Chapter 407: Not So Warm Welcome

Getting teleported so many times in a single day was disorienting. His Concept helped him a lot, but the distance of the teleportation affected how dizzy he got.

The distance he had just teleported was enormous because it felt like he was in the spatial ripples for way longer than usual. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was the soft white flecks of snow gently drifting from the sky.

It was the middle of summer, so it was surprising to see such weather. That made him think he was much further north than he had been before. He recalled that there were northern clans who used kinetic energy, and Cain might have been someone from one of these clans.

At least that was his theory.

He looked more closely around him and noticed that he was in the mountains. Tall, glistening white cliffs of snow surrounded him. The city that was situated just off in the distance was a magical looking place. He had been half expecting barbaric villages when he heard about the northern clans.

But seeing such a beautifully crafted city had changed his perception entirely. Immaculate wooden structures lined the city with a few massive towers pointing toward the heavens. They were standing some distance away from the city, but he could see a large number of warm lights of mana lamps lit up the entire city in a dazzling glow.

“Beautiful, right?” Doren spoke to him with a smile of his own as he admired the scene.

“Where are we?” He asked

“North of Corvus. It is not technically an officially recognized country, but many just call it the Boreal Region.”

Julius nodded and followed Doren as they headed toward the town. To his shock, he didn’t see any types of walls or defenses around. There was a small gate, but it was primarily decorative with no real practical application.

Doren saw his look and correctly assumed his thoughts. “Wondering why there are no walls or moats?” He asked with a knowing grin.

Julius didn’t even bother to hide his interest. “Yes.”

“Look closer,” Doren said with a pointed look at the mountains.

Julius looked but couldn’t find anything. It wasn’t until he expanded his perception that he finally understood what Doren was talking about. He let out a laugh and smiled widely as he examined the massive array in front of him.

The town didn’t need a gate or enchanted walls. An enormous enchantment already surrounded them.

“Is it natural?” He couldn’t help but ask in awe.

“Not a hundred percent, but for the most part, yeah,” Doren said, admiring the enchantment alongside Julius.

He couldn’t believe his eyes but understood why the original settlers had decided on this place. The mountains surrounding the city weren’t just for aesthetics; they were practical pillars that connected a massive and ridiculously complex network of enchantments that blanketed the entire peak.

He had never seen something so powerful, and yet it was so subtle that he was barely able to detect it. He had no idea how it managed to hide the enormous mana signature that should have been rolling off it.

“How?” He asked Doren with excited eyes.

“That’s not my secret to share,” Doren said to him, clearly knowing the answer but refusing to give it to Julius so easily.

He didn’t care that much either. He would figure it out on his own. He didn’t need Doren to feed him answers. It would be much more fun that way. He already had several ideas blooming in his mind.

“Come on, you will have plenty of time to examine it while you are here,” he said to Julius.

“You only said that I have to meet Cain,” Julius pointed out.

Doren shrugged his shoulders and pushed his glasses up his nose. “Yeah, but that was before I did you another favor. Now you have to stay.”

“That’s not fair,” he argued.

Doren compromised much more easily than Julius thought he would. “Okay, at least promise me that you will seriously consider staying,” he said in a very reasonable request.

Julius couldn’t find any reason to deny this and nodded. “Okay.” It was more than fair. To the point that he suspected that there was something that Doren wasn’t telling him.

Regardless, he would give this Cain person an honest chance and would stay if he were interested. Honestly, he might have chosen to remain just to investigate the enchantment protecting this city. It was that impressive.

Julius followed Doren down the pathway and toward the town. The cold was quite intense, and if it weren’t for his body being naturally warm because of his fire mana, he would have been quite the chilly boy.

As they approached, he spotted people making their way in and out of the gates in a similar manner. These people were intelligent and wore nice, warm coats. Only a few people were wearing pants and a shirt.

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He stepped to the side when he spotted a group of young children running past him. They were throwing balls of snow at each other and laughing joyfully.

No guards were checking them as they entered the town. They got a few looks from the locals, but they weren’t judgmental looks, merely ones of curiosity.

“Can we eat before we meet this Cain?” Julius asked Doren. He was a little peckish after that whole debacle. The last real meal he had was the one before he and his friends went on the expedition.

Doren paused and thought about it for a brief moment before nodding. “Sure, I can use some food. There is a nice little place not too far, let’s get something to eat there and then head off to see Cain.”

Julius smiled eagerly and strolled happily behind Doren. He was always in the mood for some good food.

***

Julius rubbed his stomach with a satisfied burp. Doren had been absolutely correct when he said the place had good food. Just the soup and bread alone were enough to have Julius drooling on the table.

Drasil had sensed his enjoyment and begged to be released. Julius didn’t see a reason not to, and discreetly took out the small fellow, letting him sit on the table beside him. He had enjoyed his own cocktail of Julius’s mana.

Doren did not seem shocked about Drasil’s appearance. He had more than likely already known about the life spirit.

Julius and Doren had devoured a couple of plates of delicious food before finally being sated. The restaurant had not been that large. It was a small hole in the wall, but there was barely any room to sit in the place. It was obviously a local favorite, and Julius couldn’t blame them.