There was a ski resort that was officially opened but no one had gone because it was a reckless challenge! That was because the people that went could not find their way back to the hostel. Then they visited the Red Square.
“So this is the Red Square.”
“All sorts of people have been here.”
They had a brief moment of appreciation for the historical sites. Then they took a transcontinental train to Moscow and then China. Then after a short visit in China, then planned to return to Korea by plane.
“I bought some eggs…where’s the kimbap?”
Boiled eggs were an indispensable necessity for train travel. They went into an open place to sleep. They looked on past the frozen tundra and the surrounding area. Lee Hyun looked out the window and was at a loss for words.
He had met all sorts of people from Africa to Central Asia. The hot sun, the sand, the wind, and the waters of the East. European culture and the historical buildings were great. The sculptures and paintings gave out lifelike feelings. To think he only lived in a small town and that such a big world existed was a huge shock to Lee Hyun.
‘This spacious land.’
The Republic of Korea could not compare to a country like Russia. The real estate prices near cities shot up from the economic boom.
‘To think that there would be a place like this on earth…!’
Chapter 4: The Architecture of Ahreupen
After 23 days, Lee Hyun managed to return home from his trip to Europe.
There was no one home since his sister had went to the library early in the morning so he began his daily cleaning of the living room and other rooms.
After he was done, Lee Hyun was tired so he laid down on the floor.
‘I don’t understand why people bother to go travel if it’s so tiring. I would rather loiter around at home.’
It was incomprehensible why foreign tourists would come every holiday season. He would rather relax at home than suffer outside! His idea of a comfortable summer vacation was to eat rice for breakfast and lunch with sweet and sour pork and chicken respectively, then go to sleep with an electric fan plugged in.
“Oh…if only I could lie around all the time.”
He was a little dispirited. No matter how fit he was, there was no way he wouldn’t be tired after he went all around Central Asia, Europe, and Africa. But he could not rest when there was money to be made. The golden age of summer! He had to dedicate himself fully in order to catch up to the level and skills of his competitors. There was a significant amount of money he needed to earn for the household and he was not going to let there be a month where he ran a deficit.
“There may be some changes in the Continent of Versailles and in Morata…”
23 days in real life was a tremendous amount of time in Royal Road. Considering that the time differed at a rate of 4 times, a total of 92 days have passed in Royal Road. This was the part that he was worried about during his travels.
“I don’t know if Morata is fine or not. Surely it is as I left it and its not in ruins.”
Lee Hyun opened his luggage. Then he poured out his souvenirs. They were items to prove that he had been to Europe.
Cyan Bell Hotel
Hilton Hotel
Paris Hostel
He had taken the towels, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, and shampoo from the hostels! He also grabbed a couple blankets from the plane so the inside of his bags were overflowing. In another bag was filled with French and Italian clothes, necklaces, handbags, and other things for his sister. For the sake of his sister, he went ahead and purchased all of these items. Lee Hyun did not forget to buy anything.
“90 euros you say? No, no, no no. 40 euros.”
“No deal goodbye.”
“40 euros. 40 euros. 40 euros!”
He did not hesitate to haggle in the shops. Lee Hyun was able to determine the value of items based on the description of the material. Even after considering the high labor costs in Europe, he persisted at 40 euros until he got it down to a reasonable price of 52 euros.
“The world is full of crooks.”
It was more expensive for foreign tourists to buy stuff. Because of that, he could not help but be a pushy in a poisonous environment. Lee Hyun’s hands would tremble uncomfortably as he finished paying them.
“Konichiwa!” — (he’s saying hello in japanese)
This was the pride of Koreas that travel!
Other than for his sister, he also got gifts for Oh Dongman, Choe Jihun, Jeong Hyo-Lynn, and the rest.
“It’s alright as long as I give them something.”
Luxurious European branded T-shirts!
He bought them in Europe as well as a mountain of stuff from Chinese markets.
He spent a total of 800 thousand Korean won with the most expensive thing at 60 thousand won. He checked every item over fifteen times before he began to negotiate over a fair price.
That was a real taste of shopping during a trip! Lee Hyun roughly organized all the items before he sat down and turned on the television. He was just in time for the broadcast about the continent of Versailles. He was watching in order to find out the current events in Royal Road.
“Oh Juwan-nim, do you know if the Kingdom of Haven has gone to all out war with the Kallamore Kingdom yet?”
“That is true. I have news that they have stopped the Kallamore Kingdom’s knights advancement. They are now waiting for the enemy soldiers inside the fort to surrender or else they will face an army of 20 thousand soldiers and the fortress’s supply chain has been cut so now it seem unavoidable.”
Lee Hyun had not known that the Kingdom of Haven had finally waged war against the Kallamore Kingdom. The Kingdom of Haven had a significantly high number of powerful users. There were an enormous amount of users on the central continent. That power had been strong enough to defeat the Kallamore knights which were said to be undefeatable.
Other than the Hermes Guild, the other large prestigious guilds were not mentioned. The Kingdom of Haven and its guilds were severely damaged when the Hermes Guild decided to not go to war. They were trying to find someone to point their finger at and blame. Of course there was no one else but Bard Ray. Even if it wasn’t known to others, Bard Ray was secretly the leader of the prestigious Hermes Guild. Even since he started Royal Road, Bard Ray had been strengthening his influence over the guilds. Since then, it has always been one of the strongest guilds.
“The Hermes Guild. Is it irresponsible to say that the Hermes Guild represents the Kingdom of Haven?”
“The Hermes Guild is not to blame. The other guilds are doing the same.”
The blame was distributed to all the prestigious guilds of the Kingdom of Haven. He did not know that the Kingdom of Haven had occupied the Kallamore Kingdom’s territory and that their army was getting stronger every day.
“There aren’t any enemies that can defeat the Kingdom of Haven at the moment.”
Bard Ray had make the decision to go to war. It was not a command of the Hermes Guild but an arbitrary decision that he had made. During the fight, Raybard ambushed the Kallamore Kingdom from behind with his group. The Hermes Guild troop assualted the enemy food supplies and wagons. Afterwards, a video of them looting the food and then selling it in a nearby town was uploaded to the Hall of Fame. Users that were part of the Kingdom of Haven celebrated whenever a video was uploaded.
“There’s no one stronger than Bard Ray.”
“The Guardian of the Kingdom of Haven!”
There were hundreds of thousands of commennts posted on each video. Since users were watching the broadcasts, Bard Ray’s reputation as the strongest on the Continent of Versailles were further increased. The strongest, highest level swordsman in the entire Continent of Versailles could not be ignored.