Chapter 28: Arriving

(Hail: A small change Radiant Holy Maiden has been simplified to Radiant Saintess)

-Ilinor Royal City.

-Suburbs.

The night sky, dense with darkness, twinkles with stars, presenting a peaceful and beautiful scenery, no different from any other day.

Until a few birds flew across this night sky.

They couldn't even make a sound, as if swallowed by an invisible black hole. The moment they entered this airspace, their bodies were instantly crushed and obliterated.

Sixth-Tier Advanced Magic—Hell Realm

When the magic is activated, it instantly deals massive damage to all non-ally units within range and, during the subsequent maintenance time of the spell, inflicts a death verdict damage on any unit that steps into the domain.

For units below level 50, it's basically an instant kill.

"Your Majesty, it seems we are in luck" came Leo's voice from the side.

Following the Wisdom Demon's words, Reji also looked down at a human city not far beneath their feet.

At this moment, under the enhancement of "Fifth-Tier Magic—Sky Control," they were above the ground at a height of a hundred meters.

Yet, even so, the massive city below, sprawling and endless at a glance, was still brightly lit under the deep night, resembling a twinkling night pearl from their high vantage point.

Clearly, such a bustling extent was at least that of a first-tier city, and possibly even directly that of a kingdom's royal city or imperial capital.

And for them, this was undoubtedly good news.

After all, compared to landing in some desolate wilderness, appearing directly near the core of a human nation, whether for gathering intelligence or any further plans, was much more efficient.

"Dian, any response from the anti-reconnaissance magic?" Reji quickly turned his head to ask another apostle traveling with them.

Under the crow mask, Dian's hands moved through the air like a pianist's, tracing one complex and profound high-tier magic after another.

In response to Reji's question, the Sorcery Demon shook his head: "Your Majesty, I have not sensed any magical fluctuations from humans."

From the outside, the airspace where Reji and his three apostles were now, just like the opening scene, was an empty, ordinary night sky,

with both their figures and conversation concealed by "Sixth-Tier Magic—Absolute Stealth."

Just "Hell Realm," "Sky Control Magic," and "Absolute Stealth" didn't seem enough for Reji. To be cautious, he had the Sorcery Demon activate the sixth-tier "Master-Level Anti-Reconnaissance" at the moment of their arrival.

After all, in Reji's memory, even in the first round of the game, even the lowest level human frontier towns would have a mage tower for reconnaissance, maintaining around the clock the "Radiance" reconnaissance magic specifically against demons, which he and Malvin, the great guardian, had invented together.

Now.

No magical fluctuations at all?

Reji's expression didn't change much, but he was somewhat frowning and puzzled inside.

After all, given the scale of the royal-city-level size seen from not far away, if it were a thousand years ago, in his game, humans would have at least more than fifty magic towers, each overseen by a mage of level 40 or above, specifically for this purpose.

Such an array of fifty magic towers, the Radiance Array, could cover dozens of kilometers around the royal city, quickly alerting to any slight disturbances.

But now, they were just a few kilometers away from the royal city in the sky.

Yet, the Sorcery Demon didn't sense even a bit of human magical fluctuation.

'This could only mean...'

"Your Majesty, it seems that humans live a very happy life a thousand years later."

Dian's speech was always refined.

In simpler way, this means that humans, a thousand years later seem to have little sense of vigilance, have forgotten about wars, have forgotten... about the demon race.

"Dian, this is good news for our race" came the voice of the Wisdom Demon from the side.

"Of course, Mr. Leo"

After having the Sorcery Demon retract the "Absolute Stealth" and "Hell Realm," Reji, along with three apostles, descended into the city.

Although human vigilance had significantly relaxed over a thousand years, in terms of prosperity and civilization, it seems that humans after a thousand years of peaceful living, have developed to a commendable height.

At least there was no longer a curfew deep into the night. After midnight, the main streets of the royal city still saw many pedestrians, and more than half of the surrounding shops and stores were still lit with warm lights.

Speaking of this light.

Reji's gaze swept towards a street lamp nearby.

[Nightlight Magic]

[A first-tier magic that can maintain stable illumination for a long time at night with low consumption]

Although it was a minor magic, it finally gave Reji a sense of closeness and familiarity.

The origin of Nightlight Magic was a small magic invented by the Radiant Saintess to allow human armies to operate at night.

And at that time, as a military commander, there was an option for a dialogue with the Saintess in the story, which Reji remembered very clearly.

-"Such a good magic should not only be used in wars."-

-"After we win this war, let's improve it together, so that humans in the future can also enjoy the beauty of the night."-

There were many such flirtatious dialogues in the game.

Even after the Radiant Saintess's affection was maxed out, Reji still chose them every time.

Not for anything else, but because he liked to see the Saintess blush after being flirted with, still trying to maintain her purity and pretend to be aloof in front of him, the smooth-talking chosen one.

His thoughts wandered a bit.

Reji pulled his attention back.

Seeing that the small easter egg from the original game was truly realized a thousand years later filled Reji with both satisfaction and regret, as if there were "patent rights" in this world, then he would probably be the richest person in all of humanity by now.

Nightlight Magic was just a very insignificant magic.

If you really think about it, his game character, along with the partners he had "bonded" with and trained, must have left behind many, many precious legacies for humanity a thousand years later, covering various fields.

Reji, along with other apostles who had completed their "humanization" using disguise rings, walked into a prop shop.

Since he was exploring the changes in the world a thousand years later, Reji naturally started with the field he was most familiar with.

And as a player, props were undoubtedly the most sensitive area.

This prop shop named "Lanqi" is quite large, spanning three floors, and even at this hour, it's bustling with many customers. Among them, many are adventurers Reji is familiar and comfortable with, donning the classic trio of leather jacket, leather pants, and leather boots, some with a bow bag or a sword strapped on.

With the store being so large and crowded, plus the addition of the Sorcery Demon's "Third-Tier Magic—Forget as You See" enchantment, the entrance of Reji and his companions did not attract any attention from the other people in the store.

One of the main reasons humans were able to defeat the demon race in the war a thousand years ago was the variety of props available to humans that could be replenished in battle.

Reji being able to solo the Demon King, continuously "popping potions" played an undeniable role, after all, a small red potion could instantly restore 15% of maximum health, and a large red potion could fully restore health.

So now, Reji was curious about how far humans have come in terms of props a thousand years later.

It doesn't need to be anything complicated.

Reji approached the shelf with the most customers around it, also the most commonly used prop "Healing Potion"

But right away, Reji frowned again.

Because

'why does the color of this potion not look right?'

In the game, whether it was a small or a large red, by implication, the healing potion should be ruby red like agate.

But now.

Reji looked at a row of brown... coffee-colored? potions on the shelf, a bit puzzled. 'Could it be that humans have gone through another potion revolution a thousand years later, even changing the color?'

And when Reji actually took a potion in his hand, the system immediately popped up a corresponding interface prompt.

[Shameful Healing Potion]

[Quality: Inferior]

[Effect: Continuously restores 10% of the user's maximum health over fifteen minutes (up to a maximum of 200)]

Reji: "…"

He looked closer, and the label on the shelf indeed read "Premium"

Even a label stating "Produced by the Empire's Number One Alchemist Sineva" was added, as if to highlight its prestigious attribute.

Reji then looked at the magical potions nearby.

This time he chose the most expensive, highest grade, even with only a few bottles for sale, displayed in a lavish cabinet showcase, corresponding to the game, it should be a large blue potion that could instantly restore full mana.

But when Reji got his hands on it, what was presented on the item interface was as follows.

[Rough Healing Magic Potion]

[Quality: Ordinary]

[Effect: Continuously restores 25% of the user's maximum mana over ten minutes (up to a maximum of 500)]

Reji: "…"

At this moment, a group of five or six adventurers approached.

They were also here to buy potions.

"Captain, let's... let's just forget it, everything in this store is outrageously expensive."

"We have to endure it, after all, 'Lanqi' is one of the top prop shops in the entire royal city, using formulas from the empire's number one alchemist Sineva. Although the items here are expensive, they're costly for a reason. Look at the quality of these potions, they're much nicer than what we get in our town."

The captain handed the brown potion from the shelf to the team members, many of whom were wide-eyed, very rare and amazed, even reluctant to put it back, and the captain felt the same.