[Chapter 6] – It Looks Like We Won’t Be Doing That
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I feel that the reason why [Fantasy] is such an interesting and resonating genre of fiction is that inside all of us, there is a [Dreamer].

The idealists and prayers who looked upon the vast and endless blue sky and in the corner of their minds wondered, what if the world was just a little bit different? Just a little bit less—the way it is—and more something else.

Less boring desk jobs and more grand adventures into an amazing world where impossible things are possible, where incredible encounters always await you to walk around the corner and experience them, where the only limit to where you can go and what you can do is only your imagination.

Less mundane daily life and more exciting battles with mythological beasts and hideous monsters that lurk around every inch and corner to earn fame and fortune, maybe even love in the process.

Less tiresome moments of weakness when you realize you are helpless and alone in the world, and more being able to wield powerful magic spells that defy the physical laws of reality and use them to overcome any obstacle with a simple chant or a flick of the wrist.

—So imagine my surprise.

When I’m walking down this orangish cobblestone-paved street of an entirely different world, filled with various shops and stalls that sell menageries of fantastical knick-knacks while observing the beautiful surrounding buildings of medieval architecture, and feeling so thoroughly disappointed.

“Huaaaaa~~~”

“What were you even expecting, Steve? From the logical steps who took to get here, you knew this was going to be the case.”

“Even so, I tried to cling onto that little bit of hope, you know? But this....”

—No matter how you cut it, this is just too unfair!

Every step I take in any direction on this crowded market street, people wearing various exotic and fantasy clothing keep walking into me—no, they keep walking right through me without acknowledgment of any kind!

So much for experiencing a fantasy adventure with sword and sorcery, I can’t even talk to anyone like this!

“Ah, well, this may be a bit late now but…”

Master agilely runs through a group of people and hops onto a roadside barrel, jumps up to the roof of a stall, then grabs the handle of a nearby shop’s sign and swings himself up again to the yellow rooftop of a building in front of me.

“—Welcome to the Elysian Empire’s Capital City on the 15th day of the 5th month in the year 1500 ED! The largest city in the 6 Empires of Kyrias!”

Of course, no one on the street notices Master’s unnecessary acrobatic show-off or his loud announcement. I, who am the only one that does, however, can’t for the life of me muster the same level of enthusiasm that the white-haired Master has shown despite initially appearing to not want to come here.

“Still though, this place…”

Looking around the sunlit street once more, I can see a lean and tall hooded figure, clothed in lavishly embroidered robes and carrying a twisting wooden staff that holds an amethyst-like gem on its tip by their waist.

A greenish skin, shirtless, impossibly muscular man with blood-red intricate tribal tattoos covering his entire body and face. A group of people in plated armors, armed with swords and colorful sigil-painted shields.

—Even people with beasts-like ears and horns.

Kyrias is undoubtedly a fantasy world alright. So that means, tadaa~, I have actually been [transported into another world]!

You know, after having read so many stories with this very same premise and even having tried writing one myself. I can say that I’m fairly confident about knowing the cliche situations and tropey scenarios they all tend to fall into, to the point where I thought (just as a little experiment) that if my turn somehow comes. I can use that knowledge to foresee at least a few arcs into the future or something.

—But…

I turn to face the big green man walking toward me, and sure enough, he doesn’t give any impression that he’s aware of my presence either, going right through my body just like all the rest.

It looks like I’m not going to be using any of that knowledge anytime soon...

“Huaa~”

Well, it can’t be helped if this is how it is. And hey—being able to see the sights of a different world doesn’t sound too bad either, right?

I end my inconsequential thought process and float up from the ground toward the rooftop where Master is. Once there, the view of the entire city and the yellow rooftops that starkly contrasts with the cloudy blue sky comes into my vision.

“Well, Master, where exactly are we?”

“Currently we’re in the Yellow Stones District of Elysian’s capital, where food, drinks, clothing, and every expected essential can be bought.”

“So it’s a market street? It’s really bustling for one.”

“That’s because this place is also the largest market for enchanted artifacts in all of Kyrias, so people of various races from all over the continent would travel across the land to trade and commerce for special artifacts that can only be found here. Do you want to take a look around?”

“I guess, sure.”

Master and I begin to walk along the connected rooftops. Surprisingly, my other sensory perceptions aren’t all that limited by being in this state. I can still smell the wide variety of scents in the air and hear the sounds of the mingling crowd. 

I look around the shops littered streetside accompanied by Master and his—sometimes a little bit too detailed—exposition.  

“That is a bookstore that sells magical tomes and such, it’s run by a family of Elysian humans. Not the best store in the city and the tomes aren’t super valuable. But even though they aren’t very successful, they at least manage to stay in business because the neighborhood loves them. —Oh, over there is a restaurant that sells Bicorn steaks.”

“Bicorn steaks?”

“The taste is average if you’re wondering. I’ll give it at least a 4 if it wasn’t for the terrible hygiene. There’s no such thing as a hand sanitizer in this world yet unfortunately and the store will be closed down by the authorities in a year.”

“How do you… ah, never mind.”

“And right next to that is a vintage clothing store, don’t let the shabby storefront fool you, Steve, the owner of the place is a retired royal tailor of the late empress and one sharp mouth granny. Poor old lady. Used to be so cute and polite when she was young. But then she got her heart broken by a Druid and became a bit emotionally unhinged ever since.”

“Does she ever get over it?”

“Nope! —Anyway, look over there, Steve, that three stories building with a green rooftop and a golden hammer emblem at the front is [The Artificer Guild], they buy precious gemstones and minerals and redistribute them to craftsmen all over the city to make enchanted artifacts.”

“Enchanted artifacts, huh? Those things look interesting.”

From what I can see from all the way up here, some of them are jewelry like necklaces and earrings, while some others are weirder... like that uncomfortably revealing undergarment and that other thing looks like, a pair of sunglasses?

—Why is there a stall that sells a pair of goddamn sunglasses in a freaking fantasy world?

“The craftsmen split those gems open, engrave magical formations inside, re-fuse and refine them into magic stones which other groups of craftsmen carefully install on artifacts to give them magical property. 

"By the way, Steve. The refining process could be done 162.564... times more efficiently if they improve the crystalized embryonic phase by using a partial combination of Umarian and Lefran pre-ignitors. But it’ll be another 316 years before a Dwarven craftsman by the name of Talphamore Silver figures it out.”

—That, isn’t really what I want to know, but thanks...

“And then it will have to be another 203 years before they can 3D print enchanted artifacts! Steve, you have no idea how infuriating it is to just sit there and watch every step of a civilization’s advancement and record every success and failure, every single one of the many many failures!”

“Must be difficult…”

“Of course it's difficult! I have a very, very, very difficult job… It’s like watching plants grow, except those are way faster and a lot less frustrating!”

“You have my sympathy.”

“Huaa~ If only that was enough.”

Master who sounds as if he is grumbling a bit at the end calms down at my words, and we continue our stroll, observing the somewhat familiar but at the same time appropriately otherworldly scenery.

All the while Master continues to explain the layout and history of the city.

“This capital was expanded massively since it was first built 1500 years ago at the end of the conquest of Cilisil after the enthronement of Ense officially established the Elysian Empire.

"And due to the mountainous geography of the land it was built upon, the city was divided into 3 rings.

"The flat outer first ring is where the Scry lives. The middle ring was divided further into east and west areas, with the east being the urban districts and the west being the entertainment and commercial districts that we’re in right now, by the way, there’s also an unofficial slum separating the northern part of the 2 sides.”

I listen passively to Master’s tidbits of insight while peering down from the rooftop, the overall atmosphere of the city feels—jovial, almost festive with people of various races walking together on the streets while heartily sharing laughter and pleasantly conversing in a language that I somehow understand.

The Elven sorceress twists her arms shyly at the compliments by the handsome Half-Orc. The beast-eared girl walks arm-in-arm with the brown-haired human boy while discussing where they should go for their next date. The Dragonoid mother looks skeptically at the Gnome stall owner who’s trying to sell sweets to her son.

All this eventually makes me wonder.

“Master, in uh, Kyrias, there aren’t racial discriminations or anything like that?”

—For a medieval fantasy world, that's quite rare. Although by that I mean the setting I used to write in has them. I guess I'm just curious how possible my imagination turned out to be.

“Well, that’s because of that.”

Master points at the distant center of the capital, where I can see how the buildings—larger and more extravagant than the rest of the city—are differently leveled out to fit the elevated incline of the land.

“—The inner ring, the districts of nobles and aristocrats, and at this city's very heart…”

Overlooking the city from the very top, perching high above the sloped pathways and spiraling stairs that were carved into the steep ground, sits a grand and magnificent castle. Or a grand and magnificent cathedral. I can’t tell from the look if it’s one or the other, actually.

“It’s both.”

“...Okay? May I ask you to please enlighten me about what you actually mean this time?”

“Obviously, Steve…”

Master turns to me while smiling brightly.

“To all the citizens of the 6 Empires of Kyrias, their [emperors], are also their [gods]. [Godemperors], is what they are called.”

“There are gods in this world?”

“Yes, most [magical] worlds do, they sort of came with the package. But in Kyrias there are only 6 god-like beings, each of which holds a concept of their own.”

Master puts out one of his fingers and starts going through the list.

“Amal-Furi-Khanse [The Deathless], Godemperor of Desmunheim. Kuramiya [The Wisest], Godempress of Umara. Radine-Nefhal [The Dreamless], Godempress of Carinaru.”

With each name announced, Master raises one more finger.

“Nir-Vergante [The Wildest], Godemperor of Maziono. Galilefran [The Unbound], Godemperor of Ainecarias.”

Eventually, Master fully opens his hand.

“And Ense, Godemperor of Elysian—[The Strongest].”

Master says and dramatically clenches his fist to emphasize the word [strongest]. Despite that, the small theatrical display doesn’t really give me any better ideas about how any of this could be related to my question.

“So, how does that have anything to do with racial discrimination?”

“Well, it's something like… it’s already undeniably confirmed who is, or what is [the strongest], so everyone else just decided to stop arguing about their racial superiority altogether because they figured that it was pointless.”

—That sounds oddly familiar.

“Ense himself isn’t a case of [absolute power corrupts absolutely] either, and he plays the political game well. Allowing free trading, making peace treaties, and even marrying his daughters and sons to other Empires to express friendliness.

"Him being the strongest doesn’t cause any problem to anybody, maybe it has even gotten rid of it. But enough about all this. You have a different reason to be here, Steve, and your reason—is over there.”

Master sticks out his thumb and points it behind him, wherein the distant horizon stands a massive Colosseum with 6 beautiful flags adorned on its yellowish stone wall. And even at this distance, I can still see the endless sea of people flooding inside through the front gate.

“Inside there is where they’re currently holding the 150th [Tournament of the Niles], it's an old Kyrian word that translates to [Enlightened]. But basically, the tournament is the largest contest of magical proficiency and prowess that gathered all the 6 unique schools of magic from all across Kyrias and put them in one place to find out who’s the next leader of the new generation.”

“A magical tournament?”

—Now that sounds a bit exciting!

“Those who win will be granted a blessing from the Godemperors. But even if they lose, if they could prove themselves capable enough then they would still be considered a rising star of the new generation. So every participant in this tournament would try their absolute best to show their most skillful performance as if their lives depended on it. You can expect the competition to be quite fierce.”

Noticing my rising enthusiasm, Master smiles.

“So what do you think, Steve? We won’t even need any tickets to go in.”

“...”

I think I’m starting to get what being an [Outsider] means now. Despite all its downsides, this pseudo-ethereal state isn’t as bad as I first thought.

“Of course! Let’s have a look!”

“This is more like it.”

I smile hopefully and nod my head at Master, then we both tread along the rooftops toward the chaotic and vibrant plaza where the roaring cries of cheers and triumphs echo from.

—————..........

With the maddening strings of waving flags and flying confetti above the energetically singing parades in sight, we have arrived at the entrance to the Colosseum.

Our presence does nothing to diminish the lively spirit of the mass. Well, I guess that’s to be expected, and like ghosts or specters Master and I cut right through the massive gathering without any hindrance.

“Hey, Steve, look! It’s Robert Neratian! Nice to see you, Robert!”

“But he can’t see you, Master. Why are you greeting him anyway?”

I raise my eyebrows questioningly at Master who is playfully waving his hand in front of an armored officer guarding the front gate.

“Because it’s Robert, Steve!”

Master turns to me with a smile, while still using his hand that isn’t holding the book to poke at the gruffy-looking uncle who doesn’t react to it in the slightest and continues to say.

“He used to be one of the highest order paladins before he tried to save one Scry child from the slum, which was a violation of Ense’s will.

"The Scry he saved was killed but his righteousness didn’t waver, insisting on doing what was right even when faced with the punishment of death. Unfortunately, people like him are rare in this world.”

Master’s voice seems to have a little bit of respect for the bearded man.

On the way here, I’ve heard him saying this sort of thing frequently. Pointing at random people on the street, telling their life stories, and exposing their secrets like they’re the most commonly known things in the world.

—Even when nobody asks.

“—But he was too skilled of a knight to simply be executed so he only got demoted to being a regular city guard and 10 years later, almost no one recognized him anymore under those beards.

"He stayed in this position until he retired, and died of a heart attack when he reached 60. Though his effort was admirable, in the end, he wasn’t able to even save one life… wasn’t able to change anything.”

And as if suddenly losing all of his interest in the man, Master speaks the last sentence in an indifferent tone and walks directly past the guard. I quickly chase after him into the wide inner corridor.

“By the way, who are the Scry?”

“Eh~ How do I say it?”

Master slows down his steps and turns around to say to me in a cold, almost uncaring voice.

“They are the only part of this world that shouldn’t exist.”

“Excuse me?”

...That’s a rather cruel thing for anyone to say, even if it’s Master.

We stare at each other in a few seconds of unnerving silence as people walk by us, but eventually Master breaks out into small laughter.

“Hahaha~ I didn’t mean it like that, Steve.”

“Then what do you mean by it?”

“Well... I think you would have a little bit more perspective if you first watched the tournament.”

Master says that and continues to lead me deeper into the Colosseum.

“...”

I wordlessly follow him, albeit with a little bit of doubt beginning to form inside. 

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