The map was made of sturdy paper with rich colors. All the factions and regions were marked there, and a red line ran through the middle, showing the route Flain would take.

On the paper there was a lot of information about the journey, but also about the concentrated factions of the Empire of Light and about the regions Flain would pass through.

That was amazing, since Flain wanted to at least roughly orient himself in this world, because until now he didn't know of any other faction except the Empire of Light. He expected that at the Academy they would teach history or something similar, but they didn't. He had already asked Flor about it, and Flor told him that history and orientation are already known by every noble child before entering the Academy, because their family teaches them.

So it would be pointless to have such a subject in the Noble Academy.

The Empire of Light had 3 neighbors. In any case, the empire had the largest territory of them.

The first was the Kingdom of Blue Flag. Compared to all the surrounding factions, it had an average-sized territory. It had a classic noble system that was not based on strength, and not just anyone could become a noble. Anyway, Flor had written for it: quite weak.

The second was the Holy Place. One of the most racist factions far and wide. They tolerated no other races except humans, and even organized great purges because of their religion. They oppressed women and used them only for bearing children; otherwise, they were their slaves. At their head stood the Holy Lord Dragon, who had been in power since the very beginning. The Holy Lord Dragon was also the head of the Supreme Church, which he himself created.

They had quite a large territory, and their military power was great because they focused heavily on militarism. With the Emperor of Light, they had fairly good relations, since the empire was somewhat racist. But not to the extent of being allies.

The third faction was the Assembly of Great Golems, which had almost as large a territory as the empire. Basically, all golems united and formed a faction. Since there are few golems due to their slow reproduction, this is by far the largest golem faction.

They are not directly racist against other races, but they cannot live in the Assembly of Great Golems, since it is only a golem faction.

Since they share borders with the Holy Place, an endless war has been going on between them for hundreds of years, and it became a tradition. But since for neither faction would it make sense to be constantly at war, they use it more as an unofficial training ground, and neither side pushes against the other too hard.

The White Wolf Ikari tribe lies beyond the territory of the Assembly of Great Golems, and it is such an insignificant tribe that probably not even the Holy Place knows about it. At least that's what was written in Flor's notes.

Flain will have to pass through the territory of the Assembly of Great Golems, which should not be a problem, since other races can pass through their territory — they just cannot live there permanently.

Flain learned quite a lot of useful information. Although it was common knowledge and most people in the Empire knew it, for him, who had only been here for a year and a half and was moreover undead, it was valuable information.

Flain did not hesitate and set out on his journey. It would be best to go on foot, even if that would attract some attention. It was much faster than traveling by carriage.

On the way, he immediately called Itai to tell him that for at least 3 weeks, maybe more, he would not be in the Imperial City. If any urgent matter arose, he left it to Itai.

Ten days passed, and Flain reached the border. Nothing unusual had happened along the way, he was just running. People noticed him because of his unusual ME, but no one went to confront him, nor did they have any reason to. In the Empire of Light, it was not forbidden to have an unusual ME.

In front of him stretched the long border walls between the territory of the Empress of Light and the Assembly of Great Golems. Between them stood a great wall erected by Change Magic.

It did not serve for defense but for observation. The wall was about 30 meters high, so very few could leap over it, yet it was rather fragile. Since wars were frequent, it would not be worthwhile to rebuild a durable wall after every destruction.

Every 4 kilometers were border crossings whose ears were specially enhanced. Thus, they could hear everything within a 4-kilometer radius.

Half of the guards were golems from the Assembly of Great Golems, and the other half were people from the Empire, since these were shared borders.

As a result, it meant that if someone tried to attack the walls, the Empire would know about it immediately and send the army.

The only possibility was to pass through the border crossing, where it was very difficult to get through with anything illegal or as a criminal.

This border system was used by almost every faction that was not at war with its neighbor.

Therefore, smuggling or crossing for criminals was very difficult.

Anyway, Flain was not exposed. In Flor's notes, it was written that they had no way to deactivate artifacts, so it should go without problems.

Flain lined up at the nearest border crossing.

After a while, his turn came. The man looked him over at first. No magical energy could be felt from him.

"You're a noble child, aren't you?" he asked.

Flor had allowed Flain to use the identity of Gown Wigrem, but in moderation, since it was not yet fully developed.

"Yes, I am Gown Wigrem. Son of the new baron. How did you recognize it?" Flain asked.

"It's noticeable from your magical energy, which is of a different color. I suppose your father wanted you to become strong quickly, so he ordered you to train near some type of mana. It's quite common for noble children who lack talent. But I must say, your magical energy is far too different—never before have I seen anything like it in someone at your Stage. I'm surprised you're still alive," he said bluntly.

Flain already knew now that this man must also be a noble. Because if someone spoke like this publicly about a member of a noble family and was not a noble himself, it would end very badly for him…

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