Chapter 155: Two Gates

[Next Day.]

[6:00 AM.]

​"Why are you here?"

​Asher asked with a slight frown, staring at Marianne, who stood before his mansion’s gate with her Vice Guild Leader, both clad in battle armor. The early morning mist hung heavy, reflecting off their polished chestplates.

​"Well, Lady Juliana called me, and explained everything... Don’t worry, my Vice Guild Leader and I are both SSS-RANK." Marianne said with a reassuring smile, shifting her weight as the cold air bit at her exposed face.

​Asher blinked, turning his head back toward the quiet mansion. He thought Juliana was still asleep when he slipped out of bed; so she must have organized this secret guard before coming to his bedroom last night. But still...

​’How did she know when I would be leaving?’ He thought, before asking aloud:

​"How long have you been here?"

​"From four in the morning." the Vice Guild Leader answered, his voice deep and steady.

​"What’s your name, again?" Asher turned to him, his gaze narrowing slightly.

​"I am Denise, Lord Asher," he said, offering a small, respectful bow.

​"Is he trusted? I remember seeing him last time."

​"No need to worry... Denise is my childhood friend, we founded the Holy Sword Guild together, and made it one of the top three strongest in Vaeloria," Marianne said with a smile, placing a confident hand on her hips.

​Asher nodded slowly, turning his full attention back to her: "What did you promise her?"

​"Sharp as always, Lady Juliana asked me to help you with this raid--"

​"--I don’t need your help."

​Asher cut her off instantly, his voice like ice, as he stepped past them toward the open street.

​"Wait, Lord Asher!" Marianne stretched her hand out towards him desperately:

​"If I follow you, it will at least calm Lady Juliana’s heart! Not only that, we promise we won’t cause any trouble or drag you down..." She explained hurriedly, before adding a final practical point:

​"Also, you don’t even know the exact area where the dungeon is located... We can also help you fight!" She yelled, her hands raised in a gentle plea.

​Asher paused in his tracks. Out of everything she said, only his wife’s name echoed in his mind. He looked over his shoulder back at the second-floor window of the estate, his black eyes flashing a violent red as he activated his Shadow Gaze.

​His piercing vision cut through the dense glass, locked straight onto Juliana, who stood behind the bedroom curtain, staring down at the street. Asher knew her eyes couldn’t see him clearly through the dark, but her acute sensory abilities meant she could feel his aura. She was worrying herself sick.

​"Alright," he said with a heavy sigh, his red eyes reverting back to their usual deep black.

​"Thank you." Marianne said, letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. She gestured to a heavily reinforced Armored Jeep parked by the curb: "We should take my car. It will be a long journey."

​Asher nodded curtly, walked towards the massive vehicle, and took a seat in the back; Marianne and Denise quickly climbed into the front cab.

​"What do you mean, a long journey?" Asher asked, leaning back as he stared at the back of her head.

​"Which dungeon are we after?" Marianne asked in return, turning in her seat. Asher reached into his system storage and brought out one of the two SSS-RANK Dungeon Keys she had given him previously, handing it over to her.

​Marianne nodded, immediately passing the glowing key to Denise. He clenched it firmly in his palm, infusing his raw spirit energy directly into it. The next moment, the key shattered into a shower of black specks, and a dark skull tattoo burned itself directly onto the flesh of his palm.

​"....?!"

​Asher watched the process, genuinely stunned by the mechanic.

​"Lord Asher, SSS-RANK Dungeons are fundamentally different from lower-tier dungeons... To easily sense its coordinate, we need to infuse the key with our absolute energy and force it to acknowledge us. Only an SSS-RANK Awakened possesses enough raw spiritual pressure to accomplish this; once it acknowledges an Awakened, they will be able to pinpoint the exact location where it’s rooted. Even if it’s hidden a thousand miles away."

​Asher slowly nodded his head, digesting the information behind high-rank keys, then turned his gaze back to Denise:

​"Where is it located?"

​"North side, far out of the city perimeter, deep within the Wilderness... I know the area." He answered respectfully. Asher gave another quiet nod:

​"Alright, how long before we arrive?"

​"Due to the early morning hours and open roads, an hour at most," Denise said, turning the ignition as the heavy engine roared to life.

​"Alright... Let’s go," Asher said, relaxing his posture against the leather seat.

_

​Back at the mansion, Juliana stood silently at the window frame, hugging her shoulders tightly against the chill, her glowing eyes fixed on the departing vehicle until it vanished.

​"We will be waiting... Don’t worry about us." she whispered into the empty room.

___

​[Half an Hour Later - The Outskirts.]

​"Now, we are heading towards the first gate," Marianne said, leaning against the door frame as she looked out through the tinted glass, staring at the growing crowds of homeless people sitting along the dirt roads, some huddled in filthy blankets inside dark alleys.

​"First gate?" Asher turned to her, a bit taken aback by the terminology.

​Hearing the confusion in his voice, Marianne looked over her shoulder at him with wide eyes: "Wait, you haven’t fully explored or left Silverspire before?" She asked in genuine surprise.

​Asher remained silent, turning his face back toward the window to watch the impoverished families shivering in the morning cold. The Outskirts were just as neglected and miserable as when he had last been through them. As for leaving the walled ecosystem? When he had been exiled into marriage, the Starfire family’s head butler and armored escort had blindfolded the four of them and driven them directly to the private estate without revealing their exact route through the city’s sectors.

​He was simply kept inside a dark, heavily shielded car until he reached the isolated community where he and his wives lived. Because of his family’s strict imprisonment of him, Asher knew practically nothing about the structural gate of Silverspire.

​"You see that colossal wall in the distance?" Marianne pointed out toward the massive concrete and steel barrier looming on the horizon, which was rapidly growing larger as the jeep sped forward. Asher nodded his head.

​"Most outsiders believe that wall simply surrounds all of Silverspire to keep the wilderness monsters out."

​"True, but also entirely wrong," Marianne muttered, exhaling softly as she adjusted her shoulder armor:

​"Silverspire is strictly divided into three distinct structural districts. Where we, the noble families, and the top-tier guilds reside is formally known as the First District... The Outskirts where the common laborers live is the Second, and lastly, tucked right up against the outer defense walls, is the Slums."

​"The Slums?" Asher raised an eyebrow, genuinely stunned by the harsh societal hierarchy.

​"Yes, the Slums are infinitely worse than the Outskirts... It’s an absolute lawless zone filled with unspeakable poverty, disease, and hardened criminals. If you ever need to hire a black-market hitman or an unregistered Assassin guild, the Slums is where you go." She revealed, her voice grim as their Armored Jeep slowed down near the iron-reinforced arches of the First Gate, preparing to cross over into the territory of the destitute.