Inverse System

Chapter 96 - Naji, The Metropolitan City

"Have we arrived?" Saphrilla spoke as she rubbed her sleepy eyes, yawning as her dark-blue hair stuck to her face.

"Yeah, we're here. Get your stuff ready. I'll wake the rest up," Rein instructed as he went on to shake the rest of them, waking them each one by one.

"Just 5 more minutes…" Raxo uttered as she curled back into the corner, Saprhilla looking down at her, unamused.

She squatted down and held her by the ear, waking her instantly in an outcry of pain.

"Ow! Okay okay! I'm up already!" She complained as she rubbed her eyes, Quint and Xenia also waking, getting their stuff ready.

Ahead of the group, Rein and Saprhilla exited the carriage and into the semi risen sun, which was enchanting their surroundings as Saphrilla lay her eyes on the city.

Her chest puffed up, her mouth gaped open as she looked at the metropolitan wonderland.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Rein admired the view with her, but with a troubled air shrouding his expression.

"Yes… However, your aunt may be in there, right? That is the main reason you accompanied me, is it not?" She asked, noticing the turmoiled aura surrounding him.

"Huh? No, of course not," He denied.

"It is alright Rein. I already knew. I did not get my hopes up, so you do not have to worry about me. You may do whatever you want," she coldly stated as she walked into the city, leaving Rein at the gate, even more turmoil growing within him.

He quickly followed Saphrilla into the city, the rest of the group catching up with them as they looked around the bustling capital, walking on the sidewalk as the occasional moving vehicle came passing by.

They decided to make their way to the Naji Ranger guild branch to check in and notify the main branch that they've made it there and to fulfill the attendance requirement back at the academy.

"Welcome! You guys must be in town for the engineering fair happening in a couple of hours huh?" A red-brown-haired young man greeted them as they entered the branch.

"Yep! We're here as company for those 2," Xenia pointed at Raxo and Saphrilla, who were standing at the back waiting for the Rangers to finish their business.

"Ah, okay. Is that white-haired guy with you too?" He pointed to Rein, who was sitting beside Saphrilla and Raxo with his head down.

"Yeah, his name's Rein Xilris. He's a Ranger too, so put him down for attendance," Quint explained.

As they finished registering, the young man folded a folder, then tapped on the screen of a tablet, making a loud ding sound signifying the end of the registration process.

"And with that, you're done! Do you guys need anywhere to put your stuff away? There's always the second floor of the guild if you want," the young man offered, to which the group respectfully declined.

They all left the branch together and went to a restaurant to have breakfast, and plan out their next moves. They stopped at a seafood restaurant in the shopping district and sat around the table.

"So right now it's 8 o'clock sharp, the award show starts in 4 hours. We have some time to explore the city at our leisure, but we should be at the Echo company building at least 1 hour and a half before the start of the event," Raxo explained as their food came.

"That sounds like a plan. Let's finish our food and get to exploring! This is your hometown, so you lead the way Raxo!" Xenia excitedly exclaimed as they began eating.

They finished their food after a few minutes, then began a tour of the capital city. Raxo took them around the capital as she drew up a rough map for their viewing pleasure.

(click to see visual) (it won't be there for the first 2 days of release, wait until it leaves the privilege chapters)

She took them around the shopping district first, admiring the automated bakeries with conveyor belts of bread on showcase, the appliance stores lit up with colorful neon lights, and the entertainment district, which was filled with casinos, bars, and a play theatre.

Amazement was the only word to describe how they felt as they saw these things, but at the same time, the cost of which these things have been powered weighed heavily on their awe-filled minds. The number of glow stones that had to have been mined to power these was incredible.

After finishing the tour of the shopping district, they made their way to the residential district. The lavish houses, the pleasant smell, and the water sprinklers that fed the grass lawns of the homes and caused the sunshine to reflect rainbows into their view, all of it was just what they'd expected.

The houses were large and modern, each with their own metal fences surrounding the front yards. Some houses even had a paved driveway, in which they kept these moving vehicles parked. Looking closer, the vehicles had small chunks of glow stones in each of their wheels which was what made them move.

As they continued, Raxo suddenly stopped at one of the houses. It looked to be slightly larger than the others, painted red and a tree growing out of the side of it, casting a breezy shade on the sunny road.

"This is my house. Haha, get it? There's a tree growing out of it because we're elves. Sort of a weird way of being patriotic, ain't it?" She softly laughed as the group admired the large, breathtaking home.

"Looks like nobody's home, so we shouldn't waste any more time staring at it. Come on guys," she pulled them away from the house and into an unexpected part of town.

It was almost like they crossed a line into another society, a clear divide in this side of the residential district. As they continued down, the houses began looking slightly deteriorated, with encampments and poor living conditions seeming to become more frequent, the houses no longer large or decorated with a metal fence. Not even the plants would grow over their lawns, no sprinklers to water them, and no more pleasant smell.

"What's going on here? Slums in a place like this?" Quint uttered as he entered an environment he was familiar with.

"Yeah, I told you… If this glow stone rock industry gets any bigger, the difference in living quality between the rich and even the middle class will be insane. This is a perfect example," Raxo explained as they continued walking through the slums, people living in run-down homes and poor sanitary conditions.

This wasn't outside of the norm for a good portion of the continent, but in contrast to what they just experienced in the rest of the city, the inequality was appalling.

"This is exactly why we must make mechanical power more accessible," Saphrilla exclaimed as she stopped walking, the group stopping to look back at her.

"What do you mean? How is that possible considering the rarity of these ores?" Xenia asked curiously.

"An alternate power source. My mother… It was one of the things she was researching before she died… And Raxo and I… We have almost perfected it… We just need one more piece of the puzzle…" Saphrilla spoke seemingly calm, but upon closer inspection, she was trembling slightly, which only Rein noticed.

"What are you talkin' about? A new energy source?" Quint sounded, making Raxo look at him with an air of confusion?

"What? Did we not tell you what we sent in for the mech fair? We, or should I say Saphrilla, made an energy-efficient source of power," she revealed, which widened the eyes of her friends in surprise.