Greenhaven was as big as two continent back on Earth but most of it was covered in wilderness. The only inhabited place wasn't more than fifteen percent.
And the Wilderness was filled with monsters, Dungeons and ruined cities because of the light of the Tower that has fallen there in the past.
The Light of the Tower of Heaven rarely falls but when it does, it changes the surrounding into a 'ruined city' even if there was no previous city there before.
What was more, when the Tower first appeared thousands of years ago, it corrupted everything with Noxium, bringing with it monsters and Dungeons.
But wherever there are ruined city, there would be outposts for foragers and bandits to carve out their own form of life. Eldros was familiar with such life.
From a mountain slope, Eldros gazed down at one such outpost.
The Outposts was a towering mountains, but the mountains had been dug into to resembled what looks like a bee houses. The foot of the mountains were covered in tents where the lowlifes of the bandits lived.
Beyond the camp loomed a dark jungle veiled in mist. Even the sunlight struggled to touch its depths. The color of the jungle brought to mind the black skins he'd seen on infected victims of Noxium.
"What do you think?" asked Jarek beside him.
Eldros studied the sprawl below. "Looks like the gutter."
Jarek chuckled and started down the slope. Eldros followed, careful as always, cataloguing his surroundings with quiet vigilance.
As they reached the outpost, the full atmosphere enveloped him. No gates, no order. Just packed dirt, stray refuse. The noise was everywhere, loud, brash, and constant.
Foragers moved in all directions. Some were enormous and scarred. Others seemed half-dead from hunger. Eldros spotted several like himself, quiet, young, watching everything. Some had deformities, likely side effects of failed transformations.
Many radiated with mana.
They passed through the chaotic foot of the mountain and climbed up into one of them, passing through hallways lit with touchs, but the mountain had also been hollowed out in a way to to let natural light to pass through.
The mountain was divided into different Wings, some far better than the others.
Jarek took him to an arena of sorts, inside was a pit that was surrounded by scattered tables and lined with cages.
Growls and shrieks echoed from within.
Near the arena were a few simple wings, more well-kept than the rest. From one emerged a gaunt man in long robes with a mustache. He exuded a faint but sharp mana pressure. He glanced at Eldros briefly, then turned to Jarek.
"Fresh meat?" he asked.
"He knows what to do," Jarek said.
"Name?"
Jarek shrugged. "Just call him the Brat."
The man snorted. "Lucky day, Brat. A few more want to join our outposts. We've got enough for a test tomorrow. You should count yourself lucky indeed.
With that he turned and strolled toward one of the rooms.
Jarek placed a hand on Jarek's shoulder. "You'll be fine. I'll check on you tomorrow, at least nothing should have by then. Unless you do anything, of course."
Eldros nodded, his gaze steady, his face cold and then he followed the robed man.
At the house, the man introduced him to a few others loitering near the entrance. "He's with the next batch. Don't let him wander."
Inside, three people looked up.....two young men and a girl.
The two boys looked a couple years older, their eyes indifferent as they returned to their business. The girl sat in a corner, huddled and tense, a long scar running across her face.
Xu Qing ignored all of them, sat near the door, and began to meditate.
Time passed. The room filled with quiet conversation. The two younger boys started chatting among each other but the girl stayed silent.
Their talk circled around tomorrow's test.
Eldros listened carefully. It seemed the outpost held these test once enough candidates gathered. The rules were simple, fight beasts. Survive, and you earned a place at the outpost. Fail, and you became meat for the next beast.
The fights happened in the arena outside, and they weren't just for survival, they were also entertainment. Foragers bought tickets to watch. The camp owner ran betting pools. Life and death turned into spectacle.
In this world, people's lives were worth less than coin.
Eldros kept meditating, absorbing both energy and information.
Every moment counted.
At dawn, noise stirred outside. The door banged open. A Forager stood silhouetted in the light, voice cold.
"Time for the show. Move."
"About time."
The two boys ones followed behind, tensed. Eldros came next, composed. The girl trailed behind, shrinking into herself.
Outside, the mood was raucous. The path to the arena was lined with people laughing and shouting. By the time they reached the wooden arena, the noise was deafening. At least a hundred had gathered, watching with hungry eyes.
The two younger boys looked sick. The girl trembled.
Eldros said nothing, but his eyes swept the arena.
Not big. Wooden barriers all around. No exits in the fighting space. Just some concealed doors and a side passage. No room to run. No space to stall.
This has to end fast.
He studied the dark gate at the far end, the one where the beasts would emerge.
His fingers twitched. Mana flowed subtly through his body as his breathing slowed.
The trial hadn't begun yet. But in Eldros's mind, the fight had already started.