Chapter 65: GreenFold Settlement
Surrounded by a river lay the grand GreenFold Settlement. The beautiful orange horizon of the setting sun illuminated the city.
Staring at it, if Seth were to describe the city, he would call it a dystopian-type city.
An interconnected mishmash of buildings formed a beautifully complex cluster, surrounded by very tall, thick black metal walls.
"So how do we enter?" Seth asked, his gaze burning with expectation and exhilaration.
To think he had gone from boring high school days to the verge of entering a city rich with diverse races from all across the cosmos.
And this was merely a tiny fraction of the Origin. According to Rond, there was an even bigger settlement located in the desert surrounding the Savage Oasis.
It was called Sand Burial Settlement. They knew this because merchants escorted by powerful peak Awakeners of at least Noble grade often came to trade in GreenFold Settlement.
Reva giggled cutely at the question. "How else? We jump!"
Seth’s expression stiffened.
’The fuck you mean jump?’
He stared at the cliff in horror. It was at least 90+ feet high. Would he survive a jump from such a height?
Thankfully, Rand just chuckled as he chided, "Don’t scare the poor guy, Reva."
Then he glanced at Seth. "Naturally, we wait for a carrier."
The moment he finished speaking, a high-pitched cry of a bird rang out.
A shadow covered them. Seth craned his neck to stare at the sky.
He saw it — a beautiful bird creature, fluttering with feathers of purple and black. A glowing purple crown shimmered as the plus-sized bird landed nearby with a heavy gust.
A voice suddenly called from above its back: "Five crystals each!"
For the first time, Seth saw a race lifeform that, though humanoid in frame, was still physically different from humans.
With an elongated head stretching all the way to the back, the individual’s eyes simmered with a midnight-blue hue. His skin was grey, his body extremely skinny and disproportionate to his head. He sat saddled to the neck of the bird.
Rand’s eyes bulged, and he pointed at the creature. "Bullshit! It was just three crystals per person when we left this morning. I swear to God, you Dai are greedy scum."
The Dai race fellow remained unfazed as he replied, "That was this morning. This is different. It is sunset already. Take it like that, or have a sleepover party in the forest. I’m sure the night horde will be entertaining hosts."
Rand gritted his teeth, unable to muster a reply. If they offended this Dai fellow and he left them here, telling no one to attend to them, then they really might end up spending the night here.
"Sigh... Okay, agreed." Rond quickly spoke before the matter got worse.
The Dai fellow just nodded, his expression unchanged, as though this was merely a matter of course.
"Tch! We really need to get our own flying mounts. Then we can avoid such a blatant rip-off!" Rand spat, not excited but with no choice but to cough up the fee.
Rond glanced at Seth. "Do you have essence crystals?"
Seth nodded. "I do." He replied as five glistening, rough-shaped cyan crystals appeared in his hands.
Seeing their reluctance to spend so many crystals, Seth felt it didn’t make sense.
He had just arrived in the Origin Realm, yet he already owned dozens of crystals. Naturally, he believed these peak-level leader-grade Awakeners should have more.
But then he recalled something he had that they didn’t — 100% drop rate.
One might not look at this privilege as much, but this was day one, and the benefits were already showing.
Drop rates for others were around 12%. For non-hegemon races, it was even less.
Meaning out of every hundred beasts slain, only around twelve kills would yield drops.
Hence why essence crystals retained such value.
The Dai race member collected all the crystals, patiently counted them, then tapped the head of his mount.
The bird responded, dropping a feather for them to climb.
Seth sat on the mount’s back as Rand showed him how to saddle himself in, lest he fall during flight.
Then the beast took to the skies with a high-pitched cry.
It circled in the skies a bit before plummeting downwards toward the settlement, Seth’s chest beating with exhilaration.
Even with how fast the bird flew, there was a dissonance with the void on its back.
The rushing wind he expected didn’t come. The roughness of flight he expected didn’t show either.
It was like they sat on a bubble on the bird’s back that shielded them from these inconveniences.
Reva glanced at him with a smile. She could already guess what he was thinking, so she chimed in: "It’s because this is a mount. Mounts are meant to be ridden and are useless in combat. But when it comes to riding comfort, mounts are unmatched."
Seth’s eyes flickered brilliantly. "I can’t wait to get my own mount too."
Hearing this, Reva’s smile turned wry. "Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. Not to mention the ridiculously high price of purchasing one. You’d be lucky if you gained one as a drop.
"For context, the three of us have been in the first zone for three full years, and we’ve never gained a companion pet egg — not once. Not to mention mount eggs, which are even rarer."
Rond nodded. "That’s why the Dai are special. Their racial trait allows them to bond with live Origin Beasts.
So they don’t need to hope for drops. They just go straight to beast bonding, which is why they have such a ridiculous monopoly on the carrier profession."
Seth stared at the back of the unbothered Dai race man riding the bird in awe.
’Every race has their specialty and reputation. I wonder how my human race would fare.’
His eyes glinted. With his 100% drop rate and Infinite Camp, he was sure his experience would be quite different from Rand and his team.
He was set to be countless times more outstanding than they ever could be.
For example, the three had never left the Savage Oasis because they weren’t strong enough to traverse the night.
After all, the distance to Sand Burial Settlement was so great it required two days — possibly two nights depending on when you set off.
And with the night horde as deterrent, people rarely tried to traverse to another settlement.
"Here, Seth, have this..." Reva handed him a book.
His eyes flickered as he realized he could read the strange text.
’Ah, I see. She left a trace of Will, making reading plausible.’
Reva smiled as she explained, "That book holds the details of the major races of GreenFold Settlement and their distinct traits, if known. It holds images of their appearance and all."
Seth’s gaze flashed with gratitude as he held the book delicately. This was more important than one could imagine.
It would save him the time of researching himself.
"Thank you very much," he appreciated solemnly.
Reva just waved with a slight smile. "No worries."
Suddenly, the bird reeled backward, beating its wings against the wind to generate resistance and slow their descent.
Finally, they arrived before the gates of GreenFold Settlement.
A flashing system prompt unraveled before his eyes.
[Congratulations! You have arrived at GreenFold Settlement!]
[Quest: Class Selection!]
[Details: As an Awakened, you get to choose a class and earn a unique subset of skills unrelated to genes. Go to the Trade Hall and choose a Trade Master to bestow upon you a class!]