Ash and Jessie walked towards the southern gate of the city. The city barely had any type of transport. Not like they didn't have rails or cars, but no one used them for some reason.
He knew the reason—not many cities were interconnected. They had some destroyed cities or jungles in between. So travelling to another city was a no-go for normal people.
Most of the people couldn't fight the beasts out there and for intercity travel they really didn't need vehicles. Manufacturing of the vehicles and transport was another reason.
These reasons had forced people to use ancient and rudimentary ways.
He just realized how cracked the reality was. If humans made an underground rail network to connect the far distance, then there was a chance that a portal would open at any moment destroying the tracks. So keeping hidden places was a risk of its own.
Ash walked across the city noticing many dungeons every few hundred meters. It was a terrifying and unsettling thing—in the middle of a store, on a triple-story building and many more awkward places. Dungeons could emerge anywhere.
Finally reaching near the southern gate he saw a large building sprawling over a hundred meters.
He went inside, seeing prison cells, strange runes cast all over the place.
Seeing an old man half asleep, Jessie went to him. "Sir…" She tried to wake him, giving the paper into his hand.
Ash felt some powerful eyes linger over his body that he hadn't noticed before. It wasn't from the prisoners but from some people who stood outside the building.
The man jolting up looked at the paper then glanced towards her badge on the shoulder.
"I think an officer should be here, not a recruit," the old man said, yawning.
"He said he will take over once we reach the court," Jessie explained.
The man nodded, going towards a cell and unlocking it with a strange glowing stone.
Five kids came out of the cell, bound by a spell.
"Take them, I don't think they will make any mess. You have extra security," the old man chuckled, looking outside.
The five kids had lost eyes who followed them out obediently. Ash saw four men following them, and their outfit said they were from the Wilbert Family.
"Looks like they don't want to let them run in any circumstances." Jessie was agitated.
The court wasn't too far, so they reached it in around half an hour where they met their officer.
"Nice, you have completed your first job," the officer said, his hand giving a thumbs up.
"You are good to leave, or you can enjoy the show," the officer said, taking the five kids inside.
Ash was curious about the process so he also followed him with Jessie and stood in the corner.
The trial started, the head of the Wilbert Family sitting beside the judge at equal pedestal.
While five kids stood in front of them, ready to accept their fate.
One person started showing the evidences. Surprisingly there was no mention of killing Blake. And it was natural since killing in the dungeon wasn't considered a heinous crime unless it was done in self-defense or in a way that helped oneself to survive.
It was a twisted law for dungeon special cases. So there was no mention about dungeon kill but many murder charges and torturing, rape cases and many more evidence were forged beforehand.
And of course, the result was sealed. The kid got the death sentence and the other four were sent to red zones.
Ash didn't know exactly what they were but he knew they weren't anything pleasurable.
---
"Can you try to take permission for dungeon clearing?" Ash asked, now feeling comfortable in his bed.
Jessie sat in front of him. They had returned to their inn after work.
"Let's see," Jessie shrugged.
---
Next day they stood before the officer—"Any work for us?"
The officer was going over some documents in his hand, he didn't even look up. "Aren't you too hasty? You just joined yesterday, enjoy these workless days. You will beg for a single day off." His voice was filled with firsthand trauma.
"I have the southern side of the city under me, you can roam there to catch some thieves." It was his way of saying fuck off.
As Ash and Jessie were coming out of the cabin, the officer's device buzzed.
"We have found a C-rank dungeon here, sir, we will need you to clear it." The officer tensed at the voice.
"Coming."
In an instant he disappeared out of sight, rushing to the location.
Ash was getting frustrated with every second, his eyes locked on Jessie. She was the one who said it would be easy to level up if they joined the government.
Jessie averted her gaze, avoiding eye contact.
Ash took a deep breath, "At least take me somewhere so I can buy some tools."
"Do you have money?" Jessie asked, curious.
"You are an evil bitch." Ash kicked in the air while she ran out of the building. She was trying to get on his nerves asking questions instead of taking him there.
They reached a store that looked aesthetic from outside, armor and weapons hanging on the wall.
"Hello sir, what are you looking for?" A beautiful girl asked behind the counter. Her eyes scanning his clothes.
"I need an armor, maybe a weapon too," Ash asked politely, noticing her beautiful eyes.
As he felt dizzy, a slap on his neck woke him up before his luck stat could work to counter.
"Focus if you don't want to get scammed. Turn off your charm skill," Jessie said, frowning.
"Oh sorry, I thought maybe I can get company for tonight," the girl said, acting innocent.
Ash ignored her comment and looked around, going to the C-Rank section.
His eyes fell on an icy blue armor, information about it was written on the board. Stat boosts were explained on the board beneath it.
[+15 Strength
+6 Agility
+23 Endurance
Skill: Have an icy touch in your mana, making ice-related skills 25% more effective]
There were around five armors with different skill and stat benefits. His eyes fell on their price.
[8 Gold coins]
It was mind-boggling considering he hadn't even had to use a silver coin till now and it was a direct jump to Gold.
'I guess I have to be just happy with armor.' His eyes flashed with a memory where he could have taken Blake's sword. He was sure it was at least C-rank.
But that would be giving away his life to Wilberts.
His eyes locked with an armor. It had a mix of dark and red color while. Unlike the other armors, it was sleeveless but its stats and skill were something that interested his eyes.
"Here, I need this one."
Ash slid eight gold coins.
"Great choice, it's best for you. Let's go in the changing room, I can help you put it on," the sales girl said, approaching.