As far as the location of the Delpinion Duchy was concerned, one could say it was right next door to the Haramark Kingdom. The laboratory itself was located in the far northeastern edge of the Duchy's territory, and it wasn't all that far from Haramark's own borders.

It was a great stroke of luck that Seol Jihu got to escape alongside Teresa Hussey. She may not have been an Archer, but thankfully, she was rather well versed in the local topography, and there was no need to worry that they would head in the wrong direction.

“We don't have a lot of time left.”

She proposed that they take the shortest route to the Arden Valley. It was located in the border region so it was close. More importantly, there was the Arden Fortress as well. Since there was a new structure under construction, it was stocked up with plenty of supplies, and due to the previous incident, powerful combat forces were stationed there as well.

Teresa recommended that they march there, saying that if they walked non-stop, they would reach their destination as early as on the fifth day, or at the latest, the sixth.

*

Their first day was trouble-free.

Although it was only the periphery, Seol Jihu still got to see what the regions controlled by the Parasites looked like. The assessment he gave after walking the whole day? A 'dead world'.

Not a single hint of vitality or life could be seen. The ash-colored soil touching the soles of his feet were beyond the state of crumbling and now was as hard as a rock. All the blades of grass he saw were yellow and dried up. On the rare occasions when he saw a tree, they were thin and desiccated as if they were an apple gnawed on by a rat.

Teresa warned him not to carelessly touch anything, just in case. But she also added that the condition in the Delpinion Duchy was actually comparably better than elsewhere. She said the changes to the conditions of the Empire, now serving as the center of the Parasites, couldn't even be imagined and let a sigh escape from her lips.

Seol Jihu decided to concentrate on walking, instead. He simply wanted to get the hell out of this place as soon as he could.

*

Around the time when the second day came to greet them.

He added one more item to his assessment. The changes in the temperature during the day and night were extreme, to say the least.

When the evening came, the temperature dropped like a rock. It was too damn cold. Whitish steam escaped whenever they opened their mouths.

As the night deepened, the coldness grew heavier. It was so cold that, for the first time in his life, Seol Jihu experienced the phenomenon of failing to fall asleep because of the coldness.

Back when he was in the military,...