Chapter 16: Megacity

After my impromptu sparring session with Yr'Arl had reached its conclusion we had both returned to the dorms, where I had decided to catch an early night.

A lot had happened through the course of a single day. I'd gained incredible magical powers. I'd spoken to and fought with alien creatures that looked nothing like the humans that I'd been accustomed to back on Earth. I'd even received an AI companion that was helping me through it all.

<Real nice, leaving your only friend until last in that little list,> BB said, a pout clear in his voice. His persona really had been modelled after mine, he was insufferable enough most of the time.

I wandered over to the window of my bedroom once again, just like I had in the morning when I had woken up in this new world for the first time. The dual suns had both receded below the horizon, and in their place now hung four differently sized moons. One of them looked to be almost as big as the moon that had orbited my homeworld, while the other three were all much smaller.

The city still glittered, though now instead of reflecting the light of the suns from above it glittered with hundreds of little lights. Multicoloured holograms blazed out of projectors, advertising various products that I'd never heard of before. It looked like something straight out of a Ridley Scott movie, and I wanted to immerse myself in every nook and cranny. I absently wondered if it was against some sort of rule for me to leave the Guard facility, or if I was free to explore as I wanted.

<There's no rule explicitly forbidding you from going out and exploring the surrounding areas,> BB said, <But considering you are a human in a galaxy of aliens that hates humans, and you've got a bunch of one on one matches that you're going to want to be well-rested for, I can't exactly recommend that now would be the best time to go on a jolly jaunt to the local boozer.>

BB hadn't steered me wrong so far, the smart thing would probably be to just crawl under my covers and go to sleep, but I knew I wouldn't be able to. I'd put my head on the pillow and I'd be tossing and turning for hours thinking about all of the possibilities that could be waiting for me down in the labyrinthine streets and bridge ways of the megacity.

Before I knew what I was doing I had pulled a tan jacket out of my wardrobe, shoved my feet back into my shoes, and had rushed out of the dorm area and into the lift. There was a whole damn city out there, filled with alien species, alien foods, and who knew what else. Back on Earth, this would have been my dream and I wasn't going to let it pass me by now that it was right there.

I was still sceptical about just being allowed to leave the complex without anyone asking any questions, so as I walked back through the plaza toward the main gates I couldn't help but feel a little bit nervous. But just as BB had said they would the gates swung open without any hassle, and I was free to explore as I saw fit.

"You got any recommendations, BB?"

<My only recommendation is that we go back to the complex as soon as possible before you end up getting your skull cracked open by a group of some angry aliens that Humans have done something to annoy,> BB snarked.

I'd forgotten what a party pooper I had been back on Earth. I'd never really got out much, both due to a lack of confidence and because no one really took the time to invite me to go to places or parties. In this new world the latter probably still wouldn't happen, who would invite a bloodthirsty human to their party? But I could act a little bit more confident, and after all of the power that I had displayed in the battle royale and in my little sparring match, confidence was something that I had quite a bit of at the moment.

I crossed the sky bridge that connected the guard complex to the rest of the megacity and took a look over the edge of the railings. The city took my breath away. All this time I'd thought that the buildings had, just like on Earth, been connected to the ground. What else could they be connected to? I'd had no idea that I was on a water world.

The buildings stretched down for quite a long way and then tapered off into a series of wide support poles, similar to what you would expect to see on an oil rig but much wider. Colossal waves battered the support structures, and yet none of that force was transmitted up through the superstructure. Thanks to the high walls of the guard complex I'd have never known we were in the middle of an ocean if I hadn't gone out to see the city.

I wandered across the bridge aimlessly until I reached a plaza. It was a wide-open space connected to two other buildings and held high above the ocean's surface. Lining the edges of the space were stalls selling food, drink and various pieces of touristy clothing. It made sense that this area of the megacity would be a tourist hotspot, what with the Guard complex being so nearby. People probably came from all over just to get a look at the complex, hoping to see one of the initiates wander out of the building.

That was probably why a group of people had suddenly started looking at me.

I hadn't bothered trying to hide my identity at all, I'd figured that there weren't enough humans on the world for me not to cause a stir wherever I went. But as people stopped what they were doing to get a better look at the human initiate who had solo'd a mannachoid in the flesh, I couldn't help but wonder if I'd made a mistake.

<Wouldn't be the first time, kiddo.>