In a small, tidy bedroom, Azdin stood with a greatsword in his hands. The room was hardly suited for such an activity, with barely enough space to move around comfortably, let alone wield a weapon of its size, but he had long since figured out the method.
Switching to a reverse grip, he brought the heavy blade close to his chest as he outstretched his free hand and lined it carefully against its edge, gripping its sides lightly without cutting his hands. Then he swung it with practiced care, making sure to keep his movements within the limited space while pushing it too. Each swing was deliberate, carrying enough force and speed to work his muscles without letting the blade scrape against the floor, ceiling or surrounding walls.
'I'd look so stupid to someone else right now..'
He shifted his footing, brought the sword around and followed through with another powerful swing. The air stirred around the blade as it passed, its weight making every movement a small exercise in itself.
He had other weapons he could've practiced with more easily, but the fun in figuring this out was the challenge. It wasn't ideal, but it would have to do.
"Everything feels just right; I think I'm good to go."
A week had already passed since he moved, so today was the day he'd be discharged. Before he left though, he'd figured he'd get a bit of a workout in. Allowing the weapon to dissolve into a shimmer of white sparks he looked around one last time.
Then, he too was enshrouded in those same sparks as the [Traveler Wear] armour manifested around him.
'Time sure flies by.'
He'd been in Nantames for 2 weeks now, and in that time he'd made so much progress. But at the same time,
'I miss Hugo and the others.. I haven't seen them since that party.'
Life has been a bit boring. He had made a new friend since then, but he only ever saw them once it was dark. There was the library too, but even that was starting to get boring. He wasn't learning anything new, and the obvious gaps of knowledge in some of the books was getting on his nerves.
'Why am I complaining anyway? I can go visit them whenever I want!'
Taking a moment to think about it, he paled.
'I ..I don't know where any of them live.'
Shaking his head, he quickly dismissed those thoughts. Azdin had made up his plans for today already. Besides, he could take his time finding them another time.
Now that his body was fully healed, he could finally fight.
**
Azdin stood in front of a desk, with a small stack of documents neatly arranged before him. He held a feathered pen between his fingers, slowly working his way through the paperwork, signing wherever he was instructed. Each time he finished a page, the person standing beside him would take it, briefly inspect the signature and place it onto a separate pile.
They watched him closely, making sure he followed the instructions and didn't overlook anything. Every so often, they would point towards the next designated space, prompting Azdin to continue.
The process was tedious, but there was little room for complaint. One signature after another, the stack gradually began to shrink.
'Arghhh Taxes.'
Alas, using public hospital wasn't free. Especially for an outsider like him who didn't own any property here.
'That seems awful counterintuitive.'
The man glanced down at the remaining papers before looking back at him.
"Any future plans?"
He contemplated how to answer for a bit before replying.
"I'm heading to the second floor today."
He seemed to grunt.
"Ah, that place."
He paused for a moment, seemingly considering whether to say anything further.
"I'm sure you've heard how it is down there by now. You're Awakened, but I'd still be careful."
His expression grew somewhat more serious.
"Strange people have been showing up there as of late. Especially with all these Awakened gathering, that place has become particularly dangerous."
Azdin finished signing the last document and placed the pen down.
"I'll keep myself safe, then."
The man gave a faint nod, though he didn't seem entirely reassured. He gathered the signed papers into a neat pile, tapping their edges against the desk to straighten them.
**
Today, his goal was the 2nd floor of Nantames, it was the first residential floor in the whole city. Despite that it's current situation wasn't favourable. However the thing he was looking for was waiting for him there so he didn't get much of a say.
Due to some of the complications it under went in the past, the entire floor was considered a slum. People who couldn't afford to live on the higher floors lived there instead, and there wasn't any kind of local police either.
The navy did patrol there once in a while, but their presence was weak, so crime still went rampant. It seemed even Awakened were making use of the lack of prying eyes to do whatever they wanted.
Turning his gaze slightly, Azdin caught sight of an old man hunched on a bench reading a newspaper. Squinting his eyes, he could make out the words of its headline:
[CHAOS IN NANTAMES? MASKED ASSAILANTS THIRD ATTACK THIS WEEK]
Azdin sighed.
From what he had hear it wasn't this bad before, but terrorism like that on the 2nd floor was becoming commonplace. It was happening almost every day.
'People are just doing whatever they want huh..'
If he came across one of them, he was already sure of what he'd do. He needed the fighting experience anyway, so he wouldn't mind beating up a handful.
'I just better make sure I'm not late... Ah, I need to be mindful of my flaw too.'
Right, he had to reach his destination by a certain time else he'd be in big trouble.
'Just who is behind these papers anyway? First there was that ship incident, and now they're even stalking the most dangerous places in the city.'
Maybe he should pay the journalist company a visit next? The one responsible would have to be quite the interesting Awakened to be capable of all of that. He wanted to make sure they really weren't spying on him again too.
Pondering on that idea, the elevator finally arrived. Boarding it, he patiently waited for it to descend below.
**
Unsurprisingly, he was the only one to get off at that floor. Not many people went back down the elevator at this time of the day, but anyone getting off at the 2nd was an especially rare sight.
'This place is worse than I imagined.'
Right away, he was greeted by an enormous sprawl of wooden buildings, haphazardly stacked on top of one another in every conceivable direction. Some leaned precariously against their neighbours, while others had been built directly atop existing rooftops, their foundations seemingly defying any reasonable understanding of architecture. Narrow walkways, crooked staircases and makeshift bridges connected the structures, forming a labyrinth of overlapping buildings. It was as though someone had taken an enormous collection of houses and carelessly forced them together like the pieces of an incorrectly assembled puzzle.
As Azdin walked through the settlement, he occasionally caught glimpses of what appeared to be the floor's original architecture. Fragments of stone walls, enormous pillars and the occasional remnants of old buildings protruded from beneath the wooden structures. Yet, whatever civilisation had once occupied this place had long since been swallowed by the ever-growing mass of timber and makeshift construction.
There was hardly any trace of the original landscape left. It had long been buried beneath generations of disorder, with the wooden homes continuing to spread in every direction.
Compared to the hustle and bustle of the 3rd, or the hard working people of the 1st, this place had nothing going for it at all. It was the absence of anything that made it so gloomy.
But what sickened him even more.. were the people.
'People are really allowed to live like this?'
The people inhabiting this place were perhaps even more unsettling than the surroundings themselves. Some had made their beds in the darkness of narrow alleyways, huddled beneath makeshift blankets or leaning against the damp wooden walls. Others appeared considerably more suspicious, their eyes subtly following Azdin as he passed before quickly turning away and minding their own business. There were also those who seemed to have no particular destination. They wandered aimlessly through the winding maze of wooden structures, occasionally disappearing into narrow passages or emerging from places Azdin hadn't even noticed.
It was difficult to distinguish the desperate from the dangerous. In a place like this, the two were probably not mutually exclusive.
'I'll just keep walking; I need to make it to the center first.'
As he walked through, he couldn't help but feel people were staring at him though. While most made it obvious, some tried to keep it secret, but he was just far too sensitive to that kind of thing.
It was then that he realised.
'C-crap! I stand out too much!'
Shiny armour, clean clothes and a beautiful complexion. He naturally stood out far too much in this abysmal place. It was obvious to anyone that he was awakened, or atleast greatly well off.
Their inability to tell either one was probably the only thing that kept them from trying anything.
'Damn, I really would've been better off not gearing up.'
Things continued to get worse even after that. Where attention came, people began to have certain ideas. To Azdin, those ideas were a weakness.
He could feel it gradually growing, as it then quickly gained momentum and pull. An overwhelming desire… to suddenly start handing out boatloads of money!
'I don't even..!'
Holding onto that thought, he realised something.
'I haven't been living like it, so I suppose I forgot, but I actually am quite well off right now. I guess giving away a coin or two wouldn't hurt…'