"These trees are... high."

[Bagani, The Warrior of Water]

Captain of the elite guards of the chiefdom of Tanmac. And right now, he doesn’t know whether or not he was making a mistake. He turned around, watching as the humans from the strange foreign world stepped into theirs.

This was the first time—the first time that someone emerging from that magical passage was peaceful. At the very least, he trusted his gut that they were peaceful. After all, just from the sheer difference in their numbers, these people could have killed all of them without going through all this charade.

They were truly here to make peace, and Bagani would be more than happy to oblige. Years upon years of fighting, until finally... someone they could actually talk to.

But most importantly, the main reason why he trusted them, and the reason why he thought he might be making a mistake, was now stepping out of the passage. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Bagani’s eyes turned wide, his head turning up as he saw the black veil pouring out from the man’s soul. It was like a waterfall that reached the sky. It looked calm at first, controlled. But there were trickles and sparks there that showed just how much rage it held inside.

Bagani had the ability to discern one’s strength, seeing it as an aura veiling a person—and he had never seen an aura that completely blocked out the sun.

"Hm..." He shook his head, shutting off his ability. The dark waterwall, instantly fading away and revealing... him.

A seemingly young man, with a face so innocent, and yet clearly filled with a pain that Bagani and most war-torn people were aware of. Did... he make the right decision to let them enter their world?

...Of course, he did. This was the first time they had a chance to know more about the monsters that had been plaguing their lands for years.

And while Bagani was quiet with his thoughts, Adam’s group was not.

"Is this... their city?" Manager Chase’s liaison was the first to break his silence, completely in awe. "This reminds me of when I visited the old cities of Spain."

"Indeed." Beatrice nodded, making sure her bodycam was getting everything. She looked up and sighed as the sky was covered. "I wish I could study the stars; maybe that would at least help us pinpoint where exactly this planet is."

The roads were wide and made of bricks, and the houses were large, too—but there was not a single strand of power cable on sight.

"A land untouched by technology." President Ohana’s eyes sparkled upon seeing the world’s ancient architecture. "Imagine the oil we can get from these people. Sharing our advancements and technology should be enough."

Adam, who was behind them, couldn’t help but squint at the president’s words. Katherine, who was standing beside him, let out an awkward chuckle when she saw the expression he was making.

"Did... you ever imagine things would be like this?" Katherine leaned closer to him, her eyes trailing toward the group of people on the side of the street. Most of them were hiding inside their houses, and most of them were also sneaking a glance from their windows. She waved at a child hiding behind a curtain, and the child waved back before being pulled away by her parents.

"It’s... such a weird development, isn’t it?" she continued. "The Game is changing everything until now. I’ve stepped inside a Leak countless times, but all of a sudden, this feels like the first time again. And in a way, maybe it is. And, oh god... who knew that I’d actually be going in with you. Do you know I’ve seen you naked several times when you were just this small?"

Adam’s eyes followed Katherine’s palm as she raised it. And unfortunately for him, she stopped exactly at his eye level.

"...I only grew that much after twenty years?" Adam muttered, looking even more perturbed now. He wanted to say something else, but chose just to sigh and focus on the road ahead.

<All of you. Welcome to Tanmac.> Bagani’s voice whispered into their earpieces. <We have sent message to chief. Will arrive in little hours. Now, I explore you to the city. Emperor Adam, please.>

Bagani gestured to Adam, and Adam reluctantly moved ahead of the group. President Ohana looked like he didn’t appreciate that at all, but he had no choice in the matter.

Adam looked up at the black sky—he was looking forward to seeing whether or not their world would have more than one moon, or even a closer celestial body visible from their world, since Beatrice mentioned that might be the case—but alas, he forgot about that black dome restricting them from exploring too much of the planet.

Adam glanced back at Bagani, then at the curious people inside their houses.

"You... didn’t evacuate your people?"

<No time.> Bagani sighed, shaking his head. <We lucky, you are peaceful. We thought we were dead.>

"But..." Adam glanced back at the Purple Leak. "...You shouldn’t be—wait."

Adam suddenly realized something.

"Where is your Emperor? Not your chief. The Emperor." Adam gestured above his head. "It’s not you. You were able to go through the Leak."

<...Bala.> And although the voice whispering in Adam’s ear was still robotic, the tone he heard from Bagani was incredibly sour. <He hid. He is somewhere here.>

Bagani looked around, checking if Bala might be hiding in one of the residential houses.

"That’s... a good choice." Adam nodded. "If he’s killed, then this entire city would be destroyed—two cities have been destroyed in my world. The damage was... a lot of people died."

<No.> Bagani shook his head. <Bala is a coward. Strongest guard of the chief, but always run. Even before, running and killing only weaker people.>

"Oh..."

<This is good tavern.> Bagani stopped in front of a wooden building, a contrast to the brick houses of the street. <They make good lak.>

"Lak...?" Adam blinked.

<Lak. Uh...> Bagani gestured, as if holding a cup. He looked at Beatrice and pretended to drink. Beatrice quickly understood what he was trying to say and input it into her tablet. <Mead.>

"Oh, lak," Adam repeated, nodding. He was about to walk away, but then noticed no one was moving from their spot at all. He glanced back at them, then at Katherine, who had a wide grin on her face.

"Alcohol from another world, Adam," she said, the joy in her voice quite obvious. "I don’t know about you. But I came here directly from handling another Leak, and then from work before that—I’m thirsty."

"Are... you even allowed to drink?" Adam squinted. "Aren’t you supposed to... keep your figure?"

"One of the perks of becoming a Hero." Katherine shrugged. "Mr. Bagani, lead the way."

<Yes.> A wide smile spread on Bagani’s face. <Follow me.>

The group entered one by one, even President Ohana seemed excited. Beatrice stopped right beside Adam, staring at him.

"Bars are one of the best way to gather intel about a place, Adam," she said. "Our visit here will be fruitful, and hopefully so will the mead."

Beatrice followed the others in, leaving Adam standing alone outside. He blinked a couple of times, then glanced back, only to find the people of the city slowly emerging from their homes. But when they spotted Adam looking at them, they all quickly returned to their houses again and just leaned their heads out from their doors.

He sighed, making sure to appear as harmless as possible before also following the others inside the bar. And as soon as he stepped inside, the sound of President Ohana’s loud voice thundered through the saloon.

Adam was afraid that he might have done something bad at first, but then he noticed he had his arm over Bagani’s shoulder, and the two of them were already drinking.

...He just entered a few seconds after them, and all of them already had drinks in their hands?

He watched as President Ohana gathered Bagani’s men around him, almost speaking to them with a speech—it was the right decision to bring him along, after all.

Adam looked around, and Beatrice was at the counter speaking with the bartender. Manager Chase’s liaison was in front of some sort of bulletin board, taking photos and notes.

As for Katherine, she was drinking alone at a table, waving at him.

Alcohol really does break the ice, huh? No wonder Harvey and the others like it so much. Not even a minute later, everyone’s already having fun. It’s bitter, though.

Adam sighed, shaking his head before making his way to Katherine. Before he could take three steps, however, the door opened violently behind him.

He looked back, and several men in armor similar to what Bagani was wearing flooded into the room. They all filed next to the walls, surrounding the tavern.

<What is the meaning of this?!> Bagani roared, quickly moving in front of Adam.

<Bala, explain yourself!>

Bala?

Adam tilted his head to the side, trying to see what Bala looked like. But for some reason, Bagani moved to block his view.

<Adam, please. Calm down.> Bagani whispered. <Bala is—>

<Arrest Bagani! He betrayed our people!>

<...Bala is stupid.>