I left the library behind as I processed tons of information about the world I was in. After spending a few hours reading, I felt like I deserved a break. I found the same inn I stayed in the night before and enjoyed the different types of meals before going up the wooden steps to a room upstairs
I enjoyed the ancient looking aesthetics as I fell on the bed and relaxed my body. Many thoughts came and went as I looked up to the ceiling and tried to fall asleep. This would be denied of me however, as I heard light knocks from the door right after.
I became alert as there shouldn't really be anyone that would need to do this right now, and hoped it was somebody working for the inn. It couldn't be any of the mercenaries I worked with today either. I went forward with caution and opened the door, to be faced with the figure of a woman all dressed in black bowing down
"My deepest apologies Sir. I was tasked with delivering a message from my Lady, would you be so kind as to let me in for a few seconds?"
The person in front of me was fully covered top to bottom in a black material, and let out a rank S level of power. I thought about her words and wondered just what had occurred to cause somebody's attention to turn to me. I had been very careful, to the level of only using a rank A skill and showing power equivalent to a normal rank S
Maybe I was overthinking things and this would not be a major deal. I looked around the dark hallway of the in as I nodded to the woman and closed the door. The moment we were enclosed in the room, dark magical power emanated from the woman as a thin barrier went to cover the entirety of the room
"My Lady demands complete secrecy, so I thank you for entertaining me."
I calmly looked at the thin barrier that seemed to prevent any sounds coming out from the room and looked towards this person and said
"Alright, be straightforward and tell me what you're talking about."
"You can call me Night. My Lady wanted to meet you for a discussion whenever you were available, preferably sooner rather than later. Her status is a bit...complicated, and she is committed to doing everything in secrecy"
The woman calling herself Night pulled out a golden plaque that had 'Snowy Peak' written on it, stretching it out towards me.
"Please visit Snowy Peak's famous White Courtyard whenever you can, we promise not to waste too much of your time."
As soon as I received the plaque and looked piercingly at the woman in front of me, her figure began blending into the night. She gave another quick bow towards me before she completely disappeared, and the thin barrier around the room also faded away
I looked at the golden plaque in my hands as my mind began to churn. There were a few things to note from this meeting. First, this person that I had somehow gained the interest of is very powerful, so powerful that someone as experienced as that dark clothed woman followed her commands
Everytime the woman called Night spoke, she referred to that 'Lady' with the highest respect. This made me question if it was someone in an extremely high position, or someone with a rank higher than S, or both. The fact they they lived on one of the kingdom's four floating peaks meant she could be a noble or someone with immense wealth
The second thing to note was the goodwill they were sending my way. That very important person wanted a meeting, but she sent someone to relay her wishes and allowed me to choose when I would go to this meeting or whether I would even go at all.
This was the most perplexing of things, why was this person offering me such respect too? She obviously has enough power to compel a powerful rank S, so what made me stand out in her eyes that I received such treatmeant?
I continued to mull over the entire interaction, even using [Recorder] to go back and watch the scene that just played out multiple times to see if I missed anything. I couldn't glean anything else from it, just the fact that even though I had garnered the attention of someone powerful, with the way they were acting it shouldn't be malicious in any way.
I still had to be careful though, so I would advance my plans a bit and take a risk tomorrow. I would increase my power by farming the Skypeak Nest before I do anything else. The night that should have been a relaxing one became restless as my rapidly moving thoughts pushed the sleep I wanted further and further away
---
Early in the morning, I went out of the inn and into the bustling streets of the fascinating kingdom as I made my way towards the huge fortress wall that led outside. A thinner layer of snow covered the ground today, with clear blue skies hanging overhead
The large metal gates of one of the entrances of the walled fortress was halfway opened as carriages and people moved in and out, with mercenary parties being seen moving about here and there
Besides the Nests that beasts congregated in, there were dungeons that were naturally formed and maintained from this world's essence that many adventures and parties ventured in. These dungeons differed in ranks, with the highest ones near this kingdom being EPIC rank
A lot of this knowledge came from the time I spent in the library. These dungeons spread out all over the world were different from the dangerous ones I had been normally used to, and they seemed like this world's way to raise the strength of its inhabitants.
The System in my world had gone a completely different direction and created a system of power that more easily extracted essence and made its inhibitants rapidly grow in strength from dungeons created by invading forces. After these dungeons were taken care of in the future, I wouldn't be surprised if I find properly created dungeons meant only to raise the strength of hunters
A dungeon break would not occur with these types of dungeons as they were most likely properly maintained with this world's core, with more essence being placed into them to replenish the origins of the beings in it. From the information I read, the higher ranking the dungeon was, the more massive it would be. Some adventure parties found themselves spending a few days inside to completely clear an EPIC ranked dungeon
These dungeons would be another way for me to speedily increase my power, but I would start with the Nests where many beasts congregated first. There were many Leaders for me to take down and gain skills, and I should be safe as long I do not go too far in. These extremely massive dungeons would be my next step after I collect more information
I passed by the busy doors of the large fortress and made my way around the throngs of mostly humans and a few demihumans, activating all of my concealing skills before I used [Flight] once I strayed far enough
I flew through the skies, heading towards the huge land mass that beasts congregated in. This time I would be going all out and targeting as many rank S beasts as I could. The goal was to get at least a few defensive rank S skills that would bring me more confidence if I ever came across a deadly situation of facing something of higher rank.