Zero and Kai continued down the North path and further distanced themselves from the deadly Midlands. Zero hadn't laid eyes on it himself, but Kai promised that for some reason the fighting was more frequent there than most places he's been to so far.
Surprisingly, it didn't take them long to reach the first major city that the trail ended at - Capital City.
As they approached a large iron gate blocking the city from view, they happened upon two guards that were dressed in a black cloth armor and held two long rifles across their backs and a short sword at their waist.
Are these people reborn here too? Zero thought curiously.
The closest of the two held up a firm hand towards them. "Stop right there." He stated in a gruff voice. The pair halted right before reaching him.
"Players I assume?" He asked them.
"Correct." Kai answered. Zero nodded in agreement.
"Is this your first time at Capital City?"
"For me, yes." Zero spoke up.
"I see." He responded and sighed as if he was preparing to give some reluctant speech. "Then be sure you follow the rules here. No fighting within the city unless you are in one of the 2 battle arenas here. No system use. And stay out of any prohibited areas! They'll be marked as such. If you are caught breaking any of the rules, there will be swift punishment."
He then stared straight in Zero's eyes. "Is that understood?"
Zero nodded again. The guard looked to Kai as well.
"We'll be on our best behavior." Kai said.
The guard scoffed and then motioned them towards the guard still by the gate. "Then go see him for your seal of trust."
Kai immediately began walking over to him while Zero raised an eyebrow. "Seal of trust? What does that do?"
The other guard pulled a glove that was tucked in his belt and placed it over his right hand. A faint aura of energy can be seen wafting from the glove as he now held it out towards the approaching Kai.
"It's nothing really. Just something to make sure that we don't break the rules while in the city." The guard placed his hand on the top of Kai's hand and pressed down. When he leg go of him, there was now the letter 'C' with two swords crossed through it.
Zero looked to the first guard that had spoken to them. "What does it do if we did happen to break a rule?"
The guard just chuckled darkly. "Keep your nose clean, kid."
After they both received their seal of trust, they were finally let into the city. Zero could feel his mouth drop as he laid eyes upon it for the first time.
It was as if he was looking upon a Medieval City!
It was a vibrant tapestry of narrow cobblestone streets, towering stone walls, and timber-framed buildings that stood in beautiful juxtaposition to one another. The city was bustling with noise and movement; its alleys alive with the sounds of merchants hawking their wares, craftsmen toiling away in their workshops, and there were even some children walking along with their families.
At the center of the city lay an imposing silhouette of a castle, a formidable fortress crowned with concrete battlements and watchtowers that loomed over the surrounding rooftops.
Kai grinned at Zero's shocked face. "What? Didn't expect you'd have to ride a horse around?"
"I....honestly didn't know what to expect. But I definitely didn't expect THIS." Zero muttered. "What year is it here anyways?"
"They don't actually track time in years here. It was so weird finding that out since y'know, that was just how our life used to be. They only follow the hours of the day - but there's no name for the days either. It takes some getting used to." Kai explained, wondering if he was even used to it yet. "It's just one day...and then the next."
W-wow...Zero thought as he took it all in with what could be described as a terrible case of culture shock. Wait, didn't those guards at the gate have guns? Those looked a bit modern for this kind of era, right?
As Zero glanced around the people more, that's when he started to notice them one by one. Walking as if they are just another civilian going about their business.
Players.
Suddenly, Zero felt himself pushed forward - he stumbled but managed to maintain his balance. He quickly turned around to find a girl with braided blonde hair and a thick rod piercing that ran all the way through her nose.
That looks like it hurt, Zero thought.
"Oi, problem eh?" The girl spouted in a dialect Zero had never heard before. It was like British mixed with an awkward amount of American Southern.
"Huh?" Zero asked. It felt weird to be this close to another player outside of Kai and not feel like they're about to kill you any second.
"Git yourself gone! Ye in my way." She said with clear annoyance in her face.
Zero noticed all of the space around them. "You...could just go around."
She definitely didn't like hearing that. She took a single step towards Zero and Kai shuffled himself partially in between them.
"Whoa there, let's not cause any problems." He said calmly. "We're in a no fighting zone after all."
The girl looked at him and then shot Zero the ugliest side eye. "Feck off, the both of you." She then went past Kai, shoving him hard with her shoulder as she did so.
Kai ultimately seemed unbothered.
"She was, um, interesting?" Zero said as he watched her walk away.
"Yeah. Be careful though, Zero. Just because we can't fight here doesn't mean they won't try something dirty. It's best not to make any new enemies here."
The ever-wise mentor, Zero thought with just a drip of sarcasm.
As they walked through the city, they could see players speaking with various merchants and purchasing items such as clothes, food, and there were even some weapons vendors. Kai had already mentioned on their walk that some players will carry weapons that they can utilize with their system - such as someone with an electric based system might imbue outside weapons with that power.
"So where do you get money here? They don't expect us to actually hold a job do they?" Zero asked as he saw a player walk away with a nice juicy drumstick.
"It's a barter system here - if you want to get goods, you'll need to have something worthy of trading. Precious gems and gold are a good way to go though." Kai held out his arm to point out the wraps around his arms. "Like these - they actually increase my attack speed a little. I traded a small gem I found washed up by a creek for it. Keep anything of worth that you may find or earn."
Soon most of the stalls were behind them and it was just an open stretch of area leading up to a wide circular building. They could both hear loud voices drifting out from it and there were some people heading into it even as they watched.
"And that would be one of the battle arenas here. It's the only area in most cities that players can actually do 1v1 battles against non player opponents to win a prize. Unlike in player vs player combat though, you have the option to give up if it's not going your way." Kai explained.
Zero listened to the heightened voices and could almost feel the energy in the air. Just like with the shrine, it was like something was pulling him toward it - like he needed to witness this specific moment with his own eyes.
"Let's go check it out."