Outside The Box.

Erik and Iniesta made their way through the wastelands of the 28th floor, fending off sandstorms or any thieves that tried to block their path. Criminals weren't too prevalent in their appearances but the sandstorm was the complete opposite.

WHIRRRRR!

"Iniesta, how long can you keep that Shinsu barrier up?"

Iniesta had her head down, scratching the back of her hand with her nails and she didn't respond. It was like she was in deep thought about something crucial.

'Is that a nervous tick? If she keeps it up she might scratch the skin off her bones.'

Erik turned around and stopped in front of her, watching as she slowly walked into his chest without even noticing he was there.

Thud!

The sudden impact woke her up out of her stupor and she stuttered frantically, "E-Erik? Why did you stop walking? D-did something happen?"

Erik squinted his eyes as he looked at her and responded, "Oi, you're not focusing. You can't watch my back if you're not being attentive. What's on your mind?"

Realizing what had happened, she started scratching the back of her hands in what seemed to be embarrassment.

"Ah, I'm sorry Erik. I was just thinking about meeting my brother again. I wouldn't know what to say to him, you know?"

"I'm sure just you being there would be enough. Don't think about it too much. By the way, we might as well split up if we want this process to be quicker."

Understanding Erik's intentions, she immediately agreed. If both of them ended up going the same way, it might take months to locate a capable light-bearer. Especially since 99% of them would already be in a team at this point.

Erik then said, "Alright, you look around the residential and middle areas. Take a look around the inner area sometimes too. I'll explore the outer tower to see what I can find. If you manage to locate a capable teammate, just give me a call. See you later, and pay attention to your surroundings."

"Y-yes. Be careful, Erik!"

WHOOSH!

Erik disappeared in the sandstorm, leaving Iniesta to search the easier areas. As he left, Iniesta suddenly stopped scratching her bloodied hands and a beautiful smile appeared across her face.

'I'll make sure to impress him with my work!'

*Step, Whoosh, Step*

Erik was moving through the sandstorm as if it wasn't even there with his Shinsu barrier. His movement technique was a modified version of the 'Niko Style: Flashfire' that depended solely on his leg strength to push him for miles with each step.

Even with such speed, the outer tower wasn't even in sight yet. The 'outer tower' of each floor had different cultures or mannerisms that would vary greatly from each other. The size of just the outer tower on each floor was bigger than any of the Americas on earth, so one could imagine how much distance Erik had to cross.

But, Erik wasn't one to complain so he took it as a form of body training. In his mind, as long as he wasn't the strongest person in or out of the tower, he wouldn't stop training.

[Sometime later]

Dawn finally arrived as the sun rose in the sky, illuminating every inch of the barren wasteland. The sandstorm calmed down for the most part so Erik did not need to use a Shinsu barrier anymore. His sharpened senses were enough.

"Whew! What a large city! I haven't seen a city looking like this since I was stationed in the middle east!"

In front of Erik laid a massive city that was filled to the brim with people. It resembled the usual Arabian cities but it had its own bits and pieces of differing culture. For starters...

WHACK!

"Get up and keep moving, you damn slave! Yallau!"

Legal slavery was still a thing in this city and no one seemed to care about it as a man was being beaten in the streets by his owner. They were even screaming the word 'Yallau' at him as a way to hurry him along the streets.[A/N: Yallau means let's go, or hurry up. Erik already understood because he has a pocket. This is just for you guys.]

From the high cliff where Erik was standing, he could see creatures that were looked like a mix of a horse and a shark swimming through the air, pulling multiple carriages along.

Music was being played loudly in the streets as people danced their hearts away, probably continuing a celebration from the night before.

Erik couldn't lie, he was kind of excited to enter the city and experience the culture. But, he still had a purpose for being there in the first place.

Putting his hand on the ground, a burst of Shinsu appeared as Erik gave life to the surrounding sands, creating multiple small flying creatures that featured one large eye. He then channeled his Shinsu into them, dominating them and linking their vision with his.

"Fly around the entire city and relay everything you see to me. Don't get caught."

The creatures flew away and as Erik was about to have a good time in the city...

WHOOSH! KNASHH!

One of the horse shark hybrids, one more vicious-looking than the last, jumped up out of nowhere and ate the creatures one by one before they could even enter the city.

Raising his eyebrows in surprise, Erik thought, 'What are these creatures? I didn't even notice it lurking around. Wait...is it guarding the city?'

Erik looked around and found where the creatures were concentrated only to see that there was indeed a city gate there. In fact, one of the guards had a telescope-like device in his hands looking right at Erik.

The guard then shouted, "Someone is trying to get in the city without paying! He looks dangerous! Get him! Yallau!"

Several of the creatures being ridden by the guards quickly mobilized and completely surrounded Erik, leaving him with no way to escape.

A middle-aged guard which looked like their leader pointed his spear at Erik and shouted with a wicked sneer on his face, "Pay double the damn toll for trying to sneak in or you will be captured and sold as a slave!"

Erik raised his hands and said calmly, "Hey, no need to so aggressive now eh? It was my mistake. It's my first time coming to this city and I didn't notice the gate. Can't you just let this one go? How much is the toll?"

Although he usually wasn't one to act this meek, he was in a good mood today and didn't want to spoil it because some guards decided to act foolishly.

Unfortunately, when the head guard saw how agreeable Erik acted, many sinister thoughts ran through his mind.

'Judging by how he looks, he must be an alkemian hybrid from a barbaric tribe out in the west. His robes are expensive...he must be an elder or a clan leader. Good. He'll sell well as a slave! Who knew that the money I needed for my new bed would appear right in front of me today? Bless the Three Malics!'

The guard then cleared his throat and shouted in the most intimidating voice he could muster, "The toll is 5000 Dirhans! Can you pay it?!"

Erik could tell that the guard was trying to rip him off but just like before, he forced a smile and replied, "I'm sorry, I don't have any Dirhans. Can I tra-"

Before Erik could even finish his sentence, the guard rushed towards him and shouted furiously, "Capture himmmmm!!!"

SLAP! BOOM!

The head guard suddenly flew off his beast and hit the ground with incredible force, causing a decent size explosion to ring out. As the smoke cleared, all that was left of where the guard landed was a fresh set of human shaped bloody paste.

The rest of the guards tried looking around for Erik as he had also disappeared from his spot. Suddenly a guard shouted, "L-look! On the captain's Tiark! There he is!"

Looking to where their comrade showed them, the rest of the guards saw Erik sitting cross-legged on the beast with his head leaning on his knuckles. His happy demeanor had completely faded away and his red eyes glowed deeply.

"Your captain couldn't even take a slap from me and you wanted to rob me? Take me to whoever is in charge of this city. Seems like we need to have a chat."