CHAPTER 148: STELLARIS CITY

Stellaris City

"What the...?" Oaho mumbled unconsciously as he looked up at the creature staring down at them from the hill.

Looking at it, he suddenly remembered a popular dating regarding T-rexes back on earth that made him frown.

Unlike most creatures, T-rexes possess binocular vision.

Meaning, if a T. rex is looking at you. It’s looking AT you.

’Strong.’ Gale said with some interest, and Osho had to agree. Just looking at it, Osho knew that this was the strongest Beast he’d ever come across, and something told him that if it faced something like the Skyblight Harbinger, it’d thrash it every time.

"Veronica, stop bullying the rookies." Mateo suddenly said as he looked up at the large creature.

’Veronica?’ Osho thought and resisted the urge to make a face. That thing didn’t exactly look like a Veronica if he was being honest.

However, he followed Mateo’s gaze and realized that he wasn’t referring to the creature, but the person on its head.

She had long, brown hair and hazel eyes from what Osho could tell. She also wore a dark cloak that covered up most of her body besides her face and eyes which stared down at them calmly.

As soon as Mateo addressed the woman, Veronica, she gave the T. rex a mental command and it moved forward, the creature’s movements silent to an uncanny degree as she approached.

"I’m not bullying anyone. Isn’t it natural for a senior to want to impress their juniors?" She said, and Osho’s eyes widened a little.

’Senior? Wait... is she a student?’ He thought with surprise and looked at her again as she got closer.

Her face looked young, which was a common theme for most strong people due to how getting stronger and age worked, but she seemed even younger than that, perhaps in her early to mid-twenties.

Osho glanced at his friends who certainly looked intimidated. However, he saw how Sugil and the dinosaur briefly locked gazes, and they almost seemed to give each other brief nods of... what was that? Acknowledgement?

"So these are the new people, huh?" Veronica said as she looked down at the group, a smile which almost looked impish appearing on her face.

"Two handsome ones among them. That’s already pretty decent in my opinion." She mused aloud, and the air shifted slightly.

Irene and Sam moved a little closer to Kurt, while the respectful smile on Ellie’s face had turned sharp.

’Huh?’ Osho was confused by the change in mood. Wasn’t she just complimenting them? Why the sudden shift? Sure it felt a bit out of place, but it’s not like–

’Uh, Osho. I think you’re being dense again.’ Gale said, and Osho blinked before frowning slightly.

’What would you know about being dense?’ He retorted, but the bird just shrugged.

’I’m not very well versed in human things, but her tone indicates the potential desire to mate. But seeing as Ellie is already your mate, she probably didn’t like that.’ Gale explained and gave the bird equivalent of a shrug, and Osho was about to point out how ridiculous it was when he glanced at Ellie again, and then at Veronica who was staring at him like a large slab of meat.

’... You know, I feel called out.’ He thought as his lips twitched.

"So... do we need to do anything or...?" Kurt, who seemed more concerned than anything, asked, and Mateo spoke up.

"Well, besides being weird, Veronica is here to take us to the main campus," Mateo explained, and a look of realization appeared on everyone’s faces. With how big the dinosaur was, carrying their group shouldn’t be an issue.

However...

"Using a Master Rank Beast as transport is a bit much, no? Why not get an aircraft or something similar?" Osho questioned the logistics of such a choice, and he saw the two powerhouses glance at each other before Veronica regarded him and replied.

"So we can show off, of course." She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, and Osho was thrown for a loop.

Before he could reply, though, Mateo clapped his hands twice.

"That’s enough of that." He snapped his fingers, and in the next moment, the group found themselves on the back of the large creature before they could do or say anything.

Osho blinked and looked forward at Veronica who turned to look at them.

"Alright my juniors, welcome to Veronica Express. Since it’s your first time, the only fees you will need to pay are compliments towards your cool senior." Before they could say anything, she gently tapped the head of the T. rex that seemed unbothered by everything that was happening.

"Indo, let’s go." She said, and the large creature obliged as it turned, and the group was able to see a series of large buildings in the distance.

Osho was about to guess how long it would take when Veronica suddenly said.

"By the way, Indo is pretty fast, so I suggest you hang on to something." She suddenly said while looking back at them and giving a playful wink.

The group immediately had a bad premonition, and they wasted no time holding on to what they could. Luckily, there were numerous grooves in the dinosaur’s skin, big enough for them to fit their hands in.

Their beasts also held on in their own ways. Blackie and Inagi dug their claws into the grooves, Clyde stayed in front of Kurt so that he’d fly back into him in case of anything, Sugil wrapped herself around Ellie, and Gale... just stayed on Osho’s head.

Osho was about to question the legitimacy of such an approach when the T. rex moved and, well...

Veronica’s warning had been timely.

Osho grunted as his body was nearly thrown off from the sheer acceleration, his fingers during into the grooves as much as possible as he struggled to keep himself stable.

The beast was fast.

Osho gritted his teeth as he saw the world around them blur from how quickly they were moving, the speed and agility of the dinosaur not matching its size in the slightest.

However, after the initial burst of acceleration, the ’ride’ relaxed slightly, though, everyone still had to hang on pretty tightly to avoid flying off.

Osho looked around and saw that everyone managed to avoid getting thrown off, thankfully.

He then glanced at Mateo who was standing calmly despite their struggles, making Osho feel like he was doing it just to show off, but he had no proof.

Looking forward, there was the place they were heading rapidly getting closer. As they did, Osho realized that he may have severely underestimated what sort of place Stellaris truly was, as from what he could see, a large, bustling city was where they were headed, with more than a few flying vessels that did not at all look like they belonged to Earth flying about.

The city itself was situated between two, quite frankly, utterly massive mountains that would’ve been unbelievable to conceive on earth before Mana descended as they easily dwarfed Mount Everest.

"This is Stellaris City." Mateo started. "While the college is situated within this hidden realm, it’s not the only thing we use this place for as it’s too large and possesses too many resources to be used for a singular purpose." Mateo explained.

"So... people live here? As in, normally?" Ellie asked curiously, and Mateo nodded.

"Think of it as a Citadel on its own. With how large it is, the description would be fitting. However, there’s something that differentiates it from most Citadels you will find outside." He offered a small smile.

"It has one of, if not the largest population of alien beings compared to other high-class Citadels." Those words made everyone perk up, but before the topic could move in that direction any further, Veronica said in a scolding tone.

"Mateo! Don’t ruin the surprise yet!" She chastised, and surprisingly Mateo backed down, raising both his hands in surrender.

Osho smiled.

’Alien beings... are they referring to...?’

Before he could dwell on it, the group reached the city, and Osho was surprised by its appearance.

The city sprawled between the two massive mountains like a jewel, and getting closer, he could truly appreciate their gargantuan size. Their peaks pierced through the clouds and aimed for the starry skies like ancient titans. As for the city itself, it was filled with towering structures made of glass, mana-based steel, and odd crystalline structures that rose in spiral shapes, with sky bridges aplenty as a good number of them were connected.

Dozens of aircraft wove through the air. Some were sleek and modern, while others were clearly of alien design. The ground level was also a blend of human and non-human architecture. The streets were far wider than what most people would deem normal, and while Osho couldn’t see everything from here, he knew that there was far more waiting for whoever wanted to explore the place.