Quite a while had passed. Mitsuna did not listen to any music on her way here since she had to stay alert in case any other giant sea creatures decided to show up.
Surprisingly enough, she made it to the Western continent without much trouble.
Jumping off the piece of driftwood and onto the beach, Mitsuna stretched as she looked around and placed the now dry flatcap in to her inventory.
'Desert. The West is covered by a desert. I forgot about that.'
Walking further inland, she saw some familiar stone spikes piercing out from the sand-covered ground.
As she kept walking, she soon noticed that no matter how far she walked, she could see no forest or any type of greenery at that.
'Last time I was in the West there definitely was a clear boundary between a lush forest and the desert. Maybe the desert spread and took over? Or maybe I'm just on the side with a lot more sand.'
Clearing her thoughts, she started walking while looking for any type of city.
'I always just end up looking for towns and cities while exploring a new place don't I?'
While walking, she was wondering what to do during her time on this continent.
'Well, my goal, for now, is to find and kill Natash. If I want to do that, I need to get stronger and develop some strategies.'
Kicking a rock, she continued.
'Leveling Up is definitely one of the things I need to do, besides that... maybe I need more ways of attack? I have magic and my sword skills aren't bad, though they could use some more work. Maybe more ranged attack methods?'
As she thought so, she heard a loud bang.
Activating her skill [Branded], she tilted her head as the bullet missed her.
Yet what she didn't expect was that the bullet then exploded right when it was next to her head.
The fire burned but it didn't leave any scar since it was healed a moment later.
'Owch. But hey. Just what I was looking for.'
Dashing in a zigzag to where the bullet was shot from, she easily dodged all the bullets that were shot at her.
Reaching the shooter who appeared to be a rather young girl with hair and eyes coloured exactly like the sand around them, Mitsuna grabbed her gun while kicking her away.
The gun seemed to be a type of long-ranged sniper but pretty old-fashioned.
The girl that was kicked away flipped onto her knees and took a revolver out from behind her back and shot at Mitsuna.
Dodging the bullets by teleporting behind the girl, Mitsuna grabbed the hand that was holding the gun and placed her other hand around her neck.
"You sure have a bad way to greet a visitor. Don't you think?"
The woman was silent, still struggling to free her hand from Mitsuna's grip.
"Stop. I have some things to ask you. I don't plan to kill someone who could provide me with information."
"...I'd rather die."
Mitsuna sighed.
"Yes yes. What a great soldier you are. I am sure everyone would be very proud. Sadly, I am not an enemy but a visitor from the East."
"The Eastern continent? The ones who refused to directly help with the war."
"I don't like the generalization going on here. I just came from the East. I don't live there or anything. Now, just answer some simple questions."
Mitsuna let go of the girl's hand but then immediately grabbed the gun in her hand and crushed it.
Pushing the girl forward, Mitsuna took the long ranged gun that she placed behind her when she teleported.
"Come now. Let's talk."
"..."
"I'll take that as you agree. I'll start then. Could you tell me what type of war this is?"
"..."
Mitsuna sighed and pointed the gun at her.
"Tch."
The girl clicked her tongue as she looked down and answered.
"Just a simple war. Nothing special."
Mitsuna sighed before asking.
"Territorial disputes? A high-ranking official was assassinated? Come on, give better answers."
"I'm just a soldier placed here to look out for any suspicious individuals and to report said individuals."
"Cool, anyway, so you're covering the flank?"
"Yes. So that we know if and when the enemy tries to attack from a different direction."
"Okay, next, are you from the Old West or New West side?"
The girl frowned as Mitsuna encouraged her to answer.
"Come on."
The girl sighed.
"Old West."
"Okay. Then is the war in a stalemate? What's the situation?"
"The New West has better technology and more people but the Old West has better strategies and knowledge on desert landscape combat. We are holding them off but they will make progress toward our capital soon enough."
"Fascinating. Alright."
Mitsuna tossed the weapon to the ground.
"Where can I register for the Army?"
"What?"
"Where can I register for the Army?"
"...At any city."
"Where is the nearest city then?"
"A few kilometres East of here."
"Great. Bye."
Mitsuna casually waved as she walked off.
After a few tens of metres, the girl grabbed the gun from the ground and aimed it at Mitsuna.
Mitsuna was right in her sights.
Even so, the girl just lowered her weapon and continued her duty.
'I should be able to get some weapons and modify them to my liking when I join the army. Or maybe I can just buy them from a shop? Although I could make my own since I have the blueprints and mana for them, I'd like to see the quality and effect of handmade weapons. Hand-made swords are really good so why not guns?'
Mitsuna thought as she continued on her way to the nearest city.