Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation

"If we really want to take action, your light element aura would definitely be a big problem. But if your wings are hidden, your aura wouldn't be too noticeable - about the same level as mine."

I was just talking, not expecting there to be such a possibility. But seeing her seriously considering sneaking in, I suddenly felt a bit nervous.

"Why don't we wait a while more?"

Hearing that, Selene looked puzzled and gave me an odd look.

"Weren't you the one who suggested sneaking in?"

"We could do more preparation..." I tried to change the topic.

"Are you chickening out again?"

Seeing my reaction, Selene suddenly realized and showed a look of disdain again.

"No way! We're not strong enough, we just don't want to take unnecessary risks."

Provoked by her, I immediately came up with all sorts of reasons to argue back.

"And I need to ensure your safety. It would be hard to protect you thoroughly once we're in the city."

"But this seems to be a rare opportunity. Don't you want to consider it?"

Selene had a regretful look, as if it would be a waste to pass up this opportunity if I didn't sneak into the city.

"What opportunity?" Hearing her say that, I became a bit curious.

"Look, there are no guards on top of the city walls now. If we sneak across quietly, we probably wouldn't be noticed."

She pointed at the sentry positions on top of the city walls. Indeed, there were no beasts visible and the skies seemed clear too, with no sign of vigilance.

"But even if we get in, wouldn't we stand out immediately with our looks?"

I still didn't feel convinced yet with just this.

"That's why we'll need these."

As soon as she finished speaking, Selene took out two cloaks from her storage ring.

"Well... I guess this could work."

Although I didn't want to admit it, seeing the two cloaks instantly increased the feasibility of the plan in my eyes.

"But wouldn't we stand out even more?"

I spotted another loophole - us being the only ones wearing cloaks when most other beasts don't would make us conspicuous.

"That's why we must avoid areas with many dark creatures and target lone ones where possible."

Selene was clearly impatient, explaining so much just to persuade me. She simply laid out all the key points clearly.

"Of course, there are still risks with sneaking in like this. But the chances of success are high too. It just depends if you're willing to take the gamble."

"If not, you can just wait outside. It'd depend on our luck then - if we're lucky, we might find other beasts soon. If not, it could take days. Let me make this clear first - our food supplies are limited. Continuing to rough it out in the wilderness would make it hard to fly back even if we find the way."

"But are you sure that even if we find a lone beast, the two of us would be able to subdue it? And understand what it's saying?"

I still felt uneasy about it.

"I roughly know the strength of beasts. Of course I'd choose softer persimmons to pinch! With me as a level 4 priest, plus you as a level 4 angel, we'd definitely be enough, as long as we avoid the powerful beasts. It'd basically be no issue."

"As for language, I heard that every intelligent species has their own language. But there's a common continental language for ease of communication. So we'd definitely be able to understand them."

I felt it'd be better not to mention I'm only at level 3...

Since preparations were already at this stage, we had basically exhausted all other options. Like Selene, I didn't want to continue waiting it out in the wilderness either. We'd definitely run out of food in a day or two. I could still barely survive without food, but not Selene. So we had to find a way back quickly.

At the very least, this plan seemed feasible for now.

...

"Are you sure those dark creatures won't sense the aura of light elements on us?"

I put on the cloak Selene took out. It felt slightly big on me.

"With your wings hidden, your aura should be about the same as mine. As long as they're not powerful dark creatures, most wouldn't notice if they don't pay attention. But if your wings come out, we'd be completely doomed. Even the lowest-level beast within 5m could detect an angel like you."

Selene sensed my aura again, very satisfied as she nodded.

"Luckily you're so weak. That's why we could possibly sneak by like this."

I felt unhappy that she had to add that last sentence. I'm so sorry to be this weak!

With preparations ready, we finally began moving. Since we still needed to fly into the city first, we didn't wear the cloaks yet to avoid the wings tearing through them.

The first barrier was the city walls - extremely tall at over 20m, about twice the height of normal city walls I knew. Its surface was also very smooth, reflecting an eerie green glow. I couldn't tell what materials it was made of.

I carried Selene and flew upwards, purposely avoiding the direction of the city gates. We entered the city walls through a remote corner instead.

What appeared before us was a spacious, empty square with no buildings around it. We chose this spot specifically to land without our wings being noticed.

The slender, tall spires looked densely clustered from afar. But upon entering the city, I realized they were actually quite sparse, scattered in various spots, quite far from where we were. The spaces in between were filled up by shorter buildings of all kinds.

After ensuring it was safe, I pressed against the corner of a wall, retracted my wings and immediately put on the cloak to conceal myself fully.

Selene mirrored my actions, draping a cloak over herself too.

"Now, where do we go to find lone beasts?"

I looked around. The nearest building was still tens of meters away. It had no lights or even windows, but a gigantic door stood right in front that was tightly shut - looking almost like a coffin.

"Why don't we go check the streets?"

Selene pointed at the gloomy alley in front leading to some unknown place. I nodded in agreement.

"If we really can't find any, we could return and try the buildings. I don't think such creepy houses could be lived in, but for beasts - hard to say."

After speaking, Selene took the lead walking right in front. I followed close behind. Soon, we realized the alley wasn't actually very long. After a few tens of meters, there was an intersection leading to what seemed like a wider street.

"Are cities of dark creatures this complicated too?"

Turning out of the alley, this street felt somewhat like those in human cities, with a few windows visible on the buildings lining both sides - still all shut tight though.

"Where have all the beasts gone?"

I asked in frustration, expecting there to be many beasts gathered in such a large city. Yet we had seen none after walking for so long.

"Shh, I think I heard something."

Selene gestured for me to keep quiet. She pointed ahead at a building with an open door. Indistinct voices seemed to be coming from within.

We sneaked closer to take a peek. Shockingly, there was a tavern-like establishment inside - not just tables and chairs, but a bar counter too. The shelves behind it were lined with all kinds of bottles and jars, looking almost identical to taverns in human cities!

Only difference was the varying sizes of tables and chairs, some huge while others exquisitely dainty - clearly not for humans to sit on.

"Seems like more than one beast inside?"

I could see a lizardman, wolfman and long-horned demon crowded around a corner table, toasting and drinking heartily. I wondered what they were drinking - alcohol too?

From bits of their conversation, it sounded like they were celebrating some kind of victory parade or triumphant return.

Witnessing this scene, my worldview started crumbling.

In this world, I had seen and killed countless beasts while doing quests before. My impression was always that they were ferocious and brutal - basically no different from wild beasts, just more powerful.

"Do all beasts have intelligence?"

I whispered to Selene. All this while, I thought common beasts basically had zero IQ and only humanoid dark creatures could speak. But things didn't seem so simple now.

"Most low-level non-humanoid beasts don't normally have intelligence. But the higher the level, the more likely they'll develop an IQ. Also, how are you gonna interrogate beasts without intelligence?"

Selene rolled her eyes at me again while taking the chance to give me a lesson in common sense.

Truthfully, my thinking was stuck on capturing dark elves and such humanoid dark creatures.

"Actually, mindless beasts are usually the lowest existences in the dark forces. Being disobedient and running around, they mostly get used as cannon fodder. That's why they turn up everywhere in the human world."

"But still, this is my first time seeing such a lively side to dark creatures' lives."

I deeply agreed with Selene's surprise. I felt like I had entered an anime world, especially seeing that wolfman reminding me of Pleasant Goat.

"So what's our plan now?"

Clearly this wasn't a suitable spot with three beasts present, not counting any others that might be behind the bar. Given that they had intelligence, that surely meant they were powerful - definitely not something we could handle.

"Let's try elsewhere by." Selene agreed this wasn't suitable either.

"If nothing else works, we break into some isolated house... and do this." She made a gesture of striking ruthlessly.

Aren't you supposed to be a priest? Why so gangster-like?

"Why're there two cavemen sneaking around suspiciously here?"

Just as we were discussing our next step, a sudden booming and extremely husky voice rang out from behind. A split second later, both Selene and I were simultaneously lifted into the air by our clothes on our backs.