Chapter 4: Compass?

Thousands of years ago, an immense catastrophe struck the world. Wars between many races erupted, and an ocean of blood stained the world crimson. Dead bodies piled up like a mountain, fire consumed countless homes, and the cry of a father who had lost both his wife and children echoed through the ruins.

None of those innocent sacrifices understood why they died.

For what purpose were they fighting? Who was it for? None of them thought about it further, and their hearts were filled with a thirst for blood, brandishing their weapons to those they regarded as enemies, while those responsible for this massacre sat in their thrones made of precious gems and gold, drinking wine made of the common people's blood, sinking their teeth into their flesh, and greedily eyeing the territories beyond theirs.

It wasn't enough, they wanted more land, more gold, more food, more wine; it was as if there were devils whispering in their ears, with its blood-soaked hands covering their eyes, watching this carnival like an entertaining show.

As the war went on, unbeknownst to anyone, an ominous fog quietly crawled out of the bodies of the deceased, forming a massive pool of mist that slowly covered the world. It would corrupt everything it came into contact with, transforming all living things into bloodthirsty and mindless beings capable only of killing and devouring.

By the time everyone noticed it--it was already too late. 

The first to bear the brunt was the kingdom of elves. The Tree of Life, where all offsprings of the elves were born, created the first dark elf. It was a creature of the night, bloodthirsty by nature, and almost slaughtered the whole elven race.

The second one was the kingdom of the orcs, where the most powerful of their kind suddenly became manic, acting more like beasts, killing everyone in their paths.

Then the peaceful mermaids, evolving into sirens, luring men into drowning in the sea for them to devour. Then the dwarves, the humans, then the dragons. 

Creatures of the dark emerged, created by the world's inhabitants, extracting countless resentments from the deceased--victims of a war fueled by a desire for power. The new generation gradually named this catastrophe--"Darkness Descends."

When they realized the danger of this black fog, the war between races came to an end. All races dispatched their most elite members to explore the fog, but either they did not return alive, or their sanities were consumed by the dark fog. They were unable to get close to its source or identify its weaknesses. Only the church's holy light can barely clear the fog. However, it was not enough, and the continent was still being gradually swallowed by it.

It was not only until The Great Dragon Knight appeared that this hellish nightmare ended. Seeking the help from the gods, he was given endless power to fight off the undead, to never be eroded by the black fog and to suppress it. Together with the most powerful representatives of every race, they suppressed the black fog into the endless abyss, hoping that there will never come a time where it engulfs the whole world again.

With the acquiescence of all races--Eleazar Mikail, The Great Dragon Knight, then built the Kingdom of Yllis, where all races were unified to withstand the erosion of the descent of darkness.

'Til this day thousands of years later, the majestic statue of the Great Dragon Knight still remained together with its companion, the great divine dragon, Yllis.

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Ruth finally arrived in the North Duchy after a month of travelling by carriage. Traveling for that long can really test the patience of a person, not to mention she's inside the body of a child who's easy to get sick and very brittle. After all, the border of Yllis is really too far away. Perhaps only war horses can get there in a few days, but that is on the premise that you won't stop riding to rest, eat, or defecate along the way, add to that the chances of not being robbed and meeting nightmare beasts. So, a month of traveling is actually already short.

Although not as huge as the Imperial Capital, the Northern Duchy was still a vast territory. Because of the good management of the Duke of the North, you can also see the prosperity emanating from every corner of the duchy.

Ruth passed by many street stalls and shops along the way, and the smell of food can make the passing caravans have their stomachs gurgle and subconsciously swallow their saliva. Every few minutes, you can see passing patrol soldiers alertly observing their surroundings, making the common people feel at ease and even let their children go play freely on the streets. The roads made with stones and gravels were neatly placed, and it was clean, reflecting the tight supervision of the patrols regarding the people's well-being. After all, the medical knowledge in this world was not too backward, and the knowledge of hygiene was already widespread. They know that defecating everywhere indiscriminately and not cleaning their bodies can cause various diseases and even start plagues. 

The duke's manor was still a few hours' travel, so Ruth decided to first rest at a nearby inn and continue traveling by tomorrow. After arriving at the inn, Aldus, the capable assistant, immediately arranged the best room for the young miss and arranged another room close to the young miss's room by a few steps for himself, followed by the rooms for the guards and other servants. Their luggage was handed over to the servants, and their horses were handed over to the footman to take care of.

"Miss Ruth, everything is already arranged." Aldus stretched his hand to assist the young miss in getting out of the carriage. Ruth familiarly took his hand got off the carriage. 

Ruth knew how eye-catching her hair was. After all, purple was a rare hair color, so she already put a cloak to hide her hair, and due to this foresight, no one paid them too much attention.

Ruth, wearing a blue dress with a bow and with matching leather shoes with a cloak on top, stepped inside the inn. Strands of her beautiful purple hair went with the flow of the wind, brushing against the cheek of a teenager wearing a silver cloak. The teenager looked back, his silver hair peaking outside the hood, but only saw the back of a child. He asked his knight disguised in common clothes beside him, "Have you seen someone with a purple hair?"

"I haven't, young Master." Damian's forehead wrinkled, thinking if it was an illusion. It was rare to have both purple hair and purple eyes after all, but he didn't really think of it much.

"Hmph. Let's go and buy Clara's favorite cake quickly so we can go back immediately." Thinking about his lovely little sister, a joyful smile immediately bloomed on his face. He quickly forgot about the person with a rare hair color.

Meanwhile, after washing, Ruth changed her previous dress into sleep wear. She was not sleepy for a while, so she opened a book that's totally not something that a child would be interested in. She planned to sleep after an hour of reading. But she just flipped the third page of the book when a knock suddenly sounded from the door.

"May I disturb you, young miss?" It was Aldus.

Ruth closed her book and put it aside and permitted him to enter. 

The capable assistant Aldus immediately entered and with a smile, pushed up his monocle and discussed with the young miss what their plan is for their itinerary, "Would you like to visit the town first? Or immediately head to the duke's manor?"

"Is there something interesting that will happen in town??" Ruth asked.

"Well, from the words of the owner of this inn, there seems to be an art competition tomorrow, followed by an auction that night." Ruth nodded and looked at Aldus, signaling him to continue.

Aldus smiled: "Quite a few noblemen have arrived to rent luxurious inns near the auction house, and even some members of the royal family appeared. There may be something valuable appearing in the auction house that attracted them to come--but as for what it was, we are still inquiring for the time being." 

Ruth thought for a bit and Aldus waited at the side. Aldus looked at that immature face, but he didn't underestimate the young miss just because of her young age. He didn't interact with the young miss much, but he knew that her mind was unlike that of a child. She was capable of making decisions on her own, and sometimes her thoughts were even ahead that of an adult. Add to that her terrifying power that he personally witnessed--he was full of admiration for the young miss. 

After only a few minutes, Ruth made a decision, "Let's take a stroll around the market, then go to the auction tomorrow evening before heading to the Duke's Manor. If you can, you can also try to obtain as much information as possible about the auction items."

"Please have confidence in me, young miss." Ruth can hear Aldus' unsaid meaning. He was simply implying that the information he could get will go beyond what she expected. Ruth just smiled with a raised eyebrow--though her expression should be that of amusement, because of the face that had a trace of baby fat, it inexplicably felt adorable from the eyes of Aldus. He forcibly shook that thought in his heart--after all, the young miss seemed to dislike being treated as a cute child.

Not long after, Aldus went out of the room and Ruth then resumed her reading. After an hour, she turned the lights powered by magic crystals off and slept.

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Ruth always wakes up early. It was like there was a set timer in her mind that makes her sleep not a minute earlier or a minute longer than the time she set for herself, not to mention that she was always half-asleep most of the time. The situation in the borders of the kingdom where the army is stationed is actually a lot more relaxed than wandering like that of her previous life, but her habit of only being half-asleep did not change. Fortunately, the situation of her child's body was still fine.

After washing herself briefly, a servant came to dress her up.

She was not used to having servants, but dressing combat clothes and sleepwear is different from wearing this heavy and unconventional multi-layered dress, not to mention that restrictive children's corsets. Ruth didn't even know why even children needs corsets, but the customs of this world couldn't be simply changed. Whether she liked it or not, she needed to wear it. So, because it was too complicated, she always needs the assistance of the servants.

Thinking of the rags she used to dress herself in her last life, she inexplicably missed it a little. It was at least better than her ribs and organs squeezed in pain but still needing to smile like nothing's wrong.

She wore a navy-blue dress with sleeves, bows, and frills, and another bejeweled leather shoes on her feet. She didn't understand aesthetics at all, and these were all chosen by the servants. Unexpectedly, looking at herself in the mirror, she began to have a little appreciation for her face. Although it was obviously a child's face, there was a beautiful feeling--like seeing an angel that accidentally arrived in the mortal world. 

As a person that doesn't normally appreciate aesthetics, Ruth's evaluation could be considered shocking when the colleagues from her previous life could hear it. But looking at Ruth's face, one could only sigh and say, 'no wonder'. 

A knock sounded on the door. Ruth knew who it was and immediately permitted Aldus to enter the room. Aldus didn't say much and just handed over an envelope sealed with wax. Ruth picked up a paring knife and unsealed the envelope, taking a piece of paper and unfolded it. 

Upon reading its contents, she was a bit confused.

"A compass?" It was the item that the noblemen and even the royalty wanted to get in the auction. 

"It was a relic from the Great Dragon Knight Eleazar. Rumor has it that it was an artifact given by the gods to point out the core of the black fog thousands of years ago. Some of the nobles, however, believe that this can also lead them to the Divine Dragon's lost cave. Dragons were known to collect gold and precious gems, after all. They believed that discovering its lost cave would bring them boundless riches. Despite the lack of proof, they continued to flock to it." Aldus explained, then took out another envelope with another list written on it.

"This list is for other items that you might be interested in." Ruth looked at the list and there were indeed quite a few items that interested her. After reading the contents, she put the put the paper inside the envelope again and handed it to Aldus. 

"Well then, prepare to attend the auction tonight."

"Understood." 

After wearing another cloak, she went into town to explore the market together with Aldus. 

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