Chapter 40: Mantle

Chapter 40: Mantle

~Third POV~

When people imagine Atlas they intend to find the best place to be at.

But most people never forget the people living at the bottom of the elites in Atlas.

Mantle.

Mantle is a city in the Kingdom of Atlas, located on the northern continent of Solitas. It is the former capital of the Kingdom of Mantle, later known as Atlas. It is located under the floating island of Atlas City.

The city was situated on the landmass of Solitas. It was located on the edge of a giant crater that formerly housed the flying island of Atlas. Tethers from the Snow Shoe Shipping Facility used to send Dust to Atlas connected Mantle to the flying city.

The majority of the city was dense and industrial with a wall used to separate it from Solitas' Tundra and the Grimm living in them.

A gray fog covered the city due to the effects of Dust mining, giving everything a darker tone. Many signs and billboards hung on the tall buildings. Orange lighting throughout Mantle was part of the city's heating grid.

Due to having the military and government centralized in Atlas, Mantle's economic and living conditions were incredibly poor in comparison to the latter and had only continued to plummet despite the great technological age.

In the crater directly underneath Atlas, Mantle was shown to have slums within the edges of its borders. The crater was a mining pit with trains and other locomotives present, as well as other mining gear and a place where the Slums are at.

The Crater was a home for many Faunus who built slums with run-down buildings and tents with tattered cloths on them to live in it was also shown that the slums were built in a crate yard with crates labeled "Mantle Shipping Co".

The Happy Huntresses set up a tent with their Emblem to use as a temporary base of operations.

And the relationships between the Kingdoms aren't any better between the two.

The relationship between the Kingdom's new capital city of Atlas and its former capital Mantle seemed to have greatly diminished due to severe differences in its economic and living conditions, with Atlas has been much more well off in comparison to its former capital causing a slight rift to initially to develop between the two city's citizens.

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Elsewhere the ship that has finally arrived at Mantle Port stopped as two people were talking to the ship's captain as he replied to them, "Ah. It would take about a week to resupply our fuel and take the Shipments to Vale. Sorry if this is inconvenient for you kid."

Shaking his head the two people that were talking to the captain were Albus and the younger Maria as he replied, "Oh no worries at all sir. In fact, I can use this chance to check out Mantle. Never been here before so no worries. But Jesus it's cold?"

Freezing up from the cold Maria already used her Aura to protect herself in the cold and looked bemused at her smaller partner's words, "Jesus? Don't you mean Oum or the Brothers? Weird thing to say Jesus kid?"

He shakes his head not wanting to be bothered now as the captain laughs at the two, "Hahaha! Well, I'll be damn kid you seem to have gotten a lady friend. Good for you if you know – Ow!"

*Bonk*

Bonking on the head of the ship captain with her cane Maria makes her point known with a further line of questioning as the ship captain stopped, "Alright! Alright, already lady geez kid. Good luck taming that gal."

*Bonk*

*Swoosh*

Evading another blow to his head the Captain flees as fast as he did avoiding another blow to the head as Maria sighs at this as Albus' teeth began to chatter.

Seeing that Maria began to sigh at this as Maria motioned to Albus to follow her as he agreed as she began to teach him Aura, "Sigh… very well then partner. Time to teach you how to defend against the climates. Where going to Mantle to start off what you can do. I know a place and a favor an old friend owes me a while back."

Hearing this Albus agreed and followed after her listening to her words.

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~Albus POV~

*Shiii*

Taking an airship ride to Mantle I have to admit everything here is pretty much unreal.

Even seeing it is pretty unreal of everything than I could imagine… such a shame that most people living here are scum.

By that, I meant the people here are incredibly racist against the Faunus.

I can practically taste the hate boners of the area disgusting.

*Thud*

Hearing a huge thudding sound as we finally landed up in Atlas airship port we dropped off as Maria and I landed here safely as the pilot dropped us off.

When we dropped off I followed Maria as she then talks to me as we walk over to a place she knows, "Ok Albus just follow me. Where going to a old friend's place he owes me and can help me out. Will stay there for the week so we can start your training."

Oh…

Where meeting Pietro huh?

I don't mind at all maybe I can get lucky to see if he created Penny yet.

Following her, I managed to see the so-called lower class of the elites here in Mantle, and to my expectations, they didn't disappoint.

Disappoint being the worst human beings I had the displeasure of meeting that was certain.

Yuck.

Even with my Ultimate Eye, I can personally sneer at them in pure disgust of their personal life history info.

Taking out my Scroll I began to write down some blackmail materials from them in the process and some places to personally take some trash out if given the chance.

Clicking around with my Scroll Maria began to examine what I was doing as she smiles at what I'm doing, "Albus whatcha doing? Seems like you writing down some important stuff?"

Glancing my eyes at her silver eyes I replied to her easily with no filter to my words, "Just typing down some personal Blackmail Material on the people here for personal gain. Why?"

"Hahaha!"

"Nice one kid."

"Good joke."

Who said I was joking?

This is clearly the right thing to do getting people dirty laundry for me to use.

As she casually knocks off my joke I began to write down some more blackmail materials and post them all on the web to hang dry their dirty laundry and let social media take its place and personal patterns.

Yeah…

This is pretty evil of me to do but considering their crimes…

I say I'm doing a good deed today.

"We're here."

And here we are one of where the finest mind lived in the Atlas Kingdom Pietro's Pharmacy - a clinic owned by Pietro Polendina which provided prosthetics to the people of Mantle.

Pietro's Pharmacy is a clinic in Mantle where Pietro Polendina tended to the prosthetics of the people in Mantle.

With that, we entered the Pharmacy Maria told me she will talk to Pietro as she spoke to me, "Alright kid just let me do my magic here talk to an old friend. Hopefully, my old friend here will help out."

Like that she left me in place as I got to view the whole area in front of me.

Pietro's Exam Room was a small, multi-floored clinic situated in Mantle. The bottom was best described as dilapidated and messy, with its blue tattered wallpaper and distressed floorboards.

To the left of the entrance, Pietro kept a large desk with shelves containing many books. Furthermore, the farthest side of the door had a highly advanced patient's chair where he implanted prosthetics on the needy people of Mantle.

The Pharmacy also had a room where Pietro stored multiple weapons he had created like the Disc Grenade and Tornado Grenade as well as some HVB Rhino hoverbikes.

"Ah… Maria good friend it's a pleasure to see you again. And youthful."

"Hahaha! You got that right old friend!"

Hearing a voice I turned my head to see the man himself Pietro Polendina as I saw him for the first time observing him through my Ultimate Eye.

Pietro is an elderly man with dark skin and short, balding white hair. He wears a green cap with oval-shaped glasses. He wears a red vest over a cream shirt with a pink bowtie. His dark mustard pants and leather boots match with his cap and red-brown belt.

Pietro uses a special chair to aid himself with movement. This chair is built to have four moveable legs, and is white and green in color, with yellow accents.

But I don't see the chair on him then which means he hasn't built Penny yet damn…

Doctor Pietro Polendina is a renowned Atlesian scientist and the father and creator of Penny Polendina.

Seeing that he hasn't gotten his chair yet and seeing him standing up means I won't see Penny yet… but building one isn't outside of the question as I can already see his history of already creating a Soul Generator just needs to add the portion of his soul to make function.

Truly is above his peers that's for sure.

But looks like he's having the hard part of transferring the soul into it to jumpstart the device.

Seeing at the person in front of me I greeted the doctor with the utmost respect, "Hello Doctor Pietro. I'm Albus Burn it's a pleasure to finally meet you, good sir."

Taking my hand in return he greeted me in the same mindful manner, "Of course young man. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Like that it was the first time meeting a decent human being right after Maria of course.