The guard froze, his thick eyebrows knitting together in genuine bewilderment. The other guards too were jolted awake from their ennui, too.

"What!?"

Ishiki too was frozen. That... was not what he was going to say. Actually, he shouldn't have said that...

'Goddamned Corruption.'

He sneered internally, fighting the chaotic urge rising in his throat, and forced a smile onto his face.

"I... I mean, the wall is so beautiful... right?" He gestured vaguely at the golden surface. "Just look at those curves... such perfection. The way the light hits the... verticality. Truly avant-garde."

The guard stared at him. He looked at the flat, vertical wall, then back at Ishiki. "It's a wall, kid. It doesn't have curves. It's flat."

"Exactly!" Ishiki nodded vigorously. "Flat is... structural integrity! I was merely admiring the geometric purity of it all."

"As a student of architecture, of course." he added.

The guard slowly looked Ishiki up and down, his gaze lingering on the worn grey tunic and the chaotic mess of black hair. "You look like a student of picking pockets."

"Yeah?... when the heck did i pick your mom's-" Ishiki shut his mouth mid sentence.

A long moment of silence stretched between them, broken by a suppressed chuckle from one of the guards behind.

The guard on the front blinked at him, his expression didn't soften. Instead, it hardened into a look of zealous indignation. The one in the front with a big moustache stepped forward, looming over Ishiki, his shadow stretching long across the pavement.

"Watch your tongue, boy," the guard rumbled, his voice dropping an octave. "Anyways... what do you want here?"

Ishiki nervously took a step back and gulped hard under the ferocious soldiers gaze. "Now, now," Ishiki chuckled, waving a hand dismissively. "Let's not get angry. I am merely a humble person wishing to admire the greenery of the Secondary Ring. Surely a man of your stature understands the need for fresh air?"

"Do you have a pass?" The soldier asked without even thinking twice.

Ishiki looked at him and grimaced. He forced another smile, though it was thinner now. He didn't have a pass. He didn't even have a coherent lie prepared and as it stood, he didn't even had a proper reason or so, would the people think. "I... I don't."

The guard lowered to his level and pierced him with a strong gaze. "Get out of here kid. I can't let you get to the other side... not after what you said about the holy walls. they were a gift from the Gods themselves, bestowed upon the Empire. These walls have stood here, pristine and unbreakable, for centuries—longer than you were even a thought in your father's mind."

The guard backed up and stood straight. "Next time, show some respect or you will be arrested."

Ishiki nodded, intending to apologize and back away. 'Just agree. Bow and leave. '

He was not an original citizen of Aethelburg. He didn't care about their walls, their history, or their gods. But he cared about survival. He had clawed his way back to his mother after facing hell, and he wasn't about to lose her again because of a bruised ego.

He opened his mouth to offer a meek apology and find another route.

"Respect? For walls?"

The voice that left his lips was his, yet it wasn't, it was dripping with sudden, unintended malice.

"It's just a shiny cage for cattle like you. And frankly, if the Gods built this, they have terrible taste in decor. It matches your face—which looks a squashed potato, and incredibly stupid."

His eyes went wide. He slapped a hand over his mouth so hard it stung. 'Holy Shit!'

"Get him!" the guard roared, the sound of steel sliding against leather ringing through the air.

Pedestrians froze, turning to watch the spectacle. The guards surged forward, weapons drawn.

But as they closed the distance, confusion rippled through them. The boy who had just been standing there, looking terrified and insolent in equal measure, was nowhere to be found.

Ishiki had already activated [Ghost Blade], spun on his heel and sprinted, diving into the nearest alleyway.

He retreated into the shadows, heart hammering against his ribs.

"Okay," he muttered to himself, pressing his back against the cold brick. "Plan A is a bust. Plan B it is."

Waiting, hidden in the shadows of the small alley. Ishiki summoned the Scenario details out of sheer boredom.

========================

⌜Scenario Details⌟

Total Participants - 998

Objective - Kill the Emperor of Aethelburg

Rewards - 40,000 Data Fragments, 100,000 NC, New Skill Card.

========================

Ishiki blinked, his brow furrowing as he parsed the text.

'Wait, wait... the hell?'

The window had changed, and in more than one way. The rewards were changed... they were doubled in fact. But the money and Data Fragments weren't the things that shocked him the most. But the last change was what sent chills down his spine.

'A new Skill Card...' That was the most precious of the rewards. Not for him, he could get new skills from the help of his Exclusive skill.

But for others, who didn't have that... it was the only chance of getting something better.

Everyone who survived the initial Trial had been granted a single skill. The rare few who acquired a Title received exclusive skills tied with those particular Titles, widening the gap between the strong and the weak.

They still didn't knew full well of how the system would help their further ascensions, but what they knew was that... getting a new skill was not at all easy, maybe impossible even.

Not anymore.

The changes had occurred after the number of participants fell below 1000. Ishiki felt a bit sad at the fact.

The number had stabilized over the last few months, but every now and then, it would drop by one or two. A silent reminder that peace was just a pause button and now finally... over a thousand people had lost their lives inside this Scenario.

The objective still remained. "Kill the Emperor of Aethelburg."

Ishiki couldn't help but sneer at the thought. 'Only if, it was that easy.'

Just then... he saw plan B rolling down the main street. And a smile appeared on his face.

It was a massive supply cart, piled high with crates. But there were no horses or beasts of burden pulling it. instead, four men, shirtless and glistening with sweat, strained against thick leather harnesses. They looked malnourished, their ribs visible against their skin, yet the muscles in their arms and legs were corded like steel wire—the desperate strength of those who sold their bodies for a few coins.

The cart trundled slowly toward the gate, the wheels groaning under the weight.

'Okay...' Ishiki thought, his eyes narrowing as he tracked the slow, agonizing progress of the vehicle. 'Let's roll along with Plan B.'

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