A few hours later, the towering commercial buildings finally began to thin out. The limestone avenue opened up into a massive, sprawling courtyard.
Tessa stopped walking. Her eyes widened.
"What in the world is that?" she whispered.
It was not just a mansion. A palace. It was the absolute definition of wealth itself.
Giant spires of pure white marble reached into the sky. The roofs were plated in actual gold, gleaming so brightly it hurt to look directly at them. Huge statues of armored knights stood guard near the heavy iron gates, their weapons encrusted with huge, glittering gemstones.
Tessa stepped behind a decorative marble pillar near the edge of the courtyard and peeked around the stone.
Multiple heavily armored knights surrounded the entire perimeter. They patrolled in tight, highly disciplined squads. They carried long halberds and thick steel shields.
"I definitely cannot go in there," Tessa concluded quietly. "I am a former Level 6 but it is too risky even for me. If I try to sneak into that fortress, there is a chance there are strong men waiting inside. I need to find clues somewhere else."
She turned her back to the palace and looked toward the setting sun.
"I will head west," Tessa decided. "Let's see what they are hiding away from the main avenue."
She walked fast. The streets in the western district still looked beautiful. The houses were large, featuring white wyvern-scale roofs and clear glass windows.
"Hello there!" a woman carrying a parasol smiled at her from a passing carriage.
Tessa forced a tight smile and waved back.
"Have a wonderful stay in our paradise!" a man watering a small flower bed called out cheerfully.
"Thanks," Tessa mumbled. She kept her head down.
"It is a beautiful day in Valcrest!" two young women walking their small dogs chimed together.
Tessa just nodded. The smiles were definitely creeping her out now. She knew it was all fake. It felt like walking through a beautifully painted graveyard where all the corpses were forced to dance for the visitors.
Suddenly, she stopped.
"What is this?" Tessa asked aloud.
The pristine limestone street ended abruptly. A very tall, solid white wall completely blocked the path forward.
Tessa stared up at the huge barricade. It was constructed from the exact same pale stone and gold plating as the giant outer wall they had seen at the main gate when they first arrived in Valcrest.
"This cannot be right," Tessa said, her brow furrowing. "The western wall is this near the city center? For a royal capital of this size, the western outer wall should be miles farther out."
A city guard wearing polished chainmail was standing near a small brass lamppost just a few feet away.
Tessa walked up to him.
"Hey," Tessa said, pointing at the huge barricade. "Why is there a giant wall here? The western gate is supposed to be miles away."
The guard turned to her and offered a polite, incredibly welcoming smile.
"Welcome to the Western Heritage District!" the guard greeted cheerfully. "I completely understand your curiosity regarding this magnificent structure."
"It is just a blank wall," Tessa pressed. "What is it doing in the middle of the residential city?"
"I appreciate your deep interest in our urban design," the guard deflected smoothly, clasping his hands behind his back. "This structure is the Historical Preservation Barrier. It was erected by the King to carefully shield our delicate historical excavation sites from the bustling foot traffic of the modern avenues."
"Excavation sites?" Tessa repeated skeptically. "So there is just dirt and old rocks back there?"
"Valcrest is deeply committed to preserving its rich cultural history," the guard recited, his voice never dropping its upbeat tone. "The barrier ensures that our archaeological teams can work in a pristine, undisturbed environment while our valued guests continue to enjoy the spotless luxury of the main city."
"Can I go look at the history?" Tessa challenged, crossing her arms.
"I hear your profound enthusiasm for our heritage!" the guard smiled, offering a gentle shake of his head. "Unfortunately, for your own safety and the integrity of the preservation efforts, the area beyond the barrier is strictly restricted to authorized personnel only. But I highly recommend visiting the Royal Museum in the eastern plaza for a beautifully curated historical experience!"
"Right. The museum," Tessa said flatly. "Thanks."
"Have a truly magnificent day!" the guard called out.
Tessa walked away from the guard. She moved a few blocks down the street and followed the length of the huge wall until she found a completely empty alleyway pressing right up against the white stone.
She looked around. No guards, no smiling citizens, no oblivious tourists.
"Historical preservation, my foot," Tessa muttered to the empty alley. "My curiosity is definitely taking over. I am going to climb this thing."
Tessa walked right up to the base of the wall and placed her hands against the smooth, cold stone.
She was a former Adventurer. Melee or not, an Adventurer possessed physical strength far greater than a normal civilian. Even a backline Mage easily possessed enough passive body density to beat an average civilian in an arm-wrestling match without trying.
However, within the strict laws of the universe, a firm hierarchy existed: non-melee fighters were fundamentally weaker than melee fighters in terms of pure physical force.
But Tessa was different. She sat exactly in the middle of that spectrum. She was an Archer class. She lacked the heavy, bulging muscles of a frontline vanguard, but years of drawing heavy warbows and swinging rusted broadswords had permanently altered her biological frame. Even without visible, bulky muscles, her body possessed incredible, dense strength.
She couldn't push her internal mana outward to coat her skin in a glowing defensive shield because she wasn't born a melee fighter. She also couldn't seal her aura into her broadsword because the blade would violently explode upon hitting a target and blow her own arm completely off.
But even without mana to coat her body, she was still a former high-level Adventurer with the raw physical power to scale a hundred-meter drop.
Tessa jumped.
She launched herself ten feet straight up into the air. Her leather boots scraped against the white stone. Her fingers found the tiny, microscopic indentations where the gold plating met the rock.
She hauled her body upward. She climbed with brutal, explosive speed, utilizing her dense muscles to scale the sheer vertical drop without a single Aura enhancement.
She reached the top ledge in less than a minute.
Tessa grabbed the heavy stone rim. She hauled her upper body over the edge and lay flat on her stomach to avoid being spotted by any patrols on the walkway.
She slowly raised her head and looked over the other side.
"What the heck!" Tessa gasped. The words tore out of her throat loudly. "This is unbelievable."
Her eyes widened in absolute, paralyzing shock.
There was no historical excavation site and there was no ancient architecture being carefully preserved for the museums.
What she saw was a massive, messy, filthy slum.
It stretched endlessly toward the true western wall miles in the distance. Thousands of collapsing, rotting shacks made from rusted iron and broken wood were crammed tightly together in a sea of thick brown mud.
"They hid it," Tessa whispered, her hands gripping the edge of the white stone so tightly her knuckles ached.
Open sewers flowed directly through the narrow dirt paths. Thick, choking black smoke poured from open garbage fires, completely blotting out the afternoon sun. Starving people wearing literal rags shuffled through the filth.
Tessa stared down at the horrifying reality.
"They built a giant wall right in the middle of the city," Tessa deduced, her chest tightening with pure anger. "Valcrest does not want the public to see this hidden truth. They use all their wealth to build a fake, scripted paradise for the tourists, and they lock their own poor citizens in this filthy cage so no one ever knows."
A loud, metallic clanking echoed from the walkway to her right.
"Keep your eyes on the dirt, rookie," a rough voice ordered.
Tessa quickly flattened herself against the stone and turned her head slightly to peek down the length of the wall.
Two heavily armed city guards were marching along the top of the barricade. They carried loaded crossbows. They were actively aiming their weapons down at the slums below.
"I understand, sir," the younger guard replied. "But what if one of them actually manages to climb up here?"
"I already gave you the protocol," the older guard grunted. He leaned over the edge, spitting down into the mud. "If any of those starving rats try to climb over to the clean side to beg the tourists for food, you shoot them in the head. The King wants the paradise kept entirely pristine. We do not let the trash spill over."
"Yes, sir," the rookie nodded.
Tessa held her breath. If they saw her lying on the wall, they would put a crossbow bolt in her back without asking a single question.
She slowly pushed herself backward. She slid her legs over the edge of the stone and dropped freely into the empty alleyway on the clean side of the city.
The wind rushed past her ears. She bent her knees as she fell.
Her leather boots hit the pristine limestone street with a heavy, controlled thud. Her dense muscles easily absorbed the massive kinetic shock. She stood up straight and dusted off her pants.
She looked up at the towering white wall. The beautiful gold veins looked completely sickening to her now.
"I have to get back to the hotel," Tessa muttered aggressively. "The boss needs to hear this right now."
She power-walked out of the alley and merged back onto the main avenue. She moved fast, her mind racing with the horrific images of the starving people trapped in the mud.
"It is a beautiful day in Valcrest!" a woman holding a parasol chirped as Tessa stormed past her.
"Get out of my way," Tessa snapped, shoving past the woman.
The woman stumbled, but her smile did not drop. "We are so blessed by the King's grace!"
Tessa entirely ignored the scripted response. She practically ran down the street, pushing her way through the crowds of oblivious, laughing tourists. She finally reached the heavy glass doors of the Grand Celestine and burst into the cool, lavender-scented lobby.
"Welcome back!" the receptionist smiled brightly. "How may I elevate your experience this afternoon?"
Tessa did not even look at the desk. She sprinted up the red-carpeted stairs and hurried down the luxurious hallway and grabbed the heavy brass handle of their suite and pushed the double doors wide open.
Mirelle was sitting on the edge of the huge feather bed. The little girl looked up, her blue eyes wide with anticipation.
"Junior," Mirelle said quickly. "You look terrible. What did you find?"
Tessa closed the heavy doors and locked the iron bolt with a loud clack. She walked over to the wooden table, poured a cup of cold water, and drank it in one gulp.
"Boss," Tessa said, her voice completely hollow. "You were right about the fake smiles. But the reality is a hundred times worse than we thought."