Chapter 404: A City Within A City [ 2 ]

The Warrior District announced itself before the driver said anything.

Weapon shops appeared everywhere, their windows displaying swords, axes, spears and armor ranging from cheap equipment for beginners to enchanted pieces guarded behind glass.

Training halls occupied large compounds, and independent warriors crowded taverns whose signs promised cheap meals and strong alcohol.

Mercenary recruitment notices had been nailed to public boards alongside advertisements for escort work, monster extermination and private security contracts.

Sage’s attention settled on a fortified compound covering nearly an entire block. High walls surrounded multiple buildings and several training yards, while armed men entered and left beneath a large emblem depicting a black hawk clutching a sword.

"Mercenary company," the driver explained when he noticed Sage looking. "Blackhawk Company. One of the larger ones operating from the Capital."

Through the open gate Sage could see dozens of warriors training, and that was only what was visible from the road.

The main building alone was large enough to compete with many noble mansions, while separate barracks, stables and equipment buildings filled the rest of the property.

Farther along they passed another mercenary headquarters, then a smaller organization, then what appeared to be a private combat academy.

Sage didn’t need anyone to explain what the Adventurer Guild would eventually mean to businesses like these.

Standardized missions, registered adventurers, guaranteed payments and Guild facilities had transformed Evergreen precisely because they replaced the fragmented system represented by this district.

Here, however, the fragmented system wasn’t weak. It had money, property, history and established customers.

The scenery changed again when several towers appeared ahead. Unlike the ordinary stone buildings surrounding them, these structures carried visible magical formations, floating lights and crystals embedded along their upper levels.

The tallest tower Sage could see rose perhaps sixty floors above the surrounding district, its upper section disappearing behind a faint blue barrier that shimmered whenever sunlight struck it.

His Aetheric Insight Eyes reacted almost instinctively, revealing mana flowing through the structure at a density far beyond ordinary buildings.

"The Mage Quarter," the driver said. "Most of the major magical organizations have towers or estates around here. Academies too. Alchemists are mostly on the southern side because people complained about explosions."

Boren frowned. "How often were they exploding things before people complained?"

"Enough."

Mina laughed while Sage continued watching the tower. The Mana Cultivation Tower in Greyvale had been one of the Guild’s greatest landmarks, something adventurers traveled considerable distances to use.

Here, magical towers were part of the city itself. Some belonged to Mage organizations, others to academies, and several had banners Sage didn’t recognize.

Students in matching robes moved between buildings while alchemical shops advertised potions at prices that made Boren visibly recoil.

Sage noticed ingredient merchants, magical bookstores, artifactdealers and workshops specializing in services that barely existed commercially in Evergreen.

They didn’t enter the Noble District proper. Their driver warned them before turning onto another road that several streets farther north were restricted, with entry controlled according to residence, invitation or official business.

Even from the public roads Sage could see the difference. Buildings became more widely spaced, walls grew taller, and private guards replaced the constant crowds found elsewhere.

Beyond those streets rose large estates surrounded by gardens and separate servant buildings.

Some occupied enough land to contain a small village. Carriages bearing noble crests traveled frequently through guarded intersections, and ordinary traffic instinctively gave them room.

Farther beyond everything, elevated toward the heart of the Capital, stood another section of the city that required no introduction.

The Royal District was visible through gaps between buildings and from the occasional rise in the road, distinguished by its enormous administrative structures, heavily guardedavenues and the distant Royal Palace standing above them all.

Even from several districts away, Sage could see towers and high walls surrounding the palace grounds.

Royal banners moved above the structures, and the number of soldiers increased noticeably on every road leading in that direction.

Mina followed Sage’s gaze. "Are we going there?"

"Not today."

"Eventually?"

"Probably."

Boren leaned back against his seat. "Preferably after we find somewhere to sleep. I would rather meet the King after bathing."

Sage gave him a sideways look. "You’re assuming the King wants to meet you."

"He doesn’t know me yet."

"That’s probably why."

By late afternoon, they had crossed only a fraction of the Capital, yet Sage already felt as though he’d traveled through several different cities.

The driver eventually recommended a respectable hotel positioned between the Central Trade District and one of the mainroads leading west.

It wasn’t cheap, nothing here seemed to be but it was clean, secure and conveniently located. More importantly, when Boren asked about their most expensive suite and Sage heard the price, he rejected it so quickly that even Mina laughed.

They settled for three good rooms and paid additional fees for stabling, luggage storage and meals, prompting Boren to complain that the hotel seemed determined to charge separately for every object they owned.

As servants began unloading their luggage, Sage remained beside the carriage and looked back toward the streets they had traveled. Greyvale had taught him what the System could accomplish.

He had watched an ordinary district become the center of an organization serving hundreds of thousands of adventurers. He had built facilities that transformed surrounding businesses and forced nobles to acknowledge the Guild’s influence.

But the Royal Capital was different. The System could raise remarkable buildings quickly, yet Sagehad entered a city where organizations had spent decades, sometimes centuries, accumulating land, wealth, connections and reputation.

He wasn’t arriving in an empty market waiting to be organized. He was walking into one already crowded with people who had been powerful long before the Adventurer Guild existed.

That thought didn’t discourage him.

It made the challenge considerably more interesting.

"Sage."

The voice came from across the street.

Sage turned.

Among the evening crowd, beside a narrow alley between two buildings, stood a man dressed plainly enough that most people walking past barely noticed him.

His clothes were ordinary, his posture relaxed, and nothing about him suggested he had arrived in the Royal Capital weeks earlier with the specific purpose of learning its secrets.

Sage recognized him immediately.

Pax.