In Oasis City, there were three points of entry. Consequently, that also meant there are only three exit points. That is if you are only counting the legal methods to enter or exit the city.

The first two methods were considered the ground entry. There were two entry points for this method. The north and south exits. Both entry points were in complete opposite directions but are heavily guarded.

The architects of the city thought it was to limit the points of entry for enemies, hence why they only created two entrances. If one side was ever besieged by threats, then the citizens could always escape through the backdoor, and vice versa. That was the reason the entrances were designed as far as they could from each other. At least that is what scholars assumed when they studied the creation of the city. The original architects have long passed away and records of the city creation were scarce.

The third exit point was through what was known as the port. This method was considered much more luxurious than the other two and was created not long after the creation of Federation. It was the main method used to travel between cities as it was much faster and safer. People would board a shuttle that would launch towards space where they would enter the space station people called “the belt.” They would then be able to find transport that would lead them to another shuttle heading to their destination.

At least that was what Seth heard from people who had the experience. Personally, he never got the chance to as there was never a need. Shuttles could be seen blasting off every day from the port. Seth had no doubts that he would travel through this method if wish to leave this city one day, but when was he going to do it? That was a question for future him.

Now some people may wonder why people didn’t fly or drive to other cities? Airplanes were rare as only the Federation military or wealthy companies used them. The airspace was often dominated by beast and planes were easily destroyed. Maintenace also wasn’t cheap for planes. That was why shuttles directly blasted straight up to space and were heavily armored. Flying monsters knew to avoid the airspace above cities as it was considered a danger zone. Another nickname for shuttles were “buckets” due to their shape and sturdiness. It wasn’t rare for a bucket to hit an unaware flying monster as they were leaving or entering the city.

If someone wish to drive to another city, the cost and danger would increase at least ten-fold. No one knew what manner of beast they would meet if they travelled by car or by foot. Not to mention the unpredictability of rifts. If they were’ fortunate’, they may even encounter a Class 5 threat. While the Federation have the ability to detect rifts and dispatch personnel to close them, the amount time for the entire process is not short. There was also a matter of the vehicle used to transport. The spare parts needed for any vehicle if you were to account for every emergency scenario one could run into could fill an entire truck. Not to mention food and fuel needed for the trip. What a traveler would fear the most would be being stranded due to a broken vehicle part as they would be forced to walk to their destination which can triple their travel time at the least.

That was why, traveling by shuttle was considered the best method to travel between cities. It may cost an arm and a leg, but it saved a lot of headaches.

Seth had taken the northern entrance with Jacks’s former squad members the day before. Now he was leaving through the South exit with Kong. The security was as laxed as the Northern Entrance.

“Is it that easy to leave the city?” Seth asked after a bored looking guard wave them through.

“ Yep. It’s really only the mercenaries that go through this exit. They're really only there for show. I'll tell you a secret. The guards here at this exit are actually mercenaries. A lot of people want to sign up for security at the exit since it’s a easy job with easy money.”

“The Federation is fine with that? What if unquailed people get let through?”

“It is less of a hassle for the Federation if mercenaries man this entrance. Less conflict this way. They mind their business at the other end, while the mercenaries mind there's.”

“What if someone gets passes through when they shouldn’t?”

“So what? If someone want to die because of their stupidity, then let them. “

Kong and Seth continued to walk , leaving the city farther and farther behind with each step. The view from the South exit wasn’t much different from the North exit. The earth was dried up and cracked, with the sun beaming down on them.

As Seth was walking, he noticed an object protruding from the ground. At first, he thought it was a stone, but as he got closer, he realized it was something else. The shape of the object was too unnatural for it to be due to natural causes. It wasn’t until he walked closer that he realized for what it was.

A skull.

“Why the hell is there a skull here?” Seth exclaimed as he took a step back.

“Oh, I see you met Kyle.” Kong said as he kept walking.

“Kyle? You mean this skull here belong to someone named Kyle? That still doesn’t answer my question.”

“Yeah, the skull name is Kyle. Don’t know if that was actually their name when they were still alive. Rumor has it that there once an arrogant Awaken mercenary named Kyle. He thought he was invincible so one day he made a bet when he was drunk. The bet was that nothing out here was strong enough to kill him. As you can see, he lost the bet. And his life”

“Huh. Interesting story. Still doesn’t explain why his skull is still here?”

“That’s because the skull is signal that this is pretty much the end of the safety zone. Once we go past the skull, the weaponry on the wall can’t help us. Monsters also know that the skull is consider the borderline for them and keep away. If monsters walk past Kyle then they have a death wish.”

Seth did remember reading somewhere that there was a small safety zone outside the walls. It was something along the lines of 1 mile beyond the walls was consider the safety limit. He just didn’t think that it would be marked in such a manner.

“Also Kyle can’t be moved,” Kong added.

“What do you mean Kyle can't be moved? It’s a skull for freakin sake.”

“I meant exactly what I said. Kyle can’t be moved. A lot of people tried. They think it has something to do with his Awaken abilities when he was alive, but no one knows the truth. Go ahead and try if you don’t believe me.”

Seth went and tried. It seem a bit disrespectful to move a person’s skull but decided to trust Kong's words. First, he gave a small kick with his foot to test the skull. And the skull did not budge. Then he bent down and tried with two hands. Nothing. The skull refused to move. For five minutes, Seth exerted all his strength to move the skull, but ultimately failed and gave up in the end. He figured he could leave it for another day as he was sure the objective of them coming was not to move some’s head.

Kong just stood there and watch in amusement the whole time.

“Believe me now?” Kong asked with a smirk.

“Yeah, now I do. Did you also try?”

“Yep I did. It’s considered a mercenary rite of passage. I thought it was a joke when I heard and tried to kick it.”

“Did it move?”

“You bet it did is what I want to say, but Kyle was too damn hard. I broke my foot that day. Had to limp back to the city.”

Seth had seen Kong when he used all his strength. That meant he also used his Awaken abilities to kick Kyle. Seth knew that Kong was technically stronger than him. Stronger as in Kong could lift more weight than Seth. Seth believed he could beat Kong in a fight, Kong would win hand’s down in a brute strength contest. If it broke Kongs foot, then that meant Skull needed more strength then Seth could muster at the moment.

“Why did you kick it of all things? I thought you prefer punching?” Seth asked.

“I do like punching things more. But when you look at Kyle, it looks like he’s grinning at you. It makes me naturally want to kick it and send it flying.”

Seth observed the skull. “It does look like it’s grinning, but I think that’s how it naturally is. The jaw of a skull is naturally set in place. It’s the muscles that causes a change in a person’s expression.”

“I don’t care how natural it is, it looks like Kyle is making fun of me and nobody take me for a fool. Although there are some weirdos out there who think seeing Kyle is a sign of good luck.”

“Why? Wouldn’t people consider seeing a skull a bad sign? You make it sound like the skull moves around.”

“Beats me. People can be weird. It's because they know where the safety zone ends and where it begins. Kyle does seem to disappear sometimes, but I never thought too much about it. Come on, let's go.” Kong shrugged and continued walking. “Speaking of Kyle for so long makes me remember some bad memories. These monster aren’t going to kill themselves.”

Seth followed along and took one last glimpse at Kyle after they walk for a couple of minutes. To Seth’s surprise he had found the skull was facing their direction staring at them. When they had first encountered Kyle, the skull has been facing the city, now it was facing the opposite direction.

Watching them as if the two boy were walking off into some unknown danger.

Kong may have been right about Kyle and trying to kick it after all. There was just something not right about the skull.

Seth shuddered and picked up his pace.