“So that’s it…”
Annan closed the book and whispered to himself.
Annan closed his eyes slightly, digesting the knowledge he had acquired.
He had stayed in the mayor’s house for two days.
Annan had been reading for the past two days. He had fully exerted his ability on last-minute study during the university days-when he was one week away from the final exam.
He also learned an important piece of information from the studies.
Transcended could not immigrate to other countries illegally.
The world was much smaller than he thought. Or in other words, the land area of ??”this era” was only slightly larger than that of Europe.
It did not mean that there was only one continent on this planet. Instead, it was because the world was full of “mist.”
The gray-white thick mist permeated the planet.
Its essence was a materialized curse, so the wind would not dissipate it. If mortals lived in the dense mist, they would soon be sickened and die within four to five years. Animals and plants would also die on a large scale. Those who survived would become distorted monsters.
But, ordinary people could live within the mist. There would also be transnational caravan trade.
However, Transcended could not do that.
The high-ranking Transcended was quite powerful.
But once they come into contact with the gray mist, the curse in their bodies would be activated rapidly. The curse erosion rate would soar, forcing them into a nightmare every night. As long as you die in the nightmare, your body in reality will die too.
Basically, Transcended could never leave the country. Once they entered the mist area, they would usually lose control of themselves within three days or die directly before the sun rises.
The capitals and major cities of various countries had a special kind of barrier. The barrier enclosed up to a particular area that marked the country’s border.
All Upright Deities’ churches had mastered the barrier technology, which could effectively push the gray fog outside the national border.
If Transcended wanted to leave the border and enter other countries, they had to resort to the underground passage.
The Transcended had to raise his rank above gold and obtain the Truth Fragment. After all the curses in the body were transferred to Truth Fragment, they could barely move across the mist.
“So, even if an assassin was chasing me, the assassin could not leave Chilly Austere Dukedom.”
Annan pondered to himself, “I can cross the inland sea and drift here. It’s because I am not Transcended.”
Is this why no pirates can be seen on the sea, and there are so few ships?
There were only five countries in this world.
At least in the current isolated range shrouded in gray mist, only the last five civilized countries were left.
It was mentioned in the book that the world five hundred years ago was much bigger than how it was now.
At that time, several current existing countries were under the great empire’s rule. There were other races and nations in the southeast, northwest, and northwest. But 300 years ago, the empire suddenly sank.
The entire island sank into the sea. The glorious civilization came to an abrupt end.
After that, the countries became independent soon. The twelve Upright Deities’ churches also fell apart. The Great Barrier also moved with the church and shattered into five barriers of different sizes. Except for one country that accommodated two churches at the same time and that one country jointly ruled by the Church of the Seven Deities, the rest were protected by one Upright Deity in each country.
But, the small barrier was inferior to the old Great Barrier.
Since then, the gray mist would inch closer every year. In every few decades, the gray mist would consume the border cities. There was also a large empty area between the barriers that were previously immediately next to each other. That place was termed the “neutral space.”
When the crisis came, some countries gradually moved their civilization underground, while others tried to lift their land high into the air. The Noah Kingdom’s king made a heroic decision when he succeeded 27 years ago:
He decided to unify the five nations by force and rebuild the Great Barrier.
If he succeeded, then this could be called a “brilliant and immortal” human epic. His ambition and his great deeds were enough to leave a name in history.
The author in that book predicted so.
But obviously, he failed.
Although Transcended could not leave their country, they could at least defend their country. It was a stupid decision to let ordinary soldiers fight against transcended power with flesh and blood. No one knew where he got the confidence to do so.
Nearly thirty years had passed, the king turned old.
But his goal still failed to complete.
His children had lost patience.
They were no longer interested in the old king’s mission which he had struggled for a lifetime. Each child had his strategy to save the country. The king still had the throne, but his children were already brazenly fighting for inheritance rights.
Annan could expect that the Noah Kingdom would soon be in chaos.
But, the king could not leave the Noah Kingdom yet. At least he could not go to Chilly Austere Dukedom.
That was the territory of Upright Deity “Frost and Tradition Deity.” The duchy respected her as the “Old Grandmother.” The people of other faiths call it “Cold-Blooded Lady.”
Under the influence of her church person, Chilly Austere Dukedom secluded themselves and was conservative. People all over the country respected the tradition and rejected the revolution. Even foreigners who wanted to enter were strongly rejected, so it was difficult for other countries’ spies to infiltrate.
Whenever there was a big change in Chilly Austere Dukedom, it was only after the end of the matter that it slowly became known to foreigners. This time was no exception.
Annan could only learn from Salvatore that something happened to Chilly Austere Dukedom.
Because not long ago, Chilly Austere Dukedom announced an emergency closure of the port, prohibiting all ships from entering and leaving. Trade orders from several wizard colleges in the Noah Kingdom were even stuck on the other side.
To be on the safe side, Annan decided to wait until the dust settled before going back to have a look.
Judging from this situation, it could be someone killing the king and usurping the throne. If Annan returned at this time, he must be walking into the tiger’s den.
It’s better off for me to ‘farm [2].’
After hoarding a group of players under me, I will then explore my options.
“I have to prepare to advance my rank.”
Annan whispered, “But, which dungeon instance should I choose to tackle?”
To be safe, how about venturing into the Don Juan dungeon instance again?
Or should I wait for Salvatore’s information to come and try that higher difficulty dungeon instance?
The rewards for clearing a difficult dungeon instance must be better. But, in his current farming pace, his demand for power was not quite urgent.
As if feeling his hesitation, a line of characters burning with bright red flames suddenly appeared in front of Annan’s eyes.
[There is still 06:00:00 from the start of the closed beta.]
This line of words hovered for about three seconds, then disappeared.
Seeing this line of words, Annan turned silent for a while. He looked at his watch and rechecked the time.
The time now was six o’clock in the evening.
So, the closed beta starts after midnight…
This is so cool.
At this moment, Annan suddenly heard the sound of the key turning.
Salvatore came back.
Yesterday, he had already agreed with Priest Louis. Today, he went to fetch the “dungeon instance guide.” He went out early this morning and did not come back until the sun went down in the evening.
He raised his head quietly and cast a puzzled look forward to the mayor.
Salvatore’s eyes appeared sleepy, but his pacing was fast and anxious.
“Why did you go for so long?” Annan asked.
“Forget that,” Salvatore frowned. “Don Juan. Is the ship you embarked on parked in the fjord? About sixty meters, the three-masted one?”
“What happened?”
Annan hesitated, then answered ambiguously.
He felt a little uneasy.
It felt like bad news.
Is there a new risk of identity exposure?
Or…
“Your ship is on fire.”
Salvatore glanced at Annan sympathetically and replied slowly, “Just last night, the ship burst into flames and was burned to ashes. The fire was intense. At least when I went to see it this morning, only the skeleton of the ship remained—nothing left in the ship. I think you won’t get to leave for the time being.
“If it weren’t for the escorts you left on the ship to have internal strife, then I think…”
The young mayor paused, staring at Annan’s face, and replied softly, “This may be provocation—or revenge.”
[1] From here onwards, we shall standardize (神) as deity. My logic is there are too many (神) being. There’s no one True God in this world.
[2] Farm refers to a gaming tactic where a player refuses to proceed in the game but stays in a particular area to accumulate experiences or resources.