Scarlet
As it turns out, Sylver doesn’t have a car and is using a magi-tech motorcycle instead. So the ride there ends up being a tad awkward and very unpleasant for me due to my dislike of physical contact, but nonetheless short and quiet. And by the time we reach the base, I realize that it’s not actually in the city proper, but in one of those large, wide open areas that – while still inside the city dome – is surrounded by open land. Or, open in the sense that it’s filled with training grounds, areas where I find people testing new magi-tech gear despite it still being the middle of a Demonic Assault, and even some areas where they’re for some reason raising cattle.
Several of the people around the base stop what they’re doing and wave at us, not even showing any surprise at my presence.
Guess they were already notified ahead of time?
Sylver doesn’t bother waving back as he continues driving the hoverbike past them and into a garage that opens up the moment he gets near before closing again after we’re inside. He then drives a little bit further in and stops near a bunch of other bikes. And the moment he does, I jump off of the vehicle, handing him back his helmet to build distance between us.
The guy doesn’t say anything, although he does look vaguely surprised as he turns off the engine and gets off of the vehicle himself.
I ignore his surprise to look around at the large garage. In it are a couple dozen expensive looking vehicles. Some of which are similar to the one Sylver was riding, and others are magi-tech cars. There is even one magi-tech artillery vehicle for some reason.
But then again, the Silver Association does have a leader who is one of the current leading inventors and innovators of magi-tech. So, it makes some sense they’d have random artillery.
Aside from that, the garage itself has a very high tech feeling to it, with smooth metal walls, each with a neon blue line of mana flowing through them powering the shields defending the walls. Meanwhile, the entryway we went through vanished the moment we passed through after it closed, the door so well hidden that it’s nearly impossible to tell just where it is anymore. And the door on the other side of the garage that leads further into the base has the blue lines from both sides of the door converging into a large blue circle.
It's also opening right now to reveal Sage, who is walking through in a simple white business suit. Not really something you’d expect to see a Guardian wearing. She has hair as white as the fallen snow back in Rothwell City, with it put up in a single braid that goes over her shoulder.
In fact, basically everything about her appearance is just white. Which kind of makes sense considering I believe her magic is related to seers or something? Sensing the future, or foreknowledge?
No one seems to know the exact specifics. Just that she creeps people out.
Sage nods her head at Sylver and says, “You’re free to go now,” before turning to me, “Scarlet, follow me to find your quarters.” She then performs an about-face like what you’d see in a tv show and walks back through the door, clearly expecting me to follow her.
I shake my head, mostly expecting this behavior from having dealt with her a couple of times in the past before following after her into a hallway. The hallway has the same type of walls and shields as the garage did, with several doors scattered throughout it, and the occasional person. Each of whom welcomes me in their own way, and some of whom I think I recognize from tv.
Some of them greet me in a simple way, others say hi, others try to introduce themselves only to be scared off by Sage who seems to be in a rush, and others ignore us altogether.
Eventually we reach an area of the base that seems to be slightly different in that the shields are stronger on the walls, but the walls themselves vary in color as the hallway goes on. Which looks rather odd, but after passing by an open door, I realize these are all bedrooms. Or suites of rooms to be exact. Each and every door leading to a different one.
I pause for a second before continuing on.
That explains why the doors are so spread out in this area of the base.
Sage continues leading me through the hall until we eventually stop at one door, and she presses her palm against the panel next to the door. This causes it to light up with a palmprint scanner, following which she presses some buttons, types in a couple of things that I’m not gonna risk angering her to look over her shoulder and peek at. Then, finally, another palm print scanner appears, and she takes a step back while saying, “Place your palm there.”
I do as she says, making a glowing bar of light pass back and forth across the scanner, following which I feel a very light prick on the palm of my hand and the screen changes to say, “Mana signature and palm print stored. New owner assigned.”
“This is your suite of rooms. Do be careful not to disturb your neighbors as some of them do bite,” Sage says with a warning before turning around and leaving me behind right as the door to my new suite opens up.
Some of the neighbors… bite? What?
I frown as I try to figure out what she meant, only to shrug and enter the suite. And soon enough, I find myself smiling at the large entry room meant just for me.
This will be a very nice change of pace from the hotels I’ve been staying in. Even if the hotels aren’t that bad.
I go around the suite for a bit, checking out the rooms to find that there is a bathroom with a tub and a shower separate from each other, an entry room, a bedroom, a workout room with a notice that there’s also a public gym, and a rather large living area.
Whoever chose my suite for me looks like they knew my favorite colors, since there’s a lot of reds and blacks everywhere.
But after a brief glimpse through the rooms, I walk up to the door to the suite, close it with my handprint, then head straight to the bedroom and collapse on the very comfortable mattress, falling asleep almost the instant my head hits the pillow after a brief glance at my reflection in the screen of the clock sitting next to the bed.