As they went into the tunnel that led to the construct's heart, Yi Long told Lief some "fun facts" about Tiger Fortress.
His babbling voice was loud in the moist silence of the shaft. "Although it used to be a fortress in the Ages of Strife, which is why that domed roof exists, Tiger Fortress has since been transformed into a trading hub whose influence crosses the Dynasty."
Yi Long continued. "There are two reasons why Tiger Fortress is such an important trading area." He paused, quickly checking if the group was listening. Lief was staring intently at him, Wang Hao was looking away from him as usual, and Wang Wei was still paranoid.
Seeing that Lief, the immortal, was listening to him, he smiled and resumed his lecture. "Tiger Fortress has the third most prominent Spiritai veins in the Dynasty. However, this combines with the other reason to make it so incredibly important. The area where Tiger Fortress is located is riddled with underground lakes and channels, which lead to other important cities in the Dynasty. The fortress itself is located on a island in a large lake."
A glint emerged in his pupils. "But! Even that only contributes to the reason! The Spiritai veins in Tiger Fortress... Are in the water! That means that the water breaks off Spiritai over millennia, causing Spiritai dust to be abundant in the lakes! Therefore! Anyone in Tiger Fortress can "mine" the incredibly accessible Spiritai dust! This fortress has an absolute monopoly on Spiritai! It exports over 60% of the Dynasty's Spiritai in exchange for food and natural supplies!"
Rhysa, how does one area have so much Veil compared the rest? And how big is this Bai Dynasty? Lief hadn't asked Rhysa any questions in quite a while.
Rhysa eagerly answered. "The Bai Dynasty, due to their possession of powerful Lineages and Relics, have managed to control the entire Central Plains, which is roughly the size of Europe, Asia, and Africa, combined."
She continued with the first question he asked. "Master wanted you to learn political and business strategies, so he made a specific area have a large amount of Veil as a sort of "training ground" for you. This area is under control of the Li Clan, which you have somewhat a few connections to."
At the great old entrance of the fortress, Wang Hao briefed Lief on what he would do. "In order to reach the Li Clan, which is obviously your goal, Chief has arranged a plan for you to follow." He cleared his throat, preparing to give a long explanation. "You'll become a soldier of Tiger Fortress. As of current, Tiger Fortress has over 35,000 stationed troops, but only a few hundred are Immortals such as yourself. After proving yourself in battle and advancing to Second Rate Martial, you'll be selected as a candidate to be a Young Master's servant. Then, you'll have to prove your loyalty in order to become a member of the Li Clan, your goal. This should take anywhere from a few months to a few years."
Lief nodded roughly. "Understood." He looked at the massive gates, which loomed like the jaws of a buried beast, each iron plate covered in marks of ancient battles. Only one guard stood before them--but Lief sensed more eyes watching from the slits above. He wore simple plate armor, expensive in most villages but commonplace in Tiger Fortress. Light leather under armor poked out from beneath the plate. He looked young, yet still older than Lief and Yi Long.
"Organization, group size, and trading goods?" the guard said bluntly. His bleak tone revealed that he had done this many times before.
Yi Long, as the de facto leader, responded. "Stone Village, four, seafood and crops."
"Pass?"
Yi Long took out a pass from his pants and showed it to the soldier.
"Yi Long, 20, diplomat." The guard read Yi Long's pass.
"Other members?"
The village heir spoke out his group's names, one by one. "Wang Wei, 64, fisherman." He nodded at the cowering old man. "Wang Hao, 45, fisherman." The confident middle aged man. "Mo Xuan-" Yi Long realized that he didn't know Lief's name.
"What is your age, Immortal?" he prompted.
"17."
Yi Long was slightly shocked at the Immortal's young age but continued with his listings. "Mo Xuan, 17, hunter."
The guard examined the other three group members before declaring. "You may go." He flipped a lever next to him, opening the heavy gates.
"Next group, come in," Lief could hear the soldier's statement as he and the rest of his group entered the massive iron gates. Then, a loud, weighted, slam as they closed again.
The inside of Tiger Fortress was similar to a man made world. There was no sky, just a iron dome, yet it was not noticeable. A massive, bustling market filled the inner walls. Thousands of businesses lived and died within these thick walls.
Massive buildings which towered off into oblivion framed the wide streets, which were absolutely packed with people despite their size.
Red and yellow lights flickered on and off as candles withered. Yet, the place was still always dimly lit due to the pure quantity of light sources.
The buildings were made of a mix of expensive stone and cheap wood, and even cheaper bamboo!
Business owners hollered out their goods from all corners, drowning out each other's noises. Food stalls adorned the cobbled streets, the aroma of cooked meat, fried bread, and sweet desserts filling the air with delight.
Various banners decorated a few buildings. Yi Long pointed them out as they walked. "Those are knight orders. The fortress is so massive it's like its own little city state!" He chuckled lightly.
Eventually, they reached one of the banners. "This is the recruitment center for the Flaming Leopard, a knight order centered on combat. I think you'll do well here."
He handed Lief a rattling pouch, taken from one of his pant's pockets. Just how many pockets does he have? Rhysa began to answer, though Lief ignored it. "This contains roughly eight hundred shirkams. Should be enough to last you a year."
Rhysa, what's a shirkam?
Rhysa was amused. Now he wanted an answer. "Currency in this world is based off that from the Orion Era. As such, it is divided into bronze shirks, silver shirkams, gold shirkamus, as well as shirkamujs, which are made of Spiritai. A shirkam is 60 shirks, a shirkamus is 1260 shirkams, and a shirkamuj is 5040 shirkamus. For your reference, a shirkam is roughly 23 Republican credits."
Wow, so eight hundred shirkams is a lot, isn't it? Lief was slightly amazed at Stone Village's wealth.
Yi Long looked at the bright red banner looming above them. "Well, I guess this is were we part ways," he admitted, shaking Lief from his thought.
A/N: Won't update between Jun 24th to somewhere in July! Sorry!