“Sky Curtain Academy”… don’t tell me it’s that building on top of the mountain over there?”
Standing at the edge of the forest, we looked out toward the distant city and the towering peak in its center.
And of course, on the very top of that mountain was a building that spat in the face of physics, floating in midair.
As for why we were at the edge of the forest—obviously because we all rushed too fast and ended up charging straight into it.
But with our nifty dodging skills, we just picked a rough direction and cut straight through. We kept sprinting until we burst out of the trees, saw our target city, and finally stopped.
“Yeah, that should be it. The city’s called Po Tian City.”
Ms. Mary took out a notebook, checked it, and said.
You’re the teacher. There are only a few things you need to handle—can’t you at least remember the names?
“Po Tian City, huh? That’s a pretty straightforward name… but what’s up with that mountain? What’s with that structure floating in midair? And those rocks hovering around the mountain? Are they just completely ignoring the laws of physics?”
“Fir, don’t tell me you’ve never played any cultivation games. Tons of mountains in those games have rocks floating around in totally unscientific ways.”
“Mm… when you put it like that, you’re right. I see… but they actually built an academy on the floating rocks? That’s just not scientific.”
“…How long are you gonna stay hung up on science?”
“You’re a scientist who doesn’t care about science, seriously… Well, whatever.”
I glanced at the city again from afar, then asked,
“So what are we doing here? Just sightseeing?”
“More or less, in theory. Touring, sparring, and learning from each other.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa—sparring means fighting, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Now that’s something to look forward to!”
“You really… But you do realize we were supposed to arrive in about a week and a half, so…”
“So no one’s coming to meet us right now?”
“That’s pretty much it.”
“Oh, come on… Fine. Bai Yueguang, Taishi Xi, and Hei Luoli—you guys should be more familiar with the Eastern Continent, right? Know any good places around here we can walk around?”
“Never been here.”
“No idea.”
“Shopping?”
The three answers couldn’t have been more different.
“All right, anyway, just standing here as a group isn’t helping. Let’s head into the city already.”
Seeing how things were going, I could only say that helplessly.
“Yeah, and to save on travel expenses, I’ll just head straight to the academy and talk to their principal.”
“Didn’t expect you to actually act like a teacher at times like this, Ms. Mary.”
“Duh. The remaining travel funds are my salary for this month.”
“…”
Give me my moment of being moved back.
Kidding. Like I’d actually be moved by her.
———————————————Loading Map
Po Tian City—————————————————
Sure enough, as soon as we approached the city, we saw a familiar kind of city wall.
Not familiar because I’d been here before, but because I’d seen this kind of wall—with clear Eastern architectural features—in countless games.
And in real life too. I mean, I’m Asian. But since my memories have both Japanese and Chinese mixed in, I honestly have no idea which is which anymore.
To be honest, Po Tian City made it hard to tell if this place leaned more “Eastern” or “Oriental.” Inside the city, some people were selling sushi, but there were also plenty of vendors selling ofuda-style charms and tanghulu.
So yeah, looks like the line between “Eastern” and “Oriental” isn’t very clear on the Eastern Continent. Probably because trade is super frequent?
After all, between East and West Continents you’ve got mountains and seas in the way, but here in the East it’s not like my old world where there was an ocean between Japan and China.
“This really brings back memories.”
Bai Yueguang looked around and said.
“How many months has it been since you came back?”
“Bai just wants to eat sushi again, right?”
Hei Luoli laughed beside her.
“Tch, like you don’t want any.”
“I just want dango.”
“In the end, it’s all food!”
Fine, you two keep agonizing over what to eat. I, on the other hand, want to see if there are any new skill books around here. Stocking up on Eastern skills can only help.
But…
When I turned around, the only ones left were Aliyah, Pure White, Oyado, and Loyce.
The others?
Taishi Xi and Ms. Mary had gone to the academy, and Bai Yueguang and Hei Luoli… who knows where they ran off to flirt. Damn it.
“Anyway, I’m gonna go check out what books they’ve got. You guys can just—”
“Hah? Trying to sneak off?”
Aliyah stood with her hands on her hips.
“Girls can’t go shopping without a guy to protect them. Don’t even think about running.”
“…”
It’s not like I’m only following them because of the sword in her hand or anything!
