Strongest Hammer God

Chapter 1148: Connecting Planets

Sebastian and Kyle were now official citizens of the Wargod's Peak. The Communicator of the Wargod's Peak was their identification and also the primary method of interacting with the Wargod's Peak.

The two of them navigated the Communicator for a while. It was pretty easy to navigate since they just needed to infuse their Energy with a certain purpose. The Communicator interpreted the Energy and showed them what they wanted to see.

First, they read through the rules of the Wargod's Peak. There were fixed rules that couldn't be broken, along with guidelines. The guidelines told citizens what ideals they should hold in their hearts and how they should conduct themselves.

Wargod's Peak's ideology and culture were quite different from the ideologies of the Array of Stars and the Contrast Empire. The Contrast Empire was authoritarian, demanding that people ask for permission before doing many things. The Contrast Empire had many more and stricter rules. Meanwhile, the Wargod's Peak didn't have that many. The Wargod's Peak was quite liberal, allowing for a lot of freedom.

This ideological difference came with advantages and disadvantages. Due to the overbearing rules, living in the Contrast Empire was quite safe. The Contrast Empire spent a lot of money making sure nobody broke the rules. They had countless investigators, inspectors, detectives, officials, and so on. Inside the Contrast Empire, one didn't need to fear becoming the victim of a more powerful Seeker as long as one didn't enter less-restricted areas.

The downside was that these rules stifled growth and resource accumulation. There was far less conflict, and conflict was often the basis of growth. Even more, the people in charge made the rules. The world had limited resources, and the amount of resources one had access to correlated with growth and power. When someone became stronger, they usually also accumulated more resources, which meant these resources had to come from somewhere. Therefore, the strong had an incentive to make it harder for weaker people to attain resources.

The loose rules of the Wargod's Peak made it much easier to attain resources, but they also made it much more dangerous for citizens. Killing someone was much easier to justify here than in the Contrast Empire due to the Right to True Battles. In the Wargod's Peak, True Battles were a human right. Prosecuting someone because they killed somebody in a True Battle violated this basic human right.

Of course, exceptions still existed. Certain places didn't allow True Battles, and there were also ways to request an exemption from being the target of one. This rule, in particular, made growing in the Wargod's Peak much easier.

"This seems like the right place," Kyle transmitted to Sebastian as he looked at his Communicator.

"Hello?" Kyle asked via voice transmission.

"Oh? Yeah, sounds great," Sebastian answered as he shook his head a bit. "Sorry, I was just... distracted."

Kyle sighed. Naturally, Sebastian was still thinking about Melanie.

"I've already checked through a couple of entries about the Immortal Dimension," Kyle transmitted. "There is surprisingly little information, but there are some tips for Fulfilled Ascendants. For example, they're telling us that we should advance in a Protected City. Apparently, advancing in a random location can end horribly."

"Then, do we go to one of these Protected Cities and advance?" Sebastian asked.

"Not yet," Kyle answered, his brows furrowing. "I don't like how no one talks about any specifics of the Immortal Dimension. They say it's brutal and cutthroat, but they don't say why. They say you should have a backer, but they don't give specific examples as to what happens if you don't have one. Not even the Communicator has any specific information."

Sebastian nodded. "You're right. I should've also noticed, but I'm still a bit unfocused."

"No worries," Kyle answered. "Take your time. I'll just do most of the planning for now, okay?"

Sebastian sighed. "Yeah, sorry and thanks."

"There's a Connecting Planet not far from here. Shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks to get there," Kyle transmitted. "I think we'll find some information there."

"Sounds good. Lead the way," Sebastian transmitted.

The two of them left the Planet and started to teleport upward. Based on the rules of navigation, the Connecting Planet was above them.

Nothing happened during their journey. After all, who would dare to stop two powerful Ascendants?

Eventually, they reached their target. The Planet was pretty small. It only had a diameter of about 20,000 kilometers. Yet, when compared to most Planets, this one was almost fully covered in buildings. Seekers of all levels were on the Planet.

This was a Connecting Planet, which meant that it allowed the presence of Immortals in the Main Dimension. Some Immortals had friends and family in the Main Dimension, and since Communicators didn't work across Dimensions, they needed to descend to the Main Dimension to talk with them. Some Immortals also had businesses in the Main Dimension, and they needed to stay in contact with them.

There were always Immortals present on most Connecting Planets. Many of them even permanently stationed an Avatar on one. However, getting a permit for permanent presence was very expensive, which was why most Immortals just came and went.

The reason why so many weaker Seekers were present on Connecting Planets was interesting. These Seekers represented Organizations of different levels, and they were hoping to enter a Karmic Trade.

Karmic Luck was exceptionally important in the Immortal Dimension, and not everyone had the funds to buy Karmic Luck from Auspicious Karma. Because of that, many Immortals searched for Secondary Organizations. Even a small amount of an Immortal's wealth could change the fate of a Secondary Organization.

The Immortal would gift them some resources, and in exchange, the Secondary Organization would give the Immortal part of the credit whenever they achieved something. When an Organization managed to conquer another, they often said it wouldn't have been possible without the Immortal's benevolence.

Immortals could invest in several Organizations at once, but they had to make sure that none of these Organizations would compete with each other. Otherwise, they wouldn't gain a lot of Karmic Luck.

Some Immortals also converted a bit of a powerful material into a lot of a weaker material. If the prices were right, they could sell one converted piece of Immortal Metal for a price equivalent to 1.5 pieces of Immortal Metal.

Kyle and Sebastian traveled to the Connecting Planet, and moments later, Kyle looked for a fitting Immortal. Some Immortals were inside their own buildings. They probably weren't interested in talking. Some Immortals publicly talked to several representatives of Secondary Organizations. Interrupting these talks could cost Kyle some Karmic Luck, since his interruption might cost an Organization its partner.

In the end, Kyle focused on an Immortal suffering from the Second Curse of Karmic Luck.

"We're searching for valuable information," Kyle transmitted. "We can pay in Karmic Luck or resources."

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