Chapter 5 District Forty-Nine Charlie (1)
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"It's here."
Faint mana traces lingered in this dim underground railway.
This meant, I was in the right place.
To get inside to the underground city, I'd need to say a password.
This was done to forbid demons or any outsiders from entering this place without acess to the city's code.
But luckily, I already knew the password.
"Two-Zero-Zero-Eight."
I muttered.
*Acess Granted…*
A monotonous voice echoed inside my ears.
Before I could even move my fingers.
Light wrapped around my body.
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"Huff… Huff…!"
My legs dropped to the floor. My chest fell forward. My hands slammed against the hard concrete surface.
My breath quickened.
My eyes flicked restlessly.
Sweat poured onto my back.
My throat tensed. My lungs tightened. My heart throbbed.
Blood rushed in my head.
"Hah…"
'Who knew teleportation was such a terrible experience?'
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
Inhale…
Exhale…
I repeated these exercises for a few minutes.
Within those time-frame.
My fast heart rate pulse stabilized.
My throat loosened up.
My lungs relaxed.
My breath slowed down.
"…"
It's like I had an internal earthquake that kept wobbling.
Never once I have experienced this sensation.
"Pfft! What's that guy doing?"
"I don't know, just ignore him will ya?"
"…?"
Whispers of people.
I rubbed my eyes with my hands.
And wiped the sweat out of my forehead.
Then, using my legs and arms, I pushed my body upward.
I straightened my back.
And raised my head.
I scanned the surroundings with my eyes.
One, two, no… I think more?
Atleast a few dozen silhouette of people stared at me.
Their eyes were a mixture of contempt and surprise.
They wore clothes that covered their top and bottom body.
Most of them resembled a greyish thick hoodie.
A blue light was encased from the edges of their garments.
They had two or more pockets from the top of their chest and some from the waist.
A metallic icon was engraved in their top upper right chest attire.
Their clothes produced faint blue mana traces that clinged to them.
Some of them carried a katana, a gun, and a cane strapped to their waist.
"Tsk…"
"Hey, doesn't he look like he's about to die…?"
"You're right, what did he do to be in that state?"
"Maybe he offended some high ranking officials…?"
I pulled my head towards at them.
And smiled at them while squinting my eyes.
I waved my right hand at them.
"L-let's just go."
"Creep…"
What a nice joke.
From their perspective, I'd look like some crazy mad man from their eyes.
That was to be expected anyways.
A vivid image flashed into my mind.
I knew who these people were just based on the metallic emblem on their top upper right chest.
They were "Scavengers", people who'd venture outside the city.
To find treasures, hunt beast, collect mana crystals and other more.
These people were employed by the organization "Federesia Union".
The governing body that controlled this city and also the other other districts.
In total there's fifty districts but only twenty-six of them are functional.
There are other shelters than these, but they're usually operated by independent local forces.
I don't know where they are though.
My memory isn't that perfect.
"That reminds me of something."
"I need an ID."
I needed to get inside the city's wall gates. Without an ID, I can't get inside.
I turned my head to the front. Beside a couple of people who ocassionally gave weird glares.
A huge iron wall extended to the horizon.
Along with them were numerous checkpoint gates. ID scanners were embedded onto the checkpoint. Metal scanners were placed next to it.
A guard post were lodged behind each fence.
People would pass in or come out from the checkpoint swiping their ID from the scanner as they go.
"Where do I get an ID?"
Fortunately, the answer was right in front of my eyes.
A convenience store-sized building was only twenty meters away from me.
It had the sign "Federesia Union Agency" or in short "F.U.A" at their top floor.
I headed there to get an ID.
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"Uhh… Hello sir? What would you like to do?"
The receptionist asked me with baffled eyes. Wondering what I'm doing here.
Her black hair fluttered to her shoulders.
She wore a black-knee length skirt with a pair of socks and slipped into a pair of sandals.
A black blazer was wrapped around her white long sleeve uniform fitted underneath her skirt.
A red checkered necktie draped over her chest hung from her neck.
I turned my head towards the other receptionist.
They too, wore the same professional attires just like her.
"…Sir?"
The receptionist calmly muttered.
I pulled my attention back to her.
"Uhh… right! I want to register for an ID."
"..? Okay.."
A deep sigh escaped her mouth. She then pulled a paper and a pen from her desk counter.
And scibbled something on it for a few seconds before handing me the paper and the pen.
The application form was reflected into my retina when she gave it to me.
|Name: N/A|
|Date: N/A|
|Age: N/A|
|Sex: N/A|
|Address: N/A|
|Occupation: N/A|
I stole a few glances inside the building.
A metal fence with red ropes were lined up accordingly to each receptionist.
The line was vacant most of the time, with only two to three people lining up.
A pair of fluorescent lamp filled in the ceiling, providing light to the floor.
I pulled my eyes back to my paper.
'What should I fill in?'
Using my old name was a no for me. Then how about an alias?
I scribbled and then filled in the paper.
|Name: Leon Vonn Hardt|
|Date: July, 30, 2098|
|Age: 21|
|Sex: Male|
|Address: N/A|
|Occupation: N/A|
Leon Vonn Hardt, a nickname that I frequently used during my chunibyo phase.
It's definitely embarassing but I can't think of any better name than that.
Just thinking about it makes my heart throb.
"I'll leave the rest of the two blank."
Aside from the two, the rest were fake.
I just filled in what was the most approriate to me.
"Here you go…"
I handed the paper back to the receptionist.
"Thank you sir!"
The receptionist replied enthusiastically.
"Please wait a minute while I'm getting your ID ready."
"Okay."
My gaze were fixed into her when I handed the paper.
She sat down across her chair, her head settled into the computer and her fingers hovered over the keyboards.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The clicking sound of the keyboard resounded in my ears.
'Ah…'
How long do I have to wait?
'I'm just standing here awkwardly.'
The noise the printer made echoed faintly around the counter.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
The printer stopped printing.
And the receptionist pulled out something before making her way back to the counter.
"It's all done, here you go sir."
The receptionist glinted at me with delightful eyes.
"Thank you."
I took the ID she passed over to me with my hand.
I lowered my head and examined the ID itself.
It had no face, no adress and no occupation.
'I'll fill them in once I get a job.'
That was normal, only after I get everything set out, I'd fill them in again.
Despite the tattered condition my body was in.
The receptionist showed hospitality.
'When did I feel like this?'
I don't know when, but I sure liked it.
My lips curled up. A smile escaped onto my mouth.
"Ahh, it's time to go."
I let out a soft chuckle.
With everything set out, I went outside the building.
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After passing through the city's checkpoint.
I pondered on my next moves.
Ding!
A notification rang out in my ears.
«—System—»
[Side Quest: Learn a mana breathing technique.]
A transparent window appeared right before my eyes.
"Mana breathing technique?"
Well I was gonna do that anyways.
'I don't have money.'
One of the pressing issue I had since I stumbled onto this world.
'Where do I get money?'
No more importantly, how do I get that money?
Earning money in the game was quite tiring. That is, if you pursued the only legal jobs.
'Is there no choice other than that?'
I clenched my teeth.
Yes, if I'm gonna have to survive and thrive in this hellish world, there's only one way.
'Doing illegal unauthorized jobs.'
It hurts my conscience to say this, but I desperately need money right now.
Fortunately, I know multiple places that does this jobs quite well.
From assasination to fake scandals, to doing fraud stuffs and forgering fake documents.
They even offer weird absurd jobs if you seriously needed quick cash right now.
In this city, there's a particular one place that I know.
There's a bar called "Paradiso" that offers these jobs.
Contrary to it's name, it's not exactly a paradise.
But maybe, it's a haven for professional criminals.
"Let's go to that place."
With that as a goal, I ventured deeper into the city.