The calm recesses of one's own mind was a fascinating place to be. Ryker found himself lost within his own not so infrequently. Of course, he was also keenly aware that this fascination was all his own. Everyone around him seemed to be enraptured by all that was fresh, new and stimulating. But, he found that resting peacefully on a soft stretch of grass like this was just as valid as a pastime as compared to anything else.

The slowly creeping lights of dawn hung over the horizon, rolling over the hills with beautiful shades of red, yellow and orange. Ryker laid atop one of these hills, his hands clasped behind his head and a dried weed hanging from his mouth. He crossed one leg over another with his eyes closed. It seemed that even with such a gorgeous sight before him, he found his own mind to be far more interesting.

Anyone who could be within Ryker's mind, though, might be able to understand why that was. He seemed to jump from profound thoughts of life to ruminations on love to the artistic conceptions of poetry. But then a vivid image of a voluptuous pair of breasts would imprint itself into his mind. The projection would be so clear that Ryker would almost think they were right before him, causing a sly grin to spread across his face.

"Ah!"

A bullet of water fell on Ryker from above, drenching his clothing and hair through.

"Was that necessary?"

Ryker didn't need to look to know who had assaulted him. He had already begun to complain even as he wiped his face with a hand. As for the lament he felt toward the forgotten breasts he was daydreaming of, he could only bury it in his heart.

"Hmph, you know what you were smirking about."

A confident and dauntless voice responded to Ryker. It held the light inflections of a young lady but the valiant air of a robust middle-aged housewife waving around a rolling pin.

"I'm innocent of all charges," Ryker finished wiping his face and began defending himself.

Was the treasured hub of a man's own mind no longer sacred? If he couldn't even protect this much, he could forget about his thoughts of world conquest and dreams of grandeur.

Ryker looked up to find a gorgeous young lady standing before him. Her hands were placed on her slender hips, pulling at and tightening the top portion of her dress. The action extenuated her ample assets to a spine-tingling degree. It was just unfortunate that her modest style hid everything but an enticing silhouette.

The young lady had a head of white hair done up in an elaborate arrangement and reflective blue irises. Even beneath the dim reds of the rising sun, her eyes shone like two sapphire gems, sparkling with a mystical light. She was quite tall for a woman, standing at over six feet. But, she had delicately carved features and an adorable button nose that seemed reserved for petite girls.

Above the shoulder of the young lady was a floating seahorse. Its lower half was covered by a blue cloud while its upper body was layered in reflective blue scales. It was quite a beautiful creature if one got over the fact it could drench you like it had Ryker.

If others had seen the casual use of such a Spirit Beast, they would be shocked. It wouldn't just be about using a creature meant for battle in such a superficial way, but rather the value of the creature itself.

This floating seahorse, despite its adorable appearance and seemingly harmless attack, was known as the Blue Cloud Seaking. It was a rare Dual Type Variant of the Water and Spirit Types. A person might not ever see such a Variant Spirit Beast in their lifetimes, let alone seeing it used in such a blasé manner.

"Don't give me that."

The young lady didn't buy Ryker's story. With her hands on her hips, her eyes locked onto the young man like a hawk observing his every reaction.

Ryker stood, rubbing his nose. He couldn't say that he wasn't used to this feeling. But, compared to the other things he had to deal with daily, he found these moments to be quite soothing.

With a bright smile, he took a step forward and swept the young lady's slender waist into his arm.

"You're wet!"

The young lady struggled, placing a strong palm on Ryker's broad chest and pushing him back. One would have expected such a young lady, regardless of her taller than average height, to fail in this endeavor. But, Ryker was quite easily pushed away. His larger stature and size seemed not to matter much at all.

Ryker rubbed his chest, feeling wronged.

"Is this how you treat your fiancé?"

"Oh, so you remember that I'm your fiancée now? Good. Come with me, then. We have some errands to run."

"Come on, Jaana. You can't still be mad about that, right? I already told you that I was framed! I really am innocent!"

Jaana's delicate brows shot up, her button nose wrinkling. She always had the habit of doing this when she lost her temper.

"You think I'll believe that you slipped and stumbled into that brothel under the 'schemes' of some criminal mastermind?"

"Yes." Ryker nodded with a stern expression.

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"And you also expect me to believe that you just so happened to stumble again into napping on that prostitute's breasts?"

"Yes." Ryker nodded in affirmation again.

"And, finally, you want me to accept that this criminal mastermind also set you up so that I would find out about this as well?"

"Yes. Yes. You got it –!"

Another bullet of water hit Ryker's face. But, this time, it stung much more than the first time around. If he didn't know better, he would have thought that he received a tight slap.

"I surrender!"

Ryker put his hands up, spitting water from his mouth and blinking furiously in hopes of clearing his vision.

"Good. Be obedient and come with me."

Ryker sighed and shook his head. He lowered his hands and wiped what remained of the water bullet from his face.

"… I don't know why you insist on marrying me, anyway." He mumbled beneath his breath.

His words were only meant for himself. He hardly breathed air into them. Yet, Jaana paused her half spin and glared at him. This glare, however, seemed much different from the others. It didn't carry the same playfulness and was even infused with a tinge of red.

The crimson flooded to her button nose, making it seem as though she might burst out into tears at any moment.

"Don't you ever say that again. Or this time, I really won't forgive you."

Ryker was stunned, not knowing how to deal with this situation. It was like Jaana had become a ticking timebomb that might implode with the slightest touch.

He panicked, jumping forward and grabbing her hands.

"Yes, yes. My fiancée is always right. No, my lovely future wife is always right."

Ryker nodded like a pecking chicken.

"Come, come. I'll take you to shop till your feet can't stand walking anymore."

Ryker grabbed onto Jaana's small hand, pulling it along as he strolled confidently down the rolling hills.

Jaana let him pull her along. Her free hand stealthily wiped at the tears that had almost fallen.

She looked toward Ryker's back with a complicated expression. Well, it seemed like she was looking toward Ryker's back, but what she was really looking toward was a small mirror that floated after him silently. It was so inconspicuous that it was easy to miss. Maybe even Ryker himself forgot about it a lot of the time.

Though Jaana thought this, she knew it was impossible for Ryker to forget about it. That small mirror might have seemed tiny and insignificant, but to Ryker, it was a darkness that perpetually hung over his life.

Well, those were Jaana's thoughts, anyway. Ryker never really complained about it.

One would think that the reason Ryker mumbled those words just now was because he felt inferior to his fiancée. But, this wasn't the case at all. He always told Jaana that he wanted to rule over the world. How could an Emperor of All not have a harem filled with women?

It was oddly because of this that Jaana was unwittingly drawn to Ryker. A man who could be so flippant with women yet push away a beauty like her was quite unique, don't you think? Didn't this mean that she held a special place in his heart and couldn't be treated like the others?

This thought made Jaana feel like she was walking on air. For a while, she forgot about that damned mirror and her almost shed tears. She smiled a gorgeous smile that shone brighter than the looming sun over the horizon. In all her daydreaming, she didn't manage to recollect herself until a bustling city appeared ahead of them.

Jaana's happier mood brought a smile to Ryker's face. When she was like this, she reminded him of that little girl that used to always cling to him in their youth. Maybe she was the only one that could make his heart soften.

Ryker took a glance at the long waiting line to enter the city. It was so early in the morning, yet everyone was already so eager.

Treasure City was an attraction that brought in people of all races and creeds. Its name, though, was purposely benign and bland. This was because Treasure City wasn't the only of its kind, it was rather a network of Cities.

Among Treasure Cities, though, this one was ranked high. It was an Eighth Circle Treasure City, making it among the cream of the crop. The people eagerly waiting here to enter the city, let alone appearing so early, had camped out at their locations for weeks, sometimes even months.

When one laid eyes on the city, it became easier to understand why it warranted such fanfare.

The walls were tall, almost impossibly so. From the distance, they seemed to form their own mountain range, looming over everything.

Likewise, its gates were equally as grandiose. Carved of a single piece of bronze, they depicted all sorts of fanciful scenes. When the gates were closed, they fueled the imaginations of those who gazed upon them. But, when they were open, they led into a whole new world.

What was so magical about this Eighth Circle level Treasure City was the fact its inner streets couldn't be considered streets at all. In fact, the entire interior of the city was taken up by a massive bronze tree. It was the branches and canopies of this bronze tree that formed the 'streets' of this city and housed its various buildings.

This tree was a Mystery Type Spirit Beast known as the Treasure Tree. Thanks to this, it could act as both the transportation system and policing system of the city all on its own.

Mystery Type creatures weren't technically Spirit Beasts, meaning that they weren't truly alive – at least not initially. Rather, they were treasures forged by the hands of Mystery Crafters. When these treasures reached a certain level in their evolution, it was possible for them to gain sentience. This possibility of life and the fact Tamers could contract these treasures as well after their Awakening resulted in the community of Spirit Beast Tamers coining them as Spirit Beasts anyway.

This was all to say that this Treasure City represented the peak of society. So, one could imagine how those waiting in line felt when they saw two youths, walking hand-in-hand, bypassing them all without a thought of waiting for their turn.

The young woman had beauty that captured their hearts. But, the man she held onto with a childish innocence seemed perfectly matched to her.

He stood at almost two meters tall, standing more than half a head taller than even the beauty by his side. His shoulders were broad and seemed capable of holding the world. He had a pair of blue eyes that matched the young beauty by his side, but his flowing black hair was in sharp contrast to her own delicately arranged white hair.

His features held a maturing boyish charm. His brows were as sharp as his jaw, accentuating the confident smile on his face.

One was free and unrestrained. The other was neat and meticulous. It was impossible to look at them and not think them to be young nobles of prestigious Clans.

When the stoic guards at the front of the city saw this pair, they stood a bit straighter and their salutes became more refined.

"Greetings, Young Master Valorian, Young Miss Farlen. Please enter."

"Ryker?"

Jaana looked toward Ryker with a hint of confusion on her face. He seemed to have frozen in place.

"Young Master Valorian?"

"Ryker?"

"Ryker?!"

…

Ryker shot up, his eyes flashing open. Looking at his dilapidated surroundings and comparing it to the memories of luxury in his mind, he didn't even have the strength to reveal a bitter smile. He had gotten too used to having these vivid dreams of memories that felt like a previous life.

This particular dream, though, he had the most frequently. And, even now, he wasn't sure why. There wasn't anything particularly special about that day, and the matters that landed him in this place didn't happen until months later. Yet, it was always this one.