The sun rose on the horizon, painting the city with its orange light.
The land was filled with old small houses which made it look almost like a wasteland.
The narrow lanes weaved and curved between the shattered houses.
Rusty doors, broken windows, damaged roofs, and almost no soul in sight.
It was Sheron City, no—nothing less than a battlefield.
A city right next to the border that separated the Human continent and the Elven continent.
The humans and the elves were always at war with each other.
There were wars constantly taking place on the border almost every day.
The people who lived here were always at risk of losing their lives, because no one knew when the elves might manage to cross the border and attack this place.
In the empty streets there was only one store that was somewhat crowded.
"Umm… these fried dumplings taste like heaven."
The words barely came out of my mouth as I chewed a handful of fried dumplings at the same time.
"Hey brat, drink some water, will ya? Do you want to choke to death?"
The middle-aged man beside me handed me a glass of water as he said that.
"Ohh yah, thanks."
It took me a whole day to arrive here.
My heart even skipped a beat when I saw the condition of the city. I already knew about the condition of this place—because yeah, I am the author—but the city looked way worse than what I wrote in the novel.
"Hey, can I get some more?"
The only thing I had been doing since I got here was eating these fried dumplings.
These were my favorite food in my previous life. I was too obsessed with them.
The only problem was that they were too expensive for me to afford. I could only buy them on special occasions.
That's why I decided to add these in my novel as well.
I made them cheap as hell.
People here only ate fried dumplings as a last resort. They didn't even like the taste.
Making it the cheapest food available.
The nobles felt disgusted even by uttering its name.
So now, I could eat them as much as I wanted.
Stepping out of the store, I started walking along the path.
Then after walking a few steps, I stopped when a red mountain came into my sight.
"There it is."
The Mountain of Aurora in the distance.
Its peak cut through the clouds, reaching the endless horizon.
Step
Step
"Hey, don't let anyone go without the ID."
There was a huge entry gate a few hundred meters from the mountain, and a line with a few people in front of the gate where the guards were checking IDs before letting anyone in.
The Mountain of Aurora was an awfully dangerous place where you had the risk of losing your life every moment.
As a result, only high-ranking hunters could enter. And if I tried to enter with a first-year ID, I would definitely get laughed at and be kicked out.
But I had a plan for that as well.
I quickly took out another card that kind of looked like a hunter ID. It was a fake one.
I bought it from a toy shop on my way here.
Am I not smart?
I took out a picture of mine and pasted it on the card.
Now it looked like a hunter ID, but it was easy to catch.
"Now, let's wish for the best."
I made my way toward the checkpost where two muscular hunters were glaring at me.
"Oi, this place is not for kids."
Not saying anything, I just handed them the card.
"Huh?"
One of the guys took it and carefully examined it.
Shit, it's over for me.
The guy then looked at me.
"Is this really your card?" he asked.
I just nodded at him.
Then suddenly both of them began to laugh.
"Ahahah-haha."
"Kid, you think we are fools?"
Shit, I fucked up…
"You thought you could fool us with a to—"
BEEPBEEP
BEEPBEEP
Suddenly many sirens were heard from every direction.
The two of them looked tense.
"Oh shit… there's a fight at the border again."
"We need to go right now," the other guard looked at the first and nodded.
Then he looked at me and said, "Kid, just run and go home, it's not safe here."
Both of them then ran toward the city.
Well, that's good for me. I almost got caught—no, I did get caught—but the timing of the sirens was great.
A grin appeared on my face as I sprinted toward the mountain.
The moon kissed the black sky.
In the dark night I walked beneath the colossal trees.
I entered the hill in the morning and yet I couldn't find the place.
In the original novel I only wrote the part when the main character reached that place, but I didn't write how he found it. It was just random.
The only thing I wrote was that it's on the west of the mountain.
And here I am, tired, finding my own shit.
I need to find it by today or else I will miss the ceremony.
I have searched every direction of the western region.
I can also hear the sounds of swords clashing and the screams of fighters dying on the battlefield. The battle on the border isn't over yet.
If I am not careful, I can also get in danger because the site of the war is close from here—