"Weren't you just shocked by my injuries? I barely made it out. Would you really have wished to come with me?"
Tepo's voice was somewhat dry. He observed Yerive's complicated expression, not able to guess what was going on in his best friend's head.
"So… you say I'm too weak, right?"
Yerive's voice sounded forlorn. Tepo was surprised by Yerive's reaction, but he remembered the talk he overheard between Yerive's parents. Tepo figured that he hit a sore spot.
"Hey, I'm sorry, ok? I just didn't think about it.
Let me tell you something. I got my hands on two tokens. Those will allow us to learn from a powerful organization. And after we both reach the acolyte rank, we will return, alright?
Let's see who would still dare to look down on us. It doesn't matter if it's the mayor or Tondka, we will sweep through the city. What do you think?"
Yerive still struggled but as he noticed Tepo's supportive gaze, he felt encouraged. He balled his fists.
"Good. We will do as you said!"
As the mood in the room improved, Tepo finally stood up. He took a quick glance, noticing the room's rather luxurious quality for an inn. But then again it wasn't surprising if they had reached the city Tepo pointed out to Yerive.
Asking his friend to wait downstairs, Tepo took a look in the mirror. He nodded faintly, noticing that no injuries were left on his body. Only the scar on his neck still stood out. But Tepo considered it a waste to use precious pill to heal it.
As Tepo glanced at his neck, he also noticed something else.
Huh, did I change my face back? I don't even remember when I did that. I hope no one managed to connect my two identities.
With some worry the young man slowly put on his clothes. He smirked confidently as he wore his comfortable black robes and his red scarf.
Subsequently Tepo left his room and joined Yerive at a table downstairs. The two friends shared a hearty meal. Tepo almost wanted to order some beer, but with a glance at Yerive he changed to water.
While eating, Tepo also learned more about Yerive's current situation. Unfortunately, the young man wasn't able to advance much over the last few months. His strength had barely changed, only reaching the level of a three-circled aspirant with two lame spells.
Tepo could only sigh and curse Tondka. That little sh*t obviously hadn't been generous at all. Thus, Yerive had barely any resources and even needed to train with the Force of Carrying Winds, which obviously had little synergy with him.
What Tepo didn't know was that Yerive's advancement was already considered pretty good in a small organization like the Lirane Minerals Group. They couldn't set their standards as high as the Web.
But Tepo was disgruntled. He was prepared to figure out a better force for Yerive and help him change it. Although he didn't know yet how this process worked.
After their meal the two friends were planning how to proceed. Lastly, they decided to stay for another night. Tepo needed it to recover his force since the Core of Time was almost pulsing in anger.
The next morning the two friends gathered outside the inn with refreshed faces. Tepo was surprised to notice a spark in Yerive's eyes. The young man was looking forward to the future.
"You look like you're in a good mood?", teased Tepo his friend.
"Of course, we will be travelling to another world today! This will be the start of our rise, Tepo! One day when grandpa Radac tells our story he will start from this day!"
Yerive cleared his throat before continuing in a deeper voice:
"On this day our two heroes left the inn. They didn't know what would await them, but they looked forward to it nevertheless! A tale which will be told through the ages starts here!"
Tepo watched at his friend dramatically opening his arms as he laughed lightly. He was glad to see Yerive like this.
"Ok ok, King of Swords, hold your horses. We haven't even figured out where we need to go yet."
"Ehm. Well, I say that's your job. You directed us to this Hub City and then just went to sleep. You don't even know how difficult it was to get a room in an inn!"
"Alright. I will do my best.", chuckled Tepo. "Since this city is called Sword Demon Castle Hub City, why don't we try it at the big castle over there?"
With this cue both friends looked towards the right, where a massive castle overshadowed the entire city. It was made of polished black stone, with brightly shining windows in the form of sharp swords decorating its walls.
Tepo knew that this was the home of the Sword Demon Lord, one of the strongest people in the Carrying Winds World and the guardian of the hub city.
But he wasn't sure if the connections to other worlds were located there as well.
"Sword Demon…", whispered Yerive in awe. "One day I will return as the King of Sword and put the Sword Demon in his place!"
Suddenly the two friends shivered. Tepo's head turned around, noticing a stern face looking at them angrily.
It belonged to a tall man in a bulky golden armor. A long white cape fell from his neck, dragging on the floor behind him but surprisingly its wasn't dirtied by a single stain.
On the man's chest was an insignia which instilled fear in many. It was a black oval containing a spiral resembling dungeon portals. A strange rose crystal-like material decorated the rest of the man's chest in a triangular form.
The man moved among a group of similarly armored soldiers. Wherever they went no one dared to stand in their way.
Tepo smiled wryly as he recognized the power this man belonged to. It was the Hub City Alliance, which was publicly recognized as humanities strongest force. Their many powerful warriors controlled all hub cities, basically dictating the travel between worlds.
And Sword Demon, as the guardian of this hub city was naturally a representative of the alliance.
Tepo could only smile wryly, grabbing Yerive by the wrist and hastily scurrying away. The soldier's narrowed eyes followed the two friends until they vanished behind a corner.
After a while Tepo let go of Yerive. The latter shivered as he stared at Tepo with wide eyes:
"What was this?"
Only know did Tepo realize that Yerive most likely didn't know much about hub cities. He quickly brought him up to speed with everything he knew about the Hub City Alliance.
Yerive's eyes opened wide. This was the first time the young man gained insight into such massive powers. Compared with the Hub City Alliance the entire Carrying Winds World was but a speck of dust. This was a real behemoth.
Tepo noticed his friend sinking in thoughts, so he simply led him down the street.
The hub city was extremely crowded. Although it didn't have that many permanent residents, as a nexus between multiple world it was naturally a popular city for all kinds of shops.
At the moment Tepo and Yerive were still in the outer parts of the city, but the stores were already more luxurious than Reahva's. High buildings made of fine materials lined the road, which was paved instead of letting everyone walk on the cloud directly.
The two friends even walked past a gorgeous park, wondering where the soil for the various plants came from. At the parks other side, the buildings got even more luxurious, with some even built on spacious, fenced-in plots. The closer one got to the castle the more expensive the houses became.
But suddenly Tepo stopped. He looked around, somewhat unsure.
"I think we are going the wrong way."
"Hmm? Why do you say that?"
"Don't you see how thin the crowd gets? The place where the worlds connect has to be one of the most crowded places, not the least."
"Oh. This makes sense…"
Tepo smiled wryly as he shook his head and turned around. Suddenly a surprised sound left his mouth. The warrior took a step back.
"Hi hi! You two look lost! Maybe I can help you."
A young woman had appeared quietly behind Tepo and Yerive. She wore a fine white dress with a sunny smile on her face.
Yerive was even more startled than his friend as he blurted out:
"Woah! Where did you come from?"
"I have just patrolled this street. When I say your confused faces, I thought I'd say hi and see if you need any help!"
"Isn't this a bit too much of a coincidence?", asked Tepo suspiciously.
"Not really. It's my job to guide lost travelers like you. I'm just selling you common information."
"Ahh. You're pretty honest."
"Yes. I'm not good at lying so I figured I will just honestly inform my costumers. Let them know how this works. Furthermore, you just look like this is your first time traveling. You might not even know about guides like me.
Let me warn you in advance: our services aren't cheap. Each of us needs to make a living in such an expensive city. But at least I will only tell you facts. My seniors might even get you to believe that force crystals have no worth in other worlds and generously take them all from you!"