Chapter 711: 557 "Neutral Zone
Reiger Brillhaut
Lv.7
Strength: F355→ B727
Endurance: F367→ B711
Dexterity: E484→ A852
Agility: E491→ A871
Magic Power: D555→ S940
Light Armor: B
Swordsman: C
Magic Guide: D
Good Combatant: E→ D
Quick Strike: F→ E
Magic Chant: H→ G
...
Looking at his newly updated ability values, Reiger couldn’t help but feel somewhat emotional.
"Although three months is a bit short, the high-quality battles I experienced were numerous, and the extent of improvement is indeed great," he murmured.
His "Magic Power" had reached the S rank.
"Dexterity" and "Agility" had reached A rank.
"Strength" and "Endurance" had reached B rank.
This was already the highest level of his current rank.
If he were to advance further, Reiger’s five basic abilities could potentially break through to the S rank officially.
"All abilities at S rank..." he mused.
This was something even Ota hadn’t managed to achieve.
In the original work, Ota’s abilities of "Strength," "Endurance," "Dexterity," and "Agility" all reached the S rank and were pushed to the limit, with the sole exception of "Magic Power," which was only at the D rank, and it was one of his few weaknesses.
If Reiger could reach the stage of all abilities at S rank, then his ability values would even surpass Ota, becoming the adventurer with the highest ability values in the Earth Mistake World’s Maze City Orario.
Of course, in terms of actual combat power, Reiger had undoubtedly far surpassed his current ability value parameters.
"Looks like next time I return to the familia, I’ll be able to give Loki quite a scare," he thought with amusement.
Imagining Loki’s expression then brought a smile to Reiger’s face.
"It’s decided, I’ll make a trip back to the Earth Mistake World after some time."
Having made this decision, Reiger put away the vial of Divine Blood that was now halfway depleted.
Looking at the vial of Divine Blood, Reiger had another idea.
"This trip back, I’ll need to make Loki bleed a bit more," he decided, ignoring how malicious his own mutterings sounded.
With that, Reiger exited his room.
At that moment, he had already returned to the Franseur family estate.
For this return, almost no one had noticed that he had slept in his room for a day and a night.
The Eight-Legged Blade Assassination Insects he had summoned had already reported back to him that during his Dimensional Travel, no one had come to disturb him.
Yuri and Marilyn had already gone to the palace to respond to the King’s call, and were busy with a large number of court Magicians interpreting artifacts that the Meipros family had brought back from ancient ruins inside the demon beast Yarakulon. It was estimated they would not return for some time.
Liz had spent the entire previous day organizing the relics left by grandma Mia, trying to find something related to her own origins, but so far, it seemed the process was not going smoothly.
Moreover, since Reiger had used the "Teleportation Gate" to return from Meipros’ territory, Yuri had already decided to keep it a secret and not disclose it publicly. For this reason, no one had disturbed him throughout the previous day.
Since no one knew Reiger had returned, his Dimensional Travel was thus carried out silently, without anyone noticing he had slept the whole day.
To prevent being detected upon returning to the royal capital, Reiger even activated the "Complete Invisibility" stealth Magic before leaving his room, silently touring the Franseur residence.
During this round, Reiger scarcely saw any familiar faces, not even Liz’s sister Mitis or her brother Isu were at home.
This reminded Reiger of something Yuri had mentioned to him before.
"Mitis and Isu have been following Ian and Ai En lately. Especially Isu – he seems to have decided to practice sword skills, often running over to my family’s Knight troupe’s training ground, frequently away from home," Yuri had said.
This had surprised Reiger quite a bit.
"That youngest one has actually settled down to study sword arts?" he wondered to himself.
That was indeed rare.
After all, that youngest sibling used to look down on Swordsmen the most, dreaming only of becoming a powerful Magician like Yuri.
Unfortunately, Isu lacked the talent to become a Magician, and that dream was doomed to fail.
Now, it seemed his perspective had truly changed.
"This is all thanks to you, isn’t it, Thunder Light Sword Saint?" Reiger thought, recalling the sly smile on Yuri’s face when she had spoken of it, causing him to chuckle softly.
"Well, since there’s no one around, I should find a time to set off again."
Reiger was planning to continue his journey to the Neutral City of Xinyel.
Now that Liz’s consultation about her ancestry had concluded, it was time to set off again.
Thinking of this, Reiger turned around and went straight back to his room.
...
Perhaps sensing through the Attendant contract that Reiger had left the room, Liz quickly returned to his side.
When she came back, there was still a look of disappointment on the girl’s face, obviously having found nothing
"Let’s go."
Seeing Liz like this, Reiger didn’t say much, but decisively spoke.
"We’re heading to Xinyele."
It might only be after arriving there that they could find some clues about Liz’s past.
"Yes!"
Liz adjusted her mood and nodded solemnly.
Then, Reiger summoned the messenger crow, informed Yuri that he was setting off, immediately opened the "Dimensional Travel" portal, and with Liz, returned to Bessare in the Meipros territory.
After returning to Bessare, Reiger did not disturb the Meipros family or Nipede and others, but left the city directly for the border.
...
Going from the border of the Meipros territory to the Neutral Zone required passing through the border defense line constructed by the Meipros family.
This defense line was equipped with numerous protection mechanisms and staffed with many guards, all aimed at preventing spies from the Leiblu Kingdom from invading at will.
It was said that a Tactical Level Magic Barrier had been set up here, and unless one got approval from the lord of Meipros territory and obtained a pass, no one could cross this line.
"Revin probably already knows that I’m planning to go to Xinyele, perhaps waiting for me to get a pass from him?"
With this thought, Reiger easily crossed the border defense line with Liz.
Yes, it was indeed quite easy.
Whether it was the protective mechanisms on the defense line or the Tactical Level Magic Barrier, or even the stationed guards, none detected Reiger’s arrival, nor did they realize that he had already crossed the line with an Attendant.
There was no helping it, since this defense line simply lacked the ability to hinder teleportation magic.
Without considering defense against spatial magic, the line could never stop someone like Reiger who could use teleportation magic.
Therefore, Reiger and Liz crossed the border of the Ginus Kingdom with ease and officially entered the Neutral Zone situated between the two great kingdoms.
Surprisingly, the Neutral Zone sandwiched between the Ginus Kingdom and the Leiblu Kingdom turned out to be a desert area.
As Reiger and Liz crossed the border defense line and arrived here, almost immediately, they stepped onto sand, their feet nearly sinking into the sandy ground.
"Is the environment here so harsh?"
Reiger looked at the endless desert in front of him, then glanced back at the border defense line that resembled a fortress, feeling as if he had stepped into another world.
As for Liz, she seemed to have been informed about this situation beforehand.
"The Neutral Zone is roughly twice the size of the Meipros territory, but nearly ninety percent of it is desert; most of the rest is also quite inhospitable, and the only oasis is Xinyele. It was on that sole oasis that the City Lord of Xinyele built this city."
Liz, holding a map, stood next to Reiger.
"It’s said that for more than half the day here, sandstorms rage, and the closer one gets to the oasis where Xinyele is located, the smaller the scale of the sandstorms becomes."
"Therefore, those entering the Neutral Zone, whether from the Ginus Kingdom or the Leiblu Kingdom, must pass through Xinyele to resupply and rest."
"If you’re out in the wild, not only might you encounter sandstorms, quicksand, and various other harsh environments, but you could also run into magical beasts lurking under the sands."
"It’s because of how inhospitable this region is that the Ginus Kingdom set its territorial border at the border of the Meipros territory, not pushing forward any further, and even the War Country of Leiblu Kingdom, filled with aggression, preferred to bypass this area to attack the Ginus Kingdom."
"Additionally, there are several large ancient battlefields here where the armies of the Ginus Kingdom and the Leiblu Kingdom usually fight."
As Liz was saying this, she explained apologetically,
"These are things Marilyn sister told me."
At this, Reiger chuckled and nodded.
"In such a place, a carriage wouldn’t be able to move at all, would it?"
Reiger said so.
"Indeed." Liz nodded earnestly and continued, "Marilyn sister also told me that in the Neutral Zone, one must either walk or ride a Rhinoceros Beast; all other forms of transportation are nearly impossible to use here."
The so-called Rhinoceros Beast was a type of battle rhinoceros resembling a rhinoceros.
These battle rhinoceros had incredible endurance, could survive in any environment, stored food and water internally, and could go without eating or drinking for a month. They were a type of Mount with magical beast bloodlines.
On the Akasha Continent, a Rhinoceros Beast was valued much more than ten warhorses and, due to their rarity, even the great nobles couldn’t equip them as they wished.
And if one wanted to find a means of transportation in the Neutral Zone, they would have to rely on Rhinoceros Beasts; no others would do.
Reiger thought for a moment and came up with several summoning spells that might make creatures run on this terrain.
But there was no need.
"Let’s just fly over."
Reiger decided so.
"Fly, fly over?" Liz asked, "What if we encounter a sandstorm?"
"I’ll think of something when the time comes," Reiger smiled and said. "Come on, let’s go."
"All right!"