Gravis' rage grew as he realized what had happened. He hadn't thought about it, but wasn't it weird that some seller, over a major Realm stronger than him, would patiently answer all his questions? He had initially believed that the seller only wanted to appear friendly so that Gravis would continue buying stuff from him, but that had been wrong apparently.
Gravis sighed. "I'm sorry. My Research Adept emblem has been stolen by someone," he said.
"I know," the guard said. "I saw it. He stole it right when he pocketed your resources."
Gravis' grew frustrated again. If the guard saw it, he could have probably also stopped it. Sadly, it wasn't against the rules to steal other people's stuff in the Sky Community, and Gravis had nothing to do with the guard. He couldn't expect the guard to stand up for him. After all, Gravis probably also wouldn't care if he saw that happen.
Gravis would just think that this would be a great learning experience for the victim, but now, he was the victim. Gravis sighed again. 'Maybe I should really look at it as a learning experience,' he thought in defeat. 'Strength is everything, and if I can't protect my belongings, I probably don't deserve to keep them.'
That outlook was cruel, but in this world, it was a sad reality. It might be a wrong outlook for mortals, but for cultivators, it showed the cold truth. If he didn't have the power to protect his life or belongings, he would die or lose them.
"Anyway, since you've seen that it was mine, can you let me enter? You should know that I'm a Research Adept," Gravis said.
The guard shook his head. "Sorry, it's against the rules," he said.
Gravis furrowed his brows. "What do you mean with, against the rules? You know that I'm a Research Adept, and Research Adepts are allowed into the city, right?"
The guard shook his head again. "Wrong. People with a Research Adept emblem are allowed into the city, not Research Adepts. There is a difference."
Gravis grew more frustrated. "This is bullshit! Doesn't that mean that our city will lose Research Adepts and gain new people that aren't interested in going to middle worlds? That seems incredibly stupid!" Gravis shouted.
The guard sighed. "I know," he said, surprising Gravis. "It's a shit rule in my opinion too, but I have to enforce it if I don't want to lose my job. Do you have a powerful connection in the city that can help you enter? People at the Immortal King Realm can bring people into the city."
Gravis nodded. "My father should be enough. My father is the Opposer," Gravis said.
The guard looked with skepticism at Gravis. "I don't see the Obsidian Ring on you," he said.
Gravis' clenched his fist in frustration. He really didn't want to say it, but he had to. "I lost it," he said.
The guard looked like he had expected the answer. "Mhm, that's quite inconvenient, isn't it? First, you lose your Research Adept badge, and then you lose your Obsidian Ring, eh? Was that stolen too?" he asked.
Gravis sighed. "No," he said through gritted teeth. "I lost it in the lower world," he said.
"Mhm, sure," the guard said sarcastically. "And I guess all your other powerful connections are not available at the moment, are they?" he asked.
"Orpheus is my brother. He has a high position in the research department. He can vouch for me," Gravis said.
The guard nodded a couple of times with sarcastic enthusiasm. "Great! Then contact him. After all, nearly everyone has a Telepathy Talisman. It shouldn't be an issue to contact him, would it?" he asked with a mocking tone.
Gravis' frustration grew as he clenched his teeth. "I don't have one of those," he said.
The guard had a mocking, shocked look on his face. "Oh no, what happened? Your Research Adept emblem was stolen while you lost your Obsidian Ring? Did you maybe sell your Telepathy Talisman, or was that stolen or lost too?" the guard asked, 'concerned'.
Gravis narrowed his eyes. "I never had one in the first place."
The guard looked with a mocking, defeated look at the sky. "That sucks, man. Everything that can prove that you can enter the city has been stolen or lost. You really have some shitty luck, huh?"
Gravis snorted. "You can call it shitty luck if you want," he said.
The guard also snorted. "Anyway. Enough playing around. You can't enter the city." Then, the guard's eyes narrowed. "On top of that, you have tried to impersonate one of the princes, which is a crime," the guard said.
Gravis looked with narrowed eyes at the guard. "And what's the punishment for that?" he asked, unamused.
The guard noticed that Gravis wasn't nervous at all, which made him hesitate. What if Gravis really was one of the princes? "Normally, you would be put to work for 20% of your Realm's expected lifetime, but since I saw your emblem being stolen, I'll overlook this fact this time. Yet, I can't let you go without some repercussions," the guard explained.
Gravis lifted one of his eyebrows unamused. "Which are?" he asked.
"You will be transported to the city's outside. Whatever happens, is up to your strength and luck."
Gravis wanted to ask what the guard meant, but he felt himself unable to move. Then, he felt an incredible amount of Energy gathering around his body, and around a second later, Gravis vanished.
Whooop!
And reappeared somewhere else. This was Gravis' first time being teleported by someone else. He had been teleported to the lower worlds for his practical exams and for his journey, but that was done by Formation Arrays. A person had never teleported him from one place to another. He didn't even know if that was possible.
Gravis looked at his new surroundings and grew shocked. Behind him was a humongous wall. It was so big that Gravis felt like it was splitting the world in two. He couldn't see its top, and it looked like it stretched into infinity.
The wall was completely black and seemed to be one solitary object with no gaps. The sheer size of it made Gravis feel like an ant.
One half of his world seemed to be comprised of the wall, while the other half was the outside of the city. Gravis had never left the city, so he had no idea how the outside of the highest world looked. Now, he was able to look at the city's surroundings for the first time in his life.
Yet, they were rather plain. He saw grass and trees. Yet, there was a suspicious absence of beasts or even insects. On top of that, the trees and grass looked too ordinary. He could see none of the towering trees or aggressive plants that he had expected. There was also no human or settlement around. It was just pure nature as far as the eye could see.
'Isn't the highest world the strongest one? Why does everything look so quiet and peaceful?' Gravis thought in suspicion. The surroundings were tranquil, and the only thing Gravis could hear with his powerful hearing was the wind.
He didn't hear birds, insects, or even the rustling of trees. Only a mild wind blew, but the grass and trees remained absolutely still. It was almost like the wind didn't exist for them.
When Gravis saw that, his eyes narrowed. 'If the wind does not even affect the grass, it probably means that this is no simple grass. It might not look like it, but the grass is probably so dense and hard that the wind doesn't have enough power to influence it. I shouldn't touch it for now,' Gravis thought.
He had been flying before he had been teleported, and he had appeared a couple of kilometers in the air. He was nowhere near the ground, which relieved him. The plants and grass definitely weren't simple. After all, they could grow here, at the closest spot to the center of the world.
He remembered that his father had told him that even the weakest beasts in the surroundings were stronger than the strongest person in a lower world. If such powerful beasts fought, they would probably destroy a lot of territories. The fact that this grass still grew here without any issues showed that it was extraordinary.
Rustle, rustle.
Gravis saw the trees and grass in the distance rustling. It was like a wind was blowing outwards, making the grass and leaves sway. When Gravis saw that, he narrowed his eyes and started flying upwards as fast as he could. His Spirit didn't reach that far into the distance, but he knew what that was.
The swaying of the grass grew closer at an incredible speed. It looked like wind, but Gravis was sure that this was no wind. That was a shockwave!
Gravis charged to the sky as fast as he could, but the shockwave was faster. The gentle swaying of the grass hid its power. It looked like a peaceful wind, but Gravis knew better. As he gained height, his nervousness grew.
In a couple of seconds, he felt a minuscule tremor going through the massive wall. The tremor was so small that no mortal could notice it, but Gravis was able to feel it just barely with his Spirit. 'How powerful is this shockwave that it even manages to affect the wall?' Gravis thought.
Gravis immediately transferred as much as he could into his body to harden it.
Then, the shockwave arrived.
BANG! BANG!
Gravis was hit, spat out a mouthful of blood, and hit the wall. Many of his bones broke, but he was still alive. He immediately healed himself with about half of his Life Lightning and continued flying upwards.
Or at least, he would have, if he hadn't noticed the grass in the distance swaying more and more. Gravis realized that this was not the only shockwave.
It was only the first of many!