The car passed by the fresh built small buildings at the corner of the wall, their humble existence hardly worth a passing glance.
The closer he got, the harder it was to see the height of the wall. It defied the limits of mortal comprehension. Its thick surface was perfectly constructed, as if it were a creation of the gods, with no trace of construction visibl as if it were a primordial creation, birthed from the very essence of the world.
"Has the wall grown even taller?"Zed pondered aloud as his face contorted with a strange expression.
Being a night creature, he rarely saw the wall in the light of day. The sporadic torches that dotted its inner side were insufficient to gauge its true stature. Today, however, as the sun set on the horizon, he caught his first glimpse of its increased height.
"Are you interested in the wall? My friend?" the driver asked, seemingly aware of Zed's absentmindedness.
It was quite obvious since Zed's mask was flat, and whenever he focused his attention on something, his entire face turned in that direction.
The man used a proud tone as he slicked back his waxed hair with one hand.
"No worries, you're not the first Luzmell man to be amazed by it, and you certainly won't be the last. I have a cousin who was involved in building the wall. He told me it's absolutely sturdy, and no monster can get through..."
"It has grown taller."
"What?"
Zed's head shook gently, his voice resonating with worry.
"It has grown taller, and that's not good."
The car fell into silence for a few seconds. Then, the driver chuckled, unsure if he was trying to ease the awkwardness or mock the ignorance of this outsider from Newford.
He Patted the steering wheel lightly, he attempted to brush off the discomfiting topic.
"Mate, you're an interesting person. But how can it be bad if the wall grows taller? Let me tell you, my cousin said this might not be an ordinary wall at all. It has plans for a roof, maybe one day we can turn it into a domed structure, and then we won't have to worry about monsters from the sky! You got it?"
Zed remained silent, neither arguing nor offering further explanation. He simply felt a stifling sensation gripped his chest, making him to unroll the car window, seeking a fresh air.
Noticing that Zed didn't have a pleasant expression, the driver chuckled twice, ending the topic, and continued focusing on driving.
As they departed the city, their passage through the gates proved relatively uneventful. The city guards, their eyes filled with the gaze of seeing two dead body, opened the gate slowly. Much to Zed's relief, grateful that at least this driver knew to turn off the high beams while driving in the wilderness at night.
Yet, it would never be enough. Beyond the wall, amidst the savage wilderness, lay a myriad of threats that eclipsed Acid Hounds and Brutes in their ferocity. A mere flicker of light would expose unfortunate adventurers to their deaths beyond the wall.
Zed's vision was slightly better than that of an ordinary person in the dark. It was one of the conveniences that came with his awakening, although he had yet to acquire proper training methods. The skills and spore he currently used were equivalent to picking up a bigger rock and fighting a group of "rogues" in murim.
This made Zed even more eager for the so-called "Academy Test."
"I hope you guys better not trolling on this..."
Even though Zed no longer held any hope, out of habit, he still wanted to see things through to the end. Quitting halfway was not his style.
Finally, after turning around four or five small hills and running over numerous graves in the wilderness, the black car entered an area enclosed by wire fences.
"Mines?" Zed cautiously grabbed onto the car door, his other hand instinctively reaching for the spore.
Seeing his nervous action, the driver let out a light laugh, perfectly displaying the disdainful look reserved for outsiders, then he lazily remarked: "Do anything you want, just don't break my car. These minefields are all fake, meant to scare away strangers."
Zed didn't relax, his instincts told him that there was more to the situation than met the eye, but he had a hunch about what was going on and why the demons hadn't discovered the thing at his doorstep.
In fact, he knew that the driver's statement of "These minefields are all fake" actually meant "Some of the minefields are fake" or, in other words, "I know the safe routes."
Considering what the driver had just mentioned about his cousin being responsible for the city's defense construction, it made sense.
After all, no wild diver in their right mind would mess with the minefields set up by the city's defense forces. Zed had personally saw a foolish wild diver being blown sky-high while trying to hunt down two acid hound pups that looked slightly different. If there was truly a heaven, then the first day the minefields were set, there must have been a long queue at the Pearly Gates.
The city immediately issued a warning that day. They didn't like it either because the awakened beings blown to pieces had no research value.
Despite the driver's revelation and Zed's growing understanding of the situation, he couldn't afford to let his guard down. If he noticed even the slightest hint of something amiss, he wouldn't hesitate to escape.
Surprisingly, nothing unexpected happened.
The car came to a stop, and the tires and gravel on the ground made a crunching sound. The driver got out, his face darken, opened the car door for Zed though.
"Dear customer, you've arrived at your destination. If everything goes well, I'll wait outside for an hour."
As he spoke, he made a gesture of invitation. His tone was peculiar, but he still opened the door.
Zed followed the direction his finger pointed and saw a small tent covered in black cloth. It resembled a popcorn stand from a small circus, and the material on the outside was thick enough that not even the winter wind could lift a corner.
Zed adjusted his jacket collar, his breath visible in the cold air, and began making his way toward the enigmatic tent.
"Yo! Good luck to you!"
Behind him, the driver waved his arm and shouted mockingly. Zed couldn't detect any hint of wishing him success in his tone.
Zed calmly reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a silencer-equipped handgun, released the safety, turned around, and fired two shots before proceeding towards the black tent.
It was as casual as spitting out a piece of gum.
Once his figure disappeared into the tent, blending into the absolute darkness, the driver dared to look up. He stared dumbfounded at the shattered headlights on the ground, afraid to make another sound.