Act 2. Bicheon Country (1)
That night, Noel turned on her stream briefly.
Short Notice & Chat
About ten minutes passed with the waiting screen up, and then Noel appeared. With the camera on, just like last time.
"Hello, everyone. Nice evening, huh? You all eat dinner yet?"
Her calm voice flowed out as always, and paired with the camera feed, it was more than enough to captivate the viewers.
"I ate too. What... just boiled some ramen 'cause I was lazy though."
"I'm pretty decent at cooking. Just too lazy to do it."
Of course, it was a lie. If I listed everything I could cook, it'd be fried eggs, ramen, and bibimbap. That was it.
"Sadly, I'm full from dinner today. I'll show you later."
'Later... maybe I'll get good at it?' I only had a little ways to go until level 80, where I could learn life skills.
"Anyway, I've selected two editors."
"They're probably editing right now... shouldn't take long. Starting from the Travel Kingdom episodes, they'll go up. Yeah."
"One of them is that person from B Corp who worked on cinematics. You all know them."
"The other one... you've all seen this person a lot."
The screen showed a small preview of the channel [NoelsFootMat].
"Yeah... I talked to both on the phone, and they seemed fine. Anyway, that's how it is."
"Hmm... hold on a sec."
I hurriedly left my seat and picked up Bambi, who was sleeping in the living room.
"??????"
Bambi looked up at me with startled eyes, but I returned to my seat and placed her on my lap, showing her to the camera.
"Enjoy Bambi for a bit, and I'll end the stream today."
Bambi didn't understand why her owner was suddenly tickling her, but soon enough, she just enjoyed the attention.
"Wheuuung..."
Time passed, and finally, I received the first NelTube video from the editors. The 23-minute video was so engaging with no skippable parts that I decided to upload it as-is.
The first episode of what would stir up NelTube for a while was uploaded. With nothing else to do, I decided to keep leveling in Lost World.
After lessons with Asella, I'd been grinding levels hard.
Named Demon, 3rd Squad Captain Elcion defeated.
"...Hmm. Time to go, I guess."
It was time to head to the next continent.
"So you're leaving now?"
In front of the harbor with its chilly winds, I stood ready to board a ship to the next continent, Bicheon Country. I'd come out after hearing I was leaving, and now the 2nd prince Yurian—who was the king's successor—and Princess Arie had come to see me off.
"...Really, you're too much. We could've shared more stories."
I did feel bad about Arie. I hadn't gone back for mana property conversion lessons since then.
"...Sorry."
"Tch, whatever. Everyone here knows you're busy."
Even as she said that, arms crossed in a pouty I'm mad at you pose, Arie looked kinda cute. I stepped closer, took her hand.
"I'll definitely come back. Just wait a little, okay?"
"...Hmph, fine. But you have to come next time?"
Princess Arie's favorability has increased.
Princess Arie: Trust (50%)
"Take care, Prince Yurian. I'll look forward to a more developed kingdom next time."
"Ahem. Naturally. May fortune follow your adventures."
Ruuuuumble—
The ship's horn signaled departure, and I hurried aboard. Waving to the many people seeing me off, the ship set sail for the next continent.
Soon, Eastern-style houses came into view in the distance.
"That's... Bicheon Country."
As soon as I disembarked, an orange window signaled the main quest.
Martial World Debut (武林初出)
You've set foot for the first time in Bicheon Country, where righteousness (義) and chivalry (俠) are paramount.
They tend to shun outsiders, and the demon threat is slowly encroaching here too.
Prove you're not an outsider to them, and eliminate the hidden demon threat.
📍 Quest Conditions: Reach Lv75
🎁 Rewards: ???, Hero-Grade Avatar: Moonlit Divine Maiden, One Hero-Grade Title based on playstyle, For first clear only: All Bicheon Country NPCs' favorability set to 'Trust'
"...Let's get to it."
I passed the harbor and entered the bustling market. They traded lively but shot wary glances my way.
'This much?'
Bicheon Country was markedly more insular than other continents. It was the only Eastern nation, after all.
"A few more people went missing this time, huh?"
"It's the end times. No traces left behind."
I tuned into their conversations to gather info.
"This is the 13th already. What're the Jeok and Cheong families doing? Tch."
"Watch your mouth. If those bastards hear, we're done for."
From various snippets, I pieced together some facts.
1. Unlike typical wuxia, the Jeok and Cheong families are at odds here.
2. Recently, people have been vanishing silently. Victims are all sturdy men or strikingly beautiful women.
3. Jeok, Cheong, and Yang families are investigating but no leads.
4. Despite the mess, the Bicheon Festival is coming up.
"...This reeks of that bitch..."
It was the unmistakable scent of Lilith, the Lust Legion Commander who'd tormented our raid party endlessly in Season 1. Her patterns demanded perfect coordination—hence "cyber guerrilla" for her bizarre mechanics: joint mazes, dodging seduction, spotting fakes... A collection of infuriating patterns earned her the "newbie crusher" title.
"Ah... thinking about it gives me a headache again..."
Since I planned to push the main quest anyway, I turned on the broadcast.
Bicheon Country Main Quest
I shut off the chat and focused back on the main quest. After wandering ten minutes, some useful info hit my ears.
"The king himself will attend this festival's martial tournament, right?"
"Yeah. Whoever wins will bloom in life."
With no info on me here, investigating openly wasn't easy. I needed allies or connections to high-ups.
"...Haven't done melee in a while."
Seemed like I needed to look into entering the tournament.
Fighting with magic alone in a martial tournament was like using a bow in a sword fight.
"...Gotta research this."
I could coat my fists in magic and punch, but that felt un-martial and uncool.
'Fire Punch, Aqua Punch... kinda cringy, right?'
Plenty of time until the Bicheon Festival, so more research first. This seemed too big for solo, so I decided to ask Asella for advice.
The Heir of the Great Witch passive let me teleport to Asella's room from anywhere. Focusing my mind, I warped there.
I boldly approached Asella, who was reading, and declared:
"I'm gonna make a martial art!"
"...????"
She dropped her book in stunned silence at my out-of-nowhere proclamation.
"So... you wanna make a martial art...?"
Asella gave me an incredulous look for suddenly wanting to create one.
"Yeah... I kinda need it..."
Even I knew it sounded shameless. Witches were basically mages—the opposite of martial artists.
"I-It can just look like it! Not really making one..."
Asella finally relaxed, snapping her fingers.
"Ah, if that's it... I'll reopen the training grounds. Let's test some stuff. Was bored anyway—perfect timing."
And so, Asella and I began "making a martial art" (?).