Not every settlement on Remior took the same approach to security.

Some of the smallest, most decrepit places: like Bogside Town: didn’t even have a fence, let alone guards or a wall. As for the richer towns, like the ones Percy’s group had recently travelled through, they could at least afford the bare minimum. They were enclosed in simple walls, making it a little harder for wandering beasts and criminals to sneak in unnoticed.

Then, there were the locations of strategic importance, like the Alchemists’ Guild. Places so well-defended that entering or exiting without permission was nearly impossible: unless, of course, you were a flying beast… Or had the means to dig through a magical hive teeming with monstrous wasps.

Twilight City, however, was an outlier. It didn’t fit neatly into any of those categories.

On one hand, the entire city was surrounded by a massive wall: twenty meters tall and three meters thick, made of solid stone. It was exactly the kind of fortification one might rely on to repel an invading army. Yet, despite its imposing presence, Percy didn’t see any guards near the bronze gate. Its colossal leaves stood wide open even in the dead of night, inviting anyone to freely enter, making him question why they’d even bothered building the wall in the first place.

“It’s mostly to keep beasts out. And… well, they can close the gates and man the walls in the case of an emergency. But nothing of the sort has ever happened, as far as I know.” Nesha said, answering the unspoken question in his eyes. “As for people… everyone is allowed inside anyway, so what would even be the point of guards?”

With no one stopping them, the trio entered the city, immediately struck by its unique architecture. Every building, whether a house or a shop, was at least three stories tall and made entirely of stone. The sight reminded Percy of the Guild’s settlement, though there were a couple of key differences.

For one, the city obviously lacked the colourful motes that bathed the base of the Fungal Spire. Nor were there any glowing runes carved into the exteriors of the buildings. Maybe the relative scarcity of ambient mana made it harder to power them efficiently, or perhaps the city was simply too vast to get everything enchanted. As a result, many of the buildings looked a little worn. Without the self-repair enchantments, they likely had to be maintained: or even replaced: regularly.

Another detail stood out: a more glaring one, in fact. Nearly everything around them was pitch-black! The buildings, the stone paths beneath their feet… even the occasional bench by the side of the street. The older-looking structures were merely painted, but some of the newer ones looked like they had been constructed out of darker materials to begin with.

If that wasn’t enough, Percy noticed a couple of trees planted along the sidewalk a few dozen metres ahead. Even those had been selected to match the aesthetic, their ebony trunks and similarly coloured leaves fitting right in.

“What’s up with their fashion sense?! Are they mourning somebody’s death?!” Elaine grimaced, clearly not very enthused by all this.

Percy also raised an eyebrow. From afar, the city’s details had been somewhat hazy: especially at night. But now that he was closer, he had to admit, it did look a little gloomy.

“It’s part of the theme.” Nesha chuckled. “You’ll understand why when we reach the next district.”

“Been here before?” Percy asked.

Everything he knew about Twilight City was second-hand information that had mostly come from books. Sadly, it didn’t include details about the city’s appearance or its daily life. Nesha, on the other hand, seemed to know a lot more about it, for some reason.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Once.” she nodded. “My dad sent me here as a child… before everything.”

Her gaze drifted off for a moment, but she shook it off before he or Elaine could offer their sympathy.

“Oh, but it wasn’t exactly a vacation. It’s just a good place for an aspiring merchant to visit. You can’t really expect to get good at trade without seeing one of Remior’s grandest markets with your own eyes.”

Percy couldn’t help but scratch his head in embarrassment.

“Mind leading the way, then? I admit, my plan gets more… vague past this point.”

“I figured as much.” Nesha smirked. Then, she tapped her chin, thinking. “Let’s see… it’s been over a decade since my last visit, but I suppose the inns in the 115th district should still be among the best.”

Gesturing for them to follow, she led them through what she explained was the 138th district.

Another huge difference from the Guild, was that this place seemed to have a thriving nightlife. Peddlers lined the streets, selling everything from clothes and snacks to drugs and weapons.

Among them, they even met a few women of… questionable occupation. Some of them were sitting on the ground, others leaning seductively on the walls, all of them eyeing potential customers. Most of them flashed Percy bright smiles or playful winks, subtly inviting him to seek them out later. Luckily: for everyone involved: they didn’t do much more than that, likely deterred by Nesha and Elaine’s presence by his side.

Of course, Percy was way too tired to pay them much attention. His body ached from head to toe, each step a monumental and agonizing endeavour. Even keeping his eyelids from drooping took everything he had, let alone dragging his feet forward. If Nesha and Elaine’s frequent yawns were any indication, his companions weren’t doing much better.

Still, one girl did briefly catch his eye, prompting him to sober up a little. She was a touch prettier than her colleagues, seemingly in her early twenties. Her hair was a wheat-blond colour, the air around her thick with the overly sweet scent of berries. Her eyes glistened in a deep blue, like a pair of sapphires. Well, “glistened” in the non-magical sense, at least.

She wore a tight dress that barely reached halfway through her thighs, leaving very little to the imagination.

Percy’s purely appreciative gaze might have lingered a second too long, however, as a pitch-black butterfly fluttered past his face, nearly landing on his nose. He might have missed it too: its dark frame blending seamlessly with the background: if not for its silhouette shining in a bright Yellow before his mutated eyes.

Startled, he nearly stumbled as he tried to avoid it, careful not to let the lethal construct touch him, lest he lost an eye or, worse, his life. By the time he turned to Nesha, his heart pounded like a drum, though his girlfriend strode forward nonchalantly, not even bothering to look at him. Swallowing hard, he awkwardly waved the girl goodbye before quickening his pace.

As soon as he reached Elaine’s side, he was rewarded with a jab from her elbow. Stifling a groan, he rubbed his bruised ribs, wondering if his purely academic curiosity even warranted such harsh treatment. Meanwhile, his cousin gave him a stern look, though he knew her well enough to tell she was holding back a chuckle.

“Uhhhm… I guess my glowing eyes are popular with the ladies…” Percy coughed dryly.

“Dream on.” Nesha scoffed. “They’d hit on a chimpanzee if they thought he could pay for it.”

Scratching his head, Percy followed her in silence. Luckily, the girls didn’t say much either, sparing him from further condemnation.

The trio walked for a few more minutes, their steps barely audible through the cacophony of voices around them. Apparently, the 138th district stretched for at least a handful of miles… Or, actually, were they still in the same district? Or had they already crossed over to the next one? Percy had no way to tell.

He opened his mouth, about to voice his question, not only to satisfy his curiosity, but also to hopefully distract Nesha from… other, less convenient matters. Yet, he never got the chance, the answer revealing itself before him.

A couple hundred metres ahead, the district finally came to an abrupt end.

How did he know?

Because the world itself changed.

Currently, they were surrounded by obsidian buildings and black streets, only able to see past their noses thanks to the scarce city lights barely illuminating the dark contours around them. Yet, past a certain point, everything inverted: black to white, shadow to stark brilliance. The houses, the pavement… even the air itself almost seemed brighter, as though night crossed into day. As if that was something men could control, and not determined by the sky above their heads.

Of course, that was merely an illusion, as the sun was still absent, and it was still the middle of the night. But the white surfaces of the next district did a better job reflecting the pale starlight, making it a far easier place to navigate.

“Welcome to the 126th district.” Nesha grinned.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep