CHAPTER 276: TOWARD THE DISTANT KINGDOM

The second was that teleportation efficiency decreased with distance much like how his own teleportation targeting worked.

So, the most reasonable plan was to investigate nearby settlements one by one, gathering rumors and local information about any strong magic users.

For now, until the villagers woke up, Shiao Yi decided to rest.

He crouched in a dark corner between a wall and some crates while hugging his knees, and closed his eyes for a brief nap.

By the time he opened his eyes again, the sun had already begun its descent from the zenith toward the west, shining through the tall trees that grew thickly around him.

Even though the dense branches blocked much of the light, the heat of the early summer sun was strong.

The small shadowed space where he hid had no breeze and his clothes clung damply to his skin.

He unbuttoned the top of his shirt to let out some heat.

The fabric was light but tightly woven which isn’t well suited for the subtropical climate of this land.

When he glanced down, he noticed that the faint red mark that should have been on his chest was gone.

His brows furrowed in quiet disappointment.

Dominic had left that mark on him last night, less than a day ago.

Because his body had been artificially strengthened, even small wounds or marks would be healed very quickly.

Unless Dominic deliberately used magic to keep it there, it would vanish in just a few days.

He knew it was silly, even selfish, but at moments like this, he couldn’t help but resent his modified body a little.

"Dominic... I wonder how he’s doing. I hope he hasn’t suffered too much. I miss him so much..."

Shiao Yi almost sank into the weight of his longing, but he quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts.

If he truly wanted to see Dominic again soon, he had to focus and not fall apart.

He steadied his breathing and once again spread out his telepathic senses, extending invisible threads of thought to cover the entire settlement.

This was the fifth village he had searched so far.

Across the vast land, small settlements were scattered here and there some hidden deep between lush forests and rough mountains, others built within natural barriers as if seeking protection.

Each village was formed around its own kind groups of the same species or race living together for safety.

That seemed to be how this continent’s society worked. It’s quite different from the structured world of the Rosaria Kingdom on the western continent.

The cause of this difference likely wasn’t only the dense jungles, the rugged mountains, the countless rivers cutting through the land, or the dangerous beasts and monsters that roamed freely.

The greatest influence came from the "Desert of Death," which covered nearly half of this eastern continent.

That wasteland itself told a story. It was a remnant of the devastation caused long ago by the Aeon, a creature that had once nearly wiped out all living beings.

Even now, the descendants of those who survived might still carry the ancient fear of that catastrophe deep in their hearts.

Sifting through the sea of random, everyday thoughts around him, Shiao Yi searched for any small trace of useful information.

It was like digging for gems in a flood of meaningless noise.

The sheer number of thoughts pressing against his mind was overwhelming and far beyond normal human capacity.

The growing ache in his head made it worse.

Still, he endured it patiently and filtering through each voice, each thought, each fragment, in the hope of finding even one clue.

Compared to his past work, when he had to extract valuable intelligence from tens of thousands or even millions of minds many belonging to non-humanoid beings with completely alien ways of thinking this task was easier.

Still, the emotional strain now was far heavier than it had been back then.

Back then, he had been calm and detached.

Now, he was desperate.

Keep focus! he told himself sharply.

Then, something flickered at the edge of his awareness.

"A... kingdom?" she whispered.

Shiao Yi caught an important word, a big one.

There was said to be a kingdom far beyond the sea ahead.

They said with proud voice that they were bringing a special order there, saying it was a big trade deal.

They said they wouldn’t come back the same way, so they won’t be passing here again.

...Still, they wanted to buy a little more from them. Wonder when they’ll come again.

From the bits of talk he picked up, he confirmed something he had already suspected that traveling merchants went from one scattered settlement to another, connecting them like threads.

And one of those merchants had apparently mentioned traveling to that distant kingdom.

On the eastern continent, a society large enough to be called a kingdom was rare.

That meant it could be a place with a good number of skilled magicians and maybe, someone powerful enough to perform a teleportation like the one that took Dominic.

Shiao Yi decided to focus all his efforts on gathering more information about that kingdom.

He began tracing the path of the merchant he had sensed earlier, following the trail from one settlement to the next.

His direction leaned southwest.

The river he followed grew wider, the current slower and the landscape started to change, the smell of salt and the type of trees told him the sea was near.

From the local chatter, it seemed that the merchant had carried heavy cargo from far away and even though some time had passed since his visit, people still talked about him.

In the coastal settlements, he began to hear more about magic and magicians.

There was talk of an island kingdom that had become connected to the continent by land.

Long ago, it had been a true island, but a massive ancient earthquake and a cataclysm that shook the very land had created a land bridge linking it to the mainland.