Chapter 112 - The Black Pearl

Gisle gave Elsa instructions, and she and a few other people went to the main base. Gisle chose only those who were happy with the current situation and liked interacting with the fire goblins.

"I suppose we can finally get down to the fun part?" Wain said, smiling weakly.

"Yes, go ahead. In a few hours, the northern part of Overion will be consumed by the fire of war." Gisle said gravely and stepped forward.

So after Gisle's words, Wain jumped onto the bridge's railing and ran forward. He led the members of Last Light behind him, but Wain decided to act alone. He had to find the people and find out from them who was in charge in the northern part of the city.

Gisle wasn't paying attention. He knew that's what Wain would do. He couldn't move at their pace. He had his own way.

...

Wain ran across the bridge and pondered, 'First, I have to question someone and help Gisle capture the north end. Then I'll have to go to the spatial rift to get the Sorcerer's Soul. I wonder if I'll get into Purgatory the same way this time, or will it be Void?'

After a while, Wain reached the northern part of the city. If it weren't for the giant worm that divided the city into four parts, he would have been able to get here a long time ago.

'Hmm, actually, even without the bridge, I could have crossed to the northern part of the city. For that, I would have to go down and up, only from the other side. However, if there weren't suddenly flames coming out of the crevasse, I wouldn't have gone down.' Thought Wain as he walked through the ruined streets of the city.

The northern part was almost no different from the eastern part. Most of the buildings were destroyed and devastated. The streets were filled with rubble and blown up cars. Everything was exactly the same.

"This is the outskirts of town. I'm not likely to meet anyone here. I need to climb higher." Thought Wain and jumped on the nearest building.

Wain climbed to the tallest building nearby and looked around.

'Looks like the northern part of town is a little bigger than the eastern part, or so it seems to me. There are a lot more massive structures here.' Thought Wain looking down at the city from above.

"Looks like I found my first target." Mumbled Wain looking at the group of people in the distance.

They moved slowly through the city's ruined streets, killing the monsters that attacked them in the process.

'Hmm, they're pretty weak. They're having trouble even with mutated insects. They're lucky they haven't encountered mutated or evolved monsters yet.' Thought Wain and jumped off the building.

Monsters were less active during the day than at night, but that only applied to the weaker Primary Chronicle monsters whose souls were Common or Rare Rating. It didn't matter if it was day or night for other stronger monsters.

That was one of the reasons why this group of people decided to go out into the city in the daytime. It was the safest period for them now.

'I wonder when the strong monsters will get a lot more? I met one First Chronicle monster in the Nest, but that's not enough. It would be ideal if monsters like Imps' Head were everywhere. Two months, though, doesn't seem like enough time to develop a lot of monsters.' Wain thought, jumping from building to building.

Suddenly a huge bug came out from around the corner, about to kill the group. Wain waved his hand, and a plasma sword appeared next to him. The weapon struck the beetle like black lightning and turned it into a large block of ice.

Then a black silhouette appeared in front of them. From this man came absolute confidence in his actions and strength.

"Thank you!" Suddenly a girl stepped forward and bowed respectfully. Then the others did the same.

Their average age was in their early twenties, and they were all young men and students.

'Wow, you don't often meet such polite people. That's quite commendable.' Thought Wain and nodded his head slightly.

Then he took out a cigarette and smoked.

'Gisle, well done, these are some of the best cigarettes I've ever used.' Thought Wain blowing out a puff of smoke.

"Watch out!" Shouted the girl looking at the monster running at Wain.

She wanted to help him, but there was no need. Wain swung his arm, and the monster was cut into several pieces and turned to ice. The white soul flew into his body.

'Hmm, I still have souls left over from killing Imps in the village, but there's no point in me using them if they're Destroyed. It would be better if I left them to trade with Sven or other neutral creatures from the World of Darkness.' Thought Wain.

"Who are you?" Asked Wain looking at the group.

"We are students, or rather were... Recently a monster attacked our hideout, and we had to flee." Said the girl.

'Apparently, she's in charge among them.' Thought Wain.

"Where are you headed?"

"North. We want to try to join the Black Pearl."

"The Black Pearl? What's that?" Asked Wain.

The young men looked at him in surprise. Wain's words seemed strange and inappropriate to them.

"You don't know what it is?" The girl asked uncertainly.

Wain shrugged, "I only came out of Dungeon recently. It's been quite some time since I came through the portal. A lot could have changed."

When Wain said this, a smile appeared on the young men's faces. To them, the man who could enter the Dungeon and stay alive was someone powerful. They themselves could hardly kill even the weakest monsters.

"Is that where you were in the Dungeon? Forgive my rudeness. The Black Pearl is the strongest organization on the north side of Overion. We hope they will allow us to join them." Said the girl.

The northern part was a little bigger than the eastern part, but the situation was more complicated. Because of the infrastructure, facilities, and various other factors, many more people lived in the northern part than in the eastern part. The difference was about twice as much.

Wain nodded, "Where..."

"What? I'm sorry I didn't hear you. Please repeat your question."

Wain originally wanted to know where the Black Pearl's main base was. At the last moment, however, he changed his mind. He didn't need to start the disaster here and destroy everything he saw to take over the northern part of the city.

All he had to do to achieve his goal was kill the one who controlled everything here.

'If I go with them, I can probably sneak into Black Pearl's main base. Gisle won't attack right away. He'll research the area first and come up with a plan. By the time I sneak into the enemy base, they certainly won't expect that. I wonder how strong their leader is?' Wain thought.

'I say I'll go along with you. At the moment, I have nowhere to settle down and rest either. I've been too tired lately." Mumbled Wain.

"Great!" The girl said excitedly. "The Black Pearl is not far away. If you are with us, we'll get there in thirty minutes!"

"Then there's no time to waste." Said Wain, and the girl nodded.

Together they headed toward the Black Pearl.

"What's your name?" Asked the girl.

"Wain Norheim."

"Mai Berget, nice to meet you." Smiling, the girl said.

"Don't let your guard down. We must reach the base of the Black Pearl as soon as possible. Speed up, or you risk becoming lunch for some monster." Wain said calmly.

The young men nodded and ran forward with increased speed. They understood that Wain would not risk himself to protect them.

'In this new world, we must know how to protect ourselves.' Thought Mai.

She was right, but nothing had really changed in that regard. Even before the apocalypse, everything depended solely on human decisions. The only difference was that previously a mistake could not result in death from a bloodthirsty monster.

...

Twenty-five minutes later, Wain saw a complex of massive buildings in the distance. They were large and tall. Previously, this was an elite neighborhood where only the wealthiest and most influential people could live. At the very center was a tall building that looked like a skyscraper.

This complex of buildings was the main base of the Black Pearl. The central skyscraper was where the strongest members of this organization lived.

Around these buildings were protected by a massive, concrete wall, about five meters high. It was almost impossible for someone without special abilities to get through such a fence.

"We're here!" Mai shouted, pointing to the massive iron gate in front.

'Why does this place look as if the chaos that began after the apocalypse has bypassed it?' Wain wondered.

He didn't understand how the buildings behind the stone wall had survived. It seemed to him something impossible.

'Hmm, it's unlikely that after the apocalypse began, someone purposely tried to protect these buildings. That means someone fixed them up and put them back in perfect condition...' Thought Wain.

He thought there might have been someone with a builder's soul or something like that among the members of the Black Pearl. It didn't sound very epic, but anyone understood how great the value of a builder was during the apocalypse.

Their world was not nearing its end. It was in the process of change and rebuilding. While one man was using his power to seize territory and destroy his enemies, another person was capable of creating a new civilization.

No matter what kind of soul he had, every man could be useful. Of course, this world was unfair, and everyone had a different start. 

But the race that was long enough that whoever was at the start at the end would, after a while, be first.