After handing a few silvers to a beggar, he received directions and soon discovered the way was fairly easy, reaching his destination after about 20 minutes of walking. Though he hailed from the South, he imagined this bustling treehouse metropolis mirrored what New York City must feel like.
The sheer magnitude of the crowds was astounding, with hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people bustling through the city streets. Unlike Druid’s Grove, which boasted a single colossal tree, here the majority of residents resided within hollowed-out living trees that towered like skyscrapers, their leafy canopies stretching high into the sky.
These immense trees, with their intertwining branches and lush foliage, created a vibrant and verdant skyline, a stunning blend of nature and urban life.
“Hey Guin, how do they grow trees to be that big? I mean I know there are plant and earth mages but the ground can not have that many nutrients to support that kind of life.” After a few moments her presence appeared behind him next to his ear.
“You are correct. From what I have gathered, cities have city based Earth and Plant Mages that focus on making sure the trees have enough nutrients and that the ground doesn’t cause the tree to sink from the additional weight of people being inside of it. Energy that is in your body can be placed in Energy Crystals to supply various public works and tools. The closest thing I can describe it to would be if humans had electricity that they would store in large batteries for personal use.”
It made a lot of sense to him.
If you got that old Gobume Fire user from the city Defense he could probably store more energy than entire sections of the city.
I guess that’s one way to retire.
He did get strange stares from certain commoner looking people but various guards and what he thought were warriors gave him a respective nod as he made his way to the Guard Station. What he saw was a massive tree with dozens of windows going up several stories as he made his way inside. What he saw inside shocked him.
What he saw was basically out of a 1960s police station barring the TVs and radio stations. There were men and women of various shades of humanity all doing what he imagined was police work. He quickly approached the desk he saw a Goblin/Gobume looked man dressed in green and black police uniform with his hat on the side.
“How can we help you?” Marcus smiled as he sounded like he was straight from New Jersey with a thick accent. Marcus pulled out the sealed letter from Deacon before passing it on to the Goblin. The goblin opened it quickly and read it before handing it back to him.
“Please, follow me. Lt. Captain Antonia is currently doing paperwork but yeah this is pretty important let me lead you to her office. “ As the middle aged goblin came down from his reception desk and waved for him to follow him as he led him through and up several flights of stairs before he got to the 3rd floor and in front of a locked door. The man knocked on the door. A woman answered in a frantic and rushed tone.
“What exactly do you want?! I am busy.” He heard rustling of clothes and people as it sounded like things got knocked over in a hurry.
“Deacon sent someone from Druid’s Grove that he personally would like you to meet. He asked for you directly.” After what had to be almost 2-3 minutes a Solume man no older than 21 opened the door with what had to be the picture perfect image of a disheveled attire. As he walked past him, he had a shit eating grin on his face that could only mean one thing. As the goblin made face palmed. As the door was wide open he saw Deacon’s Cousin for the first time.
She was a beautiful woman that looked to be in her mid to late 30s with a graceful look that to him she was human mixed with some other subrace. She looked…..healthy. She was lean and toned body type of what he thought was a gymnast. Though he only saw her upper half behind her desk he could tell from her muscular frame that she was a peak athlete or was at one point with the same fiery red hair as Deacon.
As the gobume officer walked in he spoke again before the woman could even speak.
“You don''t even have pants on do you?” She looked confused before she spoke.
“What do you mean, officer? Of course I have my pants on.” The Goblin man walked over to where he noticed there was a pair of pants stuffed in a bookcase. He quickly pulled them down and handed them to the woman as her copper skin and dark red hair juxtaposed against her blushing face. He then put the letter on her desk and walked out leaving the woman to try and put her pants on under the desk.
“So Deacon sent you huh? Well, let''s see what I can do for you.” After she put on her pants she read the letter and folded it up and threw it in the trash. The woman extended her hand to Marcus as she shook it. He felt a strength unlike any had felt before; it was like the grip of a dragon crushing a mouse but only for a second before she went back to a friendly smile.
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“I am Camila, I see you are in the market for a Rig. At least a proper war carrier.” Marcus interrupted her quickly asking what was a War Carrier she chuckled before she continued.
“I forget, you are from some frontier town or something? A War Carrier is an all terrain vehicle that has to be bonded to a driver in order for it to work. It requires dozens of minor and lesser weapon, equipment, tools and resources in order to make a mobile fortress.
It can comfortably carry 8-12 people and uncomfortably carry 20-24 people. It comes with a kitchen, several bathrooms, and various planning areas and at least 4 individual bedrooms and 4 rooms with bunk beds. It requires a pilot that has at least 300-500 open attunement slots. They don’t fall out of trees.”
She smiled as she leaned back in her chair as he gasped out loud. 300 open slots was a LOT. he had just over 450 slots total and had no doubt that most people were not as strong as him. Seeing him process this, she continued speaking.
“So no pilot, haha. That''s not gonna work. Well we can add you to the queue but its gonna cost you if you want to get it built this year or anytime soon.”
“What do you mean anytime soon?” She pulled out a binder from the pile of papers on her desk and flipped through them with a speed he didn’t think was possible to read at.
“3-5 years roughly give or take. If you want to move up in the queue like I don’t know ... .NEXT you could do something for me and we can bump you up.” Marcus'' eyes narrowed as she smiled before continuing.
“Yeah ... .we have a bit of a problem, The Antonia Family, my family needs someone who can work with and get some stuff done. If you allow me to be your mentor and guide you in your growth to at least level 300 then I will make sure that you vehicle will be done within a year''s time.
Deacon says that your growth rate is +7ish stats per level and 5 Attunement points. That''s pretty good, all we need for you to do is kill an Elder Vampire for me and dismantle Castle Duskfang. I am not sure how long this will take but if you have gained 77 levels in a few months this should not be that long. Maybe a year or so.“
Marcus had shook with roaming thoughts as he began to process the fact that if he wanted to get his vehicle in a timely manner he had to side with this ... .Antonia Family. But he had regardless he had to know something.
“Why me?” Camila chuckled again.
“Deacon has always had an eye for talent and potential. He had said that even though you are several times weaker than him you have tagged him in sparring and that you killed over 1000 undead before you hit level 75. That''s not normal, this reminds me of myself. I had killed 100 Wyverns, 50 Drakes, 25 dragons and 12 lizardkin cities by myself before I was even able to return home before level 250.“
As she stood up and walked over to him and for the first time noticed that she was actually taller than him. He was 6’6-7 but this woman was easily over 7 feet tall and every bit of 250+ pounds. She had the body of the female fantasy warriors that he saw in the images from the 80s and 90s.
“But why me, you are clearly much stronger than me. You could probably clear out this Castle no problem.” She nodded.
“I could but what you will soon understand is that with great power comes great responsibility. My level is 2867. I am in the top 0.1 percent of the world. When I move and leave areas, forces that would do my family, country and city harm would quickly move as well. While I can make short trips for a day or two and I can’t leave my city for long without someone else taking over.
Castle Duskbone is roughly a 2-3 month trip DEEP into undead territory. Since you would have to fight your way through the time needing to be doubled or maybe even tripled. I can''t leave my home for almost a year. That would be insane. So I will train you and you can do this for me. The Antonia Family is quite well respected around Silveroak and beyond.” Marcus nodded.
“I don’t know much as far as formal training of fighting so I would enjoy that but I do have a teammate that would join me as well that I have to bring this to her attention before I agree to anything.“
She nodded before asking about Celeste and getting a run down on her powers. Camila wrote it down so fast he could hardly register before she dismissed him; she invited him to stay at her estate while in town. He thanked her before making her way out of her office and made his way over to The Wandering Stag.
While Takanka’s Rest was about 3 stories and built into the root of the main tree, The Wandering Stag was easily the size of a small mall with the food and drink area the size of a food court.
As he walked inside it was well over 300 people just in the tavern area while from the outside looking it had to be at least 9-10 floors. He walked up to the bar and sat down and waited. He decided to pull out his Identity Lens and his eyes balked for a while seeing people with levels easily in the 100+ range while he looked at them. While he was generally speaking much stronger than his level suggested he was still…mortal.