It was a little scary, but it didnât feel bad. It certainly felt like a privilege to be able to see the vast continent all at once.
Unlike other public transportation methods, it had the disadvantage of discomfort, but the view made it all worth it. In particular, what stood out was the magnificent, natural environment, the huge waterfalls, trees, forests, and large cliffs.
I donât remember seeing all of the tourist attractions on Earth, but I bet the things Iâm seeing up here are incomparable to those on Earth.
âItâs magnificent.â
âBecause this is where the monsters are. Itâs not an environment where you can develop things like on Earth, right? Without the monsters, the trees below would have been cut down and cleared immediately. Itâs a valuable resource.â
Cha Hee-ra was right.
It must be because of the ecosystem that the area had maintained its astonishing beauty. In short, these monsters were the protectors of nature.
Iâve heard once that a writer compared humans to cancer cells on Earth. If you think of it as a sympathetic statement, the monsters living here are vaccines that eradicate cancer cells. Without them, I would never have been able to witness this.
âIs the tourism business worth doing?â
I felt embarrassed by my line of thoughts.
âOppaâŚâ
It was then that Jung Hayan spoke. She must have felt alienated during my time spent talking with Cha Hee-ra.
Since Iâm proud that she was patient thus far, I lightly stroked her hand.
I half-expected her to act similarly as to how she did back in the Cursed Shrine, so it pleased me when she didnât.
It was not clear as to why she was behaving, but I had a hunch.
âIs it because Cha Hee-ra saved my life?â
Probably so. This was all dangerous, after all.
The danger was doubled â even tripled â once you stepped out of the city. Jung Hayan knew this, as she had already been the victim of such an attack.
Either way, I was glad that we had gone past her plans of isolating us in the dungeon forever.
âA woman she could be anxious about, yet still, protect her man at the same timeâŚâ
This was probably how Jung Hayan saw Cha Hee-ra now. As a result, I could feel Jung Hayan evolving. On another hand, however, I still felt uneasy.
As I busied myself with my thoughts, the time passed us by. After flying for over half a day, a landscape that was entirely different from Lindelâs presented itself to us.
âWow!â
Jung Hayan couldnât help but squeal, and I couldnât help but join her.
âWowâŚâ
âYouâve never seen it before, have you?â
At Cha Hee-raâs question, it was only natural for me to nod.
The whole area displayed gothic architecture, with a huge temple reflecting in the glow of the sunset, and even though I had only seen it from a distance, its grandeur was visible.
âHuh. Thatâs great.â
I could see some griffons flying in the air to see if other people were coming here besides us. Perhaps Guild Masters that were not from Korea were also coming.
Looking down, I could see the inhabitants of the Holy Empire Benigore, dressed up in style more sophisticated than I would have imagined. None of them looked dirty or unsanitary.
âThe civilization here is not as backward as we think it is. Rather, it has a long history and tradition. Residents and nobles alike are proud of their culture, and they have the power and intelligence to match that pride. In fact, in the Holy Empire, there are strong people like me who stand out.â
âIt definitely looks like thatâŚâ
âYou better not look at them too stupidly, baby. There arenât too many players looking down at the imperialists.â
âThanks for the advice, Hee-ra.â
Cha Hee-ra was right. Even when I checked the soldierâs stats with my ability, I realized that their stats overpowered Lindelâs every time.
Of course, when we compared individuals, the power we had was better, but the comparison was inevitable since there was a vast population difference.
I knew that they had power, but I didnât imagine it to be to this extent.
âIf you had the same power as Cha Hee-raâŚâ
There would be no madman who would dare invade the Holy Empire. Sure, there were some in the past, but they were all dead now.
âThe restaurant over there is pretty good. The food they serve is delicious. There are also a lot of quality goods in the blacksmithing shop over there. Sometimes, weapons that are of heroic-class come out, and their price is lower than Lindelâs. Oh, some players also have roots in the capital. Getting permission is a bit tricky, but once you get a seat, you could believe that youâll enjoy the empire more.â
âPeople live the same wherever they live.â
âThatâs right.â
Cha Hee-ra was more talkative than I initially thought.
Of course, it wasnât because she was simply with me. She mustâve felt excited to be able to tour the capital after a long time, considering her spontaneous personality.
âAnd thatâs what weâll be doing for the time being, since staying indoors would become very boring.â
Our griffon continued to fly towards the castle as Cha Hee-ra continued explaining her capital tour plan in great detail. I alternated between listening to her and assessing the stats of the people below me.
When the griffon landed in what seemed to be the landing site, some of the imperial soldiers on standby came to greet us.
The eldest soldier was the most striking as he was adorned in luxurious, heavy armor. Seeing him smile at Cha Hee-ra made me guess that they had a good relationship.
âItâs been a long time.â
âIt definitely has! You look more refined now. Are you still working?â
âOf course. There are more rumors than that⌠Letâs see. This is the man who is reputed to be the Gigolo of the Mercenary Queen.â
âI am Lee Kiyoung.â
I immediately activated my abilities to assess him.
âVictor Hart, 74 years old, his abilitiesâŚâ
He was even more powerful than Cha Hee-ra. No wonder Cha Hee-ra liked him. With just one strike of his palm, he could probably behead me.
Once he was done assessing me, Victorâs eyes landed on Jung Hayan.
âAnd thatâŚâ
âThat is his lover.â
Jung Hayan bit her lips. Although she looked uncomfortable, she bowed her head and introduced herself.
âHello, I am Jung Hayan.â
âWell done, Hayan.â
âThe young man looks more capable than I thoughtâŚâ
âThatâs exactly why I brought him here. My baby, Iâll explain more to you later on. Grandpa, how about a fight?â
âSure. I have no intention of making the royal palace noisy, however. If you have time later, please come to me. Tsu. You never change.â
âI havenât been able to get any exercise. By the way, are we the first ones to arrive?â
âNo, unfortunately, youâre the second ones. Those from the Free City of Celia have been waiting for a long time.â
âWho?â
âKasugano Yuno.â
âThe shaman?â
âYes, I donât know whyâŚâ
âFor a woman who always came late, this is a firstâŚâ
The two seemed very invested in their conversation. The old man Victor doesnât seem to pay much attention here.
Actually, this was better.
Getting attention just for being the lover of the Mercenary Queen can make it annoying to move around.
As they continued to talk, Jung Hayan slipped by my side, seemingly excited.
I wanted to say something, but I was more interested in trying to hear what Victor and Cha Hee-ra were saying. The insignificant conversations of those in power proved to be very good information for people like me.
Kasugano Yuno?
Perhaps she was the person who ran a large guild in Japan. At least, it does not seem to be the Yamato guild, as Cha Hee-ra did not show much hostility. As I decided to store this information in my head, a woman in a modest outfit showed up.
âIs she Japanese?â
No, she looked neat, not modest. Several people followed closely behind her, as if ready to assist her at any given time. After all, the woman herself was walking with her eyes closed. Her long, braided hair reached the ground, and the calm way she presented herself was very impressive.
[Check player Kasugano Yunoâs status window and potential.]
[An eye that sees through the essence and the past and future resists the ability.]
âShitâŚâ
I instantly lowered my head. I had never expected to come across such a case.
However, the status window changed as soon as I felt scared about being caught red-handed in stealing information.
[Player Yuno Kasugano opens her status window and potential ability by herself.]
âWhat is this?
[Check player Kasugano Yunoâs status window and potential.]
[Job Effect-Acquisition of Advanced Astrology Knowledge]
[Capacity]
[Strength â 13/Growth Limit: Less than normal]
[Agility-20/Growth Limit: Normal growth limit or less]
[Health â 17/Growth Limit: Less than normal]
[Intellect-89/Growth Limit: Heroic or higher]
[Durability-15/Growth Limit: Less than normal]
[Luck-00/Growth Limit: Legendary or higher]
[Magic-96/Growth Limit: Legendary or higher]
[Equipment-None]
[Talent-Essence and eyes that see through the past and future-Legendary grade]
[General review-This is a legendary shaman. She has a terrible level of strength, agility, stamina, and durability, but her luck, intelligence, and magical potential are high, so she has very good stats for the rear. Just because she has less than normal stats, please donât think you are similar. Sheâs essentially a different kind of person from player Lee Kiyoung. It can be said that the efficiency of the legendary trait and her occupation is good, but her condition doesnât look good because of contamination from something. I wouldnât recommend being too close.]
âWhatâŚâ
Legendary traits, legendary jobs, and legendary potential stats. She was the kind of person that could easily be classified as the strongest out of everyone.
It was the first time I had seen a person with such a high luck potential, yet I was very worried about her other stats.
Of course, what was more worrying than that wasâŚ
âWhatâŚâ
She was facing my direction, even with her eyes closed.