After passing through the illusory door, we appeared in a simple meadow in which there was no one around. Alfred recited the spell [Space Travel] again, and another illusory door appeared in front of him.
"To reach the Esphire kingdom, it takes 10 trips, and since my mana pool is limited, we must make short trips to find out how much mana I have left."
"I understand. By the way, as for the payment..."
Since that topic wasn't discussed at home, I asked him directly.
'He's someone I trust, so he won't swindle me out of the money.'
"I don't need any payment; I owe your parents a lot. Even if I did this work hundreds of times for them for free, I would still be in debt. So, don't think too much about it. If you think 50 trips are not enough, it can be more if you wish."
"No, that is more than enough. Thank you"
'Actually, if my parents' information is correct, I will only need 20 trips to fulfill the condition. I got the 60% discount, so the original 50 trips will be reduced by 30.'
"I see. Let's go through the gate."
"Yes"
And so, the cycle of going through the illusory doors was repeated several more times. Each time Alfred felt his mana was at its limit, he took an MP potion and recovered completely, starting the cycle again.
"Well, we arrived." Alfred said
Emir: "????"
In every direction I look, there are only plants and trees. There is no sign of human civilization nearby.
"As you know, the [Travelers] need to be affiliated with a kingdom to be able to travel between cities to avoid the consequences they could bring in times of war. So, each city possesses a large-scale magical object that prevents an unaffiliated traveler from being able to approach the city."
At the same time he spoke, he began to walk in a certain direction, and I followed him.
"I am not affiliated with any kingdom, so I am in the last option. But this is not bad at all. Someone affiliated will only be able to travel within that kingdom, and their ability won't even be able to activate in other places, even if those places have no owner or human life nearby!"
Practically, upon leaving the kingdom, they cease to be a [Traveler] and become normal people without any support.
"I went out of my way to get this class. Being limited like that is no different from having my limbs cut off. That's why I will never be affiliated with a kingdom. And to me, this is the best option of all. By not being affiliated, you can travel anywhere in the world with the only exception of..."
Pointing with his right arm off into the distance, he said, "The cities."
In the direction he is pointing, there are huge concrete walls with a long line of people and carriages on the outside.
"Silver Thread City, capital of the Esphire kingdom," I said.
"Yes, even though it is a few hours' walk away, only an unaffiliated traveler will be able to travel to as many places as he knows."
The Castemira kingdom is located to the east of the Drial Cenit kingdom. Far to the north of them is the Lucia River. Its derivative rivers are the ones that pass through both kingdoms, forming the center of the discussion.
And to the south of both kingdoms lies the Esphire kingdom, which, according to my parents, makes battle clothes with empty slots and is where we are currently.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Where else do you want to travel to?"
"To the capital of the Drial Cenit kingdom."
"Tianri City, huh? We can travel there, but the distance will be even farther than what we currently have with Silver Thread City. Do you still want to go?"
"Yes."
"Well, then, let's move away a bit. My [Space Travel] doesn't activate when we're that close to a city."
'Even when there are tens of kilometers separating us from the city, it still won't be able to cast the illusionary gate, huh? Good to know; it will come in handy when I get the [Traveler] class.'
After moving away, we traveled through 12 illusionary gates before reaching the top of a ravine. Just by looking down, I can tell we are several kilometers above sea level.
"I don't know if you will be able to see it, but look," He pointed with his hand, "do you see that spot over there? That's Tianri City."
'I forced my vision as much as I could, but only managed to see something similar to a rock about the size of a thumb.'
"No, we are too far away."
"Since they started the conflict with the Castemira kingdom, they widened the field that prevents unaffiliated people like me from traveling. This is as close as we can get."
"It's okay. I understand; don't worry."
The next destination was Danes City in the Castemira kingdom. Just like with the previous city, our current distance is still such that we can only vaguely see it from afar.
"It's weird that you want to see this city. There's nothing special about it."
"Well, actually, an acquaintance told me about it, hence my curiosity."
'Nothing special? Of course, there is something special!'
There lives an old man named Gerald. And he is nothing more and nothing less than a refiner of magical items capable of creating storage rings. If it weren't for the fact that Alessia is forbidden to leave the house, I'd send her out to buy some immediately!
Unfortunately, the old man only sells them to beautiful young women. Men are forbidden.
"Shall we continue?"
"Yes, the last place will be the city of Denir."
"Are you sure? We will only need two trips to get there, and the promised 50 trips have not yet been fulfilled."
Indeed, we have not completed the 50 trips, but at the time of the 20th trip, I felt something strange in my body. My father's story narrates a person who always desired the [Traveler] class and was very sensitive to the changes in his body.
That's why I was very attentive. And I really felt that I fulfilled a condition at that time, although it was very vague.
"Yes, I am sure."
"Fine, as you wish."
Although Alfred also loves this class very fervently, he doesn't seem to be the traveler in my parents' story.
"I created the gate as close as possible to the dirt road that connects to the city. Since you have the same luck as them, I'm sure you'll find someone to take you to the city."
"Hahaha... Yes..."
Of course, the answer is no, but I lied simply out of politeness.
"Then I bid you farewell, and I hope you achieve your task."
Apparently, he was able to deduce what my objective was. After all, it was pretty obvious with so many trips without even entering any of the cities.
"Ah, right, before I go. Here you have" He handed me a lock of white hair and an address, then he said, "If you ever need me, you can send me a carrier pigeon."
"Thank you; I will."
Alfred created an illusory door and disappeared through it.
Seeing the hair and address on my hand made me seriously think about buying myself a personal carrier pigeon. My parents have one, and it lives like any wild bird in the forest. But they can call it when they need it with a special whistle.
If I buy one, it will be able to remember people and then go out of its way to deliver letters personally. In the same way, my parents' pigeon went out of its way and delivered the letter to Alfred. With this, I can save a lot of time.
With such thoughts, I started jogging down the dirt road. Since the distance to Denir City is a few hours on foot, I hope jogging will decrease that time a bit...
Emir: "..."
I thought of something.
'[Restore status points]'
[Agility=68]
I quickly began to feel the change. My speed increased several times, and thanks to not unbalancing my status points so much, I can think properly.
'Oh, a butterfly.'
I quickly ran toward it.
'Oh, a bird.'
I quickly ran toward it.
'Oh, a monster.'
I quickly ran away from it.
***
Emir: "..."
'I did not unbalance my status, SURE! I am thinking correctly, SURE! Clearly, the imbalance changed my personality! Ah. Luckily, this curious clone still retains some rationality and returned the points to normal when he approached the Denir city walls. Otherwise, I'd spend every day running to death!'
Unknowingly, I discovered a new personality born from a status imbalance. This time, I exceeded my points dedicated to [Agility]. The curious clone, as I call it, will chase every living thing that moves, the faster the better. Plus, he doesn't even take breaks. So, it's very likely he'll die from dehydration.
The only good thing about him is that he knows how to obey orders, and as I wanted to get to the city fast, he did it well. The only drawback is that, along the way, he will follow anyone who moves and catches his attention. He will also run from every dangerous being, as he did with the monster.
'The name curious clone fits him perfectly.'