It was now nighttime.
A group of people wearing yellow-and-blue cloaks sat around a campfire inside a cave. Every one of them stared blankly into the flames, their faces completely expressionless.
Fiktok sat in a chair behind them with one leg crossed over the other, quietly observing his followers.
"The flickering flames empty their minds. As long as they don't feel hunger, fatigue, or physical contact, they won't look away."
After saying that, Fiktok looked around with a bored expression. His gaze eventually settled on a beautiful blonde woman.
He walked over and gently patted her shoulder.
"My faithful lamb, I have something to tell you. Come with me."
"Yes."
Fiktok led the blonde woman outside the cave. Then he used earth magic to create a small cube-shaped hut, sealing the two of them inside.
Within the pitch-black darkness where not even a hand could be seen, the sound of a zipper being pulled echoed through the room.
Then, in a playful tone, Fiktok said,
"From this moment on, you'll become a lustful sow whose only purpose is to please me."
The blonde woman offered no resistance.
Instead, the darkness was filled with the sounds of sucking... and rhythmic clapping.
Half an hour later, the mysterious noises came to an end.
The earthen hut disappeared.
Under the pale moonlight, Fiktok calmly put his clothes back on. Looking down at the completely naked blonde woman lying motionless on the ground, he clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.
"What a flat, bony body. Stice was much better."
After getting dressed, Fiktok buried the blonde woman with earth magic.
A deep ligature mark was clearly visible around her neck.
A new day had arrived.
February 21st, 10:20 a.m.
We finally reached the point where the outer island connected to the mainland.
Before us stood an absolutely magnificent bridge.
The towers supporting its massive steel cables were around forty meters tall, while the cables held up an enormous bridge deck that stretched so far into the distance it seemed endless.
I couldn't believe this era possessed the technology to build something like this.
My curiosity immediately got the better of me, so I asked the orange-haired woman beside me—the local.
"This is a sea bridge, right? When was it built?"
That's right.
Beneath the bridge was nothing but the ocean.
In a world where wooden sailing ships were the primary means of travel, how had people managed to construct such a bridge against the relentless waves and unpredictable sea? How much time and how many resources had it taken?
No matter how I looked at it, I genuinely admired the people who had created such an architectural wonder—something worthy of being etched into memory.
"I don't know. I don't read newspapers."
The orange-haired person was a pretty terrible local guide.
Jacob's encyclopedia would've been far more useful.
When we reached the entrance to the bridge, I noticed a signboard covered with densely packed writing.
It was probably an explanation of the bridge, so I climbed down from the wagon to read it.
"Hey! Why'd you suddenly jump off?"
(Milane Bridge—the world's first sea bridge. Total length: 509 kilometers.
To shorten travel time between the outer island and the mainland, allowing all citizens to travel freely at any time, the 93rd King of Aslangari, Carter Milane Asrangari, launched this monumental construction project on May 4, 1876. The project was completed on March 9, 1992, and officially opened to the public on April 1 of the following month.
The project faced the unpredictable ocean, violent waves, and harsh weather. Yet under the blessing of the Goddess of Fate, Fetris, not a single worker lost their life. Upon its completion, it was recognized as one of the World's Ten Great Architectural Wonders.)
After reading the description, I was stunned by the bridge's incredible length.
And this world even had a list of the Ten Great Wonders.
It made me realize just how many things I still didn't know about this world.
Beside the description was a painting displayed behind glass.
At its center was a king riding a white horse and waving to the crowd. People on both sides cheered enthusiastically, while the completed bridge stretched across the background.
It was probably the opening ceremony celebrating the bridge's completion, with the king becoming the first person to cross it.
I climbed back onto the wagon, and we officially began crossing the bridge.
There were countless travelers coming and going, and the bridge even had separate lanes for vehicles and pedestrians.
Their awareness of public safety was impressively high.
Filled with excitement and the curiosity of a researcher, I admired this miraculous structure.
But when I looked at the towers, something puzzled me.
Every pillar was covered with obvious mathematical formulas.
Jacob had mentioned that Asrangari was a nation of knowledge, but covering an entire bridge with equations felt a little excessive.
It kind of ruined the scenery.
Just then, the wagon came to a stop.
The orange-haired woman turned around with an uncomfortable expression and said weakly,
"Henry... let's switch. Looking at math gives me a headache..."
"You're such a pain."
I reluctantly traded places.
The Milane Bridge was practically a city on a bridge.
Its center had been widened into a district filled with houses and shops, forming an entire small town.
That was seriously impressive.
The bridge was simply too long, so I urged the horse into a run to shorten the journey.
The downside was that the horse needed frequent breaks afterward.
We alternated between running and resting, stopped in the bridge town for a very late lunch, and after nearly ten hours of travel, we finally reached the opposite end of the bridge.
...Honestly, taking a ship might've been faster.
By the time we set foot on the main island, it was already 9:15 p.m.
There wasn't anywhere nearby to spend the night.
So we had no choice but to endure the hard wooden boards and sleep in the wagon.