Capítulo 4: Pride is Less Than Life

The provincial capital of the North East Province, Sahid. A city that was incredibly advanced technologically and stood high above all other so-called cities within the province. It spanned Thousands of kilometres, and it was surrounded by a giant Grey wall so high it made it looked as if the city itself was declaring war against the heavens.

To outsiders, this wall was incredibly intimidating, and Darius was no exception. He shivered as he walked out of the Bus, only to look at the colossal wall they had passed through.

"Impressive, isn't it? A tenth of our journey was spent going through the gates of the wall. Our journey was ten hours in total from your village lad. So how long do you think the wall is hmm?" The conductor wrapped his lanky arm and spoke with a mischievous grin. His objective had clearly been to spook Darius, and it had worked.

"One hour? It took us one hour to pass through that?" As Darius looked at the enormous steel cage, he couldn't help but shiver. The conductor failed to mention that the entrance into the city that they took was not a straight line on purpose. The door for ordinary civilians went along the length of the wall and then deviated into the city.

As Darius stared at the Wall, a sharp-looking young man wearing expensive clothes was carrying a small smartphone in his hands, and every time he took an image of someone, the phone would show a red causing the young man to groan.

The young man looked nervous and did this repeatedly to everyone who had left the odd-looking Bus. When it was finally Darius' turn, the screen flashed green instead of red, causing the young man to jump with joy. He did a few fist pumps and quickly activated the phone's mirror application and made sure he looked as welcoming as possible. After getting rid of his phone, the young man then made long strides toward the dazzled Darius.

After marvelling at the wall for some time, Darius got tired of it and turned around to see the legendary city of Sahid. And he was not disappointed.

Skyscrapers of every colour and shape dazzled his eyes shooting straight into the clouds above them, oddly shaped vehicles ran on the streets, and some of the more beautiful ones flew across what little of the city he could see. To a country bumpkin like Darius, this was a utopia, one that he could only see in his dreams.

When the sharp-looking young man saw the look on Darius's face, his face beamed with joy because he knew that he had found the perfect target.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" said the young man as he put one of his arms around Darius' neck. The wary Darius immediately disengaged contact and stepped away.

The sharp-looking youth put his arms up in submission, "Brother, relax, I am not trying to do anything." Darius did not reply and simply took two more steps back.

The sharp-looking youth sighed and said, "Look, I can tell you don't know much about the city, I'm just here to give you a few tips. That's it."

Darius furrowed his brows, "Who said that I need tips? Now stay away from me." Before the sharp-looking youth could reply, Darius had already turned around and left. The sharp-looking youth smiled wryly but did not give up. A glint in his eyes twinkled as he formulated his plan.

...

Darius had been warned about such people by the Matron, and he could smell the lies coming out of that young man's mouth. Ever since he started using the hammer, many minute changes had occurred inside his body. For example, his perception, Darius' instinct can usually tell a lie, unless it's an excellent liar. Although he couldn't put a finger on how he could tell, he just could tell when a person was lying, and what they truly felt for him.

Disdain, scorn, and a tinge of disgust. Darius could tell what the young man felt for him. So he held no issue with immediately withdrawing from the young man. Even if it was rude. Darius was used to ignoring people, and old habits die hard.

Darius took a bit of time to wander around. The wide-open road had lots of shining vehicles of every colour, moving at incredible speeds. Sahid was, without a doubt much more advanced than Yoko. In Yoko, a car was scarce to see and was viewed as a luxury item.

'I genuinely am a country bumpkin.'

As Darius became more aware of his status, he strengthened his resolve to succeed in his goal to become a Spirit-smith. At one point in time, Darius decided to enter a large shopping mall that came into sight. The interior was like being inside another city itself. Hundreds of people walked by every second while hundreds of shops, restaurants and other businesses filled the incredibly large complex. As Darius walked around in a daze, something odd happened. Something he had not done for the past four years of his life.

The hammering had changed Darius' senses and made him intensely aware of his surroundings. To the point where Darius was able to tell if a living being was close by, or if he was being stared at. Due to his natural cowardice, Darius was very appreciative of this ability and was always using it.

That was why no one at the orphanage could sneak up on Darius, except the Matron. From time to time, she would do something that would shock the young man, which is why he respected her. Nevertheless, Darius was a wary individual. Even in his state of awe, he was constantly alert to his surroundings and would always move accordingly. Which is why he was shocked...when he bumped into someone!

What the heck?

Although Darius was surprised, he quickly re-adjusted and did not fall by balancing himself. And so did the other party. It was a tall blonde young man in a blue and white uniform with fancy decorations around it. Behind him was another group of similarly dressed young men and women.

Someone could bump into me? He got close to me without me realizing it.

Darius marvelled at this as he had not experienced this for over four years. He was not the only one surprised.

'He is still standing? But I did put a bit of force into it. Could he be a warrior?'

The blonde young man sized up Darius from head to toe and shook his head mentally.

If he was, it would not have been so easy to bump into him.

The blonde young man decided to ignore what had happened and had decided to focus on the task at hand. "Watch where you are going you imbecile!" Shouted the blonde youth in an angry tone. Darius was no fool, he knew that if someone bumped into him, it meant two things. They were strong, and it was intentional.

Darius also figured that this blonde youth was some sort of noble from his dressing and his bearing. Nobles were not people to be trifled with. There was a strict pyramid-like system where one's worth as a human was determined by their class. This meant that nobles could do as they pleased to ordinary citizens like Darius. Aware of the situation, Darius quickly adjusted and knelt on the floor.

"Noble sir, please forgive me. I am merely a country bumpkin and do not know society. I am but a fool. Please forgive me." Darius did not hesitate to kowtow, his forehead touching the ground. The blonde young man, his colleagues and spectators were shocked. Kneeling was an already embarrassing thing to do, yet this young man went one level further and kowtowed without hesitation. The blonde young man had prepared some words beforehand, but he, like the others, was stumped by Darius' quick reaction.

Darius did not know what this noble wanted from him, but there was nothing he could do except give an apology. Young nobles could kill a peasant like him and get away with it. Such was the nature of society.

'Pride? What kind of useless thing is that?'

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