Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

The Leith river. Central Edinburgh.

The water of Leith was an ever-flowing river network that ran from north to south of Edinburgh. The main river along with its network of tributaries separated the kingdom of Edinburgh's lands into various parts to create the four duchies and the central region.

The central region of Edinburgh was under the direct control of the current king. This region was very rich in all forms of ranking resources thanks to the Water of Leith. The main river looked as vast as a sea if one stood at its banks from either side.

Various ships were selling in either direction of the river's flow. They all maintained a safe distance from each other, traveling at a constant speed using various elemental arrays.

Some ships would disappear from the main river by taking one of the many tributaries to the river Leith while some would get added up for the same reason. Traveling over the Water of Leith was one of the primary ways to travel in central Edinburgh after all.

There were no business opportunities in central Edinburgh. No competitive rankers' markets. This region of the kingdom had hit a saturation limit in terms of the opportunities it would offer to the outsiders. All the great businesses and opportunities in central Edinburgh belonged to the extended royal family.

The central region of Edinburgh was safe from all kinds of threats as well. So there were relatively few adventurers or hunters' guilds. So there was nothing much to do for an ordinary ranker who had just started his journey as a ranker.

In short, there was no room to grow and get big for anybody whose name was not Renar. This is why almost everyone from the four duchies would only enter the central region for one main reason– to visit Edin, the capital of Edinburgh.

Edin could be reached by river Leith from almost any major region in central Edinburgh using the Water of Leith. A certain ship was making its way to Edin from the north of Edinburgh.

The ship's name was Freya. It looked like an old sailing construction that was too big to call a boat but too small to call a proper ship. The ship was painted navy blue with white sails aboard it that had wind-element runes over them. The deck was around 15 meters wide and 50 meters long. It had a white raven figurehead at the forepeak.

Freya was Eren's most recent purchase. It had two floors below the deck. These floors hosted various dedicated spaces for various leisure activities for passengers.

No matter the state of the water, Freya's deck and the floors underneath it would not shake. This was thanks to the various stabilizing arrays it had etched on the base.

The entire ship was run on autopilot. One just needed to feed it the coordinates and it would sail there on its own using various elemental arrays as sensors and operators.

This was Eren's first day on the Water of Leith. It had only been a few hours since he had entered central Edinburgh using the teleportation arrays available to him.

He had already traveled hundreds of miles inside the boat. But it was not enough to cover the huge distance that separated him and Edin. Central Edinburgh did not have teleportation arrays, which made travel time-consuming for rankers. As a result of the long journey, they got to explore more of the places.

Eren had just received a message from his old party a few hours ago. Jake, Steve, Renita, Ramy, and the rest had already reached the capital. They were waiting for him to show up.

Eren had no choice but to make them wait for him. Even with non-stop travel on autopilot at a relatively high speed, Freya still needed 5 more days to reach Edin. The graduation event was supposed to start on the sixth day. Being a participant in the graduation event, Eren was really cutting it close.

Thankfully, Freya was very comfortable traveling. It had to be for the kind of money Eren had paid for it. Plus, Eren had a company that kept him busy.

***

The evening sky had set in. The yellow-orange sky painted the river's water the same color. The winds that swept over the water carried a distinct freshness in them.

Eren was standing on the quarterdeck, leaning on the deck's ledge. He had his head propped in the palm of his folded hand. The butcher was looking at the ever-changing scenery around him as the ship kept moving forward. For some reason, he found the scene enchanting to look at.

Eren did not come to central Edinburgh in his past timeline. He wasn't qualified at that time. This region offered even less breathing room for nobodies like him from the past timeline. Thus, he was trying to take it all in while observing the juxtaposition of his two lives in his head.

Eren remained motionless for the time being. It was as if water was trying to talk to him through some unknown means. The water-element spirit beast mark he had on him was making its presence known. He felt like he would solve most of the world's mysteries just by maintaining his current position for days on end.

"What are you doing?"

Eren heard a question from behind him speak in a voice that was laced with shock and suspicion. He ignored the voice's texture. And he didn't have to turn back to find out who it was. The butcher smiled before answering honestly.

"Just admiring the view, teacher Levine."

Eren replied calmly. He felt like he should have traveled alone. For some reason, he felt that there was a certain magic in the air that only he could perceive. As if the world only wanted to talk to him and nobody else.

Levine was standing behind him on the quarterdeck. Nina and Jiana were also present on the ship. On the main deck of the ship, the two healers were engaged in a discussion related to their fields.

"Hmm? Just admiring the view? I could have sworn you were practicing some kind of strange ranking technique. I… I'm not sure… But… Look!

Look at what you have done to the river's flow."