again dear customer! Remember Sarah's meat shop!" The cat girl waved goodbye.
I waved goodbye as I stuffed my mouth with the cabobs.
Now to find the a place to stay tonight. Checking my mini-map, I was able to see that there were some inns about a mile southwest of where I was.
Guess I'll sleep there tonight.
Reader's Bonus
Will Milo abandon his humanity and put the Joestars down for good?
Will bear cub recieve training good enough to defeat the evil emperor of the universe?
Find out next time on, what the heck am I doing? I need sleep.