Chapter 539: Exploration
Left to their devices, Arthur and Evan moved through the busy streets while looking out the maps they had.
A few passers-by took note of Arthur due to the two gleaming stars on his uniform, with most of them wondering if they were seeing clearly.
The boy didn’t care for their gazes as he was too busy outlining spots to visit.
The city was a sensory overload—neon signs flashed advertisements for high-tech gadgets, and aromas of various foods wafting through the air, tempting him with every step.
Many Demons, Dark Elves and some Dragonkin moved around, clad in different attires that ranged from traditional to stuff right out of a steampunk movie.
"When you got to a new place, you gotta check out the food, right?"
"Sure as hell do."
With such words, the two made their first stop, a floating food market. Stalls hovered a few feet above the ground, suspended by some form of antigravity magic, and offered a dizzying array of dishes from across the galaxy.
Arthur and Evan sampled everything they could get their hands on—spicy inferno peppers that made their tongues tingle, sweet fruit that melted in their mouths, and rich, savoury meats from Transcendent monsters that overloaded their taste buds with both sweetness and excess magic power.
Evan specifically went out of his way to acquire all forms of strawberries he could see; various breeds from various planets.
As for their finances, working in the Demon Army wasn’t for free. They’d racked up quite a bit of wages, especially Arthur who’d had a lot of contribution.
Due to this, they had millions of credits—Gozon’s Interstellar currency, to spend. Even if things were more expensive in Imperium Astra than in other regions, it wasn’t gonna dent their finances.
"Dude, Try this one!"
Arthur handed Evan a skewer of meat dripping with a strange glowing sauce and Evan accepted it while eyeing it suspiciously.
"What is it?"
"No idea, but it tastes amazing!"
Arthur grinned as he took a big bite, his face lighting up with delight, while Evan followed suit after some hesitation. His eyes widened as the flavours exploded in his mouth and in the next moment, he was buying 3 more.
Next, they stumbled upon an art district, where giant screens displayed digital art that shifted and morphed into different shapes and colours. They watched as one piece depicted a battle between two demonic beasts, the art so vivid it felt as if the creatures might leap out at them at any moment.
"Imagine trying to paint something like that."
"Pretty sure it’s all done with some kind of energy manipulation."
Arthur replied to Evan’s words, his gaze still on the screen in front of them. He nodded a moment later as he turned away and spoke.
"But yeah, it’s cool."
Their exploration continued through the afternoon, taking them to various attractions—a gravity-defying park where the laws of physics seemed optional, a museum filled with relics from Gozon’s ancient past, and even a bustling market where they bartered for unique trinkets and gadgets.
Evan spotted a nice pair of sapphire earrings and dashed over to the stall he saw them at supersonic speed, as if he was scared someone else would get them before him.
"You wanna pierce your ears?"
"Obviously not, Arthur."
The Rogue Hero rolled his eyes as he replied, taking the earrings he bought and putting them into his inventory as he continued.
"They’re for my fiancée. It matches the colour of her eyes perfectly."
Evan held up his arm and removed the gloves on his left hand, revealing a silver cushion-shaped ring with sapphire stones on it.
Looking at it, Arthur confirmed the two sapphire accessories indeed had the same shade.
"Maybe I should get something for Layla and the others..."
Arthur acted on those thoughts just as quickly as he had them, paying more attention to the stuff around so he could get souvenirs for his friends back home.
It was during this time that they encountered some security personnel who’d been after them for quite some time, but since the two boys were unpredictable with their location changes, it was hard to catch up to them.
Some people had seen the silver stars on Arthur’s uniform and didn’t believe someone so young-looking could hold such a high rank, so they’d been convinced his uniform was fake and called the military police.
Impersonating a soldier was a felon on Gozon, so the military police took it quite seriously. However, when they finally caught up to the two boys and looked at their uniforms, the policemen quickly identified them as the real deal due to the Unique energy signature in the insignias (an internal secret the general public wasn’t aware of).
They’d just asked Arthur for his identification for formality after explaining the situation as politely as they could. Evan barely held his laughter when he saw how the attitudes of the policemen rapidly changed when they found that Arthur was a real Major General in their Interstellar Army.
Some civilians who were nearby to see this scene took pictures and just like news spread easily on the internet, Arthur’s face spread on Imperium Astra.
Unless they were leaders of covert units or something, the information on the names, faces and achievements of every Commissioned Officer was public knowledge, stored in a database that could be accessed from anywhere on Gozon.
Even though Arthur didn’t have his name inscribed on his uniform, it wasn’t hard for people to find him. A simple filtered search with ’Aramis Prime’ and ’Major General’, then a little scrolling and they found Arthur’s picture.
The list of achievements and battles under, as well as his race which had never been seen before, actual age and estimated strength shocked the shit out of almost everyone who saw it.
Some searched for Evan, but they couldn’t find his name like they did Arthur’s. He was simply registered as Arthur’s aide under the name ’Rogue Hero #001’.
Anyway, after this little scene, Arthur who hadn’t cared much about his uniform before, swapped his clothes before resuming his exploration journey.
They continued, visiting a massive holo-arcade as their next stop.
The arcade was a massive, multi-level complex filled with all kinds of games, from retro classics to the latest holographic simulations. The place was alive with excitement, with people of all races and ages scattered around, engrossed in their games.
Naturally, neither of them had seen any of the games in the place before so the two were excited to try out the new stuff, especially Evan.
They played games that tested their reflexes and wits, battling holographic creatures in virtual arenas that felt almost real.
Evan dominated everything while shouting ’It’s the Return of the Genius Gamer’, setting new high scores that drew attention from even the Arcade managers.
Arthur, however, took the top score when they discovered a game called ’Chrono Warriors’. This one was a co-op game where players had to work together to navigate through different time periods, battling enemies and solving puzzles to prevent a time-altering catastrophe. The game was complex, with each level introducing new mechanics.
But Arthur topping the score was very much expected considering it was a Time-related game. Evan did call him out for ’cheating’ by applying real Time law Comprehensions, however, the game was designed to be unbeatable if one didn’t have said comprehensions in the first place.
They continued, playing some crazy dodgeball games and rift jumpers, remaining there until the day turned to evening and the city lights began to twinkle like stars.
When they got out of the Arcade, a fantastical sight greeted them.
"The moons are arranged in a circle?"
"They are. It’s like they’re circling the Interstellar Citadel!"
It wasn’t something they could notice since they arrived on one of the moons, but looking at it from the planet’s surface, it was clear that this was definitely not a natural orbit.
"We can only see 8 out of the 32 moons close enough to light up the night sky from here. The others are probably scattered across other parts of the planet to light up those areas."
Arthur spoke as he walked up a flight of stairs leading to a terrace where they could overlook the city and Evan nodded in affirmation.
"Damn, this is crazy in more ways than one."
Evan spoke with a wry smile behind his mask, shaking his head at this scene he never thought possible.
"Who’d expect me of all people would be playing around on Gozon of all places? Hahaha!!!"
The boy laughed at the ridiculous situation he could never have envisioned since when he became a Hero.
Arthur remained silent, his attention fully absorbed in observing the planet’s cosmic energy. As the last rays of the sun dipped below the horizon, he caught a fleeting glimpse of something extraordinary.
"Oh...I get what he meant now."
For a brief moment, the energies of Gozon didn’t resemble those of a typical planet but instead felt akin to a person trapped at the very peak of their Existence Realm, unable to break through.
Finally, he grasped the meaning behind Lucifer’s cryptic remark about Gozon’s predicament.
"Doomed to forever remain a Prime World, huh?"
"?"
Evan, puzzled by Arthur’s words, raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry. At that instant, the ambient law energies surrounding them abruptly stilled.
"Wait... Did the laws just—?"
"Yep. I should probably stop talking before I piss ’Gozon’ off any more."
Arthur replied with a light chuckle. Without waiting for a response, he jumped off the railing and dashed across the rooftops, heading toward a place he had spotted.
Left behind, Evan narrowed his eyes, pondering Arthur’s words.
’Doomed to forever remain a Prime World? Could it be related to why they’re after other Prime Worlds?’
These thoughts lingered, but he kept them to himself, now acutely aware that the planet’s consciousness was monitoring both him and Arthur.
◇ ◇ ◇
"Man, this place is something else."
"Say that again. They got us a whole estate!"
The voices of the two teens echoed across the grand halls of the mansion where rows of servants awaited them on either side.
They had finally followed the maps to head to their temporary residences, and they were treated to a sight of luxury befitting of a Demon King’s guests.
A ridiculously large estate with many mansions inside from which they could take their pick.
The two boys only looked through the first three before eventually picking the fourth. Clothes and other necessities were prepared in each one, alongside formal mess dresses for them to use on the Day of the Summit’s start.
For the next two days, the boys continued exploring Imperium Astra, and finally, on the 15th, the Summit began.
