A massive magic train burned with strange-colored magic as the steel giant continued to move forward.
Shadows of trees flashed constantly through white gaps, the rapid movement looking like everything was flowing endlessly ahead.
The train raced along the tracks at high speed. The whistling wind mixed with the clanking of metal collisions, sounding like roars, like furious howls.
Viktor and Henny were riding the train together, sitting opposite each other.
In her seat, Henny was extremely nervous. Her hands were clenched into fists, tightly gripping her loose robe.
She completely ignored the scenery outside the window.
'Traveling alone with the professor…'
It was something Henny never even dared to imagine.
Because of this, she barely slept at all last night.
Of course, they were not actually traveling, but just being able to go out with the professor already made Henny incredibly excited.
She secretly glanced at Viktor sitting across from her.
At this moment, the man in the black trench coat sat quietly in his seat, holding a book.
Each time he finished a page, he calmly turned it.
Extremely focused.
The crow that usually perched on the professor's shoulder was now standing on the table, dozing off.
Watching the sleeping crow, Henny also began to feel sleepy.
Just as her heavy eyelids were about to fully close, Viktor suddenly spoke.
"Henny, come here."
"Take a look at this."
Half-asleep, Henny was startled and opened her eyes.
She saw Viktor place the book on the table and felt a little confused.
So she stood up and sat down beside Viktor.
Looking at the question in the book, Viktor asked, "If it were you, how would you handle this?"
At this moment, Henny did not realize that she was already sitting right next to the professor.
She also did not realize how close the distance between them was.
She was simply full of curiosity about the knowledge. She blinked as she looked at the open book, trying to solve the problem written on it.
However, the words on the page suddenly began to twist in a strange way.
As if they had come alive, they slowly started dancing across the page, making them impossible to read clearly.
The next second, Henny felt a strong wave of dizziness. Then, her vision went dark, and she lost consciousness.
In the final moment before she fainted, she seemed to feel herself falling into a warm embrace.
After that, she lost all awareness.
She quietly leaned sideways into Viktor's arms, gently closing her eyes.
Her slightly chubby cheeks were pressed against Viktor's chest, her warm and steady breathing rising and falling.
Her flushed face looked especially cute in the sunlight.
Viktor's other hand hovered over Henny, pulling over a thin blanket and covering her with it.
Then he simply held her like that, letting her rest in his arms.
With his free hand, he picked up the book and continued reading.
———
After an unknown amount of time, Henny opened her eyes again.
The scenery outside had completely turned dark. Bright lights were on inside the train, making her squint slightly as she woke up.
Henny held her forehead and felt like she had somehow fallen asleep, and slept for a very long time.
She had slept deeply and peacefully, as if she had been having a very sweet dream.
Feeling a blanket covering her body, Henny turned over, and by accident, her face bumped into something.
She looked up and saw Viktor's face.
'Huh???'
Henny blinked blankly, clearly not fully reacting yet.
Then Viktor's voice sounded.
"Awake?"
Henny instantly snapped out of it. Flustered, she hurriedly forced herself to stand up.
As soon as she stood, she repeatedly bowed to Viktor in panic.
"S-s-sorry, Professor!"
"I accidentally fell asleep, and I even slept on your… on you."
Viktor did not say much. He simply looked at the book in his hand and casually nodded.
Henny stood there, too embarrassed to sit down again.
She could only lower her head, like a child being punished for doing something wrong.
But what she was thinking about inside was something else entirely.
'Did I drool on the professor while sleeping? He wouldn't be disgusted by me, right?'
'What I bumped into just now was the professor's stomach. It was so firm…'
'Hehe, the professor's arms were really warm…'
Thinking this, Henny quickly shook her head.
The front carriage was very quiet. The only sound was Viktor's fingers brushing over the pages.
Even with her head lowered, Henny could hear Viktor close the book.
She looked up and saw Viktor stand up.
The crow flapped its wings and flew up, landing on his shoulder.
Viktor walked to the window, looked outside, and spoke calmly, "Get ready."
"We're almost there."
Henny was a little confused, but she still walked over.
Looking out through the window, she suddenly widened her eyes.
Because the train was somehow traveling through the air.
The surrounding darkness was dotted with starlight, lighting up the area around them.
Henny felt extremely surprised. She could not understand the principle behind a train traveling in the sky.
So she looked downward through the window.
And she saw it.
Two rows of magically constructed tracks were laid in midair, shimmering with strange starlight in the darkness.
Like gemstones of all colors embedded in the sky, mysterious and elegant.
The tracks continued to stretch forward endlessly.
Below them was a vast, boundless ocean, glowing brightly under the light of the tracks.
Like fluorescent light cast onto a blue mirror.
The colorful glow merged into the sea, turning into countless specks of starlight.
This beautiful scene left Henny slightly stunned.
Viktor explained to her calmly, "This is a magic train."
The reason it is called a magic train lies mainly in the word 'magic.'
The empire's regular railways are simply meant to make trains travel more conveniently within cities.
But in reality, magic trains can reach anywhere in the world.
Otherwise, they would not be praised as one of the greatest inventions of the Mage Capital.
The magic tracks gradually descended onto the surface of the sea, flashing with starlight, and the train followed, entering the water.
From afar, in the darkness, it looked like a dreamlike train glowing with strange light, traveling across the sea.
It stirred up waves several meters high.
The waves that crashed into each other in midair became dazzlingly beautiful.
Viktor said to Henny calmly, "Ahead is our destination."
"The City of the Sea."
Following the tracks, Henny looked forward.
A massive bubble floated above the sea. Inside it, towering buildings seemed to be awakened by glowing pearls, surrounded by bubble-like illusions.
Shells by the roadside emitted soft light. Fantastical patterns appeared on the walls of tall buildings, winding and flowing like streams of water coiling around giant pillars.
Henny opened her mouth wide, her eyes filled with pure amazement as she looked at the enormous city ahead.
"So… so amazing."
Viktor looked at the City of the Sea and his thoughts drifted.
The City of the Sea belonged to areas outside the empire. In the oceans, players could discover the City of the Sea through various means.
By boat, by swimming, or even by flying in from the sky, there was a chance to encounter the City of the Sea on the map.
But at the beginning, players in the game could not enter without an invitation pass.
Even if they forced their way in, they would be violently chased and attacked by the city guards.
They were often killed on the spot, without any chance to escape.
Finally, white steam burst from the front of the train as it slowly stopped in front of the massive bubble.
After Viktor and Henny got off, the train changed direction and left again.
After all, there had only been two passengers on this trip.
The City of the Sea was not built on a huge piece of land floating above the ocean, but inside a massive bubble, divided into two parts.
One half was above the sea, reflecting the sky, while the other half was hidden deep within the ocean.
At this moment, they stood before the bubble. Beneath their feet was a path formed entirely of water.
Like a waterbed, standing on it did not cause them to sink at all, only giving a soft feeling.
This was the 'land' of the City of the Sea.
At this point, as they stood before the city, they were stopped by guards.
The guards wore blue armor and shell necklaces, with ancient patterns painted even across their bodies.
Flowing water surrounded them, wrapping around those patterns like silk.
"Welcome to the City of the Sea."
Cities of the Sea were scattered across the world's oceans. In different seas, there would always be a City of the Sea.
The one Viktor arrived at was in the Padalenbu Sea, the closest to the empire.
The city was named after the sea itself, Padalenbu Sea City.
Even though this was the closest City of the Sea to the empire, it still required an entire day of travel by magic train to reach.
"It seems you are from the empire."
"Please extend your hands. I need to register you."
Henny nodded and obediently extended her hand.
The guard also extended a hand.
A thin stream of water appeared in his palm, then automatically attached itself to Henny's arm, gently wrapping around it.
Being wrapped by the water, Henny felt as if she were being tied by a thin rope.
Although it did not restrict her movement, having a stream of water around her arm felt like handcuffs, making her uncomfortable.
The guard turned to look at Viktor, but Viktor did not extend his hand. He kept both hands in his pockets.
This made the guard frown slightly, his expression turning displeased.
"Sir, if you wish to enter the City of the Sea, you must cooperate."
Viktor calmly looked at him, his expression almost unchanged, and spoke casually.
"I have a small problem."
"I don't really like people touching me."
The guard froze for a moment.
The moment the words fell, violent flames erupted beside Viktor, swirling rapidly in the air behind him.
Amid the blazing red light and surging magic, a massive molten arm appeared next to Viktor, radiating scorching heat as it threatened the guard.
Feeling the near-burning temperature, the guard's eyes widened, his voice trembling.
"Fire… this is fire?"
The next second, the molten giant hand grabbed the guard's clothes and lifted him up violently.
At the same time, the molten arm slightly contracted, suppressing the intense heat a bit.
But when fire collided with water, the water element on the guard's body still evaporated rapidly, as if burned away by a massive furnace.
This filled the guard with overwhelming fear. Terror showed in his eyes, and his body trembled.
"N-no… please…"
When the water element on his body was completely burned away, Viktor expressionlessly threw him onto the soft surface of the sea.
The guard landed on the water with a thud, staring wide-eyed.
Before he could look up, a badge bearing the symbol of three shattered heads fell onto the water.
It floated lightly, then drifted in front of the guard.
The guard picked it up, staring at it in fear.
"Th-this is…"
"I'll give you time to go inform your city lord. Tell him."
Viktor's cold gaze locked onto him, and his calm voice sounded again.
"A Clavenna Councilor has arrived."