BXBX NOVEL Chapter 563 Even Beauty Has Flaws
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~~~(POV: Cera Adamo)~~~
~~~(Location: The Jungles of Nae\'mor, The City of Armezix, The Continent of Alforza)~~~
~~~(Time: 9:15 AM)~~~
The buildings are pristine and maintained despite this part of Armezix being riddled with crime. When you look at the people walking the streets, you don\'t see beggars in rags. They look like ordinary people. Jaeemara explained it to us.
All the land that\'s a part of Armezix is magically enchanted, so it doesn\'t have to be cleaned by hand. Being made out of marble and gold, it gives Armezix a paradise feeling to it.
Make no mistake, given what can be seen with the eyes. These people are still poor and live in within a crime-riddled part of Armezix. The reason the poor don\'t look actually poor is from the city taking care of appearances.
The Dark Elves firmly believe that everyone should be presentable and clean. Thus they help the lower classes hold that standard at the cost of the wealthy. It\'s definitely interesting. On Earth, a practice like that would be politically and morally debatable.
It\'s a good thing this isn\'t Earth. I won\'t have to give it any thought. The Dark Elves are interesting in their way of handling things, but that doesn\'t mean they\'re wrong. It\'s a fresh perspective.
"Armezix is divided into different districts. Some districts are larger than others. Some districts have names, and others have numbers. It\'s all up to the people within the district. You can think of each district as a town or city. Armezix is the size of a Kingdom."
She finishes explaining another interesting point of information. The concept of districts existed on Earth, but not in this fashion.
"What\'s the name or number of the district we\'re in?"
Sally beats me to the question before I can ask it. I\'d like to know this. The Lore junkie in me wants that information.
"It\'s called district Blue Web. The Blue Web gang runs this district, and it\'s one of the larger districts of Armezix. The crown and military have tried to fix this place, but it\'s impossible. Look up there."
Jaeemara points toward the top of a building, and they\'re are some guys up there looking down on the people below. What they\'re doing up there is unknown to me, but it\'s probably a strategic advantage they don\'t want to give up.
"The Blue Web keeps people off rooftops since it\'s the high ground. The most valuable place in a combat situation is the high ground. Inside a city, the highest ground you can find is the tops of buildings. Hence why we\'re not up there."
We don\'t want to draw any attention to ourselves by traveling by rooftops. If we did, the people patrolling the rooftops would be attacking us or getting in our way.
"What else do you know about the Blue Web gang?"
This time, it\'s me asking the question, and it\'s one that I want to know the answer to.
"I don\'t know the intimate details of their gang, but I do know that they\'re one of the 3 great gangs of Armezix. It\'s rumored they\'ve got their hands in about everything, but that\'s all I know. Rumors. The military and crown would know more than me."
Policing a city the size of a Kingdom is no easy feat. I\'m surprised there aren\'t more great gangs. Blue Web is one of the 3, but I wonder where it ranks on the scaling of power. That is, if the gangs have one that\'s more than the top three.
"How big is district Blue Web?"
That was going to be my next question. Sally is thinking the same things I am if she\'s asking the same questions I want to ask.
Since districts are the size of towns and cities, I\'m willing to bet Blue Web is big. Jaeemara said that it\'s one of the larger ones, but I want specifics. Even if I\'ll never return here, I still want to know. Information is valuable, and I want that information.
"It\'s about 26 miles in diameter. Most of the people that live in Blue Web either work for the gang or pay it. It chokes the citizens living here, and it\'s the reason why it\'s one of the poorest areas. There isn\'t any economic growth due to Blue Web gang."
The gang is choking the life out of its own territory? How does it stay afloat if it\'s taking all the revenue from its people? That seems like a counterintuitive plan, in my opinion.
But criminals aren\'t the smartest people in the world. If they were anyone smart in a gang, they wouldn\'t be in a gang. They\'d do something else with their life. Discounting the sociopaths and psychopaths. Members of gangs are likely previous victims themselves.
"We\'re not spending any extra time in this area if we don\'t have to. Blue Web may not be able to withstand your power, Cera. But it\'s a place we don\'t want to get dragged into. Taking down their entire infrastructure could take weeks."
Jaeemara already knows what\'s going through my head, and Sally likely does too. I would\'ve done something if it didn\'t seem like some a consuming quest. Time, energy, and patients would be required.
I\'m fine using those, but all three at the same time is asking a lot out of a person. Something that no one can do for a long time. Let alone a few weeks.
"I know, I was just entertaining the ideas that were popping into my head. No harm in doing that. Besides, it\'s not like what you said before isn\'t true. Blue Web is not worth the effort and time if we\'ll likely not get it all in the end anyways."
It\'s not a stance I take often, but I\'m not on a quest. It doesn\'t have to be done for anything to progress. I can choose what I want to do. And taking on a powerful gang that likely won\'t die isn\'t something I want to do.
That\'s fine too. Sally understands and agrees with me. I can see it in her eyes. And Jaeemara is already anticipating my thoughts on this.
~~~(POV: Saliandra Orvello)~~~
~~~(Location: The Jungles of Nae\'mor, The City of Armezix, The Continent of Alforza)~~~
~~~(Time: 3:27 PM)~~~
We\'ve made it out of Blue Web, and now we\'re on our way through another district. This one isn\'t named but numbered instead. I\'m not paying attention to what Jaeemara is saying at the moment. My thoughts are on The Dark Elves.
Even though I didn\'t know much about the sister race to my Elven line, I was hoping they\'d be different than the Elves I know. I was hoping they\'d be better.
"Mind if we stop off somewhere and get something to eat?"
I interrupt the conversation they\'re having and ask one of my favorite questions. We haven\'t eaten since this morning, and it\'s almost 3:30. I\'m starving, and I\'m ready to have some hot food.
"My, Sally. Out of all the people I know, you\'re probably the one that\'s always thinking about food. As to your question, yes, we can stop off somewhere and get something to eat."
Jaeemara doesn\'t know what it feels like to go days or weeks without food. There was a point in my life when that was normal. So my hunger is ravenous in its presence and influence on me.
"We\'re coming up on some places to eat soon."
That\'s all I needed to hear. My eyes land on Cera and I walk up beside him and hold his hand as we walk. He turns his head with a pleasant and surprised smile. I haven\'t been that affectionate in the last few days. So this is a change for him.
I\'ve given a lot of thought to Cera\'s actions, and I\'ve accepted them. I know the real Cera. He\'s loving, understanding, and compassionate. That\'s the Cera I know and the one I see.
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A/N: Below this line, I\'ll be keeping Cera\'s player information. That way, I won\'t have to place it into the story above anymore. It takes about 180 words up.
[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.236][Tier-4]
[Exp: 72/100%]
[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden)]
[Stats] [Strength - 7095][Endurance - 7045][Dexterity - 7215][Speed - 8240][Focus - 19,660]
[Mana aura control: 6/100%]
[Health: 76,560,000,000/76,560,000,000] [Mana: 216,600,000,000/216,600,000,000]
[Stat Points: 440] [Armor rating: 500]
[Inventory] [Dice of Wayland (Divine)] [The Witness (Legendary Sword)] [Fenrir\'s Whistle (Divine)] [Camping gear] [Fishing poles 2x] [Festival Garbs 2x] [4x EXP Boosts] [Princess Saliandra\'s Panties (Black Lace)] [Desert Warrior Nomad Set (Rare)]
[Inheritor of the Sword] [Son of Heaven] [Slayer of Evil] [Holy Willow Trees Savior] [Finder of Legends] [The Divine who has Legend] [Destined for Greatness] [Dungeon Diver] [An Overachiever]
[Active Skills]
[Heavens light Lvl.74 325/7400] [Protected by Heaven Lvl.74 225/7400] [Slash Lvl.92 4600/21000] [Parry Lvl.68 85/6800] [Double Strike N/A] [Kingslayer N/A] [Raging Machine N/A] [Winged Glory] [Angelic Flight] [Divine Pressure Exertion] [Divinity Pulse] [Controlled Fun] [Aspect of Transportation (Legendary)]