Alden and Idril spent some time resting in the forest for the night. Normal people would have sought for an inn or something similar nearby, but they are not normal, and both felt more comfortable being protected by nature.
In the morning, they finally headed for the tower. Alden has already started warming himself up, preparing for all kinds of weird scenarios that could happen during the trial. But life is never that simple, it is full of surprise.
Before he could even finish the warm-up, they encounter an unmovable obstacle.
"Huh? Why is there a whole city here? So big too?" Alden asked in astonishment. He had expected a simple tower standing in the middle of nowhere, so encountering a lively city full of people surrounding his destination was a big surprise to him.
"What? Do you expect a god's monument to be abandoned?" Idril tilted her head. "The God of Adventure is pretty popular everywhere, you know? So it is only natural."
Alden clicked his tongue.
"...No." He said with a wronged expression like she just stabbed him. "I obviously don't know, auntie."
He had always been sheltered inside the manor, only having a bit of contact with the outside world through pages of books, which he just found out is also something restricted. So Alden basically knew nothing. He understandably felt a little bitter, like all his hard work over the years was wasted.
"...Oh, right." Idril quickly coughed, then proceed to change the topic. "Well, what we are heading toward is the city of Valter, it is one of the biggest cities on our continent. But other than that, I don't really know anything."
"Tsk, I can see that much myself." Alden shook his head in resignation.
With Dreycott, it is only considered a rural town and you could just see the whole territory if you are standing somewhere high enough, like uphill. It is unpretentious and humble, where buildings are mostly 1 or 2 floors high, the highest being the town's library with 3 stories. But Alden actually liked Dreycott very much because of its simplicity. Similar to the manor, although not ginormous, the town is still pretty lofty while being very warm and cozy, making it very peaceful.
But Valter, on the other hand, was a proper metropolis so large that 3 Dreycott could fit within its border. It has an overwhelming feeling, so much so that Alden couldn't even imagine exploring the whole city within his lifetime. Asta's tower, which he was sure that is ginormous a while ago, now sticks out like a toothpick in the middle of it all, pretty plain-looking.
But other than the Valter's size, Alden also takes notice that its structure is annoyingly weird. First, the city itself doesn't seem to have a wall protecting it, despite being its grand territory. Everyone could just walk right in, from every side that has a road. But this is something in favor of Alden, so he didn't raise any complaints.
Second, the fried egg-shaped city is very messy looking if talking about the development alone. With different architectural styles everywhere you look and nonuniform height buildings placed next to each other, it is pretty unpleasant to the eyes. Especially so for Alden, triggering his minor OCD.
"Why is the city looking so odd?" He inevitably asked, feeling a bit irritated.
"What do you mean?" Idril, who is still sleepy, asked lying down.
"Huh?" Alden criticized. "Does every city in the continent look this messy and unpleasant?"
"Oh? I don't really know." Idril yawned. Other than topics relating to nature, fairies are practically indifferent to everything, so her reaction is understandable. "The city looks just like any other to me."
But suddenly, like she had just remembered something, Idril's voice switch to a more serious tone.
"But I will say this, Al. I don't know about the structure, but it is a pretty disordered city considering the residents, so be cautious when dealing with them."
"Why is that?"
"The residents here are mostly adventurers, explorers, and mercenaries. They are so wild and unruly that the Findell kingdom has long given up on governing this area, leaving it completely in the hands of the adventurer guild." Idril warned. "Now, Valter is a very popular neutral region, famed as the city of entertainment, but that also means that it is also extremely dangerous and disorganized. So be really careful, use that hood properly."
Alden nodded solemnly. Just the words 'city of entertainment' reminded him of a popular one back on earth, explaining to him the chaos in front of his eyes.
"Does it has a lot of gambling houses and strippers' street?" Alden asked nonchalantly.
"Hmm? There are indeed gambling houses, but I don't know what a 'stripper' is. Is it similar to slaves and prostitutes in the brothel?" Idril too, replied nonchalantly.
Alden's eyes immidiately widen.
'Damn, it is a more extreme f*cking Vegas. No wonder it is so chaotic, this is dangerous.' He lamented, very dissatisfied with Valter being his first interaction with the outside world. Alden immidiately started planning for any potential troubles, now that he has a reference in mind.
Until, Idril disrupted his thought.
"But, Al?" Her voice cold like ice. "How do you know about all of that?"
The air froze.
Realizing his slips of the tongue, Alden was stunned to point of tripping on his feet, almost falling.
Luckily, by that time, they had arrived at the border of the city. So Idril just sighs with a disappointed look and agrees to talk about it later. As expected, there was no guard or anything on watch and the stream of people just come and go naturally. Alden takes a moment to fix his cloak, carefully hiding his beautiful face. At moments like this, it was obviously a hindrance.
"...Too crowded." Alden mumbled as he mixed in with the crowd, entering.
After walking for a while, passing the still developing vacant outer layer. Everywhere he look, he could see buildings that is around 4 stories high and as big as Dreycott's town hall. Everything was much grander, with all kinds of bright-color paints and designs. But, unexpectedly, too much chaos creates a unique harmony and an alluringly beautiful background. It still has that medieval vibe, but surprisingly not that old-fashion in feeling, not even to Alden's taste.
With a nicely paved road in the middle, none of the buildings seems to be residential, mostly for services like inns, restaurants, or pubs. It was crowded with varying races, in various outfits, shapes, and sizes, just casually walking down the street minding their own business. There are also people standing in the middle, yelling at the tops of their lungs to either lure in some customers or advertise their merchandise, making the crowded atmosphere even livelier. Alden might have thought he had been reincarnated again in a different world if not for the familiar language. A truly magical city.
But instead of admiring, Alden instinctively reaches out to fix his cloak again, holding the hood tightly. Facing an overwhelming unknown environment makes him very cautious. His brain stops itself from being in awe by the surprising scenery to focus.
"Auntie, what should we do?" He spoke in a low voice, addressing Idril who is still seating on his shoulder, unfazed by the city's grandness. " Do I just go straight?"
It is a little silly, but Alden's biggest noticeable weakness currently is his serious direction-blindness. This is because living in the 21st century, being both filthy rich and with the convenient google map, Alden has never been lost (exclude the kidnapping). So he is naturally very clueless and only realizes this huge flaw when transmitting to Pridevion. Although he does not have a problem with the manageable Dreycott, while exploring a metropolis even livelier than most cities on earth, his blindness is exposed completely. It is quite fortunate that he is traveling with a trusty and reliable aunt.
"Huh? How should I know?" Unluckily, she was just as bad. "This isn't nature terrain, so I don't really know anything. Just ask someone."
Idril's casual words made Alden's face twitch, his hope crumbled. He doesn't even know how to complain, so Alden just sighs in resignation and toddles to the nicest-looking person nearby. Although he is very cautious, he didn't mind asking for some direction.
The target was a man around his early-20s, with brown hair and average looks, wearing a simple white shirt and brown pants. He is chomping on some bread for breakfast while viewing some sort of map, looking harmlessly enough.
"Ehrm, excuse me, sir?" Alden asked, standing a safe distance away.
The man looks up from the map, quickly gives him and Idril a glance, then speaks.
"Are you talking to me?" He swallowed the bread in his mouth. "What do you need?"
"Yes, I am looking for direction to the Tower of Adventure. Do you perhaps know the way?" Alden spoke.
"What?" The man tilted his head, then smirked. "You are very new, aren't you? Every road in this city will lead to the tower of trial, so you can just follow along this one."
"Oh? Is that so? Thank you very much." After getting an answer, Alden bowed politely. "Then, have a good morning sir."
It was a quick interaction and Alden doesn't intend to stick around. He unhesitatingly turned and heads off, following the road just as the man had said. Alden was even feeling a bit of joy and relief because he only had to go in a straight line for his destination.
Unbeknown to him, the man he just spoke with have other ideas.
When Alden is further away, he took out a crystal and spoke in a low voice.
"Lud, I found a new target. It maybe is a dwarf or some small-built race, but his mana is not strong, it almost seems nonexistent! But he has a pretty nice cloak and a really rare-looking spirit with him. I think it will be good for our next hunt." The man smirked.
After a while, a voice answered him from the same crystal.
"He is heading for the trial, that idiot just asked me for the way, hahaha. What a bumpkin. I think we should just wait near the tower and ambush him after he's done. He should be at his worse then."
Just like that, a scheme against Alden was formed, immidiately right after he stepped into the city.
***
It took them half a day more to arrive at the tower. It was already past noon, but Alden is still pretty high-spirited. The walk, although long, didn't take that much energy and Alden is intending to challenge the trial right away. He was a bit excited, his instinct assuring him that he had made the correct choice.
The man was indeed telling them the truth, all road in Valter leads to the tower, with a colossus square at the end of it all.
It is a very Roman-like grand square about 1000m2 wide, with grey stone-paved ground. Just that alone should make it looks very majestic, but currently, not so much. The square is also a crowded marketplace, with shop stalls set up everywhere humanly possible, selling all kinds of stuff, from armors, supplies, maps, and even cute wooden tower souvenirs.
Among them, seeing how popular the armor shop is, Alden is tempted. He is currently wearing only casual clothing under this cloak, so if possible, he wanted to gear up.
Seeing her niece eyeing the cheapest leather armor at the corner, Idril laughed.
"There is no need, stupid Al." She pinched his cheek. "You are already wearing armor."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Alden asked, still eyeing the armors.
"The cloak." Idril casually spoke. "Didn't you hear Jenny? It is made from the skin of a King beast. It is stronger than anything that you could buy here, combine. So don't worry."
"But it's really thin though?" Alden shook his head, obviously doubting it. "Well, it's not like I have any money anyway. So let's just go."
After that, they silently weave through the crowd. Although it might seem chaotic and disorganized, the stalls set up here leave a very clear road heading toward the tower, so it is actually not very hard.
Getting closer, they could see more of the tower's details. Alden thought It looks similar to a giant version of the leaning tower of Pisa on earth, but it's more greyish in color and, of course, is standing very straight, piercing the sky. But despite acknowledging it being very beautiful up close, Alden doesn't even bother to take a second glance. He is fed up with all the giant things everywhere and wanted to conserve his remaining mental strength for the upcoming trial.
Squeezing himself in one of the four entrances, Alden quickly scans through the also romanesque design interior of the tower. He had predicted something extra, but it is unexpectedly much simpler compared to the outside appearance, with the only fancy thing being the blue-white marble floor. There is no ceiling to be decorated, if you look up, the only thing you could see is a pitch-black nothingness. While the circular wall also looks very plain, and the inexhaustible lights floating around illuminating the area are common magic in this world, even the manor is lighted with these.
Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Alden moved straight to the ginormous yellow portal in the middle of the floor. It was intimidating, but was something he had witnessed and even experienced himself once while still in limbo, so it was actually what Alden is most familiar with. He could see a lot of people loitering around its vicinity, either are waiting for someone to come out, or gathering their courage to jump in.
Alden breathes in a deep breath.
"Here it is, auntie." He spoke, his voice is mixed with both anxiety and excitement. "Any tips?"
Idril smiles in response and started gathering her mana. Alden already knows what she is planning to do, so he was not curious.
"No, you are going to do just fine, Al. I don't know if this will help, but just to be sure, alright?" Idril lightly jumped down from Alden's shoulder and kissed his forehead.
Immediately after, a familiar warmth enveloped Alden and a system notice popped up in front of him, exposing Idril.
[You have received 'Titania's Protection', x1.5 the effect of 'The Blessing of the Forefather' racial trait in the next 12 hours.]
Idril has often blessed him with this buff in the past, so it has long been analyzed. Titania refers to Idril, which literally means queen of the fairies.
"I will be waiting here, so come back quickly or else Sylvia might skin me alive, you know?" She smiled.
"Alright." Alden chuckled. "Thank you, auntie. I promise it wouldn't take long."
After the quick goodbye, Alden immediately walked passed the people standing idly and enters the portal. Just like Idril said, he does not have time to waste.
***