Alex was waiting next to the new entrance of Alos for his party.
They'd finally built the barrier after weeks of preparation, surrounding the entire town to protect the people from monsters.
The barrier wasn't visible to the naked eye, but with enough focus—and a bit of mana—it could be seen.
Alex gazed, concentrating as he channeled mana to see the barrier again. Slowly, a concrete wall was revealed. There were towers on some sides of the wall, and it ran like a circle surrounding the town.
It had its weaknesses and holes, which some monsters took advantage of, but thankfully the Guild protected it.
Alos was safe enough, that's what the country thought, so they didn't care much.
The political state of this country was obviously not good, and it triggered Alex at times due to how many people died because of their carelessness.
Finally, his party arrived.
Ros and Lara came waving to Alex as he was waiting patiently, observing the wall.
He turned his head around and noticed them.
Lara, especially, was excited. She never got the chance to see a developed city before.
On the other hand, Alex was more worried as he thought about how the tournament would go. It wasn't gonna be like the tournaments he had seen before on TV.
After greeting each other, Alex asked, "So, where is the city? And how are we gonna get there?"
Ros motioned for Alex and Lara to follow. Together, they stepped beyond the protective barrier of Alos, leaving the town behind.
After a moment of walking, they'd reached a place close to the wall where many wooden carriages stood.
The road was clearly carved once, but time hadn't been kind to it. Cracks and loose stones now littered its surface.
Lara crossed her arms, frowning at the carriages. "This is the Capital route? I expected... something more."
The group got in the carriage as Ros talked to an old man with a weathered figure. It was the person leading the carriage to the Capital, Epilune.
"Where would you like to go?" The old man asked.
"Epilune. As soon as possible." Ros answered as he held his tone.
The old man slightly frowned, then sighed as he warned, "The Capital is dealing with a lot of unrest right now. Please be aware."
Ros' brows furrowed, as he hadn't heard about the mass protests in Epilune against the Princess and Royal Family.
Without saying much more, Ros got into the carriage with his party and the old man took a seat as he whipped the horses to start moving.
Hours had passed since the carriage started moving. Lara was curious on how the land outside looked, so she moved and got closer to the window.
Outside, there were large mountains in the distance. The land they were in was especially mountainous. "Whoa.." Lara said, amazed at what she saw.
There were small lakes, and forests seen in the distance.
"How long is it going to take?" Alex asked the old man through a small rectangular window in the carriage.
"Three weeks if we get lucky. We might meet monsters or thieves along the way."
Hearing this, Lara turned her head, dumbfounded. She was thinking she'd make it there in a day.
Ros, on the other hand, expected all of this. He stayed quiet as he observed through the window.
Alex was a bit worried about how long it was gonna take, knowing it won't be as easy as he'd thought. They were going to have to camp at times, and other times defend themselves from enemies.
He was excited for the tournament. But, he also knew that something felt off.
He sighed as he leaned backwards and sat down again, closing his eyes as he readied himself to nap.
'I hope it goes well,' he thought.
In Epilune, the Princess was still being met with constant harassment and discrimination.
Aurora stood in a large hallway on a large carpet that ran through the hall.
Next to her was her personal maid, Melina.
Aurora moved her head left and right to check if there was anyone, before turning to her trustworthy maid as she finally spoke,
"So? What is their problem with me?"
Melina sighed, her eyes showing hints of sadness, "They think your highness instigated the massacre in Elanor."
Elanor was a city far to the west of Aeloria. The people rioted against the Royal Family, claiming they aren't the rightful rulers of Aeloria. However, the person they claimed to be the ruler of Aeloria, the Aeon of Wisdom, was nowhere to be seen or heard.
These riots turned into large protests, and slowly but surely, the people started going with violence.
"What?! I wasn't even present at that time!" The Princess snapped.
The King, in response, chose to go with violence as well.
However, the blame fell to his only daughter. It wasn't clear how they'd put the blame on his child, but alas they did, and now the riots have spread across the country against her.
The maid turned to face the window, seeing the large crowds roaring in front of the castle gates. "That's how they are. People are gullible, Your Highness."
Aurora's eyes narrowed as she muttered, "What of the King? Has he revealed he was the one that did it yet?"
"No. He also has been quiet ever since the protests took place here."
Aurora's eyes narrowed more, showing she was obviously annoyed but there was a hint of grief in her jade eyes, "At this rate, it will escalate into something far larger. With the growing tensions outside and inside this country as well… Is he going to stay mute forever?"
"Princess.." Melina spoke.
"I told you, you're able to call me Aurora." she said, a slight smile crept on her face.
Aurora wasn't fond of the royalty manners. She exercised them and trained well, but overall she never really liked it. She only did it for show.
Aurora started walking down the hallway on the large carpet, as Melina closely followed behind. They chose to simply ignore the people, for now at least.
"How are the preparations going?" Aurora asked Melina as they were walking.
"Preparations?" Melina replied, confused. She paused for a second as she remembered, "Oh! Right. So far, nothing bad. However, it seems the number of contestants is surprisingly very low."
Aurora chuckled, "It barely is surprising. How much?"
Melina frowned for a second, before answering, "Two people."
Silence hung over the air for a few seconds before Aurora stopped on her feet suddenly.
"You're serious?"
Melina nodded in a slow motion.
"I apologize. If you need, we could personally ask one of the Awakened Generals—" Melina suggested, before Aurora cut her off.
"No need. I would rather personally see their capabilities instead of merely hearing about it." She responded as she held a firm tone. Melina only frowned.
Awakened Generals stood high in the social hierarchy of Aeloria. Not only recognized for their sheer strength and brutality, but they were also known for their valor and strong command over their soldiers.
The two kept walking silently on the red carpet before finally reaching up to a door built in fancy wood.
"In any case, I'll have to go speak with my father regarding this matter. You can take the day off." Aurora confirmed before she reached up to the door handle and slid open the door.
It wasn't a normal room. It was the King's. Aurora chose to finally speak up about the ongoing protests.