Surviving The Myriad Worlds (A Multiplanar LitRPG)

Getting down from that absurd height was even more terrifying than the ascent. Before him, was a large round shaft in the middle of the building. It ran all the way to the bottom and was filled with levitating disks that darted to and from, depositing passengers on various floors.

One such disk settled in front of them and women clad in the robes of a mage ushered them aboard. She was standing in the center of the platform and various circles of runes stood around her. Dante was astonished to find that he recognized several of them. They had also been scrawled on the landship, though he still had no idea what they meant.

"You coming?" Asked Ren, gazing back questioningly at him. The rest of the party had crowded onto the platform, seemingly heedless of the lack of railing and long drop.

" ... Yeah."

Dante took a deep breath and crossed over, trying not to look over the sides. He inched towards the center, feeling nervous despite everyone's nonchalance. [Force Paragon] would not save him from such a fall. Not even close.

"What level?" asked the mage in a bored tone.

"Ground," replied Sūnva.

The platform descended with a lurch, moving far too fast for his comfort, and Dante grabbed onto Pauwna's arm. She snorted and gave him an amused look that caused him to blush. He did not remove his hand, however. Feeling a bit more secure, he realized that there was an order to the chaos around them. Ascending platforms were on the right and descending on the left. A very long staircase ran along the edge of the chamber, likely for emergencies. Though Dante would pity anyone who had to use them to go to the top.

The platform settled to the ground and they stepped off. Dante let go of Pauwna, but she caught his hand and pulled him ahead with the others. This floor was entirely open and suitably grand given everything else he had seen, spanning several stories of the tower and was filled with archways. As was everything around here, it was all gold. Dante found it excessively obsequious and thought it spoke to poor taste. An opinion he was careful to keep to himself.

It was empty save for them.

Each of their footsteps resounded throughout, magnified a thousandfold. It was a relief when they exited through the cracked-open grand double doors. Up until Dante discovered the square outside was similarly deserted save for the guards at a gate in the distance.

I am starting to get the feeling that there is something of a divide here.

"What are everyone's plans?" asked Sūnva, walking to the front of the group and turning around to face them.

"Hmm, I shall stay with my mother." Said Svōl in his usual bored tone, nearly causing Dante to stumble. This was not helped when Ren, Varvi, Rēva, and Urvan all spoke similarly. Ren threw an arm over Svōl and the stoic man drew close, then the group departed.

I guess people here like their moms. Which might be the first part of this culture I agree with. Still, why only their moms? Is it some kind of holiday?

Pauwna halted in dragging Dante away and said over her shoulder, "We are going to see the markets before the sun sets. Give Dante a taste of the good life before he is locked up in that palace for training."

"Sounds good to me," Dante said smiling. An afternoon away from all of this sounded heavenly. "And you, Sūnva?"

"No rest for me, I am afraid," She said, drowsiness leaking over her usual professional mask. "I got reports to file. Oh, and Dante?"

"Yes?"

"Don't forget to get your mana affinity identified at a diviner's shop. I am very intrigued to learn what it is."

"What's this now?" said Ren, pausing and forcing the others to halt. "Is it something unusual?"

"When Dante smoked the Lapūn leaf, the smoke was white."

"White?" asked Ren, clearly intrigued. "Like mundane smoke? This I have to see."

Ren unlocked her arm from Svōl, eliciting a dissatisfied grunt, and skipped over to throw her arm over Dante's shoulder.

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

Dante exchanged a glance with Pauwna and saw his reluctance mirrored there. He had been hoping for a fun, restful evening with her but that seemed doomed. He shrugged.

Whatever. If I had to choose anyone here to tag along, it would have been her.

"In that case, I have just the place in mind." Pauwna took the lead and led them away into the crowd. Straight away from the palace, he noted.

Such thoughts fell away as they moved further into the city and closer to the omnipresent stalls on the sides of the road. Dante had thought the camps market had a dizzying array of goods, but they were positively bare-bone compared to what was on offer here. He quickly realized that what had been on offer at camp was necessities, things that were worthwhile to an army on march. The only reason it had seemed exotic was because of the magical supplies on offer to casters.

It was an entirely different story here.

The primary thing on sale here was art. Whether that was in intricately tailored clothing — layered robes seemed to be the style here for men and women — or in three-dimensional portraits composed of dyed and interwoven strands of yarn. Dante saw the latter often hung up on the utilitarian blinds of shops and apartments, lending a splash of color to otherwise dour surroundings. He even saw a couple of larger pieces that were stretched across the streets and canal. Most often, they were portraits of what he assumed was Ahzi's mother, the empress, but he also saw other figures and some landscapes portrayed. Some even were abstract.

It was a thin veil of opulence that failed to hide the rot concealed beneath. It was even worse now that Dante was seeing it close up. Over half of the storefronts they passed were boarded up. Water spilled from cracked pipes into a series of buckets only to be redirected into the street. Dante was pretty sure that some of it was sewage, given the smell emanating from it. Several of the bridges over the canal were cracked and cordoned off. One was even fully collapsed.

This is an Empire in decline. We aren't even that far from the palace, but a good number of these buildings look actively unsafe to live in. I suppose the effects of the war are felt keenly even here, in the seat of power.

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Despite it all, the scale of everything was still impressive. Dante had to wonder, "How in the world were the buildings created? There is no way that Sūnsian hands alone did this."

At least, without modern technology.

It was Ren who answered him. "It was one of the marvels of the Empire's golden age before the Ahsmati bled us dry. All of our earth mages gathered together in one magnificent ritual, the likes of which have never been seen since. They dredged iron from deep beneath the surface to form the spires you see here and more besides. The foundation of the entire city became the greatest iron deposit in the world. Most of the Empire's iron comes from the mines here. And with the trace metals from the ritual, the royal palace was formed." Ren sighed dreamily, "Nothing like this is likely to happen again within our lifetimes. We have lost so many mages since then."

While Ren was giving that speech, Dante noticed something strange and more than a little sinister.

There was less diversity here. The street was filled with nothing but Sūnsians, which brought a lack of attention to Pauwna. The only reason it was so noticeable was that Dante and Ren were the focus of everyone on the street. Dante found it unnerving, despite all of his exposure to the culture. No matter where he looked, even if it were stories above at a random window, there was always a pair of eyes staring back. The patriotic fervor in those eyes was something to behold. Dante had slowed down to look at a shop that had books but moved on when there was no paper and the store had been swarmed by citizens the moment he had left.

It seems like the army is way more respected than I had thought. Perhaps Ahzi actually was doing me a favor in her mind, by letting me stay in the military.

There was a void in the downpouring of attention, and it was called Pauwna. It was like she a ghost, no one looked at her. When they entered shops, despite being in the lead, the storekeeper would always look at him and Ren. For her part, Pauwna didn't seem to let it bother her. She kept smiling and pointing things out to Dante as if nothing was happening, giving the world as much a cold shoulder as it gave her.

It ignited a seething fire in his gut. Pauwna had been born to defend these people, lost brothers and sisters for their ambition, and they couldn't even acknowledge it? Dante understood, right then, why she was a rebel. How could she not when this was her reward?

"Here we are!"

Dante focused back to reality to see that they had stopped in front of a door much like any other. It had one of those string art exhibits over the window that formed words that Dante could not read and a small picture of a magic circle that glowed a brilliant blue in the shadow of the overhang. It flickered off even as he watched, before turning on again, a little dimmer. The shutters on the windows were drawn close and dust was heavy upon the threshold.

"Nelim's Emporium of Arcane Supplies and Sundries?" read Ren doubtfully, giving the general disrepair a disgusted eye. "Are you sure this is the place? The shops I frequent are … more professional than this."

"This I do not doubt Ren, but neither I nor Dante have a mage's salary. So Nelim's Emporium it is. Unless you are offering to contribute to the bill?"

Ren conceded the point with a click of her tongue and pulled open the door to enter the shop. Contrary to his expectations, the inside of the store was clean and well organized save for the musty smell of old books. It was filled with the same things he had seen in various market stalls. Shelves were lined with mysterious powders of all colors and hundreds of herbs. A fair number of glittering crystals and metals made their appearance and one wall was even filled with wire cages of a menagerie of animals. While they all, in his limited experience, seemed higher quality than any supplies he had seen so far, the real prize was the tomes locked in a display case behind the counter. While he couldn't read their titles, the familiar runes on circles on their covers left no doubt as to what they were.

Books filled with arcane secrets.

Dante wanted them more than anything. According to Pauwna, they held the secrets of improving his lackluster offensive strength. Even if that hadn't been the case, they still called to his imagination.

"Ah welcome valued customers to my little corner of mysteries!" Dante's eye flicked down to the speaker and was struck with a moment of disorientation. This man looked nearly identical to Pauwna. Same color hair, eyes, and even a general facial shape. He was also of the same race as Pauwna. A Naula they were called, if he remembered correctly. It triggered a suspicion that had been building since he had seen Ahzi's Naula attendant. That could wait for later, Dante refocused on the man's words.

"Has anything struck your fancy? I recommend the —" The man, presumably Nelim, stopped speaking, a surprised expression spreading across his face. "Why as I live and breathe, is that you, Pauwna?"

Dante felt a flicker of jealousy as Pauwna returned the man's smile with a genuine one of her own. He tamped it down. Where had that come from?

"It is good to see you too, Nelim. I trust business has been good?"

Nelim waved his hand noncommittally. "It could be better, but I'll live. It's going to be better now that you have come. Will it be your usual order of —"

"Not today, unfortunately," Pauwna forcibly interjected. "Your customers today will be my companions."

Nelim's gaze drifted to him and to Ren, who had taken to pursuing the shop's shelves. His eyebrows raised upon catching Dante's gaze and he belatedly remembered how the people in the street acted like Pauwna didn't exist, even though she was a respected soldier.

Whatever, I wouldn't treat a friend of Pauwna like that even if I had remembered.

After a few seconds of sustained eye contact, Nelim gave him a small nod and smile. "I see. Any friend of Pauwna is a friend of mine. So what can I do for you, friend?"

"A mana affinity identification ritual."

Nelim's eyebrows climbed high. "Truly? I suppose that is a service my shop offers, though most of those customers are infants and children?"

"Is that going to be a problem?" Asked Pauwna. "It is important."

Nelim sighed. "Maybe? I am not sure, I haven't done it before. An adult's mana tends to be more tenacious and jumbled than a child's. I can't promise that my reading will be as accurate. It will likely be strenuous and put me out of commission for the rest of the day> I might miss some customers."

"Please? I promise to come by soon with my usual order."

"... Fine. But only if he promises to buy one of my tomes." Nelim said, flicking his eyes to Dante. "I see how you have been eyeing them. I can promise you a reasonable price."

"I am not sure if I can afford even that," Dante admitted, remembering the price of the magic books in the camp's market. "Besides, I need to buy more supplies after this."

Pauwna waved a hand. "Don't worry about that, let the royals take care of all of that. The First Princess would not dare let her personal forces go without proper equipment. Also, your salary is more than you think. You can afford it."

"The First Princess!" Nelim exclaimed, "Why Pauwna, you have been moving up in the world. When were you going to tell me?"

"Later, when things have settled. Nelim, the reading please?"

"I'll buy one of your introductory tomes, as long as you throw in some paper," Added Dante.

"Some paper? What kind of magic are going to be casting with it?"

"None, just something I can write on."

"Oook? In that case, we have a deal. Wait here a moment."

Nelim turned and entered a backroom. Sounds of crashing and muttered curses could soon be heard. Seems like it was going to be a bit.

Dante leaned over to whisper to Pauwna. "Sorry if this is insensitive, but why does he look like you?"

"Did I not mention that? Nelim is, in essence, my brother."

"What?" Of all the explanations he had expected, that had not been on the list. "No, you never said anything like that!" Believe me, I would have remembered."

"I thought it would have been obvious. All Naula share the same parents."

A million questions burst into Dante's mind, each more disturbing than the last. But before he could voice any of them, Nelim reentered the room. In his hands was a strange crystalline apparatus that reminded Dante of a crystal ball with a Nixie tube attached to the side at an angle.

"Found it! Given that the Flower Festival is a ways off, I wasn't expecting to need it so soon. What was your name again, friend?"

"... Dante."

"Alright Dante, let's divine which of the primordial forces of creation you can command."