The ndscape of Shenzora was far more beautiful than that of our western continent of Euronis. The mountains, rivers, and fantastical vibe were much more vibrant from the sky. As I stared down, perhaps the human settlements were also much more pleasant to the eyes.

  The airship drifted low, its shadow gliding over the ocean and the busy port city of Goryeo Peninsu. The salty wind stung my nose as the Eastern Wind settled toward the docks.

  From this vantage point, the port city of Cheonghae looked like a crescent moon wrapped around the harbor. Tiered pagodas with curved roofs were tucked between ships whose sails funted swirling dragon designs. Hanbok-style banners flickered in the breeze, showing off this eastern nd’s vibrant fir.

  As the airship finally touched down by the sea, and dockworkers yelled over the rattle of mooring chains. Their linen robes fpped around them while they hauled ropes as thick as my arm.

  I stood at the deck with Lilian on one side and Sora on the other, watching the city stretch innd. Spices and fresh seafood scents clung to the air, starkly contrasting to the comfortable but familiar smells of Waybound.

  “This pce is incredible,” Sora said, her wings twitching as she leaned on the rail. “It smells so… homely. I don't know.”

  Lilian sniffed the breeze, tail swaying. “Huh, does it? Might just be you. I smell better cooking here than back home.”

  I gnced at the princess, who was already disembarking with her attendants. “Let’s not get too cozy. We’ve still got a long trip ahead.”

  On the dock, a royal entourage came into view. Dozens of servants in eborate hanbok bowed low as Jin Ha-Yun looked at them, their moves perfectly in sync. It was both awe-inspiring and unnerving, and I felt Lilian and Sora tense up next to me.

  “I missed them,” Jin Ha-Yun said as she appeared by the gangpnk before it even touched the pier, her posture perfectly straight. She walked downstairs.

  Beside her walked out a man who was clearly more than just a servant. He was broad-shouldered and carried a jingum. Her personal guard.

  [Baek Seong-Jin, Level 107]

  He was more renowned as Swift Bde Baek. “Same. The west is not for me, princess,” he said.

  He was a strong man, as one should be to protect a princess in a foreign nd. Dressed in a high-colred navy-blue hanbok lined with silver embroidery, his bck hair was bound in a half-knot, strands escaping to frame a face carved from stone, sharp and unreadable.

  A sword rested at his hip, the sheath cquered bck with golden patterns coiling around it like a dragon wrapping its tail. One hand rested on the pommel of his sword, the other tucked behind his back as he yawned.

  We followed them behind, but we had to pause at the very end of the gangpnk because the moment Ha-Yun’s foot touched the ground, dozens of servants in embroidered robes pressed their foreheads to the stones all at once.

  ““Welcome back home, Princess!””

  The synchronized thump made Lilian’s tail puff up like an offended cat, making Sora ughed

  They shouted in Korean, something that I somehow understood. I’d first caught on to that when Ha-Yun conversed with her servants in the airship.

  Murim, after all, was a genre rooted in ancient China, of which Korea had been barely a part. The memories of the Heavenly Demon somehow allowed me to understand their nguage, even though it didn't make sense given the timeline of history and all. Then again, the world these Heavenly Demon's Memories originated from was based on a game I had pyed, so I could attribute it to magical shenanigans.

  The Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon God, and then the Arcane Crown. Two games from the same company…

  Oftentimes I forget how weird all this really is.

  Suddenly, this pce felt like... home, just as Sora had said. Perhaps because her ancestors also came from the East, she might feel something in her blood?

  Seong-Jin gnced around, his attention sharp so that he could keep Jin Ha-Yun safe from any hidden threat. Goryeo’s First Princess required that much protection at least.

  “This is a lot,” I muttered, eyeing the rows of bowed heads.

  The princess slid a jade hairpin back into pce. “Standard protocol when a royal returns.”

  Seong-Jin ughed, his voice calm but edged with steel. "Indeed. To question protocol in another’s nd is to misunderstand respect, outsider."

  He might sound rude to new people, but I'd learned the past few weeks that he was quite an easy-going person.

  Sora snorted. “Sure thing, but don’t you guys worry about knee problems doing that so often?”

  A flicker of amusement passed through Seong-Jin’s face before it vanished just as quickly. He turned his head slightly toward Jin Ha-Yun. "Shall I have the carriage prepared, Your Highness?"

  I stepped off the gangpnk before Jin could answer, followed by my two cult members. “Princess, it has been a pleasant journey. This pce is very welcoming, but I'm afraid we must part ways now. We have a long journey ahead—”

  “Nonsense. Your destination will still be there after we eat. And yes Seong-Jin, please prepare so,” she said, her smile poised and razor-sharp.

  “Hey…” I rubbed the back of my head in awkwardness.

  She shook her head at me. “No can do. I loved our duel, it prompted me to have respect for you. But these past few weeks, I’ve grown quite fond of you beyond the initial respect. Are we not friends yet, Iskandaar?”

  “Princess, of course we're friends.”

  “Exactly. And this is the first time friends have come over from the Academy, so to let you skip formal hospitality would shame my house more than a tavern brawl.” She added, “Plus, the entire peninsu will think the princess can't make friends if you return from our doorstep like this.”

  Wow, she's good at talking. I almost gave into her emotional bckmail, but cleared my throat in the end. “Right, but I’m not the only one in a hurry—my friends have limited time off from the academy too, so maybe—”

  Lilian tugged at my sleeve, eyes shining like a kid spotting candy. “Young master, look... they’ve got fire dumplings at those stalls. Buy me, please?”

  My eyes twitched.

  Traitor.

  Ha-Yun’s smirk deepened. “Even your maid sees reason, Junior. The pace kitchens make a roast pheasant with honeyed lotus root. Would you like to try some, Lilian?”

  “Yes!”

  My stomach growled so loud a few of her servants tried not to ugh. Three weeks of airship rations—dry, burnt meat and rock-hard bread—hadn’t exactly spoiled us. Sora’s attempts at “cooking” with phoenix fire only turned our meals to ash.

  “Fine. One night,” I muttered, cursing how quickly my stomach had betrayed me.

  “That is all I ask,” the princess smiled at me, snapping her fingers. A red carriage rolled up, etched with silver runes that crackled faintly like static.

  The magic pricked at my mana sense. That was how Ha-Yun was—always careful. Perhaps it was a trait learned through her family.

  Lilian hopped in first, smacking her forehead on the low doorway. I could imagine how her werewolf family might tease her for being so careless as she winced and rubbed her forehead.

  A minute ter, cobblestones ccked under the carriage wheels, the hum of enchantments thrumming beneath us.

  “Alright then,” Seong-Jin tapped the window of the carriage while riding a horse outside. “Enjoy the sight, guests.”

  Out the window, I saw merchants calling out from stalls draped in bright silks, the air thick with grilled seafood and spicy aromas.

  “The architecture’s so different,” Sora breathed, nose close to the gss. Curved rooftops stretched for blocks, their emerald tiles glinting like dragon wings in the sun.

  Lilian flicked her tail around her ankles. “Even the clothes look unique.” She gestured to the passing crowds in flowing hanbok, the fabric rippling like water.

  “Obviously it looks unique, you dumb wolf. It's a different continent,” I said, making her scowl.

  “Hey, why're you being rude to me? Your stomach growled anyway. Even if I didn't point out the food! Bastard.” She crossed her arms, prompting the princess to clear her throat awkwardly.

  “Each district here has its own specialty,” Ha-Yun said, trying to change the subject, unshaken by the carriage’s bumps.

  “Beautiful pce, really.” Sora said.

  “Not yet. We’re entering the artisan quarter now. See those bronze statues? Each one tells a piece of our history.” Ha-Yun pointed.

  We moved deeper into the city, leaving the lively market behind. The streets got narrower, buildings growing taller and more fancy. Guards in ceremonial gear stood at major crossroads, a silent reminder of the power concentrated here.

  “And that is the noble district,” Ha-Yun expined as she noticed me looking. “But we won’t linger. Out destination is just beyond it.”

  Soon, we turned onto a broad avenue lined with cherry trees, the pink petals drifting down like spring snow. Sora let out a soft gasp at the sight.

  The path sloped upward, and eventually the pace itself rose into view—a massive complex of interconnected halls seeming to float over the city. Several thick walls surrounded it, each grander than the st.

  But we didn’t head for the main gates; instead, the carriage veered left, stopping in a quieter courtyard. Patterns were etched into the stones under us—runes and circles within circles of glowing symbols.

  “What’s this pce?” Sora asked, leaning forward to study the glyphs through the window. “The royal pace or something?”

  “Nope. That is the local lord's castle, not the royal.” Ha-Yun’s lips curved with a knowing smile. “Hold your breath.”

  Is that a- My thoughts were cut off.

  The runes lit up bright, cobalt light flooding through the carriage floor, washing over us like liquid starlight. Everything went white for a moment, silent, gut-twisting moment like being pulled through a straw.

  My stomach flipped despite my long experience with Void Step, and I heard Sora choke.

  I was right, it was a Teleportation Array.

  They were very handy but felt about as pleasant as being shoved backward through a keyhole. Expensive, too.

  Then the sun was back a moment ter. Now, out the window was a whole new view. An ancient Chinese fortress city perched on hills, with terraced gardens of lush greens and golds that seemed to spill over cliff edges. Delicate bridges arched above misty gorges like spider silk glistening at dawn.

  A pace complex shone in the distance, its towers stabbing the clouds. I took a breath, quietly stunned. Even from here, I felt the dense mana swirling in the city’s core, an announcement of the dungeon beneath.

  Lilian pressed her face to the gss. “Are we dead? Did we just nd in some afterlife?”

  “It’s a teleportation array,” I said, eyes lingering on the fading runes. “Short range, but pretty stable for civilian use.”

  Sora flopped against the seat, arms wrapped around her stomach. “Ugh… Next time, I’m flying.”

  Ha-Yun ughed while brushing some dust off her sash, looking as composed as ever. “There’s a royal bathhouse waiting unless you’d rather get the vomit out of your system first.”

  Sora groaned, shaking the carriage curtains, and I couldn’t bme her one bit.

  Spoiler

  [colpse]****

  The carriage wheels turned for half an hour more within the capital city of Hwangcheon. It only ground to a halt over gravel when we reached a grand pace, jolting me from thoughts of mountain gods and cursed peaks.

  I blinked against the sudden flood of sunlight as servants pulled open the doors.

  The courtyard hit me with a burst of perfume, jasmine and pine resin, sharp enough to make Lilian sneeze three times in rapid succession. High walls of polished bck stone framed gardens where every pebble looked pced by some obsessive deity.

  Pavilions with swooping tile roofs dotted the ndscape, their edges hung with paper nterns shaped like cranes. One bobbed past my face on a breeze that shouldn’t have been strong enough to lift it.

  "Careful," Ha-Yun murmured as Sora nearly tripped over the raised threshold into the receiving hall. "The spirits here dislike clumsiness."

  They have spirits roaming in daylight? I noted in wonder.

  Lilian’s tail flicked. "Spirits or snobby interior decorators?"

  The princess didn’t dignify that with a reply. She turned to us and presented the pace with a hand, “Welcome to the Baekryeong Pace. This is my personal living quarters.”

  This wasn't even the Royal Pace, but it already spanned over hundreds of acres of nd. Royalties might just be living in heaven, at this point.

  We roamed the area for a bit, and then we were inveted Inside.

  Inside, low tables sprawled under dishes so colorful they hurt my eyes—pickled radish cubes dyed sunset pink, gzed mushrooms gleaming like oil spills, translucent fish slices arranged in a lotus pattern. A teapot exhaled steam that smelled like a forest after monsoon rain.

  “No, not like that,” Ha-Yun knelt on a silk cushion with the ease of someone who’d practiced the motion since infancy. Her posture was so straight. "Bow from the waist, not the neck. Unless you want the servants to think you’re mourning someone.”

  She advised Lilian who was practicing it for a while now. But she stopped, giving up with a grumble, and rather jumped into the food.

  Sora plopped down cross-legged beside her, earning a twitch from the attendant refilling her cup. "So what’s the crunchy purple thing?"

  "Fermented sea squirt."

  Lilian froze with her chopsticks halfway to a dumpling. "You people eat those? They look like something that crawls out of a wound."

  I bit into a chili-stuffed pepper and immediately regretted it. Fire bloomed across my tongue—not the clean burn of Sora’s phoenix fmes, but a sneaky, creeping heat that made my sinuses throb. "Gods. Do you marinate these in va?"

  "Only the finest volcanic ash," Ha-Yun said, deadpan. "It’s traditional to finish everything on your pte. Unless you’d like to insult seven generations of my family’s chefs."

  I really hoped she was pulling my leg.

  Sora hummed into her rice wine. "We, uh, should’ve packed rations."

  The meal dragged on through eighteen courses—eighteen—each more baffling than the st. Lilian gagged on a spoonful of silkworm pupae broth, then nearly bit through her chopsticks trying the honey-gzed lotus roots.

  "Tastes like home. I get Sora now," she said, cheeks bulging. "Dammit, so good...”

  Overall, we had a good time until dusk bled into the hall through ttice windows when servants cleared the st dish.

  “Try this,” Ha-Yun poured some liquor on my cup, something clear and smelling like flowers. We'd been drinking for a while now, but now she leveled a sword-sharp gaze at me.

  "You’re good at small talk, Junior,” she said. “I enjoy your company, so I'm curious. Why bother coming east?"

  She'd asked so before back in the airship, and I gave the same reply as back then while tracing the rim of my cup. "For training."

  "Try again."

  "Scenery?" I tilted my head.

  "Hah." Her nail tapped against jade and she waited, each click echoing like a miniature thundercp in the silence.

  I stayed quiet, weighing my options. She was not someone with ill intent. Strong, yes, but not duplicitous—so it wouldn't harm to tell her.

  "...The Shan Gui Highnds," I said, watching her reaction carefully. "Have some work there. Me and the girls.”

  She scowled fast, confusion etching her features while simultaneously darkening like storm clouds gathering. "What? Pardon me, have I drunk too much? The Highnds?”

  "Yes."

  She went silent. I waited for her frown to deepen, "I hope you're joking because the Highnds chew up imperial battalions for breakfast. It's not a pce for first years."

  Her fingers tightened around her cup until I thought the jade might crack.

  Lilian slowly raised her head from the floor where she'd fallen drunk, her ears swiveled toward me; she was fully invested in the conversation now.

  Sora paused mid-stretch, wings rustling like kindling about to catch, the crimson feathers catching the st rays of sunlight streaming through the windows.

  I didn't know what was the point of this conversation, so I just made an idle comment. "Armies are overrated."

  "And arrogance is a luxury," Ha-Yun said, too softly. "The Mountain Gods won’t care about your pedigree or your pretty sword forms. They’ll strip your bones clean for stumbling through their territory."

  The liquor turned to acid in my gut. "Noted."

  She leaned forward, strand of fine straight hair slipping over her shoulders. "Why risk it? Is there some vendetta?"

  "Would you believe me if I said I’m chasing the perfect hot spring?"

  "Try that line in the Highnds," she said, rising smoothly, "and see how long your skin stays attached."

  She stared at me in silence, and I met it. I truly didn't want to have an argument about this. A moment ter, she sighed.

  “We don’t have a choice,” Sora said from the side, her wings fring wide enough to knock a teacup off the table. It shattered against the floor, red shards glinting like spilled blood. “We have enemies that you're not aware of. We indeed came to train, for the most part. Leveling up through killing monsters.”

  The princess sat back down and leaned back, fingers drumming the cquered table as seconds turned into minutes.

  “...Three years ago, a battalion of royal knights tried clearing a trade route through Shan Gui’s southern pass. Level 80s, all of them. Crested armor, blessed weapons, all the works.” She flicked a stray flower petal off her sleeve. “They found the captain’s head a week ter. Sitting on a rock. Smiling. The rest were fertilizer.”

  Sora and Lilian exchanged gnces, and looked at me. I just shrugged. “Eh, they must have enraged one of the rulers of the mountains. We'll be careful.”

  “You’re missing the point. The mountain doesn’t care about your reasons. And how will you know if you're enraging them or not? It's not like you're conversing with them. The Highnds consume.” Ha-Yun’s voice dropped, the regal veneer cracking. “My uncle led that expedition. He was... methodical. Paranoid. Prepared for every scenario except becoming part of the scenery.”

  Lilian’s ears fttened. “We’re not your uncle.”

  “No. You’re worse.” Her nails dug into the wood. “You’re weaker than him”

  I swirled my drink, watching liquid fire slosh against the cup’s edge. “I understand your worry, but this is purely a personal choice. Can we not talk about this? We were having a fine time drinking.”

  Silence thickened, broken only by the distant chime of wind bells. A servant shuffled forward to collect the broken teacup, then thought better of it.

  Finally, Ha-Yun exhaled hard through her nose. “Stubborn westerners.” She snatched the liquor jar and drained it in one gulp, her composure fraying. “You kids don't understand the impact of your names. If you guys go missing, it’ll be Goryeo’s name that'll be tarnished since you're my guest now.”

  I sighed. “Reason why I didn't want to come, Princess.”

  “Just call me Ha-Yun, we’re past those formalities,” she said and stood abruptly, robes swirling like ink in water. “Stay here tonight. I’ll petition my father for passage papers. If he agrees, you'll leave at dawn with a guide. If not...” she waited. “I shall apologise for forcing you to tell me your destination. Because my father will not risk the death of the Titan's Grandson."

  She walked to the door, silhouette haloed by sunset.

  The sliding screen shut quietly, leaving the scent of plum wine and unresolved situations hanging heavy in the air.