Mavria. Ventus Kingdom. Molenven City.
"May the Lord Sovereign of Wind hear our prayers."
"With His blessings, everyone aboard the ship will return with bountiful gains..."
An ethereal voice filled the surroundings. In the solemn atmosphere permeating the place, only the Pope's voice continued to echo for a few minutes. The people below the platform listened attentively although the large majority put their palms together and prayed. This situation continued until the robed figure stepped down from the stage.
A moment of silence took over a few seconds. Then after that, as there was nothing else to contain their excitement, the audience burst into cheers. Noises drowned the place. All of them gathered on the docks to witness Minerva's maiden voyage while exchanging information with each other.
In front of the majestic ship that was about to set sail, Mikaela Hanover briefly stared at the bright sky. She then moved her gaze away, towards the gathering of nobles in the less crowded area at the center.
Minerva stretched a hand to the side. Her maid smartly passed over her luggage, albeit not without looking around first to make sure that nobody was paying attention to them. Seconds later, the maid realized that her concern was ridiculous. as everyone else was busy gossiping about the various nobles and church higher-ups that appeared.
This did not wipe out the anxious look on the young maid's face."Milady, are you really going to join the sailors going to the west?"
"Hmm."
"I once overheard from Lord Marquis that the expedition's planned route would lead to an uncharted region in the sea. It will lead to the unknown. Milady, I don't think it is wise to undergo such a dangerous trip."
"It will be okay. The ship receives His Holiness' blessings."
The short response from the young noblewoman caused a troubled expression to surface in Clara's eyes. This maid observed her master's face.
Her master, Mikaela Hanover was a very pretty girl. At the age of fifteen, Mikaela was already taller than other girls around her age and she had a rather athletic build thanks to her diligent years of sword and martial training. She had golden blonde hair that reached past her shoulders, almost shaped eyes that glimmered like greyish blue diamonds, and lips that looked luscious and pink without wearing lip cosmetics.
A lot of girls had the same hair and eye color, but Mikaela's features just stood out for being too harmonious with each other. In the city of Molenven, not many would contradict the claim that the young heiress of the distinguished Hanover clan was the most beautiful woman in the nation of the wind, Ventus.
But actually, Mikaela did not only have her beauty going for her. She was way more renowned for her martial genius and proficiency in both her Gift powers and the sword.
Before she even had her coming-of-age ceremony, Mikaela was already a full-fledged female knight. She was scheduled to enter the Knights of Molenven to serve as one of its captains.
An otherworldly beauty who chose the life of a knight and won one of the most important positions in the city. As Mikaela's personal maid, Clara felt proud serving her.
However, right now, the young maid felt confused. She had no idea what had suddenly gotten into her master's mind.
The previous day, Mikaela behaved strangely and suddenly started asking many weird things that were common sense to anybody living in this world such as the date and place. Her mistress also asked about every recent significant event. Then a few hours after that, Mikaela suddenly said that she wanted to see the new ship that would be setting sail west in search of new lands.
Clara clearly remembered that her young lady held no whatsoever interest in the ceremony before.
A bitter smile showed on the maid's lips. 'Just yesterday, she wants to see the new ship. But then this morning, she suddenly requested me to pack a few sets of clothes and toiletries.'
"Are you sure you don't want me to accompany you?" Clara could only ask when she saw the young noblewoman lifting her luggage with one hand.
"No. Your job is to withstand my father's anger on my behalf."
"Milady, you're so cruel." Clara sighed. The maid bade her master goodbye. There was nothing else that she could do anyway.
When a member of the Hanover family made up their minds, nothing would be able to influence them to abandon whatever they had decided to do. Clara could only pray that the Marquiss would understand her helplessness and not fire her.
"Milady, you are supposed to enter the Knights next Monday. There are only 4 days left. Do you know a secret method to instantly go back?"
Mikaela had already walked quite far but her enhanced senses allowed her to hear what her maid softly said. The woman looked over her shoulder. Her eyes observed Clara's expression for a few seconds before taking in the sceneries behind the maid, past the boisterous sea of people.
The cathedral dedicated to the Sovereign of the Wind stood taller than any building in the city. Its spires seemed to be piercing the clouds. The windmills, red-tiled roofs, and flags could also not be hidden by the towering walls of the territory. The highest floor of the second most important building in the country, the headquarters of the Knights of Molenven could also be seen from her location.
"Four days to go back if I want to attend that ceremony?" The beautiful noblewoman did not change her solemn expression.
She then turned around and waved one hand to Clara.
The latter did not receive an actual answer and could only watch as her master joined the large group of people boarding the majestic ship.
Nobody noticed that a distinguished person snuck into the ship.
Mikaela had long activated a family heirloom that allowed her to change her aura and appearance.
Before leaving the place, the maid wondered to herself, 'By any chance, does milady know what awaits humanity on that uncharted side of the ocean? If so, how?'
....
"Where is... this?"
Several hours later, Alexei woke up without much recollection of whatever he experienced after snatching the lump of charcoal from its intricately made crystal container.
All he knew was that his head was still throbbing in pain. The sky above him was very beautiful, with countless stars dotting it.
The scenery on the ground was the farthest thing from the word beautiful though, and just looking at it made his headache and repulsion toward the place stronger.
Where was the abyssal relic? Why couldn't he find it anywhere? Was this another unknown power of that thing? To teleport a person to this dark and gloomy realm?
Questions flooded Alexei's mind after he confirmed that nothing changed with his body.
He still had four limbs. His body was still in one piece. Even his tattered clothes were still with him. Only his head was throbbing a little, probably due to some strange mental effect brought by the unexpected transfer. Or maybe it was because of the strange environment to which he had yet to adapt truly.
Alexei was no researcher or anything of that sort. He was not someone who could stand having a mind full of questions. However, he found no answers since the abyssal relic was so mysterious, vile, and unpredictable.
"It seems... all my plans regarding the leader died before I could put them into action."
He sat down. His eyes already inspected the place thrice when his vision got fully restored.
Everywhere he looked, there was no dry spot. It seemed he was currently in an endless swamp full of black smelly viscous water. He could see weird fumes and fogs rising from the surface. After checking his surroundings and seeing no higher elevations, he could only give up finding a better place to rest and think things through.
A few minutes later, he stood up and began walking. His current spot was making him feel uncomfortable.
He was grateful to be alive. So he wanted to take this opportunity to get away from here as soon as possible.
As for that lump of charcoal? It was indeed mysterious and if he guessed correctly, it was what helped him escape from the Dark Palace. But who cares where is it now!
That thing was nothing but a torture device for Alexei. They stored it outside the Leader's palace to make it convenient for other heretical dark mages to access it without barging into the Leader's room. In that way, it became something that served as a neverending source of nightmares for him and countless other experiment subjects.
If not for wanting to force the giant to reevaluate his importance, why would he take the initiative to go near it?
Now that it disappeared, of course, he was very relieved. A part of him even wished for that damned piece of charcoal to disappear forever to not create any more victims. Of course, he could not be sure how that thing worked and if it could teleport by itself somewhere else. But one thing was for sure, Alexei had no plan to ever seek that stupid relic.
After shaking off all useless thoughts, the walk continued. At the same time, his observation of this world did not cease.
"Does Mavria really have a strange place like this?"
Alexei began to feel a sense of helplessness after seeing the same sight for several hours. Unconsciously, he had walked for so long.
He was getting tired. The thirst and hunger were starting to weaken him. Frankly, it was already a miracle that he still had the strength to move. Traversing a swamp was much more stamina draining than walking on normal ground. If one were to think about it, it seemed the changes brought by countless experiments in Alexei's body at least helped in making him physically stronger, and now it was aiding him in this journey. But how long could he hold on?
Actually, there was one more thing that puzzled him greatly. The weird dark waters only reached his knee, if not for his arrival, this place might have stayed still for who knows how long. There were no signs of life. Not even bugs.
At first, he was happy since it meant that no monsters would threaten his life. But soon, he realized that even the sky above was very silent. If he were to make an estimate, the region he had walked was already the equivalent of a large town. It was really unnerving.
Alexei could not recall any locations similar to this in the game. And after thinking things through, he suddenly had a bad premonition. The more he tried to recall his in-game experiences, the more he felt restless.
Special environment. And no creatures within a vast expanse of land.
Usually, these were conditions for a place to be a den of something terrific...
By any chance, he did not get thrown into some unknown boss' lair, right?
... Right?