Chapter 113 - The Black Amulet

Wain and a group of young men made their way to the iron gate. Behind this gate were several men who watched everyone who went in and out. 

They were the ones who could let a man in and give him a second life, but they could leave him in hell.

"Hurry up! We have to hurry before the monsters show up." Said Mai and ran forward. After a couple of seconds, the others followed her and approached the gate.

"Stop! Who are you, people!" The guards said loudly.

They were equipped with rifles and immediately pointed them at the group. Among them were two inactive men. These two had awakened their Soul Altars and were the last measure to protect this passageway from sudden visitors.

"Wait. We are mere students. Please let us in! We want to join Black Pearl." Mai said respectfully and bowed at the end.

"And who are you?" Asked the guard looking at Wain.

"I am a simple traveler. Are you going to open the gate or not?" Answered Wain looking intently at the guards.

"First, you must prove yourself worthy of joining Black Pearl. We already have too many people. We can't take in everyone, especially some students."

"This man is powerful! He was able to come back from being in the Dungeon and survive." Said Mai pointing at Wain. Then she took a step toward him and whispered softly so that only he could hear her. "I'm sorry, Mr. Wain, you are our only hope."

'She's decided to take advantage of my accomplishments. Clever, but how would she get in if they wouldn't meet me by coincidence? She had some other way in, but she decided to put that aside.' Wain thought.

He was not angry or angry with Mai. On the contrary, he would be happy with the situation if they were allowed inside now because of her words. Wain did not want to antagonize the members of Black Pearl just yet. For starters, he had to find out who the head of this organization was.

"Hmm? Is it true?" One of the guards, unarmed, asked incredulously. This man had the power to let other people in and out at will. He was one of the strongest of the guards.

Wain nodded.

"Prove it."

Wain shrugged his shoulders and kicked down with his foot with all his might. He was expected to demonstrate his strength, and it was easy for Wain to do so.

His blow caused many cracks in the ground and destroyed the concrete plates into many pieces. A mere man could not do something like that.

The guards and students were shocked. They had not expected Wain to have such enormous and overwhelming power.

"That's impressive..." The guard uttered in shock. He looked at the students and said, "You can go with him, but if you don't do any good in a week. You will be kicked out of here. Keep that in mind."

The guard didn't really need the practically useless students. But, he didn't want Wain to refuse to join them because of that decision.

The sentinel didn't know what kind of relationship Wain and the students had, but he assumed they were well acquainted since they had run here together. It was simple logic, and it would prove correct in most situations.

The students nodded and smiled contentedly. They weren't really sure if the guards would let them in. Each of them knew that they were fortunate today.

"Open the gate!" Loudly one of the guards said, and within seconds Wain and a group of students were inside.

To Wain's surprise, everything inside looked as if no apocalypse had ever happened. People were chatting, eating, doing something, and there was no anxiety on their faces. 

It was different from what he had seen in the early days of the apocalypse.

'Hmm, though, the situation is similar at Last Light's main base. But, that means that the leader of Black Pearl is a rather intelligent and judicious man. However, perhaps he is lucky, and there are many people with artisan souls in his ranks.' Thought Wain and stepped forward.

"You are strong. What's your name?" Asked the chief guardian.

"Wain Norheim."

"Wain, have you been in any organization before? I just find it strange that Black Pearl didn't know about someone as powerful as you."

The sentinel could not have guessed that Wain had come here from the east side, and in a few hours, the strongest organization in that place would attack them.

"I got into one unusual Dungeon and spent a lot of time there. Before I went in there, I was a nobody, so nobody knows about my power yet." Said Wain.

He decided to see how the guard reacted to his words. Wain speculated that the head of Black Pearl might have the Seal of Darkness, and some people in the organization knew of the existence of the World of Darkness.

With his words about his long stay in the strange Dungeon, Wain alluded to that he was in the Void. If the guardian knew about the World of Darkness, he would guess it and elevate Wain to new heights. 

Such manipulation might have allowed Wain to get to Black Pearl's head faster.

"Have you been to an unusual Dungeon? Will you tell me more about what you saw there?" The guard asked in a quiet voice.

Wain approached him and whispered in his ear, "Darkness and ink."

The guard's eyes widened. He did not expect his assumptions about Wain to be correct. However, it was an excellent opportunity for him to rise in the eyes of his superiors.

In fact, the guard knew nothing of the World of Darkness, much less had the Seal of Darkness. However, his superiors told him to report all people who would mention the strange Dungeon and use words like ink or darkness in their descriptions.

The guard thought such an order was strange. But he was told it was just a rare kind of Dungeon with powerful monsters when he wanted to find out more about it. 

His superiors told him that in this way, they wanted to find out which of the recruits might be promising members of the organization in the future.

"Wain, don't you want to go to the central tower? I'm sure my superiors won't mind talking to you." Said the guard and slipped his hand into his pocket. "Here you go."

He handed Wain a small, black amulet. These amulets allowed a man to enter the central tower without hindrance. 

Likewise, the person with the amulet could request a private conversation with the head of the organization or his deputy.

"Okay, I get it. By the way, what will happen to those students?" Wain asked. He was curious to know how Black Pearl treated their people, especially the recruits.

"I don't know. It all depends on them. Maybe they will become our valued comrades, or maybe they will be kicked out and left to be eaten by monsters in a week. They must act and fight. Even if they haven't activated their Soul Altar yet, they still have a chance of staying here and surviving." Said guardian.

Wain nodded and headed toward the central tower.

There were hundreds of people living in Black Pearl's main base, and not all of them had activated their Soul Altars yet. However, this meant that they were either useful in some areas where superpowers weren't needed or on some sort of probation.

Even if a person activated their Soul Altar, there was no guarantee that they would become great warriors in the future. Such a person could die in an encounter with a second monster, or their first experience in battle was too traumatic for their psyche.

Despite being able to activate their Soul Altar, such people were no more useful than ordinary people. On the contrary, they were even worse, as they had no potential for further growth.

Not everyone understood such nuances, but a wise ruler and leader should have been capable of such analysis.

Wain strolled toward the central tower and pondered the current situation.

'As I look at these towers, I am once again convinced of how important and indispensable people with craft souls are. If we didn't have Clovis, Last Light's main base wouldn't look like a wooden castle but like some sort of junkyard or camp. We need to find out who has craft souls in this organization and try not to kill them.' Thought Wain entering the main tower.

He showed the black emblem at the entrance and was immediately allowed inside.

'The Force has the power to open many avenues and relieve most problems. If I wasn't strong enough, I wouldn't be able to get through here so easily.'

The tower Wain entered used an upscale hotel on the north side of town. So at the front desk, he saw a receptionist who took requests from anyone who came in here.

Black Pearl was a big organization. They controlled most of the areas in the north part, from the stores to the Dungeons and Nests. That's why quite a few people had a black emblem.

If they had any questions, they had to go to the administrator first, so the head or vice head wouldn't waste their time.

"Hello." Said the girl behind the front desk at the front desk.

Wain nodded, "I need to talk to your head."

The girl shook her head, "That's not possible at the moment. Mr. Luar doesn't accept guests. However, you can talk to the vice-chief."

"No, that is out of the question. The head is in the tower now?" Asked Wain.

The receptionist nodded. "Yes, on the very top floor. But, you can't go in there without my card. Until the head gives instructions, I have no right not to escort anyone to him."

Saying this, the girl pointed to the card hanging around her neck.

"I see." Said Wain, and then his hand turned into a blur.. He instantly grabbed the girl by the neck and snapped it with a light movement.