The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 286

Chapter 286

Chapter 286: How to Survive

“I can tell by your wandering gaze that you’re new here. Well, you’re in luck! We have—”

“Not interested,” I interrupted, waving away a thin man with shiny, slick-backed hair.

It only took four steps to be stopped by another resident of the first floor. A petite girl wearing a short battle-skirt—way too short to provide any sort of coverage in a fight—brushed her arm against mine and glanced up at me.

“Would you like to join my team? There are only us girls, and we’d really like a strong, cool man like you around,” she said, batting her eyes.

I had arrived on the first floor less than ten minutes ago and this was already the seventh time I’d been stopped. Even after all of Alaric’s warnings, I hadn’t expected things to be this bad.

Losing my patience, I exerted a light pulse of aetheric pressure.

A ripple ran through the surrounding crowd as they stiffened and shied away from the source of the pressure. The girl’s eyes went wide and she stepped back, staring at me as though I were a demon.

‘Begone, foul wench!’ Regis declared theatrically in my head as the girl scurried away.

Aside from the constant movement of workers and the ever-present hucksters, there wasn’t much to look at on the first floor. The air was stuffy and it smelled of sweat, dirt, and excrement.

The first floor stretched out for miles on either side of me, and I couldn’t even see the ceiling above us...if there even was one. From what I could tell, there was no ambient light. The wide pathways were lit by a combination of torches and cranes holding up a web of light orbs high above our heads.

Most of the space I could see from the main path was dominated by huge quarries and even larger fenced fields of tall orange grass, where cattle-like beasts roamed mindlessly.

The entire area was a cacophony of grinding metal, breaking rock, distant bestial crooning, and a lot of loud conversations fighting each other for supremacy. Meanwhile, ascenders filed toward the teleportation gate leading to the second floor in droves.

As I got closer to the gate, the crowd of ascenders funnelled into yet another single-file line. A pair of imposing guards—their rune-scored backs proudly displayed by their armored uniforms—were checking each person for their ascender’s badge before letting them through.

When it was my turn, the guard stuck out an armored hand, looking me up and down. “Badge?”

I gave him my badge. After a quick scan, he let out a scoff and handed it back to me. “Good luck on your prelim, wogart.”

Though irritated by the obvious pejorative, I ignored the comment and stepped cautiously through the glass-like portal leading to the second floor.

I was tired, annoyed, and hot from the half hour I had been on the first floor, but all of those negative feelings were completely washed away as I took in the sight in front of me.

‘Damn...’ Regis let out a whistle.

The second floor was nothing like the industrial wasteland I had just come from and completely different from what I myself had imagined.

It was an entire city, miles wide, built under a radiant, sunless sky. The streets were paved with decorative tiles that sparkled under the glowing blue expanse overhead.

Along the avenue, hovering orbs of soft light filled neatly placed, elegant street lamps, giving the streets an almost ethereal quality.

“Get out of the way!” a husky voice barked behind me.

I snapped out of my daze, apologizing to the burly man, then walking forward. It was a lot to take in, even for someone who had lived in a flying city.

The streets were busy but never congested, with ascenders everywhere. It was like being back in the Adventurers Guild Hall in Xyrus, if it had expanded to take over the entire city.

As Alaric had suggested, businesses catering to ascenders were ubiquitous. The embellished signs hung above the multi-level storefronts advertised everything from blacksmiths to butchers. I saw several shops specializing in the creation and repair of certain weapons, markets where one might find simpler needs, such as dried rations or a new pair of boots, and I even found an impressive building advertising imbuing services for artifacts and accolades.

However, what I saw the most were inns. In fact, most of the multi-storied brick buildings of varying colors and decorations were inns, all of which were advertising long-term rental of rooms, most often paid by the month rather than the day.

“Alaric was right. You could spend your entire life here,” I muttered under my breath.

‘Focus! You look like a country bumpkin. Remember that we’re here for your ascent,’ Regis chided, even though he was just as absorbed in sightseeing as I was.

I realized I had become so sidetracked that I wasn’t sure which direction to go to find a team. Alaric had provided several tips for what to look for in potential teammates and what kind of negotiations to expect, but his guidance on navigating the second level had, I realized, been pretty shallow.

Making my way back toward the portal I had arrived from, I searched for any sort of laborer or guard who could help guide me in the right direction. On this side of the portal, however, there was only a constant stream of ascenders.

“Excuse me?” I said, tapping a passing man on his shoulder. “Do you know where I can find a team for a preliminary ascent?”

The bearded man, whose golden chainmail vest made him practically glow, cocked his head toward me and shot me a glare. “Shove off.”

After receiving several such colorful rejections by other ascenders, a younger gentleman that looked only a few years older than me actually looked willing to help.

“Are you serious?” he asked with an amused chuckle.

“It’s my first time here,” I admitted, scratching my cheek.

“Come on,” the man motioned with his chin. “I’m actually heading over there anyway.”

Walking out of the main avenue, the two of us walked across a less crowded street. I sized the man up as we walked; he wore a fitted set of dark leather armor, well crafted but much less opulent than what I’d seen some of the other ascenders wearing, like the man with the golden chainmail. He moved confidently, clearly knowing exactly where he was headed.

“So what academy are you from?” he asked languidly. “Probably a slim chance, but maybe I’m an alum.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t go to an academy. My uncle trained me.”

“And you managed to pass the assessment? Congrats,” he said with a smile before sticking out his hand. “I’m Quinten, by the way.”

“Grey,” I responded, receiving his gesture.

“So have you had a chance to tour the city, Grey?” Quinten asked, looking up at the buildings towering over us.

“A little. The city is even more amazing than the stories I’ve heard.”

“Well what do you expect when you have a city made exclusively for powerful mages,” he said with a chuckle. “You should see the Summit Estates.”

My brows furrowed. “Estates? As in homes?”

Quinten nodded. “I’ve only ever peered past the gates, but it’s a gated area of villas for highblood ascenders.”

“And considering how many long-term inns I’ve seen just walking down the street, I’m assuming these houses are astronomical in price?”

“Astronomical would be an understatement,” the ascender snorted as we turned right into a narrow alley between two buildings. “No, even if you had the money, the real problem is exclusivity. The number of properties there is pretty limited, and it’s rare that the highbloods would give up the prestige of owning a house on the second level. They generally only go up for sale if a highblood is struggling.”

“I see.”

The ascender shouldered me with a smile. “Just giving you some dreams to try and reach.”

I chuckled. “Thank you.”

Quinten then leaned closer to me. “You should also check out the girls on Blossom Street.”

“Huh?” It took me a second to realize what he was referring to. “Oh...wait, they’re ascenders as well, why would they—”

“Ascents are dangerous.” He shrugged. “A lot of us—not just our lovely escorts—have been through enough that we’re fed up with them. The smarter ones have realized that there are easier ways to make money.”

“Like leading poor mages just trying to become ascenders into dark, out of the way alleys and mugging them?” I asked innocently.

Quinten blinked before stifling a laugh. “When’d you notice?”

I looked around, ignoring the ascender calmly leaning against a brick pillar supporting a bridge several stories above us. There wasn’t a single ascender in sight aside from my amicable mugger. _{fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓}

“Early enough,” I said, lowering my gaze to meet Quinten’s. “I assumed you would have a group of other thugs waiting to help you, though.”

He let out a chortle. “Why would I need a group to handle one little wogart?”

Quinten’s form blurred as he rushed toward me, a blade of condensed stone coalescing around his arm.

‘Need help?’ Regis asked lazily.

I got it.

I reached for the stone blade that had manifested over Quinten’s entire hand. Gripping his wrist with my left hand, I guided the blade safely past, stepped back with my left foot, and brought my right elbow up into his chin.

With the momentum of his own dash, I barely had to use any strength aside from shrouding myself in aether.

Quinten’s head snapped back and he crumpled to the ground, his stone blade dissolving.