He spun the roulette again and watched as it stopped on an item resembling a locket with a bead or pearl.
[Congratulations! You have won the Pearl of Passage]
[Pearl of Passage: One-time use. Allows passage through restrictions—20 minutes for Planetary Level, 60 minutes for Level 100, and 120 minutes for Levels 80–99.]
[Note: Must be worn at all times to remain within the restricted area.]
Ren looked at the necklace of pearls that had appeared in his storage."Do I really have to wear this thing?"
The necklace was made of golden-pink pearls that shimmered with luster, as though they housed the grace of a heavenly entity—something that absolved sins and granted passage to heaven itself.
Putting on the necklace, Ren stepped out of the forest and moved toward the Golden Wall. When he was about ten meters away, a prickling sensation spread across his body, making him feel numb. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
As he moved closer, within three to five meters of the wall, the pearls began to glow. They rearranged themselves into a perfect circle of twenty pearls, and the first pearl slowly lit up, enveloping Ren in a soft radiance.
The light eased his discomfort. He was finally able to place his hand against the wall, and his body dissolved into motes of light before being teleported into the city.
[Pearl of Passage in use. Restricted Area: Planetary Level.Twenty minutes remaining before forced ejection to prevent detection by the Base Spirit.]
Ren felt his stomach lurch, but the sensation lasted only a second before the suit's energy flowed through him and dispelled the discomfort.
Reading the message, Ren realized that the city's protections were at a Planetary Level. He gained a rough sense of the power scale. He still couldn't determine his exact level, as nothing had pushed him to his limits yet, but he knew he was at least Level 57—after all, he had injured the bear in the forest.
Ren looked around.
Before him lay a seemingly normal city, filled with shops selling clothes, food, and tools. However, there were no places for leisure or rest. Everyone moved as though in a constant rush.
Some people wore bandanas and carried baseball bats or sticks. In the alleys, and sometimes even in the open streets, bandana-wearing groups were beating others. Yet everyone else turned a blind eye.
After taking in the scene, Ren turned back to look towards the white light from where he had entered the city. Floating within it were the words:
City 05
Ren rose into the air and surveyed the city from above. It was far larger than it had first appeared, containing multiple ecosystems—yet most of them were eerily still, devoid of movement or human activity.
As he circled the city, he noticed that the bandana-wearing groups were harassing people everywhere. Nearly every woman—old, but not too old—was being dragged toward the city center. There stood a town hall crowned with a massive central dome, seemingly made of glass, though nothing inside could be seen.
Tall pillars supported the dome, as if holding up the world itself.
A line of bandana-wearing men stood outside, dragging women tied with ropes like cattle. From inside the building, screams could be heard—lasting about a minute before fading into whimpers and hoarse howls.
That sound seemed to signal the next victim to be dragged forward.
The women struggled and tried to flee, but their rebellion was short-lived and futile.
Ren watched for a minute or two. Every woman who entered never came back out.
The only ones who emerged were the men in bandanas. Some carried unconscious girls slung over their shoulders.
Each girl wore a white skirt, stained with deep maroon patches of blood.
At first, Ren felt nothing.
Then, suddenly, he heard a voice that seemed similar to a voice had heard before his revival.
A name surfaced in his mind.
"Ophelia."