'Just what is this doing here?'
It was a small pocket watch.
While that in itself wasn't that weird, this realm also had watches.
They had a time system. Although a bit different.
He continued observing the watch without letting his surprise show on his face.
What really caught his attention were three things:
First, the watch had no soul stone imbued in it; nearly everything he had seen in this realm ran on essence, one way or another.
This watch didn't even possess a shred of essence imbued in it.
Indicating that it most likely wasn't from this area, or at least something rare.
Second, it was a designer brand. One that he was familiar with.
Designer watches like these were from the pre-apocalyptic period on earth.
Before the gates opened, an awakening appeared across the world—Malik had one of the same brand, which he kept on him at all times.
Fair to say he knew a thing or two about designer watches.
The third wasn't a solid lead; the time on the watch was "five minutes past five," and the time on the clock in the restaurant said ten forty.
"Lennar, at this point I'm sure I must be a bother to you, but I really have a few things that just came to mind."
The tall man had his mouth stuffed with well-seasoned meat; he swallowed and waited a few seconds before speaking.
"I already accepted this as my fate; it's only until I get you to our destination."
Kael smiled in response.
"So what is it this time? The type of meat? Or the seasoning?"
He paused before giving his response.
He was still trying to find the prying eyes that were staring at him earlier.
'These must be linked to them.'
"None of those; I have two questions—actually.
First, it is about how the time system works here.
And the second."
There was a brief moment of silence before he continued.
"Do you know of the word 'SOS'?"
Another period of silence filled by chewing and chatter that continued in the background.
Kael looked at the attendant closely, but there was nothing weird about him at first glance."
"You really know how to ask the weirdest questions, you know that?"
Even Novak seemed perplexed by this question.
"I know, but I'm just trying to understand a few things without needing to ask about them."
Lennar gave him a serious look.
"Alright, for the first one, we use something called the twenty-hour time period.
Right now, it's still a bit early in the day—you might not have thought about it much because we didn't spend any time resting."
"And for the second one, No.
I've never heard of it before; maybe it's a word from an ancient text."
'Ancient Text?'
"If you're still curious, there are people you can ask once we get to our destination."
"Thank you very much.
I really do appreciate your patience."
Lennar continued with his meal.
'Well, might as well enjoy myself while I can.'
As he sniffed the aroma of the food once more, a gentle smile appeared on his face.
'Amazing.'
Without hesitating, he grabbed a spoon and ate his food in delight.
He showed he was certainly in no rush, as he savored each bite.
He looked up and saw Lennar pause mid-bite, his smile thinning just slightly, to which he paid no mind.
After finishing their food, Lennar paid using a card he retrieved from his inner pocket.
'Is that something like a debit card?'
"Could you guys excuse me for a bit? I'd like to ease myself for a bit."
"Okay, take the left and you'll find the rest area."
"Thank you."
Moving away from the two, he spotted the attendant and followed him to a backdoor.
"Excuse me, I'd like to take a moment of your time."
He paused.
"If you don't mind that is."
The young man smiled professionally, making Kael want to roll his eyes—but he refrained.
"Not at all. What do you need?"
He brought out the watch from his pocket and showed it to him.
"Who asked you to give me this?"
Without breaking the near-perfect smile, he responded quickly.
"Oh, that. A senior employee said someone asked us to pass it to you."
Kael looked at the watch again, then put it back in his pocket.
"Thanks for your help."
He smiled at the attendant.
"You're welcome.
He walked away and took the opposite direction back to meet his companions.
"Took your sweet time, I see."
"Just waited a bit, that's all."
Lennar pointed to the exit.
"Since you're done now, we can continue to our destination—though it might take quite some time."
"Is it that far?"
"Yes, the state building at the center of the city; the city is so big that it'll take us a couple of hours to get there.
Please bear with us."
"As long as you make my journey worth it.
"I'm here on business. What I'm comfortable with doesn't matter."
Lennar smiled once more.
"Wonderful, now let's get moving."
Upon leaving the restaurant building, Lennar and Novak led him to an open space behind an industrial block.
An armored vehicle was already parked for them.
'I'm starting to think these vehicles grew on trees around these parts.'
He had seen more within his arrival than he normally saw daily in the middle settlement.
"Let's go."
Lennar was already in the driver's seat as he got in.
The engine revved and roared. Kael covered his nose—half expecting a cloud of smoke—but to his surprise, there was nothing.
"What are you doing?"
Novak asked after seeing him covering his nose.
Kael smiled nervously.
"Nothing."
Within a minute, they had already left with Kael looking over his shoulder at the bustling area they left behind.
'I guess I'll have to question him properly later.'
On the way to the presumed destination, he noticed a number of huge estates in different parts of the city.
Each of them exuded power and abundant essence that he could see and feel even though he was so far away.
Huge parts of the city were built around these estates, as if forming separate and smaller states.
"Impressed?"
"What?" He was suddenly called back to reality.
"Do you find our city impressive?"
"I'm sure what to say to that. What I do know is that your application of essence and soul stones is more advanced than what I've seen in my life.
I keep asking myself: Just how did these people do all this?"
Lennar smirked a bit.
"Yes, it is.
Frankly, I don't know much about how it works, but if you want to find out, there's a place to learn all that."
"I see.
The craziest part was your wall itself is a real mystery; just what are those writings on the wall?"
Lennar smiled without losing focus while driving, not sure whether to answer the question.
"They're called 'runes'; using it doesn't require essence at all; it's been there for a few hundred years."
Novak spoke for the first time since they entered the car.
'I just assumed that he was lost in thought, but he was actually paying attention.
"Runes? I've never heard of that before."
'I should have tried to translate that writing; it could be a clue I need.'
He could do nothing but silently curse as he thought about the potential chance he missed.
"Of course, all the more reason why you should look forward to where we're going to.
I'm sure someone as curious and inquisitive as you would love it there."
'Is that how this idiot sees me? Curious and inquisitive?'
"But where exactly is this place that we're going to anyways?"
Instead of a response, what he got was silence.
'What is this? Is this his way of making me anxious for no reason?
Well, it's not working, that's for sure.'
"Would you just say it, or should we just stop? I can't be going to a place I don't even know about."
Novak's voice dropped slightly."The Jade Fortress."
Kael turned around to look at Novak, who seemed a bit more willing to share.
"Jade Fortress? What's that? The king's palace or something?"
Suddenly he could feel the sense of hostility from Lennar the moment he uttered those words.
'What's up with him?'
"Lennar, calm down—he doesn't know anything."
The sudden tension in the car seemed to ease steadily.
Novak turned to Kael.
"Sorry, he gets like this when it's about the palace."
"I see.
So what exactly is this 'Jade Fortress'?"