The Hero lightly tapped the ground with her toes, soaring as if relieved of gravity's restraints, swiftly gliding across the sky and landing silently dozens of meters away.
The maiden's posture flickered in and out of view in the air, each time she paused, a hazy breeze enveloped her, cloaking her in concealment.
She did not relax her vigilance due to the magic blessing upon her, always mindful of her surroundings as she advanced.
"The advantage of the Hidden Wind is its comprehensiveness and persistence. Although its effects in all aspects are only equivalent to Intermediate Magic, as long as it is not broken, it will last long enough to carry you through the urban area to the center."
Her brother's voice echoed in her mind as she recalled the explanation of the beneficial magic, the Hero landed in the shadow of a ruin.
"However, if you are unlucky, it is still possible to be exposed. When encountering such an enemy, you initiate the Sealing Barrier. Although the Barrier can only fix the surrounding area, the movements inside will be completely sealed, and neither sound nor light will be detected by the outside."
She stealthily peeked out from the wall to ensure there were no abnormalities ahead.
From an ordinary perspective, the area before her seemed full of anomalies, with ancient ruins embedded with modern clock towers, and new stone roads lined with weathered and decayed buildings, leaving only their frames. Newest update provided by NoveI[F]ire.net
The old and new Royal Cities had been violently pieced together by Space Replacement Magic, and everything before her felt like a chaotic abstract painting, filled with scenes that defied logic.
The Hero could only do her best to ignore those distortions, cautiously advancing.
In this completely unfamiliar and extremely harsh environment, her perception was not as unhindered as usual.
The chaotic magic element and the space turbulence scrambled her senses, and every time she tried to extend her perceptive tendrils, a hard-to-describe discomfort surged in her mind, like someone who loved sweets being presented with a cake sprinkled with chili powder.
Not to mention smelling it or taking a bite, just looking at it was a kind of visual assault.
Fortunately, although the environment here was extremely harsh, the path to the city's center was still relatively clear.
Most of the buildings had already collapsed, so simply flying up slightly could provide a clear view of the distant Sanctuary standing tall.
However, such a smooth journey did not last long.
[Luck did not meet the standard, the Hero encountered——]
4.8. Knowledge Addict
10. Great Success/Great Failure
10. Great Success/Great Failure
The Hero moved unhurriedly through the chaotic ruins, undetected by anyone on her path.
Despite the apocalyptic scene in sight, where the original residents of the Capital were nearly all dead and survivors had long secluded themselves within shelters, traces of other life could still be captured on these desolate streets.
The Winged People, with their mottled wings, were the most conspicuous, their feathers a chaotic and dark hue, their bodies largely robust, and their faces shrouded in a sinister aura.
Winged People typically operated in small squads, rummaging through the ruins for supplies. Although not eroded by the malignant magic element, their actions seemed not fully adapted to the environment here. Yet, the vast wealth from the Capital and their hatred for humankind diluted that discomfort.
There's an inexhaustible bounty in half the capital's resources, even after a month.
By now, most of them were decked in gold and silver, without a sense of aesthetics, resembling greedy vultures or savage goblins, their eyes glinting as they hunted for traces of humankind.
Not only Winged People roamed the streets, but some people were also clad in black robes, their faces unseen, or dressed like mages, with expressions of insanity.
Unlike the Winged People, these individuals seemed uninterested in treasure and slaughter but purposefully searched for something, seen from afar gathering in specific areas.
But this did not imply they could communicate. These obvious noncompliant individuals and Winged People had mutual hostility, with the only commonality being their palpable malice towards any existence other than themselves, a sensation the Hero could distinctly feel.
The citizens transferred here mostly died quickly due to the violent environment changes, with even the corpses swiftly decomposed by the magic cloud into mere miasma, leaving carrion eaters like maggots homeless, so the city didn't reek of decay.
Although the miasma was deadly, compared to the Goblin Nest and Curse Temple, it wasn't as bad.
Even so, the Hero could still smell a thick scent of blood upon the Winged People and those humans.
She could not imagine how many innocent people would need to be slaughtered for her to feel such palpable malice just from a distant glance.
These people and the Black Gate were clearly well-prepared, having taken advantage of the chaos post-transfer to massacre many defenseless people.
They were akin to goblins... even more evil and vile than goblins.
Despite this, the Hero could not charge forward recklessly to punch and kill them like goblins.
"Brother is right, the seniors are no longer by my side..." the Hero murmured, hiding in the shadow.