Overwhelming Firepower

On the day he had the idea, Lucen wanted to meet the principal immediately, but unfortunately, even someone of Lucen’s stature couldn’t just meet the Principal; he actually needed to make an appointment.

It would seem that Principal Aldren Nikon was quite busy, seeing as a month from now will be the start of the new semester.

He was told that he could meet the Principal in three days. ’Three days, huh... What should I do in the meantime?’

Lucen tapped his finger lightly against his arm as he jumped from building to building above the busy streets of Caelhart.

He had already made up his mind the moment the idea came to him. The sooner he could speak with Principal Aldren Nikon, the better.

Unfortunately, even the Royal Academy had its rules. Lucen clicked his tongue softly.

”This is why time skips and fast travel in games are so good: you can skip the waiting time. Well, I guess there is a loading time, but it’s still faster.” He muttered to himself.

Lucen let out a small sigh as he landed on the edge of another rooftop, the long tails of his trench coat swaying slightly from the movement.

Three days, it was not long enough to start anything serious, yet not short enough to simply ignore. He crossed his arms as he thought for a moment.

”Should I go back to Stellhart? With the train, it takes a few hours at most to reach, but once I get there, Robert might pull me into something, and I might not be able to get back on time.”

Lucen sighed as he looked up at the clouds.

”Should I just wait here in the Capital until the appointed time? Nah, that’s boring, the plays here are pretty much what I wrote and their own repeat. I could also visit Mireya and play a few board games with her, but... Yeah, the same with Robert, she might not let me go in those three days.”

Lucen scratched his head in frustration.

”I knew that I should have focused on creating some sort of video games using the power of the Purple Tower Mages. This world already has something like the communication orb, which is basically similar to a video call, and they also have an orb that can even record a few images like a video, so it might be possible... I guess it would be easier to introduce these people to the concept of TV shows and movies, rather than video games... Hm, I guess that’s something to think about for later.”

Lucen lowered his hand and sat down at the edge of the roof while staring at the sky for a few seconds before letting out another sigh. Waiting for three days might seem short, but for someone like Lucen, it was truly long. Especially now that he had things he wanted to do.

’Still, I do kinda look cool doing this with the wind helping my trench coat flutter.’ Lucen couldn’t help but comment on himself.

Lucen let out a quiet chuckle before his expression slowly returned to normal.

”... Man, I’m really bored.”

He leaned back slightly, supporting himself with one hand as he continued staring at the sky. He saw a few airships passing by and smiled. This world was starting to look like the one he envisioned.

For a moment, his thoughts wandered aimlessly, jumping from one idea to another without settling on anything in particular. Then, without realizing it, his mind went back to Alexander.

’Heh, to think that I would be able to see the formation of the starting party with my own eyes... Now that I think about it, since I have seen Alexander and the starting party, maybe I should visit the starting Village, Valerius Village.’

Lucen showed a bright smile at the thought he had. He slowly got up and brushed off the dust on his pants. He looked at the horizon and was once again getting excited.

”Yeah, I forgot about the starting village. The reason I haven’t gone already was that I didn’t want to mess up Alexander’s growth before the story begins, but now that the flow of the story has begun, I guess I can finally visit.”

Lucen nodded to himself as the idea settled in his mind.

In reality, Valerius Village was nothing special at first glance. Just a small, peaceful settlement at the edge of the kingdom, far from the capital and even farther from any sort of trouble.

But of course, Lucen understood that this little place was very important. It was the place where Alexander had grown up. The place where he first learned how to wield a sword. The place where the wandering mercenary appeared.

Many players speculated that the so-called wandering mercenary wasn’t just some random person, but a supreme expert; he might be the long-lost legendary Mercenary King.

Of course, there were also those who think the wandering mercenary was nothing more than a mid-tier mercenary who taught Alexander and Mina a few things. The reason why Alexander became so strong was that he was strong from the start.

Lucen was one who believed the latter to be true. ”Alright, now that I’ve decided what to do while I wait, should I use my personal airship or the train?... I’d better use the train, since using the airship would just attract too much attention.”

Lucen jumped down from the rooftop and landed in an empty alleyway. He then quickly headed to the train station.

The station was just as busy as ever, with people coming and going as the newly built rail lines connected more parts of Norvaegard than ever before.

Lucen walked past the ticket counter without stopping. The workers recognized him immediately and hurried to prepare a seat without even needing to ask for his destination.

”Heading north, Young lord?” One of them asked respectfully.

”No, I’m not going north. I’m heading east towards a village called Valerius Village.”

The worker then looked at the schedule and map and finally learned where Valerius Village was. It was the last stop of one of the trains heading east. He then checked the time of the departure of the train heading there.

”The departure of a train heading there will be around fifteen minutes. Do you need any refreshments, young lord?”

”No need, I’ll just wait here.” After dismissing the worker, Lucen looked around the train station.

A few people glanced in his direction, but no one approached him. It was not that they did not recognize him.

On the contrary, most of them clearly did. Someone with silver hair, ruby-red eyes, and wearing a trench coat with the Thornefang emblem, there was only Lucen Thornehart.

Some lowered their heads slightly in respect, while others quickly looked away as if afraid of drawing his attention.

A few waved their hands in excitement, and there were even those who did a clumsy knight’s salute.

’I guess, I’m really like a celebrity now, huh. Well, it’s not a bad feeling, and they don’t really bother me anyway.’

Lucen let out a quiet breath as he leaned against one of the pillars near the platform.

He had already gotten used to the looks people gave him whenever he appeared in the capital.

He was already quite famous beforehand, but after the Styrhord and the emergence of the train and the airships, his name was not only spoken in Norvaegard but in the surrounding kingdoms as well.

It didn’t take long for the train Lucen was waiting for to arrive. He was then guided by a few workers to a special seat made for him and those who had special privileges.

Lucen stepped inside the carriage without saying much, giving a small nod to the workers before taking his seat near the window.

The interior of the special carriage was quiet, far more comfortable than the common seats. The cushions were soft, and the glass windows were reinforced to reduce the shaking of the ride.

He rested his arm on the side and looked outside as the last few passengers boarded.

A loud whistle echoed through the station. Moments later, the train slowly began to move.

The platform started to slide past the window, followed by the crowded streets of Caelhart, and soon the tall buildings of the capital began to grow smaller as the train picked up speed.

’I wonder what Valerius Village looks like now. Obviously, because of the changes I made, it won’t look the same, but I hope it still has that charm of a starting village. The single shop and blacksmith, the small temple of an unknown deity. Surely those things are still there, right?’

Lucen started to wonder how much Valerious Village had changed.

So far, most of the major events had still followed the same general flow he remembered, but the details were clearly different. Also, the timing of said events were either accelerated, and a few never even happened.

Still, those were pre-game events, which were basically background lore, but it was not the start of the game story.

Of course, he also understood that this route, this timeline, was probably that of the new game plus he hasn’t played yet.

’Well, that just makes things even more exciting.’

Lucen slowly closed his eyes as the steady rhythm of the train filled the carriage.

The capital was already far behind, and the scenery outside the window had turned into endless plains and distant hills.

He was trying his best to contain the excitement he was feeling after seeing the hero Alexander in the game he loved.

’I really can’t wait to see how this route plays out.’