As Otto approached the massive, pearly-white gates made from colossal bricks, guarded by a dozen guards that looked nothing like the half-awake defenders of the previous towns.

No homes stood outside the city walls, that was something Otto find strange, not even farms stood in the vast empty fields of flowers around the capital city of Agartha.

“At the city in the centre of the world…” Otto thought.

“Almost as if it was named just for the joke…”

He took a step towards the gates and was immediately stopped by four guards; each one carried a tall halberd in their hand.

They were covered in armour head-to-toe.

The polished metal looked expensive; it was like watching someone drive up to you in an expensive car, except the car was designed to withstand melee damage, unlike any expensive car ever.

“Hello…” Otto awkwardly greeted the guards who looked at him blankly as if he awaited something.

“…”

“…”

“I’m just here to do some shopping…” he added.

“…”

“…”

Otto was sweating heavily.

“Sorry, the capital is closed, come back next month,” the guard commanded.

“IT’S CLOSED?!”

“FUCK!”

Otto breathed a sigh.

“I see…”

“I could just melt them and their armour on the spot…” he thought.

“Though there’d be no going back at that point…”

Otto was about to walk back from the gates and think of a plan somewhere else when one of the guards noticed his gloomy expression.

“Hold on… Are you have to meet with the Archmage?” the guard questioned.

Otto’s face lit up while at the same time his heart sank.

“That’s me…” he said uncertainly.

“If they thought I was going to fight them they wouldn’t ask me, would they?”

“Then again… Maybe he told them to expect a mage!? OH, SHIT!”

The guards stepped aside.

“Please go ahead, the Archmage should be waiting in the tower!” the guards said bowing slightly.

Otto nodded uncertainly.

“T-thanks… guys…”

He awkwardly headed through the big gates of the city.

The homes looked just as fancy as the walls, colourful, painted walls and tiled rooves with not a single patch of moss.

Even the road he walked on was created from cobblestones that looked exactly the same size and shape.

He spotted an inn on his left; with any luck, he’d be able to use it tonight.

After a few minutes of hoping to find a part or some other open space to get a good look at where the big tower was Otto reached a big market area.

Dozens of stalls littered the flat, paved courtyard where carts brought boxes, sacks and barrels of goods around.

From fruits Otto was certain were exclusive to the fantasy world to armour and weapons that would probably cost a small village to buy, with gems encrusted in a golden blade with silver patterns.

As Otto walked and observed the items for sale, he suddenly bumped into somebody unexpected, it was a blond man wearing a light brown tunic, white trousers and a scarf, under his arm he was carrying a brown paper bag with what looked like a loaf of bread and celery.

On his face were rectangular glasses.

“Hello, unfamiliar individual displaying zero magic vacuum,” the man began with an innocent smile.

Otto raised both eyebrows in exhaustion.

“Christ, is everyone in this world so weird…”

“Do we know each other?” Otto asked, the “FireBolt” spell was on the tip of his tongue in case he had to make a run out of the city.

“No, no, I find that unlikely; I simply thought you look remarkably similar to a criminal,” Abel replied shaking his head dismissively.

Otto gritted his teeth.

“I see…”

He looked at his blond hair and scarf.

“You look familiar too…” he remarked.

“Then this is truly a meeting fated by the universe!” the man exclaimed.

The man stood up and collected a few of his spilt groceries.

“My name is Abel, I’m the Archmage of light commanded with killing Otto Einhart on sight!” the smile never left the man’s face as he spoke, it sent shivers down Otto’s spine.

“I see…”

Otto wasn’t sure how to proceed.

“This is apparently the guy that’s meant to tell me what to do…”

“But he works for the current Murlin…”

Otto looked at the man in the eyes.

“What do you think of the Murlin?” he asked.

“As an Archmage, I was the king’s blade and shield and will gladly follow him to hell,” he replied.

Otto frowned.

“As such, I cannot tolerate common insults such as his majesty being in an arranged marriage with the great forest because of the stick up his ass,”

“What?”

“Or the king being under a constant visual illusion to hide his inability to grow a beard…”

“Or another illusion that hides his tiny, micro-”

Otto cut the man off, “Ok, ok! I get it!” he assured Abel.

Abel peered into his paper bag and saw that he did in fact still have all the groceries he needed.

“Let’s go converse in the mage tower…” Abel suggested.

Otto nodded uncertainly.

They travelled through the even more extravagant areas of the city, past several canals and into the big fortress from which stuck out a tall tower that stretched far into the sky.

“It’s big…” Otto remarked seeing the tip of the tower almost reach the clouds.

“Yup…” Abel nodded.

“And we have to go up the stairs, by the way…” he added.

Otto turned to face him.

“Can’t… we speak here?”

“Nope…”