After minutes of going around various swirl styled stairs, they reached the bottom of the stairs, Riku's breath stopped for a moment. He had seen the neon-drenched chaos of Shinjuku and the gleaming steel of the Ginza district, The Pyramids of Egpyt in books and various other great human creations… but those were just mere human constructs.
This?
This was nature being bent over the knee of a civilization that had been here since the world was cold.
The city, Cerbeville was a geode of impossible scale, named after the three headed dog for it large, three body castle in the middle covering the gap between this city and the outside.
Imagine a cavern the size of a mountain, its walls lined with houses that looked like they were grown out of the rock rather than built on it. It also had suspension bridges made of thick, glowing spider-silk, rocks going across the middle of them so people can walk across and iron cables crisscrossed the void like a madman's web.
As Riku got distracted, a loud wirring sound made him duck on instinct. A streak of brilliant, pulsing violet light shot past Riku's head, missing his ear by an inch. He flinched, his hand instinctively going for a gun that wasn't there.
"What the f*ck was that?!"
"Just a Crystal Pecker," Jakub laughed out, pointing at a small, bird like creature perched on a nearby glowing vein of ore.
The bird didn't have feathers. It had thin, translucent scales that vibrated, creating a tinkling, melodic sound like wind chimes. It tapped its beak which looked like a diamond-tipped drill into the rock, extracting a glowing blue liquid.
"They eat the mana sap," Jakub explained.
"Keep your fingers clear; they'll drill through a knuckle if they think you're hiding a sapphire in your pocket. That's why we don't do jewelry down here with gem stones usually, only gold, silver or enchantments"
Riku stared at the bird.
It was beautiful, alien, and looked like it could kill a man if it got enough speed.
Welcome to Aselguard, Sato, he thought. Where even the pigeons are made of diamond
"How big can they get.. and what is Mana again?" Riku asked out of curiosity.
"Most of them are that size and stay that way. If they get lucky and find really Mana rich sap, then they can grow into a Crysalith; It is the same, just much larger. Hunters and Elves train them so they can travel in the Upper World."
…
As they pushed into the main thoroughfare, the sensory overload hit heavy.
Dwarven and Elven merchants shouted over the din, selling everything from "Self Sharpening Hand Axes" to "Deep Sea Kelp Wraps" and various other, otherworldly items..
Beautiful, elegant Elven traders, dressed in silk moved with a grace that made Riku feel inferior.
Before Riku had a chance to ask about the other races living here, him and the boy are distracted by "Slime cream! Get your Smile Cream here! Guaranteed to turn that frown into a smile very loud!"
In the middle of a street that smelled of sweat, fragrances and forge-smoke… a small, round dwarf woman with her hair braided into three distinct loops was holding a scoop of something that glowed with a soft, pulsing pink light.
At that moment, Riku's stomach gave a explosive growl.
He hadn't eaten since he had died. And dying, it turned out, was hungry job to fufill.
Riku walked up to the counter and got his purse ready:
"Two scoops," Riku said, walking up to the stall. He reached into the leather purse Earl had given him but then it struck him, he didn't know the currency yet, but he pulled out a small, hexagonal silver coin.
"Oho! A silver? You're feeling flush today, Master Sato!" the woman chirped. She slapped a massive dollop of the pink goop onto a cone made of toasted, honeyed grain.
"Fuck. She seemed excited I definitely paid too much for this. Why didn't I just ask Jakub again? Ah yes, got to keep the game up. I might as well just ask her directly"
"How much does it normally cost?"
"It's usually 25 bronze coins for a scoop so you're paying double. 100 bronze coins makes a silver.." She stopped to think. "But you know what, keep the silver piece, Riku. You've been buying over the normal price all the time whenever you come past and today is Solstice Eve."
[Experience Gained - Skill: Charisma (LVL 1) - Progress: 100%]
[Skill Upgrade: Charisma: +1]
[Skill: Charisma (LVL 2)]
As Riku took the cone, the ice cream actually… sparkled and gleaming bright.
"Why is it called Smile Cream again?" Riku asked, looking at the shimmering dessert with suspicion.
"You've had it before but take a chomp and find out, lad!"
CHOMP
[Consumable Detected: Happy-Berry Sorbet] [Effect: Magic & Serotonin Boost +15%] [Warning: May cause uncontrollable grinning.]
The flavor hit his tongue, a bomb of strawberry, a bomb of sunlight, and a bomb of pure, unadulterated joy hitting him at once.
It was better than any high end dessert he'd ever had in Tokyo. Before he could stop himself, Riku felt the muscles in his face and muscles he had kept frozen in a "don't f*ck with me" scowl for fifteen years start to twitch.
His lips pulled back. His cheeks lifted.
"Oh no," Riku mumbled through a mouthful of pink cream. "Stop it."
"He's doing it!" Jakub cheered, clapping Riku on the shoulder. "The Stone-faced Sato is actually smiling! It's a miracle! A really large smile too not the microscopic ones he usually does!"
"Shut up, Jakub," Riku grinned, his face aching from the unfamiliar expression. "It's a chemical reaction. The System told me so."
"A what? Never mind. Look over in that direction! The Plaza of Echoes is doing a show! Let's go, you missed it most days!"
Jakub dragged him (with no resistance, Riku understood there was a lot to see and learn) toward the center of the city, where the cavern opened up into a massive, circular arena. In the center, a fountain of molten light not fire, but liquid golden mana hung around fifty feet into the air.
Standing on a platform above the fountain was a tall wizard in robes so golden purple she seemed to glow. She wasn't just performing magic; She was in absolute control .
The liquid mana froze mid air with a wave of her staff, shattering into a thousand crystalline butterflies that fluttered over the crowd. With another movement, she pulled moisture from the air, forming a giant, translucent dragon that roared with the sound of a falling waterfall.
The crowd erupted in cheers.
Riku watched, his analytical brain working overtime. He looked at the mana-dragon. He looked at the butterflies. He didn't see art. He saw power.
"Thank you for watching everyone! If you ever want to learn magic, you are always welcome at my academy of magic and spell craft - just down the lane from here and take a left at the end"
If that woman wanted to, she could drown this entire square in seconds, Riku thought. And here I am, unable to even punch a grain sack.
The frustration simmered in his gut, warring with the serotonin from the ice cream. It was a bizarre, jarring feeling being a predator in a world where he had been declawed, watching people play with the kind of power that could level a city block.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Jakub whispered, his eyes wide with wonder. "They say the past mages from the Surface could weave the wind into blades with ease. I'd give anything to see that."
"It's just a show, Jakub," Riku said, though his heart was racing. "Don't get distracted by the sparkles. Power that isn't yours is just a threat you haven't realized yet."
Jakub looked at him, confused. "You say the weirdest things, Riku. You really did hit your head, didn't you?"
They continued through the Plaza, passing by a group of Cerbasaurus. Massive, six-legged lizard dogs with fur that looked like cooling lava.
They were being used to pull heavy carts of ore, their low, vibrating barks echoing off the walls. One of them sniffed at Riku as he passed, its breath smelling of hot coal.
Riku reached out, patting the beast's rocky flank.
'This one tastes like Forge-smoke and Pink-sugar. Sensing Strong bones. Respect.'
[Animal Communication: +1]
As they moved deeper into the residential district, the architecture became more crowded. The smell of the city shifted. The sulfur of the forges faded, replaced by the heavy, beautifully intoxicating aroma of roasted meat, fermented grains, and the high-pitched shriek of a fiddle.
"There it is," Jakub said, his face lighting up.
"The jewel of the Deep-Levels. The place where your gold goes to die."
At the end of a narrow, lantern-lit alleyway stood a massive set of double doors made of oak. Above the door, a sign hung from a rusted chain.
It depicted a battered, dented flagon with a single, golden drop of ale falling from it.
THE RUSTY TANKARD
The sound coming from inside was a wall of noise; singing, fighting, and the rhythmic thud-thud-thud of a hundred heavy mugs hitting wooden tables.
Riku felt a strange pull toward the door. It reminded him of the hidden bars in Kabukicho, the places where the rules of the world didn't apply, and everyone was just a soul looking for a drink.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Riku said, even as his feet moved toward the entrance.
"Don't be afraid, I know it's your first time coming *finally* but everyone is really friendly, you'll have a grand time. Remember what Earl said" and then he shoved the doors open. "First round is on you, Master Sato! You've got a silver to burn!"
Riku stepped into the warm, golden light of the tavern, the smell of woodsmoke, pulsing live music and ale washing over him like a long lost memory. He didn't know it yet, but the "Iron Dragon" was about to meet his match... not in a gunfight, but in a drinking contest.