CHAPTER 45: JOURNEY

Because he had gone to bed so early, Richard also woke up early.

He already felt refreshed, and became even more so when he received a notification from the System.

(Your Black Heart Hidden Power has increased from 3 to 10!)

(Your affinity with the Cloud Element has increased from 58 to 60!)

[Black Heart Hidden Power: 10/10,000] +7

(Cloud: 60%)

’Looks like the System will be giving nine upgrades now,’ Richard thought with a smile.

He stretched his body before standing up and heading straight to the bathroom.

To his surprise, Sister Lisa was already ready before him, even looking as if she had already bathed.

She was standing at the orphanage gate, talking to a middle-aged woman who lived next door.

Whenever she left, she usually asked this woman to take care of the orphanage temporarily.

The woman immediately went to the kitchen to cook breakfast for the children.

It seemed Sister Lisa wanted to leave before the children woke up.

Richard hurried his bath, abandoning his original plan to enjoy it leisurely.

Since they were going to a big city, he chose good clothes. Of course, he had a few—gifts from Mrs. Wilson.

What surprised him even more was that Sister Lisa had actually prepared a carriage.

It seemed to belong to a villager whom she had borrowed it from.

"Richard, harness your horse to this carriage. The journey is very long, so it’s better if we travel inside," the woman said.

Richard naturally preferred this. After all, sitting on horseback for long periods was no easy matter.

Athena didn’t mind being tasked with pulling the carriage. She followed Richard’s instructions well, so nothing was complicated.

Sister Lisa didn’t seem to be bringing much. Other than some clothes and fruits for the road, she carried a sword, likely anticipating possible danger along the way.

As a former Sky Armor Knight, she practically possessed combat skills.

Even though she lacked superhuman strength without the Sky Armor and was only an ordinary Magus who hadn’t reached the Aether Will Realm—having only Tier 1 Aether—Sister Lisa might still be able to defeat them.

"Didn’t you bring any clothes?" Sister Lisa asked after letting Richard board the carriage first.

Richard shook his head—he hadn’t packed any clothes at all in his Storage Artifact.

He planned to buy new ones later.

Sister Lisa didn’t say anything more. She climbed onto the carriage and then went to sit in the driver’s seat.

The carriage wasn’t that big, but for Richard, who was still small, it was spacious enough.

He could even lie down if he wanted.

Sister Lisa, seated on the driver’s bench, quickly guided Athena to move.

Carriages in this world weren’t that bad. They were designed well enough that the vibrations weren’t too noticeable.

Once they had left the village, Athena began to move quickly.

In no time, her speed surpassed even the fastest horses, astonishing Sister Lisa.

"Sister, what exactly are you going to do in Night Valley City?" Richard asked, curious about her destination.

"To obtain a Sky Armor," Sister Lisa replied.

"Really?" Richard was very surprised to hear that.

"Though I retired from the Sky Armor Legion long ago, that doesn’t mean I stopped training. I’ve continued practicing every day. After all, the training isn’t that complicated—one can do it anywhere. I’ve improved several times over while managing the orphanage. Yesterday, an old friend who had been traveling the world sent me a letter, saying she would give me an unusual Sky Armor. That’s something I can’t refuse. Perhaps she heard about the crisis this village just faced and took pity on me for not being able to rely on myself." Sister Lisa chuckled.

Richard immediately grew curious about the friend she mentioned. Someone who traveled the world?

"Also, we’ll be watching the finals of the Young Magus Tournament. This tournament is joined by the best young Magi from the Eight-Star, Nine-Star, and Ten-Star Provinces, so the two competing in the finals are the strongest under twenty years old. It’s held in Night Valley City," Sister Lisa added, surprising Richard again.

"Sister, what kind of tournament is that?" he asked.

He truly had never heard of it, not even in Apple Town, even though it seemed like such a major event.

Perhaps he had simply never happened to overhear anyone talk about it.

"Of course, it’s a tournament of combat and power... It’s held once every five years by the kingdom. The champions of the three provinces are then sent to the capital to compete in the final stage of the tournament, against the champions of the other three provinces," Sister Lisa explained.

"There’s something like that..." Richard hadn’t expected it.

"It’s a grand festival—the biggest one, in fact. Of course, villagers like us rarely attend, but people from the major cities in this province and the other two will come to watch."

---

Richard was filled with anticipation, but he didn’t want to waste his time.

Since he hadn’t trained last night, he planned to train relentlessly during this journey.

He even ignored Sister Lisa when she asked if he wanted to stop for food.

Since he gave no response, Sister Lisa was forced to keep going.

Richard was quite excited while training, as his absorption speed for Aether had increased by about 50% since his soul had transformed.

In just over ten hours, he managed to gather 39 Aether.

Adding what he received from his Aether Bottle, he obtained 78 in total.

[Aether: 222/10,000 Tier 3] +78

[Aether Accumulation: 222 Tier 3]

The reason he stopped training after gathering 39 Aether was because he began to hear many voices around them.

Curious as to where they were, he opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was the towering wall ahead, visible even from afar.

He could never forget that wall—knowing it belonged to Night Valley City and stood fifty meters high.

All around, he noticed many other carriages heading in the same direction.

They were traveling along a road so wide that twenty carriages could move side by side.

On either side of the road, Richard saw vast open areas that had become a beast market.

His eyes no longer blinked as he saw all kinds of beasts, some so massive they had to be chained or locked inside giant cages.

He even saw a lion ten meters tall, becoming the center of attention in the market.