As the sole leader of the five towns in Jangmugye, Jeokmuhyangju Jeokho sat on his throne, lost in deep thought.
Recently, thanks to the ‘effort’ he put in and the ‘fruits’ he scattered, he finally reached the display case.
Considering that no matter how genius a practitioner is, they remain in the record phase, it was truly a miraculous event.
Now that he was in the display case, he could secure a lifespan nearing tens of thousands, and if he elevated his realm a bit more, he’d be aiming for Junseon.
No, even beyond that, there was a path that opened up to ‘True Immortal.’
“Cough…”
However, instead of feeling joy, Jeokmuhyangju Jeokho was seized by deep worries.
“Damn. Calling me now, huh? You didn’t even answer when I asked…”
Jeokho clenched the small jade in his hand as if he might crush it, grinding his teeth.
Though he reached the display case and was powerful enough to ravage a small planet, the jade shone brilliantly instead of breaking.
Jeokho was a god, showcasing immense power as the head of Jeokmu-hyang.
However, that authority only held sway within ‘Jeokmu-hyang.’
In Jangmugye, there were four other practitioners with levels similar or even surpassing Jeokho’s.
They invited him to celebrate the birth of a new display case.
If it was just an invitation for celebration, he might brush it off, but Jeokho knew better.
‘Those guys are going to stab me in the back!’
If this continued, he was sure to be in trouble.
He wanted to ignore it, but the laws of Jangmugye required him to attend any meeting requested by three or more archlords.
This was a rule set by Junseon, the master of Jangmugye, and it couldn’t be defied.
“…I need to grow stronger. I must elevate my realm as quickly as possible.”
But the meeting was at least a month away.
How much could he possibly elevate to reach the display case, which was dozens of times more challenging than the record phase?
It was impossible by any ‘normal’ means.
“…Is there really no way?”
There was no option.
With a click of his tongue, Jeokho coldly looked down at his Jeokmu-hyang.
■
“Wow. That’s incredibly high.”
[Wow]
[Seriously?!]
[What is this, the modern era?]
[What’s up with this 50-story building? LOL]
[That’s insane]
[Mind-blowing]
As he stepped into Jeokmu-hyang, massive skyscrapers greeted him.
Tall buildings, seemingly dozens of stories high, soared boldly without fear of the sky.
Amidst the buildings, practitioners moved around using flying devices or their own flight abilities, and some kind of system was in place.
Blink. Blink.
“Is that a traffic light?”
“Huh? What’s a traffic light?”
“Oh. Never mind?”
A red circular disc floating in the sky.
When it turned gray, it meant stop, and when it turned red again, it was clearly time to go—a design that resembled a traffic light.
“Push it. When it turns red again, it’s obviously like a traffic light signaling to start.”
‘Here, red means go.’
Hayoung looked at the sky disk following me and shook her head with an “Ah~.”
“That’s called the Flight Authorization Disk. When it turns gray, you need to stop, and when it turns red, you have to go. It’s the law of Lord Jeokmuhyang, so you must obey.”
“Aha. So it’s something similar.”
“Well, traffic lights also have a cool name.”
[It’s just a traffic light, lol]
[Heavenly traffic light, haha]
[Why is obeying signals so cute?]
[For real, lol]
[Why cross when it’s red?]
[Oooohhhh]
[Crossing on red means ‘enemy’ Jeokmuhyang, that’s just frustrating]
[I agree, lol]
[Is this really a martial world?]
In the end, it was indeed a traffic light.
Moreover, there were unique ‘roads’ between the buildings, with signs indicating traffic and practitioners managing passage, giving it a very modern appearance.
For a moment, I wondered if the practitioners managing this place were users, but it didn’t seem like it.
The Heavenly Horse had replaced ‘Heavenly Horse Church’ with a lot of modern elements, but this was just a somewhat altered version.
‘They probably wouldn’t have named it something like ‘Flight Authorization Disk’ to begin with.’
“Follow me. Don’t get lost.”
“It’s so peaceful here.”
“Of course. Who would dare to act recklessly with Lord Jeokmuhyang staring down at them?”
Hayoung nodded, saying it as if it was obvious.
Well, considering the energy that enveloped all of Jeokmu-hyang right now, it was valid to say so.
Hummm…
‘Display Case.’
The step just below Junseon is the power of someone who has nearly reached godhood.
It was hard to tell from a distance, but it was assumed to hold power similar to or less than that of ‘Ertarn.’
Thinking that Ertarn, which devoured an entire world, possesses strength comparable to upper-tier demons, that’s quite substantial.
Of course, if it clashed directly with upper-tier demons, it would obviously lose, but the overall power was quite considerable.
I followed Hayoung until we reached a rather large building.
It had a very big sign that said ‘Practitioner Management Office.’
Inside the building, different kinds of practitioners were sitting at the counters, and Hayoung walked over to the one where a person was stationed.
“It feels like a familiar scene.”
[For real, lol]
[Isn’t this the place we went with Yena?]
[Wasn’t it also a counter back then?]
[Hahaha]
[I miss Yena.]
“I came to register as a practitioner.”
“Are you talking about the practitioner in the back?”
“Exactly.”
The human race practitioner behind the counter glanced at Hayoung and then at me.
He looked at me with a glance beyond the spirit.
The level I had was just about the decision-making phase.
Not all Mid Worlds are at the same level, it seems.
The Human Race Practitioner pulled out a jade as big as a desk and touched it with both hands.
“Please provide your name and age.”
“My name is Lily Elbrite. Age… 22?”
“…You mean 22 years old?”
“Yes.”
[LOL]
[Is that right?]
[Lily is really young]
[Lily is 22, yeah]
[Wasn’t she 21 before?]
[Wasn’t it 24?]
[? Isn’t age usually kept secret?]
[Lily is like a baby]
[Wow, Lily is super young]
[Talking like she’s some ancestor though…]
[OMG]
But it’s true.
The age the system assigned me when it returned me to Earth is just that.
I once thought it didn’t match well and said I was 24 or 25, but I’ve decided to just go with what it gave me.
My physical age has always been kept at twenty anyway.
Hayoung looked at me with her surprised eyes, while the Human Race Practitioner stared at me suspiciously, but nothing changed.
“…You aren’t lying, right? There can’t be any lies on the registration.”
“I’m being serious.”
“If that’s the case, you have no factions…”
“I have no factions.”
“…You mean you don’t belong to any faction?”
“Yes.”
“Very well… Then the record will…”
“Wait a minute. Are you really only 22?”
“Yup.”
[LOL]
[Yup, for real]
[Lily is cute today]
[At 22, she is still a baby]
[LOL]
[For real]
[Lily is indeed young]
[So is Yena older than you?]
“No, what kind of crazy practitioner would ascend to the Transition Device at 22? Especially with a level lower than that?”
“Life is inherently unfair. Some kids are born with the strength to topple a planet.”
The well-known Celestial and Demon Races are such cases.
Of course, that’s only said about those who have upper or top-tier bloodlines, but it’s not like it doesn’t happen.
Hayoung was momentarily speechless.
“……”
“Is the registration all done now?”
“Oh, just a moment. I need to check something…”
“Wait.”
Hayoung blocked the Human Race Practitioner’s hand as she walked over.
Even the decision-making phase practitioner was startled and withdrew his hand at her obstruction.
“?”
“You. You should lie a bit.”
“Me?”
“If this just gets recorded, it will spread to the eyes and ears of other practitioners. That could create problems.”
“Isn’t it good if it spreads?”
“Of course, it is. There are always many sects or factions looking for talents. The problem is that this place isn’t that peaceful.”
The Sovereignty of Jeokmuhyang itself is peaceful.
Under the authority of the Sovereignty of Jeokmuhyang, everyone lives in order and as long as the laws are followed, there was no need to worry about life.
Under the sovereignty of Jeokmuhyang, everyone lived by maintaining order, and as long as the law was followed, there was no need to worry about life.
But that was only the case when a “system” was in place.
The world was rife with the weak being devoured by the strong, especially in the case of “Sword and Magic” genres.
“With your level of talent, there will be plenty of people looking to exploit you in a bad way. Since you haven’t even fully grown yet, they’ll definitely want to capture you before you get any bigger.”
“……”
“Moreover, you’re not aligned with any faction. You’re like prey left out in the open.”
“Why are you helping me? Today is the first time we’ve met.”
Hayoung and I had met for the first time today.
In fact, we weren’t even of the same race, and she had no reason to help me, as she was just guiding me.
She could have simply let things be recorded, and these actions could have been a deliberate attempt to manipulate the records and reduce competitors.
But it didn’t seem like Hayoung had malice in her heart while lying.
[That’s true]
[?]
[Why are you helping her? lol]
[Hayoung’s an angel]
[Isn’t she trying to stab Lily in the back?]
[Huh?]
[Let’s kill her]
Hayoung chuckled awkwardly.
“Of course, it’s not just out of goodwill. I had hoped you’d come join our sect…”
“Had hoped?”
“You need to build connections with the strong for a comfortable life ahead. This world can be blown away by the whims of higher beings, so it’s better to have more allies.”
“Ah, I see.”
“As long as you help even once in a critical situation, that’s enough.”
“I can agree to that.”
Helping me was obviously something I could accept.
I smiled and said, “So what about my age… Shall we say around 100 years? That seems fine.”
“Of course not. It should be more like 20 times that. Your solo ascension already raises some eyebrows…”
“440 years? Isn’t that too much?”
“That would still make you quite the genius. Usually, those who ascend through a transition device are at least over a thousand years old.”
“Whoa.”
That’s a lot.
Momentarily puzzled, I looked at the chat window, but it indicated that this was about average in Sword and Magic genres.
“What is this, not like I’m a celestial demon race or anything…”
I felt uneasy but decided to round it down to 400 years.
That was, of course, a number far higher than my actual age.
Anyway, that was that.
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