One Last System

I woke up when the first rays of the sun tore through the thin walls of the tent.

Those walls were made from materials that protected from temperature and elements but not against the sunlight.

'I bet it was an intentional part of the design,' I thought, donning my robes and looking around my compartment.

Even though it was only temporary, this place served as my room and home. Just like back when I used to travel to visit my parents, leaving this place filled me with a distant echo of nostalgia and reluctance.

But the truth behind this feeling, this attachment, was wholly different. I didn't want to leave the camp so soon because that would affect my ability to learn more.

Sure, I could read a lot while on the sect grounds... But any sort of practical experiments would be way too risky to conduct.

'I hope I will at least be able to cultivate there,' I thought as I pushed the doors to my room open.

"Those days off really doesn't serve you well, son," Lucius commented, looking sideways at my face. "You are losing your edge," he added, as his smirk turned slightly serious.

We exchanged hardly any further words.

The second we stepped outside of the tent, we both got into the traveling mood.

I turned my mind down.

Sure, I could think over what I had already learned to try to apply a creative touch to the raw information I obtained.

But doing so on the move, on the road? It wasn't the greatest idea.

First off, from the moment we exited the camp's clearing, we entered the dense part of the forest. Weighted down by our luggage, we couldn't afford to move as nimbly as during the hunt.

In other words, for several hours in a row, my mind had to be on a full alert, my body ready to move to defend itself at any time.

It was a pretty tense experience.

Yet, as some could think, the situation didn't change for the better when we finally reached the imperial highway.

"Right, I always wanted to ask," I spoke up when we reached a massive plain.

The road cut straight through it for a while, only to latch on another forest that I could see in the distance. With nothing but short grasses all around, we could take a short moment to relax.

"How did those roads come to be?" I posed my question.

It was a small detail, one that I omitted for a long time. Because from what I saw, the civilization of this world lacked the means to construct such a massive project.

'Strip down the decorations and markings, and you have a modern highway,' I noticed.

The road was different from what I knew behind this world by a massive margin.

It was made with stone pieces, each fitted perfectly into the other. But while this kind of precision even a small kingdom could achieve...

The road stretched throughout the entire continent. From one end to the other, the Imperial highway connected the furthest expanses of the first zone.

This was a feat achievable only by either a highly sophisticated society...

Or an unbelievable army of slaves.

"They say it used to repel monsters," Lucius muttered. He rarely talked in the first place, but the traveling mood made him dislike any communication at all. "No one really knows when it appeared. It just... is," he added after taking a moment to think.

That was all I learned about this road.

Literally.

Lucius didn't say another word all the way to the moment when we finally reached the sect.

It took us an entire day, from the moment the sun rose to the moment the moon reached the highest point of the skydome.

I took a glance at Lucius beside me.

This journey was challenging, but not because of the physical toll of traveling for that long.

For the duration of our entire journey, Lucius never lost his edge.

'It appears that this moon's cycle is really affecting him,' I noticed.

Maybe it wasn't the best idea to keep silent about the fact of those monsters acting up during my sneaky hunt.

"We are finally here," Lucius muttered when we managed to pass by the first gate leading to the urban area.

There was no point in trying to deal with the sect-related matters tonight. That's why, instead of pressing towards the sect district, we simply rented out two rooms in one of the many inns in the city.

The road wasn't challenging for one's body. It was challenging to one's mind.

By the time I left Lucius in his room, he was a ruin of a man.

'At least I will finally be able to study a little,' I thought, closing the doors behind me and grabbing the candlelight.

I brought out my books with just a flick of a finger. This time, however, I took an interest in another subject.

If I were to learn more about formations, I wouldn't be able to resist the urge to test my new knowledge out. Such a thing would only add to my stress, reducing the efficiency of my studies.

This time, I took a glimpse into the secrets of alchemy.

Regretfully, though, this wasn't the guide of the same standard as the formation one.

Just like my initial array formation, the alchemy book attempted to clearly improvise some sort of rituals. The process of refining and concocting various elixirs and potions appeared more like a show than a craft.

On the other hand, my formation book was simple, spoke only about certainties and useful assumptions.

'It's like it was written in the school books' style,' I thought before putting the book back into my storage ring.

I managed to understand some things about alchemy during the session. It was pretty convoluted and ridiculous in my eyes, but the stimuli still allowed me to level up my job.

By the time the sun was only a few hours away from rising, I finally laid my head down on the pillows, ready to sink into slumber.

I could handle the journey we made with ease, but my body would still wear off. It wasn't a big deal in any way... But ignoring this problem could easily lead to some bigger trouble down the line.

'I guess I will need to visit those two standard places,' I thought, closing my eyes.

The brothel and the auction hall.

In my eyes, those two places grew up to be the main pillars of business and investing in this world.

I could secure all my shady interests and funding in the brothel, while the auction hall would provide me with everything that I could afford.

Who cared about politics? Who cared about the local lords?

By establishing firm control over the local brothels and auction halls, I could project my power over the entire city. And all of that, without crossing the bottom line of the local powerhouses!

I had to visit those two places. Not doing so was out of the question. But for now... For now...

I had to get some hours of well-deserved rest!

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