Report
Contrary to his worries, the journey was surprisingly comfortable.
Haryeong took care of driving the carriage, and during meal times, they ate preserved food from the travel bag inside the carriage or the beasts that Haryeong had caught.
He slept outside. Elena had said it was fine to sleep in the carriage, but Yuri couldn’t bear it.
Eventually, Elena gave in to Yuri’s stubbornness and allowed him to use a large sleeping bag taken from the travel bag. The sleeping bag they pulled out was definitely not going to fit in the travel bag, so Yuri thought it must be an enchanted bag.
The escort, Haryeong, also slept outside. She prepared various precautions around the carriage before the night grew too deep and lay on a slab of stone to rest.
Yuri slept on the ground right beside the carriage. The crackling sound of the bonfire, the starry night sky filled with stars, and the sounds of the forest that couldn’t be called peaceful.
On the first day, he was too concerned to sleep, but from the second day onwards, he slept well.
“I heard you were childhood friends.”
Haryeong initiated a conversation on the third night. Just like yesterday, she sat on a stone slab and inspected her dagger before giving Yuri a sly glance.
“You don’t seem that close. Is it because of your mood?”
“Actually, yes.”
Even though she said it like that, she raised her voice so Yuri could hear.
“I guess you followed quite obediently for someone who wasn’t willing to go.”
“Stubbornness is one of Elena’s many shortcomings.”
Haryeong, with her mask lowered, still had the same stoic expression. She rotated the sharp edge of her dagger as she spoke.
“You were at the Black Sapphire, right?”
“A place where the neighbourhood trash gathered.”
“Are you saying Yuri is also trash?”
“Well, sort of.”
Yuri answered with a pouty face.
“Isn’t Haryeong also aware of my circumstances to some extent?”
“I suppose so. Since Miss Elena is openly heading to Oldor, it’s only right that I properly understand the situation as a bodyguard. If there’s a reason to go, you’ll have to go along, and if there isn’t a good reason, you should reconsider. That’s the position of a bodyguard.”
“According to Haryeong’s judgment, was there a good reason to go?”
“Yes.”
Haryeong nodded while she put away her dagger.
“Give or take ten days, maybe as quick as a week. There are no significant dangers along the way. The plea was that her childhood friend, who barely survived, worries her and can’t stand the thought of him not being there. If that’s enough of a reason, then I have no choice but to follow.”
“Did Elena really worry about me that much?”
“Strangely enough, she did.”
She answered like that, but Haryeong’s face didn’t show a hint of a smile.
“To be honest, it wasn’t entirely convincing. If she was that concerned, she could have just kept you by her side instead of merely exchanging letters. But now it seems she’s trying to keep you by her side.”
Haryeong muttered that with a contemplative expression, glancing at the carriage. There was no sound coming from inside the carriage. However, Haryeong knew that Elena wasn’t sleeping and was instead listening to the conversation outside.
“This is a question I’m asking as a bodyguard.”
Tilting her head slightly, Haryeong stared at Yuri.
“What do you think of Miss Elena?”
“I’m not quite sure what you mean by that question.”
“Elena is far more remarkable than what Yuri might think. Becoming a 4th Grade mage at the age of 20 is considered exceptional, even among the gifted individuals at the Tower. As you heard yesterday, the Tower Master of Dercia has marked Elena as one of the candidate for disciple.”
Elena’s talent is that outstanding.
In the game, there were levels up to 99, but in this world, the distinction was not by level but by “tier.”
The decision was made by none other than the gods. The slumbering Goddess of Order, the God of Chaos who kidnapped the possessed beings and sowed chaos in the world, and many other gods. They divided the ranks of the lesser beings who could not escape the shackles of mortality and remained in the mortal into tiers.
If one reached the pinnacle of the 10th tier, they could challenge the divine realm and shed the shackles of mortality, but so far, no one in this world has reached the 10th tier. Maybe there are some, but Yuri’s memories don’t hold that information. The Yuri from the Black Sapphire only possesses basic common knowledge.
“Is being a 4th Grade mage really that impressive?”
“That’s an ignorant thing to say.”
Haryeong shook her head slightly and spoke.
“It’s a story about magic, but one isn’t recognized as a mage until they reach the 2nd tier. For an ordinary person, it takes about five years to reach the 2nd tier and around ten years to reach the 3rd tier.”
“But Elena isn’t an ordinary person.”
“Of course. Elena quickly reached the 2nd tier as soon as she entered the Tower of Wisdom and started learning magic seriously, and she reached the 4th Grade in ten years. A prodigy is a prodigy.”
Yuri didn’t respond immediately; instead, he glared at Haryeong. The light of the bonfire was strong, and there was a round moon in the night sky. However, Haryeong, sitting on the stone slab, wasn’t clearly visible. She seemed almost shrouded in the darkness of the night, like a blanket.
“I’m Elena’s bodyguard. Being a bodyguard doesn’t just involve protecting from the danger of death. It’s about protecting from the danger itself.”
“Your loyalty is truly remarkable. Are all members of the Salmun Clan like this?”
“As long as they’ve been paid and signed a contract, Salmun Clan demands unwavering loyalty until the terms are fulfilled.”
“So, does Haryeong mean that I’m a danger to Elena? Is that what you’re saying?”
“The danger to her personal safety isn’t significant, and in terms of dignity, that might be the case. Also, Elena gave up something much greater than what you might think to come here.”
“Gave up?”
“I can’t go into detail about the client’s circumstances. I can sense that Miss Elena doesn’t want you to know either.”
Yuri narrowed his eyes and glared at Haryeong. He didn’t know what Elena had given up, but Haryeong’s words were so straightforward that there was no need for interpretation.
So, it means she doesn’t want someone like Yuri by Elena’s side.
“Ugh.”
He suppressed his building annoyance.
“Damn it.”
He even swallowed his curses.
‘Did I fucking beg to be taken along? I said I was brought here against my will, why the hell are you lecturing me?’
He kept swallowing.
‘Trying to lecture me about salvation, damn it. Just… damn it.’
Well, she couldn’t do anything about it. Even if Yuli had ten people like her, she couldn’t win against Elena’s guard from Salhomon.
“I think the same way.”
Yuri answered with a pouty face.
“So, I told her not to send letters and tried to keep a distance. But it seems Elena didn’t like that. That’s why I ended up being dragged here.”
Haryeong stared at Yuri without saying a word. Yuri responded while receiving her emotionless gaze.
“So, I’ll try to behave from now on.”
“Behave?”
Haryeong tilted her head slightly.
“Fine, damn it. I’ll behave.”
Yuri smoothed her expression.
“Yes. Elena goes to such lengths to take care of me just because of the reason ‘childhood friend,’ so if I keep acting like garbage, I’ll only be a burden to Elena, won’t I? She’ll get frustrated with my slowness.”
“Hmm…”
“I understand what Haryeong is worried about, but I won’t make trouble for Elena.”
Of course, that’s the case. At least until he is capable of standing on his own, the goal is to avoid being a burden to Elena or those around her.
“If you put it that way.”
Haryeong didn’t press the issue any further. She still thought about Elena, who was awake and listening to the conversation outside.
“She might go on a rampage if I forcibly separate her. It seems the situation is that delicate.”
In that case, she’ll fail her bodyguard duty. Haryeong judged that and nodded her head slightly.
“Please don’t think too irritably.”
“I’m not irritated.”
“As a repayment, let me tell you an interesting story. Right now, Elena is pressing her ear against the door, trying to eavesdrop on our conversation.”
Bam! The door of the carriage immediately swung open. Elena, who was now dressed in a comfortable robe unlike the white dress of the first day, shouted in exasperation.
“Who’s eavesdropping?”
“You were eavesdropping, weren’t you?”
“I heard…!”
“From my perspective, Yuri’s response wasn’t particularly impressive. If I were to give a score, it would be around 60 points. If you had initially answered that you were close friends with Miss Elena, she would have been satisfied.”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
Electricity crackled around Elena in response to her cold and unfortunate attitude. Haryeong found it quite amusing to see Elena, who was usually so domineering, being swayed by her.
When Yuri smirked and laughed, Elena quickly turned her head.
“What’s so funny?”
“Just finding the night enjoyable.”
He brushed it off vaguely.
“What did you give up, anyway?”
Haryeong’s question seemed to have bothered her. Although she asked like that, Elena answered with a casual face without any sign of surprise.
“I haven’t given up anything.”
That was the end of their conversation.
After that, we passed through several towns and cities, but we only used proper lodgings instead of camping once. It was only thanks to the coincidence that there happened to be a town nearby on that occasion when it became night.
Yuri biggest concern was having to stay in the same carriage as Elena for at least a week, but surprisingly, he managed fine. Elena didn’t initiate conversation often and spent most of the time in the carriage reading.
“You should read too.”
Since he couldn’t set up his equipment, Yuri felt a bit restless, but Elena kept offering him books, so he managed to endure it.
“Foundations of Magic”
Unlike the book Yuri had, this one was a proper spellbook.
“Just because you’re in hiding doesn’t mean you can’t use magic. Read it later when you change your mind.”
“I don’t even have confidence to do one properly, why would I try both?”
“You might change your mind later.”
She didn’t actively reject the stubborn insistence.
“Oh…”
Compared to the books that were full of fluff and nonsense, this one was much more comfortable to read. As the title “Foundations of Magic” suggested, it didn’t teach the actual incantations of magic. It laid the groundwork for using magic – understanding mana, how to manipulate and guide it within the body.
Yuri had an intuitive understanding of mana and knew the Heavenly Destruction of Evil and Embrace of Righteousness. Because of that, he felt that he lacked basic knowledge, so he found this kind of book welcoming.
“I can’t test it, though.”
Even if he had a Deceptive Veil, doing anything in front of Elena would be insane. So, Yuri read “Foundations of Magic” repeatedly.
Sometimes, the conversations they exchanged were more enjoyable than expected.
“In the Tower, there are several mages with higher ranks than you, aren’t there?”
“Quite a few. But I’m the only one in the 4th realm at the age of 20.”
“What about the other disciple candidates competing with you?”
“One is 5th Grade and one is 4th Grade. Both are older than me. The 4th grade is a senior named Arista, she’s 23 years old. When she first reached the 4th realm, she was 21.”
“You’re a year ahead.”
Seeing Elena’s lips curl up every time he responded with a fitting compliment was amusing.
“I don’t really consider Arista senior as a competitor. Her personality is bad, and well, honestly there probably isn’t much difference between us right now.”
“How about other seniors?”
“Lacey senior? I actually admire that senior. That’s why I need to be more cautious around her. Being in the 5th realm at 27 is ridiculous, even faster than Tower Lord.”
Having said that, Elena glanced towards a spot where Haryeong was.
“You can speak freely. Do you think I would spread Elena’s personal story?”
“Well…”
Elena gave a quiet cough and then tilted her head slightly towards Yuri.
“Perhaps… Senior Lacey might be a Possessor.”
Oh my goodness. Yuri’s eyes widened a bit, but his expression only slightly twitched.
“Possessor?”
“Yeah, you know? Being in the 5th realm at 27!”
“You’re also in the 4th realm at 20.”
“Well, that’s…”
“Maybe this person called Senior Lacey is also a genius like you.”
Elena didn’t want to delve into this topic any further.
“Like me…”
Elena mulled over the words she had just heard and then adjusted her posture neatly before sitting up straight.
“Well, that could be. Possessors aren’t that common either.”
“What realm is Tower Lord in?”
“You really don’t know anything, do you?”
“Someone has to tell me.”
“To be honest, I don’t know that well either. The higher realms have their own hierarchy, so it’s rare for them to openly reveal their rankings. But I do know this. The minimum requirement to become a Tower Lord is reaching the 7th realm.”
After 30 years, even the Celestial Thunder Orca might have reached the 8th realm.
“In the game, my level was 81.”
The minimum level to challenge the hidden boss, the Demon, was 99. It wasn’t as simple as just leveling up; you needed to build your character around the levels.
So, is level 99 the 10th realm?
“No.”
This kind of speculation was dangerous. Lorelia’s advice was never to directly apply game knowledge to reality. Besides, the God of Chaos, who was the final boss in the game, didn’t even have levels.
“What do you think the Tower Lord Level is?”
“Who knows, maybe he’s above the 8th realm.”
“Probably higher than that, right? Haryeong, what do you think?”
“I also believe Tower Lord is higher than the 8th realm.”
Haryeong, answered.
During this conversation, the carriage came to a stop.
“We’ve arrived.”
