"And I didn't even have to blow everything up…" Baal smirked, tired of mocking Zeus. "Honestly, what's the point of having a nuclear bomb if I can't use it?" He chuckled
Ouranos and Zeus didn't know it, but in truth, Baal wasn't saved by Ouranos — they were the ones saved from Baal.
They had barely avoided something far, far worse than death.
"Sucks to be me, I guess." He shrugged and kept laughing, tossing his space bag up and down.
Inside it was a bomb capable of blowing up everything instantly.
But of course, that wasn't why the bomb was to be feared. Rather, it was for its ability to open a hole in the cosmos that would swallow all matter and living beings.
both gods would die without knowing what happened!
"Anyway, Mjolnir and Master Lightning are terrible names. I'm going to rename you to my liking. You two will fuse and become the first Authority of this level, so let's call it what it is — Ultimate Lightning Authority."
"The ultimate power." He then turned toward the road and calmly walked toward the center of this world.
"To think it was a beast that named this hehe. The gods back home would be livid if they found out." Baal suddenly stopped and looked up at the blue sky, eyes gleaming and a wide, smug grin on his face.
"After all, they are losers and naming is a right reserved for the victor." The Beast said to himself.
The gods had grown tired of their own tyranny — but it was a beast who finally ended it.
A beast had won against them.
***
Days passed ever since and today Baal looked at the city at the center of the world.
[ New Area Unlocked: Gates of Orario ]
| All those who sleep, dream. all those who dream, dream of the city of dreams. And this is its gates.
| Have a nice dream!
| Exploration Progress: 0%
Orario had eight gates connecting the walled city to the outside.
Each gate had its own control center with customs and some guards ready to inspect merchants and travelers' entry and deal with possible problems, such as wanted criminals.
In front of the gate, hundreds of large wagons with expensive, strong horses lined up in a display of wealth and power.
However, right next to them was a stark contrast.
Alongside the wealthy merchants, thousands of aspiring adventurers and other farmers from the countryside lined up in a seemingly endless line that moved much more slowly than the other.
Baal, upon noticing this, made a strange grimace and looked around anxiously.
He wanted to enter the city faster and he would find a better way.
"Something wrong, friend? You seem rather uncomfortable." A short man in simple but elegant clothes approached him with a gentle smile.
"Who wouldn't feel bad seeing this?" Baal shot a glance at the line. "There are so many ugly and poor people in one place, it's almost pitiful." The man chuckled.
"Unfortunately, that's just how things are around here. Orario already has a very large population to feed. So, the fewer 'rats' from the countryside like 'us' coming in, the better for them." The short man said.
Baal kept watching the entrance and quickly noticed that many people didn't have the money to enter the city and were simply being turned away at the gates.
People who dressed and looked a lot like him.
Who, by chance, didn't have a penny.
Only travelers with deep pockets from good families and merchants with carriages full of goods were managing to enter the city.
"How much are they charging?" Baal asked, wanting confirmation — at the mention, the man's smile widened.
"Today they're being quite generous. If you don't have valuables to be taxed, it's about 50,000 valis per person. "
"But of course, you need to have more than the fees if you want to enter as a traveler." Baal still had some memories from the original owner of that body and quickly did some mental math to know the exact price of this.
'A group of five level one adventurers makes around 25,000 valis per day, so each earns about 5,000 valis daily. '
'Considering the price of common goods, if I converted that to the currency of my original world, a beginner adventurer earns around 35 dollars a day, a bit less or more depending on the exchange rate.'
'That means 1,000 valis equals 7 dollars — and 50,000 equals 350 dollars…' His expression darkened instantly.
'It wasn't an impossible amount to pay, but for an ordinary worker, it would require some savings. After all, there was still housing, food, water, and everything else to pay for'
'in other words, not a simple amount for a common farmer coming from a much smaller town and much less for me who doesn't have a coin in my pocket.'
"But today's your lucky day, kid. I'm part of a small private group of explorers of the Dungeon, and part of our job is checking entrances near the surface. As it happens, there's one right near here." He rubbed his hands together with greed as he spoke.
He was controlling an illegal entrance to the Dungeon and by extension to Orario.
It was written all over his face in large letters how foolish dreams were a good source of easy money.
"Oh really? How much for a tour through them?" Baal asked nonchalantly.
"Normally we charge 5,000 valis, but for a young, strong lad like you, with so much future ahead… I'll do it for 3,000! I don't want to be an obstacle to your dream, so it's the price of a friend, you know?" he said with a generous smile.
"Deal!" Baal said, still without a coin.
The man quickly guided Baal away from the city, far from the sight of any guard. Out there, in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, there was a small entrance to the Dungeon, apparently abandoned.
The hole in the ground was small and had only a small wooden door hiding it from the outside, and even so, it was something very precious to shady traders.