There’s little light at night, but I am actually enjoying myself, even if my heart is weighed by worry. It’s been a while since I ran with all my might, since it causes too much of a stir. And now I do so with even a bit of bestowal on top. The force is hurting my legs, but not much, it feels like wind is rushing past my hair even though this world doesn’t have weather. I feel alive.

I get an idea. What if enhance my legs with hardening? The pain ceases as I do so, so I amp up the bestowal. It’s still fine so a little more. A little more.

I feel like my face is starting to squish against the air pressure, but the power, the speed I am feeling, it is all too exhilarating. I wonder how long I can run like this before my mana slips up?

To my surprise, it is not that intensive, as I run out just an hour or so before my morning refresh comes around and I am filled with energy once again. I tone it down a notch, so that I can hopefully last the entire day.

I don’t need to, though, as a few hours later, a city becomes visible, clawing itself into my sight from the mist. I try to slow down, but it doesn’t go to well. My momentum in too great and I try to slow down too fast, so the force carries me over my own feet and I roll several times, before slowly coming to a stop pretty close to the city.

I get up and look around to see if anyone caught sight of it, as it must have looked suspicious as all hell, but no one is near except for guard… And he’s sleeping. I heave a breath of relief.

I approach him slowly, at normal human speeds until I reach him. He seems to be sleeping soundly and the gate into the city is wide open. I toy with the idea of walking right in, but I think it may cause problems if I am not admitted by the guard.

“Exuse me?” I say. When he doesn’t react, I repeat it a bit louder while poking him. He is sleep on a stool of some sort.

“Hnn?” He slowly comes to life. “What is it?” He asks me.

“Can I pass?” I remember being checked for some sort of identity multiple times in the past, but the only thing I have now is a hunter tag with the name of an evil legend on it.

“Yeah, whatever, pass” He half-mumbles. Lucky! I try to not ask him anything in order to not antagonize the sleepy man and waltz in through the gate. The markets are usually somewhere in the middle of a city, since everyone needs food, and true enough, after following the road a little, a market square opens up to me. In my backpack I have the Asti from back in God’s Win. I didn’t have much opportunity to use them at the frontier, since there was no real economy there, but now they will come in handy.

As I try to haggle with the first merchant I find selling a large amount of food, and start picking out what I want, I get scoffed at.

“Do you even have any money?” I wonder why he is so dismissive of me? I fish up a large handful of Asti.

“Ah, I don’t take Asti, such a bother.” Is the response I hear.

“Why?” I ask, almost in despair.

“Because they are becoming harder and harder to use of course. Tell you what, if you throw in an extra 60, I will consider it.” I have only asked for food I think is worth 200 Asti, or what I could judge to fit in my backpack, so it is a considerable mark-up.

“Then what do people use instead of Asti?” He narrows his eyes in response to the question.

“You… You are not from the republic?” He asks me in an accusatory tone.

“Eh, no, I just came in from the west.” I say. He smiles a little. “Then allow me to wish you welcome to the republic, where everyone is equal!” He says with a big smile on his face. My heart brightens a little. I didn’t see any Silvestri, but he just said everyone is equal! I try to affirm it.

“Even Silvestri?” I ask with high expectancy.

“Of course not the Silvestri, that goes without saying.” My heart sinks once again. “That’d be like asking if women are equal too.”

“You have a weird definition of everyone.” I fault him for saying such stuff.

“It’s not meant to be taking literally. Everyone can’t be equal, just think of giftholders! Those lucky bastards get ahead in life from day one. No, it is meant to be understood as wherever you come from, you will be judged by your ability, not by your birth!” He says.

“But not if you are a Silvester or a woman?” He scoffs at me.

“Of course, if you have the capability. It is just that women and subhumans are naturally less capable than us, and thus less equal.” He sounds like a real ass. Heck, in this world were everything comes from the dungeons, it seems to me the Silvestri have an edge, what with their superior physical ability to the average human.

“What about dryads? Or Tarruns?”

“The fuck are those?” I sigh a little and give up, finishing the transaction. And with a backpack full of food, I set off back towards my friends. Leaving the city, I pass the still sleeping gate-guard. I wonder if he gets in trouble if anyone finds him here sleeping. I don’t wake him, as I don’t think I need permission to leave and set off.

I quickly notice something wrong, however. The road appears to have with small gaps, received heavy damage as the stones are often broken and the dirt kicked up, making small craters… I did that, didn’t I?