The Dark Sector

The gates of Arcadia Academy. That was the best place to start. Getting there, however, was something of a journey. Since the war had just ended, territories were still very tense. Lots of patrols and guards stood in between.

Especially in the Skia, otherwise known as the Dark Sector.

Arcadia Academy was at the end of Recreare. To get to the Recreare from the Skia, he had to get through a sector called the Disner—or the Food Sector as the children called it. Leo walked while thinking. The road in the middle, sidewalks flanking the road, and Old London style homes connecting to the sidewalk. At certain points, there would be gaps. These were neighborhoods. 

Everything in the White Realm was a straight line. A singular road. The Central Road as it was most commonly referred to.

Between the Skia and Disner was…sigh. A garbage heap. Yep, he could already smell it.

'Literal trash.' 

It was probably among the worst areas in the White Realm. A place where dirty humans lived and where the rest of the Nebulous Realm liked to separate the Dark Sector from everything else. It was like a way to point at them and laugh. To say, "Look at those filthy garbage people, everybody in the Skia is like that!" 

Being born and raised here, there was a level of discrimination—which was why Leo did not plan to mention it in his application if he didn't have to. 

"Hrn…"

"Look at him…"

"What's with the hood?"

Crouched, sitting, or standing with arms crossed. A gang of locals awaited to the side where the garbage hoard was. In a dark brown hood, Leo curled a finger to silently blow the smell away. He didn't want trouble and he most certainly did not want to be identified as a homeless man living in a garbage heat.

'Huh? What's this?' 

Up ahead, he saw a peculiar group of things. First were the locals, on their knees and being beaten with bats. Second were the men behind the beatings, the remnants of the Dai Nippon Teikoku or the Great Empire of Japan. 

'Shit.' 

He sensed it. A massive, powerful wave of mana swirling toward him. Nope, nope, nope! Immediately, Leo became one with the wind and disappeared. 

There was no wall, there were only the soldiers. A hundred of them, he estimated. He did not dare come close. He fled. His form green and without form, he slipped through a garbage heap and rematerialized at the other side. 

"Phew."

He had not done that in a while. Taking care of a child really built some rust. "Ugh." His nose wrinkled. He was officially in the garbage area, surrounded by heaps of all kinds of trash. Broken swords, tools, metal, lamps, and food—

"Woah, hey! That's perfectly good blueberries!"

"Nice, nice!"

Leo grimaced and put a hand to his face. He was officially in the heart of the garbage heap. This place seriously smelled. But, it was better than being out in the open. Here, the sky was in a perpetual state of dawn and the building-sized collections of trash was to the degree that it blocked much of the light.

'From my understanding, this place…' 

"And who might you be?"

'...has its own ecosystem, rules, and gangs.' 

In a twenty meter radius, he sensed twenty people alone. Prowling or resting or judging him. Others minding their own business, like the duo munching on blueberries. 

Somebody decided to confront this young hooded male that had suddenly appeared. 'Hopefully it won't be a problem.' Leo turned to find himself facing three men with whips. The leader of this group wore a half-yellow, half-blue gentleman's hat.

"A newcomer in a hood," said the gentleman-hatted leader. "Are you here to battle, to live, or to speak?"

To fight or to conduct dialogue, that was the question. Leo decided to go for dialogue. "To get away from the Japanese Imperial. Do you know what's up with that?"

The gentleman-hatted man glanced at his two friends. He gave a nod and the whips were lowered. "Ah, yes, the Japanese soldiers. They have been stationed here since the war. Haven't left even after their defeat. For nobles and the guilds to dump their trash, they must pay a fee."

"Why haven't they just killed them?"

"Haha, you truly don't know? A Rikugun-Chūjō and the last of Rikugun-Shōshō walks among them."

"Oh. I see." 

Rikugun-Chūjō meaning Lieutenant General and Rikugun-Shōshō meaning Major Generals. Leo had not participated in the war. However, those two were the second and third highest ranks in the Japanese army respectively. Battling them was risky for any guild, especially post-war. Better to just fess up the money and move on. It was only garbage after all.

'So that was who that mana belonged to. One of those generals must be an amazing sensor.' 

Well, this got a whole lot complicated. This world was one road, one straight path. It was supposed to be free and open to anyone and everyone. The war had changed things though. If it was blocked and regulated like this by men of high standing, getting through without bringing attention would be impossible.

What was Leo to do?

"So what's it looking? Is there any way for me to get through?" Leo ended up asking the garbage local. 

"I believe names are in order. I am Robert Goulet." He gave a deep bow. "A pleasure to meet you, good sir."

"I'm Anemoi." Leo decided to go for a fake name. As cool as Robert might have seemed, Leo was not in the mood for people to accidentally think he was from here. 

"Excellent name, good sir. Now then, me and my people wish to get past these people and to the Souk." The Merchant Sector, okay, fair. "Alas, the Japanese soldiers do not enjoy or accept us Garbers."

'Oh, is that what they call themselves?' 

"Is there anyone they do allow?" 

"Only merchants that can cough up the money," Robert said. "If you do not have any documentation from a guild or a property, the cost goes up."

"Hm…"

"You are in luck. You see, a small-time gang successfully stole a merchant, his belongings, and his carriage. They plan to use him to get through." Robert offered a hand. "How about we join together and steal what has been stole for our own sake?"

Crafty guy. He saw Leo coming in with wind magic and assumed he was adept at fighting. He would correct that he was able to fight and that he was willing to help. After all, it was either this or confronting the war-hardened generals he had zero intel on while being quite rusty. 

'Yeahhh, hell no. Better to sneak through.' 

Leo took the hand and shook it. "A mighty fine plan. Where will we find these gangsters?"

Robert brightened. "Please, follow me, good sir."