City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Chapter 529: Land Journey

"So obsessed," I said with a smile as I pulled my aura back inside my body.

I had just finished the practice of aura and learned the lesson that the Sage of Thousand Blades mentioned over and over.

The prophecy I heard last night affected me despite knowing it was an act.

The teen girl couldn't predict my fate. She is not powerful enough for that. What she is, though, is a very good actor.

Good enough that she had put a fear in my heart.

Not just me but also my people. It is why the security around me has become much tighter.

It is for this reason. I hadn't pushed myself intensely today, as I had been doing on the ship and in the city.

I don't want to get too tired. I want to be ready for any danger.

To be honest, I shouldn't have trained so intensely. This isn't a vacation. Prophesy or no prophesy, I need to be ready to deal with any danger.

I pushed those thoughts and smiled.

I had learned the important lesson the sage of the thousand blades was trying to teach in his books.

The balance.

Since the morning, I have practiced moderately, never letting myself get too tired.

To my surprise, I have found that I am improving, just as I improve when I push myself to the level of getting unconscious.

Both of those things work and help with different aspects of the aura. I shouldn't just use one way. It would be more harmful than helpful.

I rested for a couple of minutes before walking out of the sun and stepping onto the deck.

It is afternoon, and the ship is sailing through the river in the dense forest of Mahal. It is a common scenery. Unlike the Renwell, there is a greenery in other kingdoms.

A lot. It made me a little jealous.

"The leisure travel will end soon," said Eva as she stopped beside me.

I didn't say anything other than nod. One and a half hours later, the yachts will reach the town called Oble. It is where we will disembark.

End our journey by river and travel by land.

"It won't be that bad. The carriages are good," I replied. I rented the best carriages that would make the journey as relaxing as possible.

"It won't be bad, but the carriages couldn't be compared to yachts," she said, turning to me.

"Very true!" I replied with a smile.

There is nothing that gives as much comfort as the ship.

It is big and spacious and also safer with the security we have brought.

Unfortunately, we will have to leave its comfort soon.

A few minutes later, I returned to my suite and practiced before resting. I came out only when Zela informed me that there were ten minutes to reach Oble.

When I came out, nearly everyone was out.

They all are looking at the town the ship is approaching. We could have stopped earlier in the city, but I found no reason to do that. It would have made the journey a few hours longer.

I don't want to waste even a single hour. The sooner I reach Archmage City, the better it will be.

Minutes passed, and the town was in front of us.

The ships were moving toward the small marina, where I could see a group of people.

Soon, the yacht docked at the marina, and the ramp lowered. I walked out of it with my people.

"Welcome to Oble, Lord Silver," said the white-haired man in his sixties.

"Thank you, Mayor Lents," I replied politely.

I don't like pleasantries, but I did it with a smile on my face. It is a part of politics. Also, it is an important tool where you make an impression on the party.

If done well, it helps tremendously in the long run.

"I will be leaving our boats in your care, Mayor Lents," I said to the man while seeing Jill handing a check to his assistant.

It is a little contribution to the town to grease the wheels. Make the mayor take care of our boats proactively.

They are expensive. Even small damage will cost me a lot.

While Captain Perry and others are staying in the yachts, along with mercenaries, we hired to protect them.

A mayor's hand will help a lot.

"Not a scratch will appear on them, Lord Silver," the mayor replied. I smiled before walking toward the carriages, waiting for us not far away.

While we were talking pleasantries. My people checked every nook and cranny of carriages before giving the go-ahead.

The guard opened the door, and I stepped inside, along with Jill, Eva, and Zela. T

here is also Jon, but he is invisible.

The carriage is so enchanted that even if it moved through, the road filled with potholes. I will barely feel anything. The seats are also big and comfortable.

They recline enough that one can sleep comfortably.

There was an option to get long carriages where I could recline the seats as a bed, but I decided not to take them as they were slower than these.

The carriage begins to move with the tight security of the guards.

They have taken the prophecy seriously and become stricter with security. That they were not even letting the mercenaries we had hired come closer.

"We should be able to reach Karzim by nine," said Eva. "Let's hope so," I replied.

Karzim is the biggest easternmost city of Mahal. Also, the fourth biggest. I am going to spend the night there and also attend the party in the merchant guild.

I hope to reach there as soon as possible. So I could get adequate rest for tomorrows travel, which is going to be long.

We will leave Karzim at dawn to cross into Baxzar by the late morning.

The journey had been smooth and fast.

The most expensive changes in yatch had been enchantments. Due to them, the speed of the yacht increased by 35%, which is huge.

We didn't hold back on the speed and sailed fast. It burned a lot of energy crystals and erosion in enchantment, but it was worth it, given the speed we traveled.

Hun!

Soon, I got lost in my thoughts when I sensed something familiar and turned.

"You can liquify gems, too?" I asked in surprise.

A ruby-red liquid is covering her hand, flowing around it beautifully.

To my knowledge, I thought, she could only liquify metals. She used that ability to fight the undead on the island. She was a terror with it.

"My skill advanced after reaching Lv. 30," she replied with a smile.

I watched her as the ruby liquid moved her hand. It is not just ruby in there; I could also feel the power of legacy.

She had infused the mist in there.

I watched for a while before bringing out a faint stream of aura in my hand. It immediately distracted her, making ruby liquid nearly fall down before she solidified it.

I felt the aura and tried to make a string of it.

Not a fine string, I am still far away from such control. A thick string. It's hard and takes a lot of concentration, but I have been training.

I create a sting little by little and wrap it around my hand.

It looked simple but extremely hard. I am fully focused on it, with a sweat dropping from my brows.

It's hard, but I have to do it. I needed to have at least an intermediate level of aura control before I could start learning the aura methods that Bell had promised.

I pushed that thought as it came to my mind.

I am far away from reaching that level. If I am being generous, then I would say my mastery is at a basic level.

To reach an intermediate, people take years and more.

I didn't let myself think too much about it and focused on training. If I did it every day, I would reach that stage eventually. Until then, I will do other amazing things with the aura.

Soon, the string reached my elbow, and I stopped before taking a deep breath.

"How does it feel?" asked Eva, and I looked at her question.

"The aura," she clarified.

I didn't answer immediately. It is not the first time I have been asked the question, and I gave the simple, conventional answer, but Eva is a friend.

So, I thought about it for a while before opening my mouth.

"To me, it is like sand that is always slipping away," I replied.

"Carla told me the opposite. She said it was like a vast sea," said Eva, and I smiled.

She told me the same.

Aura is different for everyone. To me, it is sand. To Carla, it is an endless sea, while to Bell, it is a gentle wind.

Our perception of it told a lot about us.

It represents my need to control everything around me. Thus, the sand. The more I try to control it, the more it slips away from my hand.

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