The Witch Hunter System

605 Thundering Highlands

'The Eastern Sea…' Vaan mused with growing interest.

All answers pointed to the Eastern Sea. It was an entirely new frontier waiting to be explored by him. The Eastern Sea was full of secrets, unknown dangers, and opportunities.

Vaan had only been to a small part of the Great Ratholos Empire but had already caught a glimpse of its immense wealth. And with such enormous wealth, its development and strength wouldn't be weak at all.

He wouldn't be surprised if the Great Ratholos Empire's military completely eclipsed that of the Holy Knight Empire.

It was no wonder the Great Ratholos Empire was never interested in conquering other countries. With an endless frontier to explore, like the Eastern Sea, which reaped immense wealth, the benefits of subjugating other nations weren't even worth mentioning.

The Great Ratholos Empire was completely focused on internal stability and development. That was why it never invaded another country, nor could it be invaded.

However, this wasn't a permanent status.

If the Great Ratholos Empire didn't suffer any major regression and continued its stable development for the years to come, it would eventually reach a point where it would be forced to expand its territory.

Otherwise, its development would stagnate.

However, such a situation was far in the distant future when it faced the problem of overpopulation. That said, given the threat posed by Gehenna, it may never reach such a future.

…

Sometime later, the allotted time expired before Vaan exited the Gravity Chamber in a calm, casual demeanor, completely absent of any signs that would suggest he had undergone strenuous training.

On the other hand, Jihaad came out looking dead as a doornail and sweating like a pig under the summer heat. His movements were slow, sluggish, and burdensome. But although he seemed drained of energy and his mental strength was depleted, the glimmer in his eyes remained spirited and unyielding.

"It seems you have benefited much from training inside the Gravity Chamber."

"Definitely! But… alas, this kind of special training is too expensive!" Jihaad glanced back at his Gravity Chamber and sighed, feeling slightly depressed.

He didn't expect to experience what it was like to be a poor man. Although he could continue to train in the Gravity Chamber for a few more hours, he also didn't want to be left behind by Vaan. Thus, even though he was reluctant, he had to leave.

He understood it was better to save his remaining mana stones for the trip to the capital. It wouldn't be too late to train in the Gravity Chambers again once he earned more mana stones.

While Jihaad's head hung down to catch his breath, he suddenly noticed Vaan's shadow moving away. He immediately realized Vaan was already leaving without any notice.

"Thank you for your patronage, Sir. Please visit us again," the female Dunean clerk said as Vaan passed the front counter to leave the Gravity Chamber Center. He didn't look back as he did.

"H-Hey, wait…! Wait for me, Sir Pendragon!" Jihaad cried.

Unfortunately, despite having heard Jihaad's request, Vaan didn't pause his steps. He kept walking until he left the building and was gone from sight. He didn't need to delay his journey because of Jihaad.

Given Jihaad's cultivation, he could catch up after some rest—as long as Vaan didn't suddenly decide to travel at high speed and leave him in the dust.

Jihaad could only chuckle bitterly after seeing Vaan's disappearing back. After shaking his head, he quickly uncorked a green-colored potion and emptied it down his throat.

It was just a normal stamina-replenishing potion commonly sold in the market back in his hometown. It had the benefit of speeding up his recovery. Even so, it would still take time for a full recovery of his stamina.

Unfortunately, he couldn't wait until then as he feared losing Vaan's trail. As such, he had no choice but to drag his tired body out and force himself to catch up.

Seeing that, Jihaad had no choice but to drag his body and force himself to catch up.

…

Since Sunrock Bazaar didn't have much value after Vaan experienced the Gravity Chambers, he decisively left the city for the next after buying a general map for a single low-rank mana stone. The general store owner had thanked him graciously for his generosity.

Although Vaan already had some maps of the Great Ratholos Empire in his memory bank, he still wanted to compare the maps and verify his knowledge. After all, the information acquired from books wasn't necessarily always the truth.

Blind faith could have regrettable and unbearable consequences.

Nevertheless, Vaan found out there weren't any discrepancies in the information. Thus, his effort and mana stone had been wasted. Even so, it was always better to be safe than sorry.

The Great Ratholos Empire was unlike any other country. It did not put any effort into conquering its Perilous Lands for human habitation. As such, all kinds of beasts and plants were growing in such regions.

Unless one were behind the walls of a human settlement, there would always be dangers lurking about in the lands of the Great Ratholos Empire.

A strong nation of warriors could not be built if warriors lacked trials – this was the idea behind the founding emperor of the Great Ratholos Empire.

Although Vaan didn't believe there was anything in the Great Ratholos Emperor that could pose a threat to him, he didn't want to grow complacent due to his great strength. Such complacency could become habitual, and such habits were poisonous, whether it was to his survival or growth.

How could a man aspiring for the sky wallow in the comfort of the earth?

As such, Vaan wanted to avoid relying on his strength to cross the Perilous Lands as much as possible and only use his wits. For that reason, he was also traveling somewhat slowly.

Since he was on a training journey, how could he skip any challenges along the way?

Although the possibility wasn't high, he still had a chance of stumbling across some rare plants or materials he might find useful.

…

After traveling twenty-five kilometers northeast of Sunrock Bazaar with Jihaad lagging a short distance behind him, Vaan entered the Thundering Highlands, home to the Steel-Beaked Eagles.