Chapter 10: Chapter 10. Veldria

The sea was calm, but Taigami’s heart wasn’t.

He sat alone near the stern of the ship, his back against a crate, legs pulled close to his chest. The wind tugged softly at his hair, but he barely noticed it. His thoughts were far behind—beneath the waves—where Ulrich Lane had disappeared into battle.

He could still hear Ulrich’s voice, echoing like a lingering tide:

"You can become stronger. And gifts… they’re given for a reason."

Taigami clenched his fists.

We just left him there… alone. We could’ve helped… somehow.

“Still thinking about him?” Sky’s voice came gently as he sat beside him, knees tucked under his chin.

Taigami didn’t answer right away.

“He saved our lives more than once,” Taigami murmured. “If we had stayed… if we had helped…”

Sky shook his head. “Taigami, even if we stayed, what could we have done? That was a fleet of monsters coming out of a Breach. We weren’t ready.”

Taigami lowered his eyes. “But Ulrich—he gave us everything. And we just sailed away…”

Before Sky could answer, Prince's voice cut through the wind like a cold gust.

“We had no choice.”

They both looked up.

“Ulrich used multiple advanced Basic Principles against that first creature, and even used an Ordinary Principle” he said. “His technique output was off the charts—his body was already past the limit. You think you can just do that and keep going?”

Taigami blinked.

Prince's eyes narrowed. “Then he jumped into the sea… to face more than ten monsters. In water. That’s suicide for anyone, even a Warden.”

The words hung heavy in the air.

Sky frowned. “But he’s not just anyone—he’s Ulrich Lane.”

Prince looked away, silent for a beat.

“Even so,” he said finally, “his chances… they weren’t great.”

Taigami felt the sting of truth behind the words. And it hurt more than he expected.

The silence that followed was long, broken only by the creak of sails and the rhythmic lapping of waves.

Then a voice called out from the bow.

“We’re approaching the mainland!”

Ivan’s shout jolted them. The three boys rose and hurried forward, joining the merchant and Ivan at the front of the ship.

For Taigami, Sky, and Ivan, it was like stepping into a dream.

The continent loomed on the horizon—not just land, but vastness. Cliffs jutted from the coast like jagged teeth, covered in layers of emerald forest.

Rivers twisted like veins of silver across the landscape. Farther inland, they could make out spires, rooftops, and smoke columns—signs of towns, of civilization, of a world bigger than anything they had ever known.

Taigami’s breath caught in his throat.

Sky’s sapphire eyes sparkled. “It’s… beautiful.”

Ivan was bouncing with excitement. “So this is the mainland?! I never thought the air could smell so… different! It’s like everything’s wider!”

Prince, however, leaned against the side rail, his expression neutral. “It’s just land,” he muttered. “We’ve seen trees before.”

The merchant beside them chuckled.

“That land you're looking at,” he said, placing a hand on Sky’s shoulder, “is called Veldria. The Grand Continent.”

Sky repeated the name under his breath, almost reverently. “Veldria…”

The merchant gave a satisfied nod and stepped back from the rail. “Yes. That’s the name of the Grand Continent. The seat of power, politics, knowledge… and danger.”

Taigami turned to him, curiosity brightening his eyes. “You mean it’s all ruled by one group?”

The merchant chuckled. “Not quite. But one group certainly holds the strongest influence over this land—the Nyxward.”

“The ones Prince talked about before?” Ivan asked, sliding next to him.

Prince narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

“Yes,” the merchant replied. “The faction within OBS-1D1AN that studies Energy anomalies instead of destroying them. This is their territory. Most of their major cities and research strongholds are scattered across this land.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

He reached into his satchel and carefully pulled out a large, weathered scroll bound in dark green cord. The fabric shimmered subtly, catching the sunlight in ways that paper shouldn’t.

Sky’s breath caught. “Is that… an Enchanted Map?”

The merchant smiled. “One of the last I have.”

He unrolled it on a barrel, the cloth-like surface spreading with a ripple, revealing an intricate, color-shifting topography of Veldria.

The map glowed faintly in places. Mountain peaks shifted slightly with the viewer’s angle, creating an illusion of height. Entire regions were highlighted in various tones of gold, violet, blue, and crimson, showing territorial zones.

“There,” the merchant said, pointing toward a forested region in the east—lush green with specks of cloud white. “This is the Verdant Crest—home to the valley of Verdant Hollow. It’s nestled beneath the Varaan Mountains, by the Eastern Crescent Pass.”

He pulled out the smaller map Ulrich had given them and laid it beside the enchanted one. The crude markings lined up perfectly.

“The Neo Genesis guild is right here,” he confirmed, tapping the parchment with satisfaction.

Taigami leaned in, eyes wide. “That’s… so far inland.”

“We’ll have to cross through several regions first,” Sky noted. “Including the Northern Reaches and the Inner Fold.”

Prince, arms folded, watched the merchant quietly before speaking. “You seem very well-informed… for a poor merchant from an isolated island.”

The tone wasn’t sharp, but it carried suspicion.

The merchant looked up quickly, caught off guard. “I—well—my life hasn’t always been on the island, you see.” He looked between them. “In my younger days, I traveled across Veldria. I traded in every region, met all kinds of people. But after… some losses, I decided to settle where things were quieter. I’m only sharing what I’ve seen.”

There was a crack in his voice—a blend of pride and regret.

Taigami nodded slowly. “Well… thank you for showing us.”

The tension in the air eased slightly.

Ivan leaned over the rail, squinting ahead. “Hey… we’re almost there!”

Ahead, the ship approached a natural harbor—Karst Harbor, nestled between two tall cliffs covered in moss and bramble.

People bustled below—unloading ships, herding animals, yelling across crowded streets. Boats bobbed gently in the dock, and seagulls darted above them in chaotic flocks.

The ship moored with a sharp jolt, ropes snapping tight and anchors thrown. The scent of pine and salt filled the air.

The boys disembarked, eyes wide at the world unfolding before them.

Sky was already trying to sketch what he saw on a scrap of paper.

Ivan walked backwards just to keep looking at everything.

Even Prince, despite his casual posture, glanced around with sharp, calculating eyes.

The merchant slung his bag over his shoulder. “From here,” he said, “you’ll want to follow the Azure Path—it snakes eastward through the trade roads until it hits the edge of the Crest region. You’ll have to pass through at least three minor towns.”

“Do you know any of them?” Sky asked.

“Of course,” the merchant said with a wink. “But it’s better if you see them for yourselves.”

Taigami took a breath. The breeze was different here—crisper, older, laced with something… expectant.

Prince stepped toward the edge of the dock, his gaze sweeping across the rising streets of Karst Harbor. Boats clattered softly against the mooring posts behind them, but his attention was forward—already moving beyond the horizon.

“This journey’s going to be long,” he said thoughtfully. “We’ll need food, fresh gear… supplies for the road.”

He turned to the merchant. “What do you think? You’ve walked these parts before. Right ?”

The merchant blinked as if the question had pulled him out of a deep thought. “Yes, yes. Of course. Karst Harbor has plenty to offer. I… I’ll guide you.”

Without further delay, they crossed beneath the massive archway marking the entrance to the city proper, blending into the sea of travelers, traders, and townsfolk.

Karst Harbor, up close, was even more impressive than it had appeared from the ship. Tiered balconies spilled vines over polished stone. The streets were carved into gentle rises and falls that followed the natural slope of the coast. Ornate lanterns floated mid-air in some places, glowing in rhythmic pulses that changed color with the hour.

Their first stop was a busy market lane where colorful stalls crowded both sides of the street. Ivan pointed at everything with the wide-eyed hunger of a child in a candy store.

“Is that roasted horned eel?” he gasped. “I’ve only read about that!”

“Focus,” Prince said, though without bite. “We’re not here to taste the city—we need rations that last.”

Sky examined a roll of treated fabric. “This will keep moisture out of our packs when we cross the marshlands. We’ll need at least two of these.”

“Agreed,” Prince replied, his tone practical.

Prince negotiated with a hardened-looking grocer over bags of smoked meat and dried rice, his voice sharp but respectful.

“Three packs. No more. If you charge me one coin over standard route tax, I’ll walk across the street.”

The grocer rolled his eyes but nodded. “Fine. But you’re lucky it’s market day.”

Taigami, carrying their map and a list Ulrich had prepared, took mental notes of the tools the others selected. His gaze kept flicking back to the merchant, who was walking ahead of them, silent.

More than once, the merchant slowed unexpectedly at a street corner or stopped to examine a vendor stall without purpose. He would mumble something vague—“I thought this was the way…” or “It’s been a while…”—and quickly recover, guiding them in a slightly different direction each time.

No one called it out. But they noticed.

Still, he led them to a quieter square with a tented cloth vendor, where they were able to purchase travel cloaks made of weather-resistant material. The vendor offered them four colors: charcoal black, silver grey, twilight blue, and a soft brown with faded red trim.

Sky chose the silver. Prince took the black. Ivan went straight for the brown and red, saying it made him look like a rogue from a legend.

Taigami reached for the twilight blue.

“Fitting,” the merchant said, almost absently.

Later, as they sat beneath a shaded terrace eating fresh flatbread with stewed lentils and dried fruit, Prince glanced at the merchant again.

“You’ve walked these lands before… right?”

The merchant hesitated for a fraction too long. “Yes. Yes, many years ago. But cities change. New shops rise. Others fall. It’s all… shifting. Hard to pin down.”

Prince didn’t press further. But his eyes narrowed.

After their meal, they made one final stop at a small alchemist’s booth, where Sky picked up a few dried herbs and tinctures. “Never hurts to be prepared,” he said, sliding them into his belt pouch.

They left the bustling heart of Karst Harbor behind as the sun dipped lower in the sky. The merchant led them toward the eastern trade road—where cobbled stone gave way to packed earth, and distant hills shimmered in the growing dusk.

They stopped just at the edge of the last city gate.

The shadows stretched long now, casting a golden haze over the land before them. The wind carried the smell of cedar trees, wildflowers, and earth that hadn’t known war in a long time.

Ivan turned, eyes dancing with anticipation. “Next stop—Verdant Hollow.”

Sky looked at the road with calm calculation, mentally charting their next course.

Prince said nothing, but he adjusted the strap of his bag, ready.

Taigami lingered a moment, eyes drifting back to the sprawl of Karst Harbor—its lights flickering to life one by one like stars against a deepening sky.

It felt like they had left one world behind… and were stepping into another.

“Let’s go,” he said at last, voice quiet but certain.

The five figures turned toward the rising path.

And the journey truly began.