It was no more than three hours later that Irgis finally came into view. It was to his pride that Cole was the first to notice the island, long before anyone or the ships radar could. It was also quiet weird for Cole, the level pf technology in this world was strangely advanced and primitive at the same time.
But weird did not even begin to cut it. They had magic and were able to incorporate it into their arts and their crafts. If Cole had to be honest, this was looking like some JK Rowling like magical world. So very harry potter-ish in terms of technology and architecture.
Irgis was a city built around a volcano, with the prison itself built into it down to the depths of the very earth. The captain had given him as much information as he could get without it being a breach of any sort of magical contract the captain was under in order to deliver, hold and execute prisoners for the various ruling bodies in the crystal seas.
Never the less the city was a marvelous site. If was very Asian oriental in the architecture of the city itself. Cole felt as if he had been transported into some costume xianxia or wuxia drama. Heck the next thing he would be seeing 'fair skinned fairies with skin ac clear and lotus jade flying by on her flying sword'. Cole snickered to himself, spooking the captain besides him who could not fathom what it was, that could make Cole amused.
They Docked In Irgis soon after as the captain came down and began to rapport with the very armed guards that were present at the docks, and by armed, Cole meant that these men and women had on literal battle suits, which he would bet his money on interfaced with the twenty feet Squirrel Mechas parked at different corners of the main street leading up into the city.
Cole had to quickly reevaluate his hypothesis about what sort of era or advancement their civilization has reached on the fifth floor. Not that it would be hard for him to deal with a mecha, especially one of this size. But going off against something he could not understand was stupid, once again Cole was among the masses in terms of strength and opportunity. Just like he has done in the previous four floors.
"Hey stranger! Come over here for a second, I have some questions for you." one of the guards called out to Cole, who in turn shifted his gaze down to the captain who shrieked to himself a little as he jumped too, obviously terrified of Cole. He caught himself quickly and looked at the ground in fear, but his initial reaction was not lost on the guards as they all seemed to sit up straighter and began to move their hands towards their weapons.
"Don't be stupid, this looks like a nice island and I will not want to have to wipe it off the face of your planet because of a misunderstanding. You said you had a question for me, tell me what is it so that I can give you an answer and we can all be on our merry way, whether that is into this lovely city or to the grave is a decision that would be left solely up to you. Now ask away?"
The guard seemed to hesitate for a bit, before he sighed and looked Cole dead in the eye. And with how unnerving Cole's covered face and head was, leaving only his Blue and Yellow eyes to be staring back at you. Then Guard had a lot of balls, but of course things might be a bit different if he was seeing Cole's red eyes.
"The Captain has delivered some valuable in formation about you, chief among them being the fact that you save his and the lives of 96 other people from the pirates that had hijacked his ship. Also the fact that you are a Gold rank Ascendant, and even more of an identity, a gold rank aspirant….. is any of what he just said true?"
Cole blinked his eyes as he turned to the captain, it seems the man had not mentioned Peronico. That was good for him, as Cole was already contemplating how the man would die for exposing him and his reasons for being on this damn island. The questions were weird and routine, and Cole did not see any danger in answering the man.
"yes to everything except of course for the ascendant thing, I have no fucking idea what that means...not the word itself, but the meaning or what it signifies to you and your culture," by this point Cole was rambling, but he didn't care, who was going to call him out on it.
"Ascendant are what we call those who have crossed the silver legend rank, and crossed into the Gold-King rank. Each level effectively raises the current power you have by a thousand percent, hence the term Ascendant, to ascend to extreme heights of power.
Forgive me Master Cole, but I just could not resist. Welcome to Irgis island, it has been 30+ years since we saw the last of your king; as Aspirant on Irgis island. Your presence would be reported to the Lord immediately, but at the moment would you like directions to the Island's cradle Facility?"
"Yeah that would be nice, in the mean time I hope you can tell me more about the city as head there. Captain thank you for everything, I believe we should part here. Since you're still in harbor for the next month for repairs as you say, ill make sure to drop by and say hello before we part for good….. you have a good evening."
With that Cole turned around followed after the guard. He watched as they passed the Mechas before stepping into a city that was just about to get ready for it's night life, while the top of the volcano loomed in the distance, minute puffs of smoke and ash drifting away from its top as the cries of prisoners anguish filled the air at a frequency that only the strong could hear.
The docks were mostly filled with warehouses, plus movement through it was heavily regulated, which meant as they went past it, there was almost no activity be carried out. Docks close early, at the very least the workers there, never the less it was to a sudden change when they suddenly left the docks and came out into the entertainment district.
The city was brightly lit, street lamps stretched from one end to the other and even the buildings by the road side had their own fair share of lamps that made sure this place was brightly lit. Then the street opened up into a wide plaza, it was a round about as carriages, primitive looking cars, and mounts of different sorts moved through and headed to different district.
Cole was no stranger to colorfully lit cities, but there was just something about this place that made it so beautiful. Perhaps there was a skill at work or something, but the air was clean and the atmosphere felt as if something really good could happen here, people moved about taking care of one thing or the other, in retrospect this was good, but at the same time there was a certain sense of wrongness that Cole was feeling from it.
"This is Tuna roundabout, you can only get to the docks through here. It's also a major trading hub as it holds the people market, or if you want to be more literal the slave and indenture markets. It has a single restaurant, which also serves as a pub and hotel for people who come here on business.
Further in you would have the residential area, the path to the left would lead you to the commoner district and the slums beyond them. The path to the north would lead you deeper into the more fancy parts of town. And the path to the right would take you to official buildings, and the shipbuilding docks, the militia post and the embassies on the island. From here you can do anything or go anywhere you want, though id advise you get a guide if you want to find the seedier and darker underbelly of the city. I would have to leave you from here sir, I hope you have a nice stay in Irgis and please sir…..do not cause any trouble."
And with that the guard walked away, vanishing into the crowd as Cole wondered what just happened. After all the guard had promised to take him to the cradle facility. But all of that question was answered when an ornate carriage stopped in front of him, and a fish man came down to bow at Cole before opening it, without even saying a word. Cole chuckled, he was heir to a criminal underworld, there was nothing new about this, but one thing was for sure….. things just got interesting.
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