Trekking through the forest was not something I would have expected in a sect, but was something I needed to do to reach my mountain. A couple of times, I saw someone flying overhead on a sword or some other flying tool, but not a single one walking or running on the ground. This would at least explain why there were no paths or trails through the sect.
Raina was walking next to me with a look of murder on her face and giving off an aura that felt like standing in the Arctic. That would have been fine if we were in the middle of winter and were wearing the clothes for that, but as it stood, it was mid-summer, and I was wearing some light clothing because I knew we would be hiking today. So, in summary, I stood near the only other member of our party, The maid Yuki, who was given no choice but to come with us.
After an hour of hiking through the valley between the mountains, I saw one of the people who were using flying tools come back in our direction. I remember that this person passed us earlier, going toward a different peek at a fast speed. If I was not wrong, they had somewhere they needed to be yesterday but were now heading in our direction. This was the only person that I saw come back, but it also could be that this was the only person I recognized, as they used a distinctive ship carved out of frosted ice.
Other than finding this interesting I did not pay much attention to this, as I thought they would continue to fly on passed. This was proved false a moment later when the ship lowered and came to a stop in front of us. There standing on the ship was a young teenage girl with blond hair, frost blue eyes, and a soft face that would make you think she was a midwestern country girl from a rural town. The kind that you would not want to mess with because their daddy would come charging at you with a loaded twelve-gauge the moment you tried.
When she landed the ship, She looked over at us and asked, "Do you need some help?"
Hearing her question, I turned to Yuki and asked her, "How long do you think it will take us if we keep our current pace?"
Yuki then paused for a moment before answering, "About three to four hours."
With Yuki's answer, I turned to the girl who was offering us help and said, "If you do not mind, I would be grateful if you could help us."
The girl then paused for a moment, clearly not expecting my answer, so I clarified, "It is fine if you are short on time and can't help. I was honestly expecting this trip to take longer than what Yuki has said."
My words seemed to have brought her back to reality as she responded, "Don't worry, I have time to help you, but if you don't mind me asking, Where are you going?"
With her question, I realized how rude I was being, according to this world's customs, and said, "We are heading to the unoccupied peak next to the main hall."
When she heard my answer, her eyes went wide as she said, "I am sorry, but you should not go there. The Sect master said that the unclaimed peak was off limits for the time being, and no one is allowed to trespass."
Laughing slightly at her response, I counter, "Don't worry, I have permission; otherwise, I would have no reason to go there. Besides, even if you were to get reprimanded, just blame it on me, as I was the one who asked you to take us there."
She then looked at me incredulously for a few minutes before agreeing to take us to the mountain. The moment I was about to walk forward, we all heard a cold voice saying, "I thought I told you to come to the peak immediately. Why are you here instead?"
Looking to the origin of the voice, I see a woman with pale blue hair, glowing Arctic blue eyes, and pure white skin standing in the air, looking down at us. It seemed that she did not care about our presence here. However, that changed the moment Raina spoke up, saying, "I am sorry for the inconvenience, Kaya, but your disciple saw us traveling through the forest and asked if we needed help getting anywhere. Actually, she was just about to give us a ride when you showed up."
The moment the woman named Kaya saw Raina, her eyes displayed a hint of shock before returning to normal. She was about to say something in response but hesitated for a moment before asking, "Why did you not use a flying tool to get there?"
The smile Raina gave after hearing this question made me instantly glad that I was not on the other end, Though I did feel sorry for Kaya. Raina then responded, "I decided to take this opportunity to see how the paths of the sect are doing. I never expected them to be abandoned after only thirty years."
I was unsure of what Kaya was feeling at the moment, as her face seemed to be an unchanging block of ice, but she still responded, "The Sect master said that it was not necessary to maintain them as no one was using them anymore."
If the look that Raina had on her face after that answer was any indication, then if I was Kaya, I would simply say it would be fixed effective immediately and run away. Raina then spoke up, saying, "I thought the rule was that every peak would have to maintain the paths in their jurisdiction and that the sect would only maintain the ones for peaks that had no elders."
Thankfully, Kaya was smart and immediately said, "Yes, Ma'am. It will be done right away, ma'am. And disciple Riley, make sure that to take them to the unoccupied peak. Don't worry about the Sect master, this group has permission to be there." With that said, Kaya disappeared in a flurry of snow that obscured her figure.
It took a few seconds for everyone to return to reality before I boarded the boat of the girl, whom I now knew was called Riley. My action must have been some sort of command as Raina and Yuki followed me, and the boat rose into the skies. With the help of Riley and the boat, a trip that would have taken a few more hours only took a few more minutes.
When we landed again, we were in front of an untamed mountain with nothing on it and animals roaming everywhere. Thankfully, about sixty feet in front of me was a good place to set down the compound. All that I needed to do was clear out some of the debris, and the flat land would be ready to build on. Pulling out my axe, I was about to get to work when Raina grabbed my shoulder, pulling me back.
It was here that I started to get chewed out by Raina, as a cultivator should not engage in such menial labor. Instead, we were supposed to use spells for this kind of work and instead focus on our cultivation. She then demonstrated by using a spell to clear out everything I needed and then some to prove her point. On the sidelines, Riley had not left yet and was watching the entire thing take place with a small level of interest.
With the land clear, I started taking a mental note and making some guesses on how many materials we had before pulling out the schematics I had made. With them in hand, I walk over to where the start of the compound would be. Looking down at the scrolls in my hand, a window pooped up in my field of vision.
[Industrial Era Compound]
{This is a set of blueprints for a massive compound built to facilitate the rise of the Industrial Revolution.}
[Do you wish to build?]
Clicking on the build option, I see a massive outline made of white light appear in my vision, just like a normal construction building. Centering it in the clearing and leaving room for the garden and workshop. Once I had the outline right where I wanted it to be I confirmed the placement.
The system then asked me to confirm the placement and build order one last time before it was final. After giving the confirmation once more, I watched as the set of scrolls in my hand burned to ash, and the resources in my storage ring were pulled out and started to fly through the air.
The dance of all the different materials flying through the sky and a building being constructed by magic before our eyes was a sight one would not forget soon.