The dark room moves just like the smaller cube I was in before.
I take a few steps forward and pull a black chair from the opposite side of the table and sit down, doing as the Director asked. The three new A-Class hunters take seats near me as well. Their golden collars glow brightly.
The feeling of being guided along a magical railway continues as the room speeds up, leading us in a direction unknown to me. It feels like we're heading north, but it's hard to tell without exposing my true mana control to break through the high-grade mana shielding we're surrounded with in this room.
We all sit in silence for about half a minute before the Director speaks again while pressing a button beneath his table.
"To save time while we make our way to the headquarters, I might as well begin the tour here."
A portion of the wall to the right of me begins to shift in color, like a video is about to play.
However, soon I realize that the flashing white light I see is hundreds of panels of mana shielding flying by as we ride on a thin silver rail made of a metallic alloy I can't identify.
Square-shaped holes in the ground fly by in the view, revealing orange-red dirt patches just like what I saw when I got here. However, we're headed off in the opposite direction, leaving the exam site. We also rise higher into the air to follow the silver rail upward. A few other twisting railways are visible far off in the distance as well, with other cubes being transported on them.
The Director speaks up as my eyes are glued to the transparent side wall display with genuine awe.
Crews of hunters become visible, tearing the mana shielding away, loading them into item boxes, and bringing them back in the same direction we're headed on other silver railways.
The new A-Class hunters sit quietly while nurses finish healing up the Director.
I finally speak up once the room we're sat in stops rising in elevation, and it feels like we're just moving in one direction about 2 kilometers above the ground.
"I've never been in a transportation machine quite ..."
The abundance of mana shielding on the ground fades more and more, leaving just orange dirt on the horizon. It looks like we've made it out of the exam test site, and the trees, colorful flowers, and grass that grow out here tell me that there wasn't any mana shielding covering this land before. We've made it to the natural land of the Apex Region.
The Director responds once endless rolling hills come into view.
"Yes, teleport crystals are usually saved for long-distance travel. We much prefer to rely on the rail system here. There are 28 routes that cover the entirety of the Apex Region. If you wish to take the tour of the entire Region later, I'm sure this can be arranged, but for now, I'll just be taking you directly to the heart of the Region."
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
I nod as I see the other railways bend off in other directions the further away from the exam testing site we get; some of them even dip down to make stops within the rolling hills.
I see small settlements that house a few hundred people each. They all have very well-built symmetric homes, shops, and roads.
It looks like it has a futuristic Apex Region touch to it, built with white and silver high-grade materials in very symmetric patterns. I see a few guards watching from the far edges of the settlements.
Just like any other region, it seems there are just normal citizens going about their normal lives out here.
Roads connect these smaller towns to bigger ones that look like they could house thousands as we venture deeper into the Apex Region a few hundred kilometers further over the next few minutes.
Large apartment complexes, town squares, and communities prosper out in these open plains, and they're well connected to farmland and all of the other cities for trade. It is all incredibly well maintained, with more Elite hunters guarding the cities and keeping watch.
There is definitely very high surveillance in these cities, but they look incredibly orderly and clean.
I would do a scan for myself, as they look very familiar to mana shielded cubes I saw long ago in Sector 4; but the Director answers my question while rippling out an aura filled with pride.
"Those are all dungeon portals. The closer we get to headquarters, the more abundant they will become. A lot of our C and B-Class hunters do training out here. Near the larger cities, some of the dungeons get pretty strong."
He chuckles to himself while the railway zips across the sky and more cities pass by, clumping closer and closer together until the entire ground is covered in homes, shops, and roads filled with people.
The buildings get taller and more luxurious, and the streets all begin to converge toward a single tall hill in the distance. It rises up almost a full kilometer in the sky, making a perfect backdrop for the city large enough to house a hundred thousand citizens.
The silver railway curves downward, and our descent begins.
We get closer and closer to the ground, and I see a few other silver rails next to us all falling toward a single point; the massive grassy hill.
Our speed doesn't slow as we zip between the taller towers in the city, and the Director doesn't seem to be too concerned about the fact that we're about to collide with this massive mound of dirt either.
So, I sit back and wait for impact.
The mana shielded box hits the side of the massive grassy hill, but I don't feel it shake or slow at all.
We just phase through the mountain into what looks like a hidden fortress.
The veil of green grass ripples as I look back at the city we're leaving behind, and we dip down into a base deep within the heart of the Apex Region.
The side of the grassy mound was all an illusion, hiding the headquarters entrance in plain sight.
Mana shielding far thicker than the box we're in covers the inner walls of the hill as the railway plummets down deep underground.
Bright lights flash by as the sheets of mana shielding blink rapidly from the speed; but they start to flash far less once our velocity slows.
The room shakes quite a bit as it finally comes to a stop, and at the same time, the transparent window turns back to opaque shielding.
A door at the back of the room opens up, and Mr. Freeman speaks.
Everyone in the room stands up, even the Director while his nurses help him on each arm. So, I do too.
The golden-eyed man walks all the way around the table, and his shadowy figure shows that just a pair of glowing eyes covered in dark robes are walking through the room. I know that his real appearance looks different, but using his [Master of Illusions] buff, this mysterious form is all anyone can see.
"Please, follow me and I will give you a tour of the facilities."
He walks out the open door with his nurses and three new A-class hunters close behind, and I follow, holding in my grin as my enemy leads me right into the heart of his hidden fortress.