Derima and Altair followed closely behind Tzukaga, determined to learn their way around the city with his guidance. They walked through the streets, gazing in awe at the prosperity surrounding them. It was Derima's first time seeing the world's currency – Teigi's Currency.
The System suddenly appeared right in front of him as he strolled with his hands in his pockets.
[System]: ``Teigi's Currency, there are 5 types of it.. Bronze, Silver, Tungsten, Gold and Diamond.. Bronze is Equivalent to 1, 5, 15, 20 and 35 Teigi's, Silver is Equivalent to 50, 75 and 80 Teigi's, Tungsten is Equivalent to 100 and 120 Teigi's, Gold is Equivalent to 150, 180, and 200 Teigi's, and Diamond is Equivalent to 250, 280, 300 and 350 Teigi's.
(1 Teigi = 55 Dollars)``
Derima was surprised by the isekai world's currency, and equally amazed by Tzukaga's reputation as the strongest knight in the Kingdom of Shaul. He found himself wanting to see the knight's power, though he still couldn't access the Dark Angel abilities granted to him upon reincarnation.
Shaking off his thoughts, he noticed Altair admiring her surroundings – her graceful presence making him blush. He chided himself to stay focused, not wanting to fall for her too quickly. Just then, she turned to him and chuckled before walking closer.
[Altair]: "Hey.. you like me don't you..?"
Her voice was soft and beautiful, their faces inches apart as Tzukaga continued guiding them through the streets. Derima froze, flustered by how close she'd gotten.
[Derima]: "M-M.. Maybe..?"
Altair spoke calmly, leaning in even closer.
[Altair]: "I like you too.."
She pulled back immediately after, her face bright red with embarrassment. She hid behind her cloak as Derima pressed a hand to his chest, his heart racing at her words.
Eventually, they entered the house where they'd be staying – furnished with separate beds, marble floors like those in Glycerin, and elegant decor. Altair's eyes lit up with wonder at what Tzukaga had prepared.
[Tzukaga]: "You two shall live here for a week or so.. and no need for rent.. because you two are Important Guests.."
Derima placed a hand over his chest and bowed respectfully.
[Derima]: "Yes, thank you Tzukaga.. the Divine Knight.."
Altair bowed alongside him, also placing her palm to her chest. Tzukaga smiled warmly before preparing to leave.
[Tzukaga]: "I'm going to take a leave now.. stay safe."
They waved goodbye as he gently closed the door. Left alone, they stared at each other for a moment before heading to the kitchen.
[Altair]: "I can do this!.."
She called out, sounding slightly annoyed. Derima stepped forward too.
[Derima]: "No i can do this!.."
They bickered like siblings before deciding to compete to see who was the better cook. Working separately, they soon finished their dishes and swapped plates to taste each other's work. Their eyes lit up as they took their first bites.
[Altair]: "I didn't know your cooking was this good!!.."
[Derima]: "And i also didn't know you were a wife-level cook!!.."
Altair's face flushed bright red as she shouted at him.
[Altair]: "IDIOT!!.."
She covered her face with her cloak again while Derima scratched his head, blushing slightly.
[Derima]: "That was just a compliment.."
[Altair]: "That was a Super-Compliment!!.."
Derima chuckled at her reaction and kept eating. Once finished, they retired to their shared room with separate beds.
[Altair]: "Goodnight idiot."
She turned to face the wall and fell asleep. Derima smiled softly.
[Derima]: "Goodnight.."
He soon drifted off too.
The next morning, they dressed and set out to explore more of the city. First, they bought a map of Shaul – and were stunned by its size. The System appeared before Derima.
[System]: ``Shaul City is Divided into 4 Different divisions, Fauna, Shara, Jaima and Taisa, those Divisions has roughly 1/4 the Population of the Entire City of Shaul, and there are hundreds of districts.``
Altair looked at the map with excitement.
[Altair]: "We can explore more!!, let's go Derima!.. we have to go!"
Derima sighed, rolled up the map, and tucked it into his right pocket.
[Derima]: "Alright.. alright.. no need to rush."
While Altair was bursting with energy, Derima was more reserved – knowing exploring the whole city would take four days. They boarded a moving carriage and admired the sights: the Shaul Shrine, the Great Light Knight Statue, and the popular Versies Supermarket. They later jumped off and split up – Altair heading to Shara (Southwest), Derima to Jaima (Southeast).
Derima visited a weapon store to buy protection for when he left the city. The owner was asleep, so he picked up a "Dark Sword" – and the System activated immediately.
[System]: Weapon: Dark Sword, The Dark Sword is a sword back from 148 Before Jadakiss Time, it was a sword that's used by Jadakiss Ignatius himself, to almost destroy the world.
A wave of fear washed over him, but he pushed it aside. He fastened the sword to his right waist with a black belt, then left 50 Teigi's on the counter – checking first to confirm there were no security cameras before leaving to find Altair.
Meanwhile, Altair was running through the city with wonder. She stopped at a park and sat on a bench overlooking a beautiful fountain. A strange man with lustful intentions sat beside her, and she shifted away – but he moved closer.
[Weirdo]: "Hey sweetie.. what are you doing..?"
Altair ignored him and tried to leave, but he grabbed her arm.
[Weirdo]: "No.. no.. you cannot run away from me.. your gorgeous.."
Disgusted by his behavior, she struggled – until Derima arrived and spoke in a cold tone.
[Derima]: "Hey.. if you ever lay a hand on my girl, your dead for real."
The man fled in fear, calling him a monster. Altair looked at him with soft eyes before hugging him tightly.
[Altair]: "Thanks.."
Her voice was gentle as Derima patted her head. After a moment, she noticed the sword at his waist.
[Altair]: "Hey, whats that sword..?"
[Derima]: "Oh this sword..? Yeah i just bought it for cheap price!.. yeah.."
He lied, but Altair didn't press the issue.
[Altair]: "Anyways!, we should head back."
Derima nodded, and they returned to their home.
The following day, they set out to explore the remaining divisions – Fauna (Northwest) and Taisa (Northeast). Since their home was already in Fauna, they focused on Taisa. They took a carriage there and jumped off to find the Statue of Light Knight, with large lettering that read:
"THE STRONGEST SWORDSMAN THE WORLD HAS EVER BORN NAMED; (•••••) VEN JAERO"
They stared in amazement at the 30-foot tall monument, built to honor the greatest swordsman since 400 BJT. Derima guessed Light Ven Jaero must be Tzukaga's father – the original Light Knight.
As they sat on a bench, Tzukaga landed atop the statue and bowed his head in prayer.
[Tzukaga]: "Father, thank you for giving me power and you shall guide me more."
He finished and appeared before them in an instant, moving with incredible speed. While Altair examined the statue, he sat beside Derima.
[Tzukaga]: "So how is the City so far..?"
Before Derima could answer, Altair cut in excitedly.
[Altair]: "Majestic, Malicious, Beautiful, Best, Authentic, Aesthetic, Glorious, Divine, Sparkling--"
Derima gently covered her mouth to stop her.
[Derima]: "Alright stop that, you literally had a creep trying to hit on you earlier – you're lucky."
Tzukaga smiled and chuckled, then grew serious.
[Tzukaga]: "This city has an average crime rate, because of its 35 million people.. which is overpopulated. So many have built towns outside the 10-foot walls to make space.."
[Derima]: "How many people are outside the walls..?"
[Tzukaga]: "About 8 million.. estimated people, it's still part of the City of Shaul, but outside."
[Derima]: "How many people were in Shaul.. before the people outside the walls built their homes..?"
[Tzukaga]: "About 140 million people.. estimated in 1970 AJT.."
The System appeared before Derima's face.
[System]: ``1970 AJT, City of Shaul was the most Populated city in the world in that time, the point that the city had almost the highest crime rate and wrecking stability, with a massive population of 140,000,000 estimated, but millions of them drifted off, due to the massive overpopulation and the 8 million of them built towns outside the walls.``
Derima was both amazed and shocked by the city's history. He knew it dated back to 2100 BJT, when civilization was still sparse and forested – but decided not to ask further.
As Tzukaga stood to leave, he spoke.
[Tzukaga]: "Alright, i'll have to get back to my duties, see you Derima."
He dashed off at incredible speed. Altair had fallen asleep on Derima's shoulder – so he lifted her and used his "Shadow (Dark) Teleportation" skill for the first time, feeling he was close to mastering flight. He laid her on her bed, turned off the lamp, and fell asleep himself.
He woke in a strange dream – split between light and dark – and heard a voice behind him.
[???]: "Your the only hope, my incarnation..."
He turned to find no one there, then jolted awake in shock. It was morning – their last day in the city before venturing beyond the Kingdom of Shaul.
They packed their bags and prepared to leave. Tzukaga approached, placing a hand on each of their shoulders.
[Tzukaga]: "Stay safe you two and goodluck.. thank you for coming, i hope to see you guys again."
He smiled warmly and waved goodbye. Derima waved back, while Altair returned the smile with her usual radiant charm before they headed out.
Getau was waiting for them with a polite smile.
[Getau]: "You guys had fun?"
[Derima]: "Yeah, we had fun – the most enjoyable time we've had yet."
Altair nodded vigorously in agreement. They climbed into the carriage as Getau asked.
[Getau]: "Where are we going now..?"
[Derima]: "To Petheria. Southwest of Shaul City."
[Getau]: "Got it!."
The horse pulled the carriage forward, passing the stunning navy-blue Shaul River before arriving at their destination. The System appeared before Derima.
[System]: ``Town of Petheria, it has 50,000 estimated elven population and it is known for its unique features, such as it's people being only elves alongside with a few humans, it's the reason why it's called the Town of Elves.``
A sign read: "Welcome to Petheria, Town of Elves"
Altair was thrilled to explore the new town, but wanted to change out of her adventurer's cloak. She headed to a shop called "Outfit for girls" while Derima waited patiently for her to reveal her new look.
When she stepped out, she looked more majestic than ever – wearing a white t-shirt, pink fluffy jacket, and blue pants, resembling Archangel Ariel herself.
[Altair]: "Well.. how do i look..?"
Derima gave a thumbs up, barely holding back a nosebleed at her dazzling appearance. The System then appeared to his right.
[System]:``Altair Acantha, [ETHEREAL OF THE SNOW] she's an innocent adventurer, but secretly a powerful being that can wipe out kingdoms.``
Derima stared in shock, wondering what "Snow" meant. The System appeared again.
[System]: ``There are 8 Ethereals currently, and their Descendants from the Heroes that defeated Jadakiss Ignatius in 1 BJT, the Ethereals are.. Shadow, Snow, Desert, Curse, Ocean, Nature, Lava, Wind.``
Lost in thought, he didn't notice Altair waving her hand in front of his face.
[Altair]: "Hey!, you've been spacing out!."
She puffed her cheeks, annoyed but worried about his frequent distractions. Derima chuckled and smiled.
[Derima]: "It's nothing really.."
Altair looked at him suspiciously, but he ruffled her hair and she relented.
[Altair]: "Fine, i'll believe it's nothing."
She crossed her arms and walked ahead, with Derima following behind. The town's gleaming, colorful houses were beautiful – though they still found themselves comparing everything to Glycerin, which had left a lasting impression.
Suddenly, every elf around them twisted their heads 360 degrees and collapsed dead. Altair and Derima froze in horror as the air turned reddish-violet. A man landed a mile away, and Derima drew his sword for the first time while Altair took cover behind him.
The stranger had black-grey fluffy hair, white eyes with red nonagon-shaped pupils, a fully buttoned red-and-purple striped jacket, black jeans, black shoes, and a magenta bowtie – handsome despite his sadistic smile that sent chills down their spines.
[Derima]: "Who are you?, and what are you doing here?!"
Altair clung to him, terrified of suffering the same fate as the townspeople. The man bowed politely with a grin.
[Venj Canis Major]: "I.. am Venj Canis Major.. Representing the 5 Major's in the Titius Organization.. in your service!"
Altair gasped and shouted.
[Altair]: "Derima!, you can't win this fight!, he is one of the Strongest Majors in the Titius Organization!, a powerful organization that was once the headquarters of the legendary figure!"
Derima's heart raced as the System appeared beside him.
[System]: ``Venj Canis Major, one of the strongest of the Five Majors, and has an outstanding power that can snap or twist every people necks like a towel.``
But he refused to back down. Taking steady breaths, he closed his eyes and focused on his abilities. Canis tilted his head in curiosity.
[Venj Canis Major]: "Come on!, your not gonna fight me aren't cha..?"
After a few seconds, Derima opened his eyes – his pupils now red heptagons, and large black feathered wings unfurling from his back. He moved them with perfect control as Canis watched with new interest.
[Venj Canis Major]: "Oh?, your gonna fight me aren't you?
Altair grabbed his shirt tightly, her voice filled with worry.
[Altair]: "No, you can't win!..."
Derima looked at her with a sad smile, then turned his gaze to Canis with burning anger. He chuckled to ease her fears.
[Derima]: "Don't worry, because i'am the saviour for this town!"
And with that, the battle between Derima and Canis began.