'Was that question a bit too weird?'
He looked at Lennar, whose face showed no expression.
Even the usually slightly nervous Novak was looking rather serious.
Almost a minute of silence had passed before he finally got a response.
"That's quite an interesting question you just asked."
With his fingers rubbing his cheek, his look finally softened.
Novak walked towards the barrier, and Lennar followed suit.
"Come on, I'll tell you on the way to our final destination."
The man could see the evident look of hesitation on Kael's face.
"Trust me, there's quite a bit to tell you.
Which I will, as long as we have the time for it."
Kael quickly caught on to the way Lennar chose his words.
He had always had a knack for interpreting facial and verbal cues during conversation.
"So, you're saying that there's something that'll most probably cut our conversation short?"
A thin smile spread across Lennar's face.
"You're smart; I like that."
He leans closer to Kael, towards Kael's shoulder.
"It means you'd better start asking your questions as soon as we get inside."
Kael smiled back.
"Yes, sir."
After that, Novak simply moved through the visible barrier with barely any effort, as though it wasn't there.
And Lennar walked through it next.
"Let's go then; we seem to have quite a bit to talk about.
As they both disappeared into the wall, Kael waited a few seconds before moving.
He had already been calculating his safety without his two partners.
As he pushed his hand into the barrier, he felt the feeling of being pulled inwards by the focus present inside.
The shrieking of creatures that were moving about at a distance and unfamiliar sounds that echoed in the air—everything disappeared into the background.
His vision blurred momentarily, the feeling of his body shattering and reforming once more.
Suddenly, a hand touched his shoulder.
It was Lennar.
"What just happened?"
"Don't worry, it feels terrible for everyone the first time."
"Terrible? Not really.
Maybe a bit uncomfortable, but—"
His words stopped in his lungs as an uncomfortable sensation in his stomach.
It got worse very quickly as the nauseating feeling rose to his throat.
He knew this feeling all too well—vomit.
'Definitely more than simply uncomfortable.'
He was about to throw up where he stood when Novak stopped him.
"Don't do it here."
The young man pointed to a corner just opposite where they stood.
"Thanks."
The words are struggling to leave his throat.
"We've all been there."
He finally noticed something after feeling much better – they were inside the city of the shadow dwellers.
The sight before him was nothing like he had imagined.
A civilization far more advanced than anything he had ever seen stood before his eyes.
Kael couldn't help but marvel at the level of advancement on display, like something out of a near-future sci-fi movie.
"Impressed?"
He finally regained his composure, returning to his usual cold expression.
"This is rather nice; I thought this was a realm plagued by abyss creatures."
They kept walking along the sidewalks.
Each of the buildings was as tall as a skyscraper, with walls seemingly made from the same materials as the wall.
The equivalent of PCVs were flying armored cars; even the bicycle he saw was made of mechanical parts.
"That is true.
But before that, this realm was one that prospered because of its advanced essence technology.
It's even said that it is the most advanced civilization amongst all the six realms.
"I see."
'Wait, six? Weren't there just about four?'
As they kept walking. Lennar was
Still talking about how magnificent the fortress was, but Kael wasn't paying much attention.
Busy accessing various parts of the surroundings, the talkative man's overemphasized talks of the magnanimous progress were very much the least of his concerns.
As far as he was concerned, the same problems befalling his home planet and this place weren't all that different.
The socio-economic divide still existed; the poor could be noticed at a glance—in their worn-out clothes and faces that were devoid of any spark.
'No different from the shelter, it seems.'
He noticed groups of men armed and dressed in uniforms divided into two groups: those at the checkpoints, controlling access to different parts of the cities.
The other group was moving about, seemingly to enforce order.
But he also noticed some collecting money from someone in the buildings.
"I see the laws are enforced really well in these parts."
Lennar replied gently.
"Yes, we are, just in case something goes wrong.
Also, laws within the walls need to be."
'I see, it's all the same anywhere you look.'
Novak was following from behind as they approached the first checkpoint.
On the line they queued behind were freshly injured people, people renegotiating fees, those showing their cards to proceed.
"So what's the first thing we're doing?"
"Don't worry about anything; there are a lot of important people who are eager to meet you."
Kael feigned a look of confusion.
"Me? Why would they be eager to meet me?"
"You haven't realized just how important you are."
'Oh, believe me, I do.
Well, that's the plan anyways.'
"Novak?"
"Yes?"
The young man was busy looking at the building they walked past.
It looked more like "Earth Restaurants."
'How interesting.
Could there be a connection between the realms?'
The tempting aroma was strong enough to catch his attention while standing outside.
His stomach growled.
He hadn't eaten quite a while.
He looked away, only to be met with the ever-disturbing smile on Lennar's face.
"Well, I guess formalities can wait.
I'd be glad to treat you to a meal."
He hesitated for a bit.
"Okay then, I'll accept your generosity."
All three of them walked into the lower floor of the building.
The entire structure was clearly built for awakening; the walls were made of dense materials.
The most surprising part was that the building, as well as the entire city as far as he could see, was completely powered by essence.
The level of advancement was rather mind-blowing to think about.
But it also poised a very disturbing fact.
An essence-distorting phenomenon would completely crumble the very foundation of the city.
The gate is the only thing standing between them and impending doom.
'No wonder they're in such a rush.'
"Well, it makes things easy for me."
The restaurant's interior was rather surprising, almost as if they were done by someone from a different realm.
Completely opposite to the dark shades of color used for the exterior, which wasn't much of a surprise, the interior combined beautiful vibrant colors—making it very pleasing to see.
It rather so out of place that the thought of it being owned by an outsider became more than just a passing thought.
'Elven? Sea? Human? Just which could it be?'
His train of thought was disrupted when a charming young man, a bit younger than Kael, walked up to them.
"Good day. What can I get you?"
Just like the few waiters and attendants he had met back on earth, the lad's smile was almost inch-perfect.
'Do these guys attend some kind of training or something.'
While looking at the guy in front of him, he realized something.
This guy already had a core.
"Excuse me, I have a question?"
Lennar looked at him; his perfect smile nearly cracked from the feeling of annoyance that was building up.
"Another one?"
"Sorry, it's just my nature."
The man sighed.
"Go ahead."
"Does everyone around here have an essence core?"
Lennar was visibly surprised by his question.
"Well yes, that's pretty obvious, isn't it?
Unless something terrible happened, how could a person exist without their core?"
His eyes almost widened in disbelief.
'Things around here definitely aren't normal.'
"What would you like?"
Novak had already picked a table for them.
"Since I'm a guest at the moment, you could pick something for me."
Lennar placed orders for all three of them, a gesture that left Novak with furrowed brows.
"I can order by myself, you know."
"Yes, and you order junk.
At least eat decently for today."
The young man sighed in defeat.
Before the food arrived, Kael couldn't but feel that someone was watching him with too much intent.
No malice. But it still felt uncomfortable.
He first experienced such a sensation after he took off the [demonic mask] for the second time.
As the attendant returned with the food, the aroma was rather tempting.
Enough to make Kael hold himself from salivating.
Just as he was about to eat, he saw something else that came with his food.
Something that made the hair on his skin stand on end.
'What is this going here?'