Chapter 11 - 11. Hello, civilization!

Glenn and Diamanes strode through the forest on their way to King's Rise, engaged in a conversation that mainly revolved around Glenn's memories."So you could create superpowers? Like this Spiderguy or Great Man?""Of course, we couldn't; superpowers weren't a reality in my world. They were only crafted for movies and entertainment," Glenn explained. Diamanes seemed intrigued by the trajectory Glenn's world had taken before he departed from it."And what's this phenomenon, Tok Tik? Is it a time spell or something?"Diamanes inquired. Glenn smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "Sort of. But let's not dive into that topic." He stopped and looked at Diamanes, the latter looking back at him, even though it was a bit weird to call that "looking", since it was a mouth and tongue in a mouth, no eyes nor ears. "I've been wondering... when you access my memories, how does it work? Is it like watching a movie or something?" Diamanes, pleased that Glenn was interested in his workings, explained. "To put it in terms you'd understand, it's more akin to having access to an entire Netflix catalog. I can select which memory to 'watch,' without any preview or synopsis. During this process, I experience your memories as if I were living them, without any control." Hearing that, our protagonist nodded, thinking of something. With a smirk on his face, he resumed his walk towards his objective. Intrigued, Diamanes hesitated to check Glenn's mind but decided against it, trying to be thoughtful to improve his relationship with his host. "Did I say something funny?" Glenn turned towards Diamanes, still smiling, which from the exterior, made it seem like the young man was just staring at his left hand. Anyone seeing him would think he was mad. But maybe he was, so they wouldn't be wrong. "Why don't you check yourself?" Ever since he was aware of his parasite's mind-reading abilities, he was searching for a way to make it a bit more disagreeable for him. He wasn't going to simplify Diamanes' scavenging in his memories, was he? "I know you don't like it, so I'm holding back. I'm trying to be nice, alright?" Thinking back to the time in Diamanes' fleshy lair, Glenn found the word "nice" quite absurd in the devil's mouth. It just...didn't have its place there. Glenn chuckled nonetheless, "Well when you check out my memories, I hope you're ready for some cringe-worthy moments. Honestly, it's almost satisfying knowing you'll have to go through the same embarrassing events I did."Diamanes appeared taken aback momentarily but masked his surprise by pretending to be disinterested. "Who do you take me for? And how bad can it be, anyway?"Glenn, instead of answering, continued smiling mysteriously, causing Diamanes to clench his teeth in worry. For the first time since their journey began, they walked in silence, finally reaching the forest's edge. Glenn enjoyed the relative silence, barely disturbed by a few birds singing or the ruffle of leaves from some gust of winds passing through the forest. The setting sun bathed the expansive city of King's Rise in a warm glow, showing it in all of its glory.Glenn gasped as he took in the sight of this literal piece of architectural art.Gigantic might not be enough of a word to describe the absurd size of the city. Even by being seemingly above it, he couldn't see everything, the buildings lying from further than he could see with the bare eye. The most impressive sight was probably the immense gray tower in the center of the city, towering over everything like a silent watcher. Even Sauron's tower wasn't as impressive, and there was an evil eye at the top. Floating diamond-shaped stones circled the tower, flashes of energy sometimes appearing between the stones and the tower. From it, the city's layout gradually descended, like circular steps leading to a central platform. The interesting part was that we could see with the naked eye the difference between the lower levels and the higher ones. The highest seemed the most clean, flawless, and well-designed, but the lower we looked, the darker and dirtier the city looked, more rustic and less advanced. Glenn had a hard time telling, rubbing his eyes multiple times, feeling like his vision was slightly blurred.He could still see multiple contraptions built on top of each other, like a child's construction with some Lego bricks. Glenn sighed, rubbing the back of his sore neck.He pondered aloud, "You can see the divide between luxury and hardship. It's quite shocking."Diamanes whistled, acknowledging the extensive magic that held the city together. "This place is brimming with magic – enhanced stability, flight restrictions, magic barriers on top of other barriers.""They must have a lot of mages and a really good magic supply, to make all of this hold. What a piece of work." Glenn rubbed his eyes, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer size of the city. He was a little afraid to lose himself in such a huge place. No, he was convinced that he would never find his way in this immense labyrinth. 'Maybe I should try to hang out on the outskirts and get some information. Perhaps I'll find someone who knows more about what happened to me since the other bastard is too lazy to find the explanation.' He formulated a quick plan in his mind, staring at his purple left hand. Taking out the bandages from his dimensional pouch, he started covering the obnoxious hand, which, evidently didn't sit well with the one being hosted in said limb. "Hey, hey, hey, you're not muffling me, are you? You know I don't need a mouth to talk, right? Please don't do that, I don't like being constr-" His plea for mercy was interrupted when Glenn tightened the bandages, completely covering it. Because of his...friendly personality, Glenn tended to forget that Diamanes was a demon that almost killed him. But each time he was forgetting it, he just thought back to how painful the time in the fleshy lair was. It was like magic: in a second he became doubtful of this unwanted being. 'Tch, I really don't like talking directly into someone's mind; it feels like putting my tongue somewhere I shouldn't.' An annoyed voice rang out in Glenn's mind, who made a disgusted expression, shaking his head with bewilderment."What..? Anyway, that means we can keep on communicating without anyone listening; that's practical. And I'm sure you'll understand why I don't want to share your existence with the rest of the world." Despite his lingering vexation, Diamanes begrudgingly complied without further complaint. Glenn's arguments did hold some weight after all. The young man looked over the city, looking for the entrance in the massive walls surrounding the first layer of the city. He quickly found it, as it was pretty hard to miss. He blinked a few times, staring at the gate that was the same size as the ramparts, which was to say that it was also gigantic."Is this a city made for a giant or something?" He wondered, his eyes fixed on what he was seeing.It was seemingly completely made out of ice, and two seemingly gigantic humans were carved out of the same material on each side of it as if they were guarding it. It was a swordsman, possessing a long zweihänder that he held with his two hands, with the blade pointed to the ground. He was armored but had no helmet, not that Glenn could recognize the face that had faded with time. And he wasn't even from this world to begin with, so why was he even trying? The other was the sculpture of a typical barbarian from an RPG game, muscular and possessing a double-bladed ax. His two hands were placed on the head of the ax, and he wore a helmet with two horns on the side of it. Glenn whistled, impressed. "That's an impressive door." Diamanes clenched his teeth, the spectacle not sitting well with him. 'You don't say… There is something pretty terrifying in this gate.' Glenn looked inquisitively at his hand, awaiting further explanations, but Diamanes didn't follow up on his thoughts. After finding and following the stream that was supposed to lead them to the bridge, they finally arrived at the latter, finding in the same fashion a wide dirt road. Glenn looked at the bridge, a pretty solid construction made out of stone bricks. The journey had taken a considerable amount of time, and darkness had settled by the time they found the bridge. Glenn decided to cross it and set up camp on the opposite side, so he would be ready to approach King's Rise completely refreshed. The bridge was wide enough to have two cars side by side on it, and still have space to move. The stream was quite wide, probably more than fifty meters, so he could understand the need for it. As he stepped onto the bridge, slowly walking, he marveled at the shimmering reflection of the two moons in the stream. The sight of the twin celestial orbs never failed to amaze him, serving as undeniable proof that he had left Earth far behind. Suddenly, he heard the sound of something rolling behind him. Looking back, he saw a cart, pulled by nothing. The cart slowed until it reached Glenn's position, revealing an old man clutching a glowing blue stone. The vehicle was relatively simple, just four wooden wheels with a seat for the driver and a small wooden storage space to carry whatever one with a cart would want to transport. His gray beard, indicating he was well into his sixties, was matching his surprisingly well-groomed gray hair that couldn't be concealed under his straw hat. His bright green eyes were still sharp, despite the old man's apparent age. He wore a simple gray tunic, as well as brown pants held up with a small string. Both were made of the same material, probably cheap flax. There was a sword hanging from his hips. He was chewing something, but after looking at Glenn in silence for a few seconds, he spat it out on the other side of the road and looked into the traveler's eyes. "Want a ride? I ain't stopping until the Gate." His voice was certainly old, but there was still a certain dominant strength to it. Glenn looked at the cart and shrugged his shoulders."Sure, why not?" As he prepared to climb in, the old man halted him with an outstretched hand. "What?" The old man looked him over before specifying his demand. "Two coppers."Glenn took out a copper coin and placed it in the old man's hand. However, the old man's scrutiny remained."I might be old, but I ain't blind. That ain't two coppers, lad. Pay the rest or you won't be riding in my cart."Glenn's hand produced another copper coin, which he displayed. "You'll get the rest once we arrive."The old man's gaze lingered, then he relented, and Glenn climbed into the cart. With the transaction settled, the cart resumed its journey, guided by the light of the twin moons. 'That guy is pretty exceptional for a human.' Diamanes's voice interrupted his thoughts, making Glenn jump in surprise. The driver looked back at him strangely, not saying anything. 'Shit, I almost forgot about you.' 'Yep, still there, still very much alive.' 'And what's the deal with him being exceptional? What are you talking about?' Glenn mentally imagined Diamanes's smirk. 'That old timer is quite the rare find. He's skilled in both aura and mana, both at the 4th level.' He looked at his hand, wondering. Aura, mana… It seemed like he arrived in a typical fantasy world. He considered himself lucky to have read so many novels back in high school. 'Is there anything else I should be aware of, like how those things work in reality, or..?' 'Just know that this guy can make you disappear from this world whenever he wants. And I don't want to talk to the one who muffled me.' A shiver ran down Glenn's spine, the warning settling uncomfortably in his thoughts. With Diamanes unwilling to divulge more, Glenn considered that the city's library might hold the key to filling his knowledge gap. The cart journeyed onward beneath the watchful gaze of the twin moons. Abruptly, it came to a halt, leaving Glenn to question their unexpected pause. They had yet to reach the city walls, so what had caused the old man to stop?