The Rise of the Black Plain

The ant got right to the point. "There's no reason why an ordinary Mortal like me shouldn't help a practitioner of the Divine Journey. And I wouldn't gain anything by lying to you."

"Do you gain anything by telling the truth?" Maximilian asked curiously.

"Certainly. Not earning the enmity of a group led by a Sovereign is enough to leave a Mortal in a good position." Strin commented before adding. "As much as many natives of Zocarro dislike space explorers, and some will try to make trouble for you, the vast majority don't dare to risk themselves against practitioners of the Divine Journey.

The Divine Journey is long, and there are different levels of power. But the weakest practitioner of it still has enough to terrorize entire tribes of Mortals.

In Zocarro, the highest law is the law of the strong. The weak must obey and help the strong whenever possible or necessary. I just do what I have to do and help my tribe stay out of trouble."

That was the truth. This world was much more complex than the Spiritual World and The Adamant Land. Here, beings of different strength levels would not just respect the strongest. They would truly fear the strongest, bow their heads, and act like subordinates to beings they had never seen before, just out of fear for their very existence.

Of course, some would act this way out of self-interest to gain access to stronger people. But they were the minority, and the vast majority of living beings would behave similarly to Strin.

"So what do you recommend, Strin? Is this place up ahead worth it? Or should we continue on our way to Examire?" Ruth asked when Maximillian fell silent.

"If you want to learn more about this world and return to your home planet as soon as possible, I recommend traveling to Examire. Even if you don't achieve some of your goals there, you can certainly learn a lot.

In Examire, you will have access to resources, jobs, cultivation opportunities, techniques, historical books, and even opportunities to join the great powers of my world.

On the other hand, you will have many difficulties in this place. But it would definitely be safer for you to enter this city first. You're not weak by local standards, but that wouldn't be the case if you decided to go to Examire. You won't have the same opportunities here, but you won't face the same dangers and could learn a few things.

If you plan to stay in Zocarro for a long time and aren't in a hurry, staying here for a while might not be such a bad idea". It was sincere in its advice.

"What kind of things can we do here?" Minos asked.

"Learn more about the language of the area, the rank of cultivation, some of the possibilities of Zocarro, and the dangers you would face on your possible journey to Examire. You can also hunt and gather resources nearby despite the lack of work opportunities in the area."

Minos then looked at the strongest members of his group and wondered what they should do.

"What do you think about all this? The trip to Examire seems to be the way we should take at first glance, but if we take a closer look at the situation, it might be worth spending more time in the area".

Maximilian preferred the direct route to Examire and asked. "Why do you think that? I think it would be a waste of time to stay here."

"I don't see it that way." The level 99 robot realized the same thing Minos had and answered in his master's place. "The journey to Examire will take us two years. That's a long journey, and it could be fraught with unimaginable dangers, even greater than the ones we've already faced.

We've heard that there are beings stronger than Gods here, so what if we meet one of them on the way?

So I think it might be interesting for us to stay here for a while to strengthen ourselves and learn more about this place. If we master the language better and learn about the paths to Examire, we might be able to avoid deadly problems more easily on our eventual journey there."

Minos nodded. "There's no guarantee that we'll actually improve our chances, but logic tells me that it makes sense to stay and prepare for this journey. The downside is that we'll be late getting to Examire, which could result in longer delays than if we took our chances and went straight to Examire."

Maximillian understood the robots' and Minos' points, but he was more worried about the possibility that they might meet someone stronger than him than anything else.

He thought for a moment and said. "Then we'll stay here until we've made our subsequent advances and learned enough about the place we're in to better understand the dangers.

When we've accomplished these goals, we'll plan our trip to Examire."

Minos agreed as he nodded to Maximillian, while the others in the group sighed as they looked at the city at the base of the area before them, curious but also nervous to get to know this new place.

Minos said to Strin. "We will stay in this area for a while. Could you lead us to this place?"

Strin wasn't surprised by this decision and nodded as it led the way. "The city ahead is called Kilburn. As I said, it's influenced by one race of ants. However, there are at least 30 races living there in harmony.

Most are definitely ants, but there are other beings of related races here."

"Are all the beings in your world like you, Strin?" Ruth asked.

"Not at all. Subterranean parasites and beings with exoskeletons characterize this area we're in. But if you travel the world, you'll find beings very different from me. But there is nothing like you. So don't be surprised if they look at you like you're monsters...

I didn't mean to offend you..."

The people in the group smiled because, to them, the monsters were actually the natives of this place, especially those who looked like Strin.

"So that's it... But what about the space explorers?" Minos asked.

"There are space explorers who are said to be more or less like you. But I've never seen them in person. I've only heard reports about them." Strin explained. "That is certainly the case for most of the natives of Zocarro. As much as this is a world that has long had contact with extraterritorial civilizations, more than half of this planet is fairly close to foreigners.

It will probably take you a while to meet other space explorers until you get to Examire."

So the group continued to talk to this being as they approached the city they would be entering in a few minutes.