Mash looked around quickly, devouring the city with his eyes. He pointed upwards. The gesture alone indicated his desire to fly about. The city would probably feel even more incredible while flying. Red shook her head.

“Not a good idea. If there are people inside, they probably wouldn’t take too kindly to us flying in like that.”

She was right, but Mash wasn’t sure about the hostility. He didn’t think they were trying to attack or trap him. The paint and symbols felt more like a test or game that someone had decided to try. It felt like something someone would do out of curiosity. He knew that the others thought as much, but he would take the extra caution and follow Red’s advice. She continued to explain that they might want to sneak in. It seemed like the people here weren’t prepared for their arrival, and Red believed that they should try and get some more information discretely.

No one really disagreed with the plan, and they tried their best to proceed quietly. There weren’t any walls, so they were able to stroll into the city without any trouble. They walked over to the nearest building. Even the smaller buildings were made in the same design as the tall ones. Metal frames with glass windows through these barely even reached half the height of the center buildings. They walked closer to it and noticed more of the tiled roads weaving in between the buildings. The gaps between the buildings were wide enough for them to sneak in without any trouble. Although, they didn’t need to sneak in. The city, at least this part of it was empty.

The grass that surrounded the town vanished upon entering the city. Although there were trees occasionally. They were clearly positioned intentionally, to provide color to the otherwise bland place. For all the expense, the buildings were somewhat plain. They were all made of a combination of silvery metal and plain glass. The streets were tiled grey stone. The only color the place had was from the occasional tree that was placed in the street. The trees were framed by small metal fences, and a mound of dirt from which the tree had sprouted. It was all very clean and exact, and it was creepy.

A silent, clean, and extravagant city were not as pleasing as it sounded. It was creepy, and Mash couldn’t help but feel like he was being watched. The cleanliness of the city made it hard to find places to hide. They could press themselves in between buildings, but some windows would always have a glimpse of them.

“Hiding feels kind of pointless. I mean, just look at all the windows. We might as well stroll in the center of the street at this point.”

Mash shared his thoughts with the others. Unintentionally, his words echoed. That would alert them if their presence had still gone unnoticed. He doubted it, but there was a chance. They were walking along the side of one of the buildings. They were circling the city. They wanted to scope out the center before taking any of the paths that lead inward. At least that way the people inside that one wouldn’t be able to see them. However, that left them completely open to the buildings across the street, not that they could spot anyone inside.

“Aren’t these buildings incredible?”

Luke brushed his hand against one of the windows while he talked. His eyes were alight with awe. Mash was feeling much the same and brushed his own fingers against the metal frame. It was cold on his fingertips. It was also smooth.

“It really is, isn’t it? You should’ve seen the people who had come up with the design.”

A smooth voice echoed in the empty city, and it was not one of them. Mash looked away from the building and tried to find the source of the sound. His head snapped down the empty street, but no one was standing within it. He swung his head around but still didn’t see anything. He wanted to track the sound, but the echoes made it hard to distinguish the origin of the voice. His own voice echoed, and this person’s words sounded like they were coming from everywhere. Jill was the one to find the speaker. Mash saw her point with his domain. He needed to take a few steps forward to look down the street where she was. She was standing at the corner of the building and was looking down a path that led further inside.

There was someone standing there. The man was several streets deeper into the city. Even from a distance, Mash could see him though. The man wore a strange shirt and shorts. It seemed kind of childish. The shirt was made of bright blue cloth, and the sleeves barely passed his elbows. It was plain though without any fancy designs on it. Mash could see white, human skin. His shorts hung just past his knees, which made it seem big on him. The person was probably a man though his appearance made him feel like a child. The only thing the man had that made him unique was a mask.

The mask covered his entire face. There were no slits or openings. Not for seeing or speaking. Even the shape of the mask was odd. It didn’t bend at all, instead, it was flat like a plate. On the front of it, Mash immediately noticed that the symbol from earlier was painted on its surface. The otherwise completely white mask had the symbol painted upon it with a bright red color. There was no mistaking this paint for blood, as the color was closer to pink than red.

“I do hope you’ve enjoyed exploring our fair city. I am so very sorry. We had not expected you to arrive so soon, and no one had been there to greet you upon your arrival. You really should’ve called ahead.”

The voice came out clearly. It didn’t get muffled by the mask at all. None of them were amused by the man’s attempt at humor. Mash considered himself as someone who was poor at noticing or reading the room, but this man was even more blind to it. None of them responded to the man but started walking closer. Regardless of who the man was or how he acted, the four of them started preparing for a fight.

Mash didn’t want to be sealed or trapped again and started transforming his body. He didn’t make the changes visible though. He focused inward, using his wolf form’s improved muscles to increase his stats. That was just one step. He mixed his cat form’s coordination and reflexes. The wolf form already improved his reflexes a little, but it was mostly focused on physical speed. However, it was his car form that actually made the best use of the speed. A test that he had discovered recently. Priscilla could give him a detailed analysis of what happened to his body when he transformed. It let him find some good combinations. This was one of them, although the energy cost was high for this transformation.

The others would be making their own preparations, but they didn’t get to approach the man in silence. He was a talker it seemed, and the man was more than happy to carry on a conversation by himself.

“I see you aren’t much for conversation. However, that is usually the case with every newcomer. I hope you don’t mind if I speak though. I find that it becomes harder to speak candidly the less distance there is between us.”

There was still no response. Not even Jill quipped with the man, but Mash could see her summon her needle. It coalesced in her hand, and that got the masked man to take a step backward.

“Wait, wait, wait. I am not here to fight you. I am merely a guide. If I had known that you would finish the first test so quickly, I would have met with you all outside of the city. “

The man’s hands came up, both palms were open and faced toward them. A simple sign of surrender; one that would normally cause Mash to stop. The usual reaction would involve speaking to the strange man. He was tired and had already experienced the consequences of his naivety today. It was not a mistake he would make again. Well, at least not on the same day.

“I’m not supposed to fight with you. Would you care for a tour of the city instead? There are many things here that would certainly be interesting to you. I’m sure there is better entertainment here than a simple brawl. Especially, since I am bound to lose. I know! How about we play a game instead? We could even flip a coin.”

The man started talking a little faster, but Mash could tell that it was just an act. The man wasn’t scared. No, he was eager, excited even for the fight. Mash could only tell because he was feeling much the same. Even before knowing anything about the man across the street, Mash could tell that he was strong. At the very least, he was confident enough to believe that he could handle all four of them at once. Once they were close enough for Mash to use his lightning magic effectively, Red finally responded to the man’s chattering.

“Who are you? Where are we? If you really don’t want to fight, we are going to need some answers.”

Red didn’t raise her voice, but she glared at the man. Most people would assume that Mash, Luke, or Jill were the deadliest in their group but that was wrong. Red might not fight in a flashy way, and she didn’t have a special weapon and wasn’t a god. However, she was arguably the best at killing. Her attacks inflicted a debilitating poison. Mash had gotten hit once or twice when they had sparred, and he still remembered how much it had hurt. It was like his insides had been burning, and there had been nothing he could do to put it out. Even if Mash could handle the damage, the pain still affected him. The man across the street tilted his head to the side. Mash got the feeling that he was looking at him.

“Well, that was a bit of a letdown. Either way, let me introduce myself properly. I am known as Fifty-One. You may address me as Sir Fifty, or Mister One. That was a joke, don’t do that.”

His words were received poorly, although Mash did smile a little. Not because he thought the man was funny, but rather it was because it seemed like he wasn’t trying to avoid a fight. The man still had his hands up in the air in surrender, but that didn’t mean much to them. He tried speaking again but Jill teleported next to the man. She aimed her javelin at his side and thrust it at the man. Mash grinned and dashed forward, but he thought that Jill’s attack seemed like an extreme reaction.

A wall of flame erupted between Jill and the masked man. It didn’t hit Jill as she teleported again. However, that did prevent her attack. Mash was the next to arrive, although another wall of fire rose from the ground directly in front of him. He didn’t care though and jumped through the fire. It was hotter than he expected, and his skin burned as the flames brushed against his skin. The burning flesh healed as it happened. Luke could cast his magic so long as he could see Mash, and the healing was more than enough to offset the fire.

Mash swung his fist through the flames. The flames spread out from the speed of his swings, but the man was gone. Mash could see him within his domain and snapped his head to the side. An enormous ball of fire was flying towards him incredibly quickly. Even with his stats, he knew that he couldn’t avoid it. Mash let his anti-magic aura billow outward, and he tried to raise his arms to brace for the impact.