Chapter 446: Arrival

The three of them continued to make their way to the capital, stopping at various towns and cities along the way. They ended up taking more time than planned, but none of them were complaining.They enjoyed the sights, the food, and the company of each other. There wasn’t any rush, and the tournament wouldn’t start for another week or two.

On another note, Julius did think about the rift that Goldencrest rewarded him for making the top sixteen, but he also didn’t believe it was that necessary.

Doren had given him that grape, and that likely did more for him Emblem progression than anything else would have. Thus, Julius didn’t think of it as too much of a loss.

As they were flying over another large, empty plain, both Freya and Cain paused simultaneously. For the first time, he saw both of them ready themselves with a seriousness that concerned Julius. ic energy he felt from Cain gradually went away and tucked back inside the man’s body.

“What was that?” Julius asked when he felt it was finally safe to speak.

“It would appear we flew into a powerful monster’s territory. Luckily, it was just checking us out rather than looking for a fight,” Freya explained to him with a casual shrug.

“How powerful?” He asked.

“At least Tier 6, and it felt old. So likely pretty powerful even for Tier 6,” she said to him.

He frowned. “Is that common?” He was pretty sure that Tier 6s weren’t something you could just find anywhere. Even during his travels, he had rarely come across a Tier 5, not to mention a Tier 6.

“What? Seeing a Tier 6?”

He nodded.

“It probably only came out because it sensed us entering its territory. If we were weaker, it likely would not have bothered us. Most people have likely traveled through here, but would never notice it unless they angered the creature for some reason,” Cain answered for his wife.

Julius pressed his lips together tightly. Now he couldn’t help but wonder just how many times he had passed through an area with a Tier 5, but they just hadn’t bothered to make their presence known because they believed he hadn't been a threat.

He knew that, as powerful as his perception skill was, there were limitations to every skill. If a much more powerful monster wanted to hide from him, there wasn’t much he could do.

With all of that being said, he kind of wanted to see Cain and Freya fight for real. Julius had experienced Cain’s fist more times than he could count, thanks to the man’s training, but he had never seen the man actually fight.

He had heard so many scary things about Cain Steelborn, Lord of the Shattered Throne, but he hadn’t seen Cain in action. Or the reason why the man got that title. A small part of him was disappointed, silently cursing the monster who had gone off in the other direction for ruining his chance.

His reaction didn’t go unnoticed, though, and he saw Cain chuckle in amusement.

“What? You wanted to see a fight?” The big brute asked with a bright grin.

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Julius shrugged. “A little bit.”

Freya grabbed the back of his head and gave it a gentle shake. “Dummy,” she muttered quietly. “You do realize that you would have likely gotten injured if that happened, right?”

He paused for a brief moment. “Not dead?” He eventually asked, which got another laugh out of Cain and a glare from Freya to her husband.

She looked back at Julius while shaking her head. “No, probably not dead. I would be there after all.”

“I would have been fine with that,” he said, being genuinely honest. A minor injury or losing a limb would have been a small price to pay to experience a battle between Tier 6s.

She was going to say something to him, but stopped herself. She likely realized that he was being completely genuine about that. Instead, she sighed. “We really need to fix this thought process of yours,” she muttered.

Eventually, they made it as far as they would be able to. Apparently, there were restrictions against flight when you entered a specific region. It required authorized privileges that none of them had for obvious reasons.

That meant they were forced to make the rest of the journey on foot. That wasn’t too bad, though. There were a large number of carriages and other travel options set up all around the town they had entered.

They had to go through another security checkpoint. It was busier than the ones around other cities and towns they had entered, but it didn’t take them too long.

They also decided to hire a carriage that would take them the rest of the way to the capital. It cost a good chunk of change, but now that he had inherited the riches of that Tier 5, even he would have been able to afford it. With that being said, he wasn't able to use it since Cain had it handled.

It took them another day and a half to reach the capital. The carriage was fast, extremely fast. As they got closer to the capital, Julius started to see an increase in population density. The towns in the surrounding area were more numerous, and he saw many other people traveling like them.

There were also many large flying ships overhead at all times. He could begin to understand why flight was restricted. He thought of it more like air traffic control from his old world and didn't blame them for implementing that sort of thing. It was a smart move in his opinion.

When they finally arrived, it was much different than what he had expected. He had initially drawn comparisons to Heston and other large cities he had seen, but he was mistaken. The capital wasn’t just a large city, but it was practically an entire region in itself.

“This is still considered the capital?” He asked their driver. The man’s name was Antoly and had been a nice source of information for Julius. When he heard that Julius hadn’t been to the capital, the man gave Julius a small overview of it, something that Julius was very grateful for.

“Yes, it is technically the capital, but people have learned to distinguish certain areas because it is so massive. For example, we are passing by the outer districts. These are the more spread-out areas, where most of the agriculture and industries that require more space are located. However, as we get closer to the inner districts, we begin to see a higher concentration of people. I was born in one of the outer districts and actually prefer it if not for the fact that my wife wanted to live in the inner districts,” the man said with a slight frown.

“The things we do for women,” Cain interjected solemnly.

Antoly grunted in agreement. “Ay, the things we do for women,” he said before belatedly realizing that one of these women was sitting right next to Cain and scratched his head awkwardly.

Cain laughed at the man’s actions, and Freya gave him a not-too-gentle nudge. “Do you have children yet?” She asked Antoly, changing the topic, something that the driver took with gratitude.

“Not yet, but she wants to. I want to wait until I save enough money so that I don’t have to work all the time. But her mother is getting impatient for grandchildren, so we are feeling the pressure,” the man said with a laugh. “Do you mind if I ask you two for any advice?”

“Advice?” Freya asked with a tilt of her head.

“Yeah, like how was it like raising him?” the man pointed at Julius. “And how soon I should start training my own children. My wife said that I shouldn’t pressure my children to follow in my footsteps as an adventurer, but I also want them to learn how to protect themselves early.”

Freya gave Antoly a slight grin. “We aren’t his parents. He is my husband’s apprentice. We still have yet to have any children of our own.”

Antoly's eyes widened. “Oh, my apologies. I just thought you guys acted like family, so I guess I misunderstood.”

Freya seemed oddly pleased by this and smiled wider. “Thank you.”

Cain smiled as well and gave her a gentle hug with one arm.

Antoly only took them to the edge of the inner district. Once they got there, they entered the inner districts on foot. They had already gotten through another security check and were walking down a busy street side by side.

The inner districts were very different from the outer districts. For one, they were separated by a large wall and many other layers of defense. It was also massive. If he thought Heston was large, then the inner district was positively enormous. Massive buildings were everywhere. He couldn’t even see the end of it. It wrapped so far along his vision, and he felt the powerful enchanted barrier placed around the area.

It wasn’t like anything he had ever sensed before. Auraulos had impressive defenses, but these were just insane. He couldn’t understand how such a powerful array was being powered at all times. There had to be some kind of trick to maintaining it.

“Where are we heading?” Julius hadn’t thought this far ahead and didn’t know if he was supposed to meet the others somewhere or if Freya had already decided where they would be staying.

“We got a small place we usually stay at when we come to the capital. That is, if you want to stay with us rather than trying to find your friends,” Freya offered.

Julius nodded. “I’ll stay with you guys. But I would like to reach out to them as soon as possible.”

“We can help you with that. You said they were from prominent families?”

“Yeah, do you know who House Violet and Zenith are?”

Freya laughed and looked at him with a shake of her head. “Of course we do. Are you saying your friends are children of those two important families?”

He nodded.

“Well, that makes things easier. I know some people who should be able to contact House Violet. What are your friends' names?” She asked him with a smile.

“Lily Violet and Derek Zenith,” he replied distractedly as he watched some children fool around on the side of the street.

However, when Freya didn’t reply right away, he turned to look at her curiously and was confused by the strained look she had on her face.

He had no idea why she would have that expression; maybe she hadn't heard of them before. That was entirely possible.