Leaving the train station, Blaze was t with a bustling crowded city. He also understood why it was called the Undercity.
This town was built underground, in a vast open area that could very easily be mistaken for the surface. The ceiling was up very high with glistening gemstones that acted as stars. In the middle of the ceiling was a giant yellow gemstone that emitted gentle yellow light that illuminated the entire area.
The city was modern but it was way less advanced than Ranas. He could see people walking around with chanical arms and legs. Their costus were the style of the late industrial century with top hats and tailored suits.
This made Blaze, wearing a black battle suit and pristine white overcoat stood out from the rest.
A girl walked up to him.
"Hey, handso! Looking for company? I can be with you for a very cheap price."
"Fuck off!" Blaze said and kept on moving.
"Hey! Didn’t your mother teach you how to speak with won?"
The girl seed offended and she scread in the middle of the road.
A tall muscular man walked up in between them. He was even taller than Blaze and wore sunglasses in this dark city.
"Hey, man. Don’t treat our girls like that."
Blaze didn’t look at them and kept on walking. Suddenly, the man moved in front of him.
"We don’t tolerate stupid people around here. Give us so ginnies and you can go on your rry way?"
"I killed six n leaving the train station."
Blaze’s eyes glowed up in blue. Electricity danced around the corners of his eyes.
"I said again. Fuck off! Or else!"
The tall man reached into his pocket. But before he could do anything, the long Slaughter’s Blade appeared and rested on his neck.
Everything happened so fast that the man didn’t have ti to react. A single drop of sweat ran on his forehead.
"It’s alright, man. We’ll go. No need for fighting."
Blaze retracted his blade and kept on walking. These things existed everywhere and he despised it.
The man and woman looked at his silhouette going farther and farther.
"Who was that?" The girl said, "How is he able to use his power so carelessly?"
"It’s probably a newcor from the woods,"the man said.
"A newcor? No way! But that doesn’t make sense. How can he..."
"My guess is that he didn’t stay long in the woods."
Blaze looked around. The city was vast and it was hard to identify where he needed to go to learn about this place.
He needed to find the highest building to et up with Lucia. Alternatively, he could also stay nearby the station and wait for her there. But ti was even slower here. The ti between the next train may not be what Blaze could anticipate.
He found a crowded bar with a lot of custors inside. Blaze walked into it.
The mont he opened the door, everyone in the bar looked at him. His appearance was so unique, everyone knew he wasn’t from here.
However, he also looked too ’clean’ to be from the woods. The newcors usually arrived in a dragged and miserable state. It was a harsh land after all.
Blaze ignored all the eyes and walked to the bar counter. The bartender was a muscular middle aged woman with a chanical arm.
"And who would you be, stranger?" The woman said.
"Blaze Singer. Just ca here from the train."
"Oh? You ca from the woods?"
Blaze nodded and sat down.
"I need to know how to get back to the real world and what is the ti difference between this place and the woods?"
"Aren’t you gonna order sothing?"
"I do not have any money belonging to this place."
"It’s alright. It’s on the house. Consider it a welcoming gift."
"Just water is fine."
The woman raised an eyebrow but still poured a glass of water for Blaze.
"You don’t seem to be miserable. The woods has been kind to you, I assu?".
"Not kind. Kill a few Wretched there. The Pig Head. The Wolf Head. Oh, and that so called Evelyn."
Gasps spread across the room. Everyone was surprised at what Blaze was saying. That was too hard to believe. But his pristine clothes and uninjured body made it too believable to deny.
"You’re very strong?"
Blaze shrugged. "You could say so. Now, about my questions."
"Sure. Sure. To get back to the real world, you need to take the Everstair. But it is not easy I tell you. Many have died inside it.
As for the ti difference. We don’t know the exact numbers but from experience, we estimated it around one thousand tis the difference."
"So... One day up there is a thousand days here?"
"More or less."
"I have a friend up in the woods that will take the next train to this place. How long will the next train be available for her?"
The woman smirked. "Exactly one day."
"Hmm. A little bit more than three years, huh?"
"Believe , it wouldn’t feel that long. Afterall, it will give you the ti to try to climb the Everstair."
"What is inside it? Crises? Calamities?"
"Yes." The woman answered vaguely.
Suddenly a man ca up to him.
"Hey, kid. I heard you said you had no money. So how did the Awakened Center give you a new body?"
"They didn’t. I entered the woods with my physical body and left with it."
Another wave of gasps around the room. People started gossiping about him. Even the bartender couldn’t hold her surprise anymore.
"How did you enter the Sixth Layer with your power?" The bartender said.
"You can say that it is because of my power."
"Lucky you. So you won’t be controlled by them then."
As Blaze was just about to ask who ’them’ was, the doors of the bar were kicked open. The bartender imdiately ducked behind the counter. The custors scattered away or kept their heads down.
Blaze turned back to see a man with long orange hair standing there. Behind him were several muscular goons and a girl.
The girl pointed at him. She was the woman he t before.
"There! That’s the guy! He didn’t respect our code!"
The orange-haired man stepped forward and observed Blaze. His eyes squinted.
"So... You still have your power, huh? I guess your soul is still strong from surviving in the woods then."
Blaze approached and stood in front of the man.
"Less talking. If you are here to cause trouble, we can go outside." Blaze said.
The orange-haired man burst out laughing. "You silly kid! What are you thinking about? We have more people than you!"
Blaze raised a corner of his mouth.
"I’m saying this just to avoid further bloodshed. I won’t hesitate to kill you but I would rather not."
"This delusional..."
Blaze interrupted the man’s sentence, "I am an S-rank."
The bar was filled with silence. The only thing they could hear was the breathing of the orange-haired man.
He’s trying to determine whether Blaze was bluffing or not. But then he rembered, no S-rank could be pulled into the Dream Layer.
"Ha ha ha! You’re a funny guy, eh? An S-rank is immune to the Dream Layer’s pull."
"I’ve never said I was pulled. I entered the Dream Layer on my own will."
Blaze tilted his head and stared at the man. His gaze was ruthlessly cold. It was funny seeing the man slowly losing his composure.
What Blaze implied was he had the ability to travel between dinsions. This was a very rare power. And everyone that had this power was never a weakling.
Ti flew differently in the Undercity. So Blaze could very well be a new S-rank that had appeared when they all stuck here.
The orange-haired man gulped.
"I’m..."
"Go. I will let go of this one ti. But do not let et you again."
The orange-haired man nodded like a chicken and imdiately walked away. When he approached the girl, the man raised his hand to hit her.
"Stop!" Blaze said.
"Yes, sir? Do you need anything?" The man lost all his aggressiveness and returned to an obedient puppy.
"Other than annoying , she did not do any harm. So let her loose. I don’t like seeing a man hit a woman."
"Yes, sir! I understand, sir! You, thank him imdiately?"
The girl bowed repeatedly. "Thank you, sir! Thank you!"
"Now scram."
The group of goons all ran away. The conflict ended without a single bloodshed.
The bartender got up from behind the counter. She was so glad that her bar was not destroyed.
"You’re one intimidating guy, you know." She said.
Back when Blaze faced off with the man, she could feel the air condensed with killing intention. This young kid, although looked to be around twenty, definitely killed before.
And he had killed a lot of people.
Blaze didn’t answer but sat down on the counter again.
"I need so place to stay while waiting for my friend. I also need a way to make money. Can’t survive without any credits. You guys probably have your own system down here, yeah?"
"I have an idea. Why don’t you just be the bouncer for my bar? Taking care of business and making sure the place is in order. I have an empty apartnt upstairs and I will also give you fifty percent of the bar money."
"Fifty? That’s a bit high, don’t you think?"
"You are the only S-rank here for god’s sake. If you wanted, you could have taken it all."
"Alright then. I’ll be your bouncer."
Blaze reached out his hand. They shared a handshake together.
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