The flock of ravens flew through the air as Raven observed the horizon. The vast world of Nulfrae stretched before her. Just flying in any direction she chose, to her 9 o'clock was a mountain range, while directly behind her was a vast land of varying rocky hills, plains, rivers, and forests scattered wth cities throughout.

6 towers stood near each point of the hexagonal shaped capital city of Pandor. Each one had a different colour: gold, green, brown, blue, red, and white. What impressed her was the height of these towers. They would rival some of the tallest skyscrapers back on Earth.

Before she could marvel more at the land and its details, she felt a slight pull deep within her core. The pull was familiar, as if her soul had come into contact with its owner.

The Caffeine Transcendent, Alex Grace, her Master and employer, the boss.

But first, safety.

She peered down to look for a secluded area, devoid of people. At the foot of the mountain, the same mountain range to her 9 o'clock, she saw a small forest with barely any sign of human activity. She flew towards it, and as the flock of ravens landed inside the cover of trees, it coalesced into one entity.

Raven looked inwards to her core and inside the vow that she signed that very night. It pulsed within her, longing for Her who had given her the life she could have never imagined.

Could it have been fake?

That didn't matter. She needed to confirm anyways. Signature forgery was real, but a mana oath was impossible to fake.

Raising her hand, she saw the paper cut the king had given her. But looking closer, that wasn't all the damage. She noticed there was a slight chip on her nail. She smiled recalling King Adric's last attack. It took two fingers to stop, and the young man managed to chip her nail.

This world could be dangerous.

It was a pity she wasn't able to save the children. Had she took them with her, it would've put a target on their heads by being associated with a demon in this world. Since they were summoned as heroes, they should be fine—for a while anyway.

Even if it was an underdeveloped world, freaks of natures always existed in the past. High chance that there were some... freaks of nature in this world as evidenced by the 6 skyscraper towers that were in here view.

Flying was out of the question... for now. She made a mess in their throne room, which should have alerted Pandor's own forces. Back on Earth, if a couple of Late-Mystics (5th Stage of Earth's Awakened Standards) ganged up on her, even she would fall.

Based on the strength of the beckoning signal from her core, it would take her at least half a year to walk the probably destination in a straight line. Running would also attract attention since she wasn't wearing clothes that would particularly blend in. Even back on earth, she attracted quite the stares walking through the crowds of downtown. A new world also meant there were no positional anchors to use.

This was a problem.

Hrafninn hverfr til himins, Raven whispered, and a single raven flew up to the sky to observe the surrounding area. Closing her eyes, she saw what the raven saw as it flew around. Everywhere was just trees that thinned as they reached the foot of the mountain. Before the mountain path was a house and a stable that held 5 horses.

She could probably use a horse to travel, which would significantly decrease the travel time. Casting multiple sigils would also make the horse work more efficiently through night and day.

If there's any trouble, she could just say 'fuck it' and gamble. She would fly to escape and reach the destination in just a couple of days. Whatever trouble she caused would be put on Her plate, just like old times.

Raven dispelled the spell and walked towards the foot of the mountain. As she got closer, she noticed it wasn't guarded. If this was the standard sword and magic fantasy world, would this world not have monsters that roamed about? Or, it could be that Pandor had strict patrols that cleaned up the roads for the citizens' safety.

That was an issue.

A woman clad in an all black dress wearing a large witch's hat riding a horse would look ominous.

Raven walked up to the door of the house and knocked three times. No answer yet. Waiting for at least 30 seconds, she knocked again 3 times, louder.

"Coming!" a man said as the sound of him coming down the steps thudded from behind the door. After a moment, the door creaked open. "Yes, how may I..."

He looked at her as if he had just seen a ghost. His mouth gaped, unable to say anything. Typical mundane reaction.

"Can I use a horse?" Raven asked.

"A horse? What will you use it for?" the man asked.

"To ride."

"You won't eat the horse?"

A stupid question. Maybe Ollie did have a point. She could use a wardrobe upgrade once she gets back to Earth. It was obvious that the man truly believed he was talking to a ghost or a demon.

"I'm riding the horse to travel. Nothing else," Raven said.

"I see..." the man said, eyes darting between her face and her hand. "10 silver, and you can have one of the horses."

Raven almost shook her head right there. The words he chose to use meant that he thought the horse would be eaten. Issue now was she didn't have 10 silver nor did she know how much that was in this world. What she did have, though, was the King's gem from his armour.

"Can I use this as payment?" Raven held up the gem. "I don't have any silver."

"May I ask how you found this gem?" the man asked.

"Found it off a body in a building somewhere. Nothing too complicated," Raven said. She wasn't lying, of course.

"I see... then I shall take it as payment. You may choose any horse you wish. Make sure it feels no pain, please..." the man said as he extended his palm to her.

"Whatever." Raven said, putting the gem on his palm and then walking over to the stable. It didn't matter which horse to use. By the end of this run, it would probably die off from exhaustion.

Patting the rightmost horse, she felt for its muscle under its thin coat. It was the tallest and biggest one. From behind her, she saw the man shake his head when she chose this one, which meant this was the best one.

The last time she rode a horse was just over 150 years ago. Thinking of doing missions in this kind of landscape gave her a slight thrill--as long as it was during her 9 to 5, of course.

That was non-negotiable.

After mounting the horse, she pulled at the reins and backed the horse out of its stable. Once the horse was outside, she jumped over and whipped the rein in quick succession. The horse started running immediately. She pulled the horse to the left to veer into the mountain path.

"Hiya!" Raven shouted, then whispered multiple incantations, but instead of using mana, she used Qi to cast the first two incantations, and mana for the last one.

Konan gefr eilífan styrk.

Hennar vilji læknar hold þitt.

Vindr skilr sik fyrir oss.

Three sigils lit up and placed themselves onto the back of the horse's neck. The first sigil gave the horse endless stamina. The second sigil continuously healed the flesh of the horse. The third parted the wind in front of them to lower wind resistance.

All three sigils worked hand in hand to make the horse faster and allowed it to run forever, or at least until its life force could no longer sustain its body. That was the issue with using Qi to push the flesh to its absolute limit.

At this speed, it would take at least a month to reach the Master.

For a couple of hours, the horse ran without stopping. As the horse sprinted through uphill and downhill slopes, its speed remained steady. Raven watched the scenery pass by. As her horse ran, she'd see glimpses of flat lands at the top of mountain peaks. There were bandits that tried to block her way but she past by them completely ignoring their existence. Apart from the miscellaneous monsters she didn't care about, there was a pack of wolves that looked like giant dogs. They had 3 eyes instead of two, and their furs were pure black.

When meeting them, she wanted to stop and take one as a pet, but that would delay her travel. She hadn't even been on the road for long.

Reaching the peak of the mountain, the horse suddenly stopped. In front of Raven was a lone man walking down a path. Passing through multiple hostile bandit camps and monsters, an average man wouldn't dare to cross these paths alone, yet here was one.

An Early-Mystic.

He wore gray robes with a black cowl over his head, a brown leather backpack, and a staff that radiated mana. At the end of the staff was a blue-green gem, much larger than the one she had taken from the King.

The man turned around, revealing his age. He didn't have a beard, as Raven expected. He was clean shaven, with wrinkles on his face and dull blue eyes. His appearance told her that he was at least over 60 years old.

"Why hello, stranger in black. Off to a rush?" the man asked.

"Yup. Just minding my own business, going to where the road takes me," Raven said.

"A wanderer, I see. My name is Lazarus. Care to join me on my journey to the City of Raven?"

City of Raven? Weird name for a city, flattering though. Raven made a mental note of it to see it at least once before she left this world. "I'm in a bit of a rush. So sorry, I can't join you."

"Ah, it was not a suggestion. Wanderers do have plenty of stories, you see, and I would love to hear the story of how you have a trace of my own mana on your right hand," Lazarus asked. His signature flared, killing intent directed at Raven.

"How cute," Raven said. "A child threatening an adult."

Lazarus laughed. "This is not a threat. I'm simply pulling out an answer. Trust me, it won't hurt."

"For you or for me?" Raven asked.

"Child, I admire your tenacity to keep face under pressure. Best to stop acting, or this elder would seriously punish you."

"Using someone else's insult isn't very... what do you call this," Raven made a gesture that looked like she was pretending to think. "Isn't it pretty lame?"

"And is wearing that childish black dress as a costume any different from a child's aesthetic?"

"Plus points for personal attacks. Progress."

Lazarus gripped his staff. A single tap below his feet caused the ground to tremor, making the horse thrash around and fall to the ground.

Raven jumped off before it could hit the ground, landing softly just beside it. From how the horse's leg bent at an angle that it wasn't supposed to, her only method of transport was now gone.

"Look what you did. He's injured now." How disappointing. Guess it was plan B. Just let the Master handle the fallout. Raven shook her head. "Children do love to tantrum, don't they."

"Enough with the wordplay. Tell me how you have a trace of the mana gem I gave to the king."

"Oh, you know. It's what happens when people are rude, and the gem did look expensive, so I took it."

"The gem was connected to the King's armour. Unless you killed him, there was no way you'd be able to take it."

"It wasn't that hard. All I did was pull it out, and pop it went," Raven chuckled. By the feel of the increasing mana signature coming off Lazarus, he was about ready to pop.

And that he did.

Another stomp of his staff onto the ground caused a ripple on the ground. A wave expanded outwards, originating from where he had hit.

Raven softly jumped to avoid the ripple. When it passed her and the horse, the ripple tore away the bottom hems of her dress. Splats of blood sprayed out from where the ripple hit the horse as half of its body became something that resembled minced meat.

Lazarus pointed his staff at Raven, and a green thread connected him and her. Her Spirit Sign status opened on its own, except not facing her but facing him.

"4,758..." he whispered, then shouted, "demon, you must die here!"

"Always with the demon," Raven rolled her eyes. "At least call me by my proper title, a witch."

hrafnarnir taka flug.

A fog of darkness covered Raven, and her form turned into a flock of ravens. Though it was all an illusion. One of the ravens was just a miniature version of her, and the rest were fake. She flew amongst the ravens, towards the sky, leaving behind the so-called legendary mage below.

Putting his staff between his legs, Lazarus tried to chase her, flying on his staff like it was a broom.

Raven laughed at the sight. That was so 19th century. If only her other disciples were here along with the twins that somehow always had references to everything, this would've been a much more enjoyable walk in the forest.

She could technically easily kill an Early-Mystic if she wanted to. The problem would be that this person was a so-called legendary mage. If she messed up the political landscape right now without approval, that would cause future headaches for the Master. On the contrary, killing an Early-Mystic on earth usually gave a hefty sum.

There were three issues in this scenario.

First, she didn't know how strong the citizens of this world were just yet. Killing a "legend" might draw too much attention to her. If they were anything like the United Knights back on Earth, a swarm of at least 20 Mystics might come knocking down her door, shouting, "United Knights, OPEN UP!"

Second, she didn't know of the Master's plan yet. If she somehow messed up anything and drew the attention of rivals to her plans, it could slow down Her plan. The worst thing that Raven feared was a docked pay and being forced to do overtime.

Third and most important, she wasn't getting paid to kill such a high-level entity. Full stop.

In her flock of ravens, the only form she knew how to cross seas with, it would take about 14 days exactly to reach her destination. It wasn't as fast as a plane, only a bit faster than an average raven, but it was still twice as fast as a horse.

Her only obstacle now was falling asleep from boredom. She'd welcome mages trying to shoot her down from the air. At least she could have a bit of momentary fun to prevent her from falling asleep.

☕︎ ☼ ☕︎ ☽ ☕︎

15 days later...

Raven had to take a full one day stop just to sleep, and then continue the journey. That was also because she almost fell asleep while flying. Even for her, it would kind of hurt falling from 5,000 meters altitude.

Through her travels, she passed by a kingdom that had streets busy with vendors, selling items that almost tempted her to go down and browse. Having had no food for several days, her sense of smell had gotten so sensitive that the scent of warm food reached her all the way up in the air.

The only thing that kept her going was that she knew she had no money in this world. If she even had a bit of money, she would've taken her sweet time to get to her destination. The Master would understand, plus, her wage stagnated over the past 7 years after she left and an idiot took over as the CEO position back on Earth.

Examining the mountain paths, there was nowhere to land except the foot of the mountain. The whole mountain range path was crowded with people passing through.

Landing at the foot of the mountain in a secluded area, she transformed back to her original form. As she walked to the entrance of the mountain's path, she noticed something familiar on the road... on the road?

Ever since coming to this wasteland, everywhere had been just dirt paths. There were no roads. What's more, there looked to be a toll booth up ahead. Carts, horses, and individuals stopped before the road to pay a few copper pieces to the toll guard. Oddly enough, these toll guards looked seemingly like bandits.

That was a surprise.

Moving forward to the toll gate, the guard stopped her. "Halt. For a person on foot, the toll price is 15 copper."

This was a pickle. Raven didn't have money. But they were bandits.

"What is this toll for and why should I pay?" Raven asked.

"I'm glad you asked, madam. This road has been paved by the Path for the betterment of humanity's travel through the treacherous Hadstead mountain range," the guard said. "During your travel on this road, you have full protection from the elements through the Path's protection services that maintain the sanitation of pests around the road. As such, this toll is for the upkeep, maintenance, and extension of the road."

"The Path?" Raven asked.

"Yes!" The guard puffed out his chest. "It is the company solely owned by the Lady!"

"Who's the Lady?"

"The Lady Alex, of course. Her benevolence provides so many services for an affordable price of either 40 coppers for carriages or carts, 25 for horses, and 15 for individuals. And don't forget to stop by Star Cubs at the convergence point. You won't regret it," the guard said, then whispered, "They say if you drink a Cafe Mocha, you'll see the stars twinkle brighter at night."

Star Cubs? What the hell was happening? Everything he was saying was all too familiar. From the upkeep of a road using tolls and an obvious knock-off of Starbucks. That also reminded Raven, she hasn't had a cup of coffee in a while. They better have her favourite frappucino order.

Raven looked to the side and saw a cart that was already on its way through the toll. "Hey you, how much would you pay for this hat?"

The man on the cart looked at her and took the witch's hat from her hand. He turned it around a couple of times before saying, "I'll give you 33 silvers for this."

"Done. Give me 33 silvers," Raven held out her hand.

The man placed 33 silvers on her extended hand and smiled. "Pleasure doing business with you, ma'am."

The cart then moved through the toll and slowly climbed up the uphill road. Raven looked at the guard and extended a single silver to him. Taking the silver from her hand, the guard began to fish out exactly 85 coppers and handed them back to her. "Thank you for using the I-15 highway. Please enjoy your travel, and may her Grace light your path."

"Sure, whatever. Light the Path." Raven walked through the toll, not even bothering to pay attention to what the man had just said.

She speed-walked along the road, going up the hill, faster than the horses that galloped and the carts pulled by two horses. After a couple of minutes, she began running, no longer caring about the stares.

There were two things she wanted the most: to be back by the Master's side and her frappucino order.

An hour or so of running, there was a green sign with 'Star Cubs rest stop up a head' with a right turn arrow sign. Once she reached the place they called the convergence point, there was a store right at its side that didn't impede traffic.

If Starbucks was in this world, there'd be a lawsuit by now. The building was a complete knock off. Brown bricks, accented by simple black stone. The logo was that of a green circle with a shooting star inside. Big bold letters made of white rock were placed at the face of the store, saying 'STAR CUBS COFFEE'.

Raven licked her lips. Entering the store, the bell chimed as she smelt the aroma of coffee, though it was slightly artificial. The interior was also familiar, with brown walls, baskets at the sides, and shelves that had wooden cups with the Star Cubs branding.

But, time was of the essence. The lineup already had 3 people in it, and more people were about to enter.

After quickly joining the queue, she tapped her feet impatiently at the customers who were ordering. They took their sweet ass time to order their drinks. Who doesn't know what to order already? Everyone had their favourite orders. She saw an old lady was even squinting at the menu. Like bitch, just pick any.

After waiting for about 5 more minutes, it was finally her turn to order. How did 3 people in front of her translate to 5 minutes of waiting? It didn't make sense.

"Hi, welcome to Star Cubs. What can I get for you?" the girl behind the counter said.

Finally, it was here. Raven cleared her throat. "Can I get a Caramel Crunch Frappucino with 2 pumps of hazelnut syrup, 3 pumps of brown sugar cinnamon syrup, 2 pumps vanilla syrup, and extra whip cream. Also, substitute dairy milk to oat milk please."

"I'm sorry, ma'am but our frappucinos are still not available. It will be available at the 3rd moon of next Ter.."

"So you're holding off on releasing the product? That's ridiculous."

"Ma'am, it's still currently in the testing phase. If you wish, I can direct you to a location that may have the frappucino product."

Test markets? How very odd, but it was obvious whose company this was. However, the need for her morning coffee was of utmost importance! And who knew, maybe the Master would even show up herself.

"How about a cold brew, with 3 pumps of caramel syrup, 2 pumps of cinnamon dolce sauce, and extra caramel drizzle?" Raven asked.

"Ma'am, I'll be honest with you... I don't know what you're talking about. Can you look at the menu and point out which one is a cinnamon dolce sauce?"

"Ridiculous! You're supposed to be a Star Cubs employee, and you don't know your own items!" Raven stomped her foot. "Call the manager right now. I demand to see the manager."

"Ma'am, even the manager won't have an answer to the item that you want."

Whispers behind her started up. Onlookers murmured to each other about a crazy lady in a black dress, not that she cared though. This was part of the plan.

A man exited the backroom and then looked at Raven. "Ma'am, is there anything I could help you with?"

"Yeah, actually, why doesn't your employee have proper training? She doesn't even know what a cinnamon dolce sauce is," Raven said.

"Ma'am, we do not have that kind of sauce here. We do have a mocha sauce if you'd prefer."

"But you should have the cinnamon dolce sauce. Aren't you Starbu—Star Cubs?" Raven almost slipped on that one.

"Yes, ma'am," the man said. "However, we are still a new start-up business. Maybe come back in the future and we might have that sauce for you."

"Who's your manager?"

"I am the manager."

"Managers have managers. Call up your manager now."

The door's bell chimed again, and without turning around, Raven already knew who had entered. Before she could even turn around, the snap of her fingers rang out in her ears. The next thing she knew, she was in a different place.

The Master, Alex Grace, sat on a throne covered in fur. Shivers ran down her spine. Raven stood in front of her, watching those eyes that seemed to be as deep as the void. She looked the same as before, unageing, with the same business dress and pencil skirt from 7 years ago.

"Bitch, the fuck are you doing to my store?" Alex asked.

"What?" Raven shrugged. "I wanted my frappucino."

"And being a Karen? I would've slapped you so hard right then if you weren't so useful," Alex said.

The words the Master just said were reserved for people who were still under her. If she wasn't, then she'd probably have met a worse fate by now... there it was again.

The slight melancholy that Raven always felt when she was with Alex. Knowing that she couldn't ever reach the place the Master was going to had always bothered her. Raven knelt down in front of Alex. "I greet the Master once again. I'm glad to see you're well and healthy."

"Whatever. So, how was Earth? How much time has passed?" Alex asked.

Still kneeling, she answered, "Well, for one, 7 years passed. I don't know how much time passed in this world, though."

"Around 50ish days, give or day."

"That is quite a time dilation," Raven said.

"What happened to the Path back on Earth?"

"Corrupt and now only cares about profit."

"Good. Once we're back, we'll clean house," Alex said.

Raven smiled.

"I got one job for you now." Alex materialized a sheet of paper and floated it to Raven. "Sign it. New world, new contract."

Raven took the floating paper and read the terms and conditions. The only things she really cared about were the work hours and benefits. 5 gold salary, check. Hazard pay, dental, and insurance, check, not that it matters. Work hours... 10 hours per day. That was unacceptable. That was two more hours than she signed up for back on Earth.

A smirk turned up from her lips. Although Raven wouldn't ever reach the Master, there were still things she could do to lessen the gap a bit.

"I request my offer to be changed. I only work 9 to 5."

"Bitch," Alex said, but there was no emotion in those words. A snap of her finger, and the ink on the paper changed from 10 hours to 8, also adding the actual time of day of 9 to 5.

"Better," Raven said.

"Well, I got one thing on you," Alex said. "Since you haven't worked for me for 7 years, you're going to do mandatory overtime."

"Yes, boss, I'll obey." Raven clenched her fist. She shouldn't have told the Master that leverage against her. Should've kept her mouth shut.

"I have 7 other executive employees that need power levelling. You probably already know about this backwater dump's Spirit Sign, right?"

"Right."

"Turns out, Grey said a bunch of kids just went to a labyrinth because they gain attribute points just by being put into danger. So your job is to power level my C-suite. Go to the nearest dungeon called Loomlight Grand Labyrinth and take them with you."

"Got it. I accept the mandatory overtime, boss," Raven bowed her head. She had no choice anyway, and she was already raring to go to work for the Master once again. The 9 to 5 can wait a little bit longer.

Looking back up at the Master, her smile had grown sharp, piercing through her skull. There was something in those eyes that she couldn't fathom. Her plans were already set in motion, and citizens around her had started to prosper.

Roads, after all, were one of the keys to a prosperous nation. They solved logistics issues, which would allow further areas to receive supplies. Jobs would also be created for their maintenance, upkeep, and extension.

The endgame of Master's plan could only be seen by Her. Not anyone else. All Raven had to do was work 9 to 5.

"Get back to work, and make my C-Suite not embarrassing," Alex said, still smiling sharply.

"As you command. I'll train them so they don't shame the Path," Raven stood up from her kneel.

"You goddamn better."

Truly a pity for the children she was summoned with. If the boss allows her to fetch them, she would, but that was a fat chance, but a little trouble never hurt. Raven smiled.