Chapter 194 - Solace City

"We'll be going to the Solace City as planned. It should be that city with a tall stone tower in the middle."

Cyril said as he proceeded to walk on the stone pavement heading to the city. Amaris only looked around for a moment before following the young man.

Apparently, the stone platform is at the crossroad of Solace City in the east and Tranquil City in the west…

The people who are arriving at the platform would either go to the two cities or perhaps the four villages on the further south of the floating island.

As for the northern side, it seems that it's just filled with mountains and rivers where the winged people native here are living.

They aren't a dangerous race and as a matter of fact, they are part of the Union as well. Cyril wasn't surprised after hearing this from Vanessa considering that a Demon had even managed to enter.

"Master… I think that someone is following us. I can feel someone's gaze. It might be the demon that you mentioned." Amaris suddenly said while they are walking on the stone pavement heading to the city.

"Do you know in which direction?"

"It's from that stone tower… Should we proceed?"

Amaris pointed at the tower at the center of the Solace City.

"Yes… That's where I will get what was promised to me. I need to see what kind of benefits are they."

Cyril said as he confidently walked towards the City. It only took them 10 minutes of walking and they are already at the entrance of the city where various guards are stationed.

They weren't really stopped at the entrance and the guards seem like statues who are just looking at the people coming in and out of the large gate.

"Eh?"

As Cyril was about to head towards the Stone Tower, he unconsciously halted his steps as soon as he saw a familiar figure of a man.

Although he wasn't wearing his military uniform, his build and arrogant face is quite easy to remember.

"That's the guy from ASTF… Was it Jacques?"

Cyril said softly after seeing the man alone and looking around a merchant stall filled with Magic Orbs.

"That's correct. That person is indeed called Officer Jacques."

Amaris recalled the man as well after seeing his face. She recalled that this guy was the one who called for the air support where they had to flee for their lives. During that time, Cyril still don't have a Rank-S Artifact so he had no choice but to run away from the mechanical beast of the sky.

'I wonder how would I fare against that attack helicopter if I fought it again?' Cyril mused but he immediately shook his head. That is a very dangerous idea and he could die from that after all.

Because of the existence of the Awakened, modern weapons have also improved considerably to be able to handle powerful criminals lurking around.

Cyril decided to ignore the ASTF officer and continued walking.

Anyway, unless he uses the S-Rank Shroud identity again, there was no way that he would get himself involved with this man again.

'But he doesn't seem to care whether his identity is revealed. I guess this Union isn't that kind of organization…' Cyril mused as he looked around.

The Solace City is filled with various people and wore different kinds of clothes that he couldn't tell whether they are human or not.

There is even a guy that he thought a human at first but as soon as he turned his back, Cyril saw a fox tail wiggling behind him. There are also several human-like orcs and another race with red hair and red eyes.

If Cyril would make a guess, they are probably werewolves that have assumed a humanoid form for convenience.

Of course, there are also many people from other countries in the human world as he could recognize their racial traits.

This is a really completely different world compared to all the Arcane Worlds he had ever experienced. He's impressed with its diversity and it was no wonder why it is called the Union.

The place also appears to be very peaceful as there are many people selling fruits or food instead of Aritfacts on the outside.

Even if there are Artifacts, they are just the common ones like the Magic Orb, Magic Swords, and various enchanted clothes that are mostly used to impress people instead of practical purposes.

Well, that is to be expected since the valuable treasures can only be found inside the stone tower he was about to enter.

"May I ask your business in the Tower?"

A man wearing white full-body armor stopped Cyril and Amaris from entering the premises of the Tower.

The man knows that not anyone could enter this Arcane World. However, there are three things that people would seek inside the Stone Tower so he needed to know them for security purposes.

"We are new here. We're told to meet the Administrator of the Tower."

Cyril answered as he showed the token Vanessa gave to him.

"Ahh… It's alright. You don't have to show me the token. That's only being used for high-level transactions. Anyway, you can meet Administrator Temis in the library around this time. You just have to look for the signs posted and follow the direction they're pointed at."

Cyril thanked the guard as he entered the Tower with Amaris.

"Master… It had gotten stronger. I think that the Demon is closely observing us now."

Amaris suddenly said as soon as they stepped inside the tower.

Cyril couldn't feel the gaze coming from the Demon so he acted calm and decided to ignore it.

"He's just curious. Perhaps this is the first time he had seen another member of Demon Race? Anyway, that Demon is not our target. We have to meet the administrator."

Cyril looked at the signs where various facilities' directions are marked. Library 1, Research Room 1 and 2, the Security Office, and the Recreation Room are all located on the first floor of the tower so he found it convenient that the Administrator is at the Library…

The Admin Office is on the third floor after all.

However, as they have gotten near the library, Cyril recalled that the guard didn't mention whether it is Library 1 on the first floor or perhaps Library 2 on the fourth floor.

'Ugh… Whatever. If he's not here, I'll just check the Admin Office and wait there.'

Cyril said as he opened the Library.

The smell of books and the tranquility of the place are quite relaxing.

There are not a lot of people inside. Aside from the three librarians working or reading on their desks, only 10 or so people are reading in the large library. There are a total of three levels in the library and it's quite an amazing sight for Cyril.

"I wonder what kind of books are these…"

Cyril muttered as he glanced at the numerous shelves.

He then decided to walk towards one of the librarians.

"Excuse me, I heard that the Administrator is here. Can I disturb him for a moment?"

One of the staff looked at Cyril before nodding his head. He then pointed at the man at the third level wearing a silver robe like a scholar of ancient times.

After thanking the man, Cyril and Amaris approached the middle-aged man who must be Temis the Administrator.

This man is the only one at the third level so it's not difficult to spot him. However, he wasn't reading a normal book, instead, what he held in his hands was a long scroll made of animal skin, or maybe beast skin.

Before Cyril could introduce himself, the middle-aged man already rerolled the scroll and spoke to him.

"You must be the representative of the Timeless Store…"

Temis seems to be waiting for him. Anyway, he even shortened the name of their store but he didn't mind it.

"That's correct. I was told that they were really good. I'm here to know what kind of benefits I'll get with that contribution."

Cyril said referring to the three things he gave to Vanessa.

"Yes… They were really great. It's a good thing I kept some of those Advancement Pills… or Bead Artifacts rather." Temis said with a smile.

The man doesn't seem to have taken care of himself for the past few days with his unkempt hair and uneven beard and mustache.

He also has heavy eyebags and he looks like he hasn't taken a bath for several weeks.

Cyril kept his silence and waited for the man to continue as he didn't want to stay that long. He wanted to know about the benefits he can get so he can already evaluate whether his contributions were not a waste of his resources.

"Ehem… Anyway, thanks to your contribution you are allowed to have these things."

Temis added as he took out three things from his bag. It even appears to be a Spatial Bag so Cyril's eyes lit up as he was looking forward to these things.