NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 7: War Empire map
Today, a rare moment was happening—something that hardly ever occurred at the academy. A single student had drawn everyone's attention, and upon seeing him, they couldn't help but fix their eyes on him.
"My God… Who is that? Since when do we have someone like this in our academy?"
"His eyes are so beautiful…"
Hearing these comments, Li An smiled and walked toward the elevator, moving slowly.
'So this is what celebrities feel like? It's so exciting! Too bad it won't last long... Soon, there will be disdain because of my class.'
Li An entered the elevator, and just as he was about to close the door, someone shouted:
"Wait!"
He turned and saw a rather unusual group of three people.
In front stood a huge man, nearly three meters tall. Behind him, to the left, was a short girl who seemed half his size. To the right was a young man wearing a black robe that covered his entire body.
The group entered the elevator, and the leader began staring at Li An.
He returned the gaze.
'This guy is huge! What the hell does he want, staring at me like that?'
Li An was confused, unable to understand what was happening. The giant man, on the other hand, continued observing him, analyzing him from head to toe.
'This is uncomfortable...'
To break the awkward silence, Li An spoke:
"Hey, are you going hunting outside the academy?"
Judging by the group's attire, he deduced as much. After all, no one would wear those kinds of clothes just to study.
The giant man remained silent, as did his companions, until the short girl stepped forward.
"Sorry! This is the first time we've met someone so… like you, and we're curious. Don't take it the wrong way. My name is Ah Lin, second year, Class D. And you?" the girl asked in a timid tone.
"That's it? Li An, first year, Class F."
After those words, he noticed a change in the group's expressions, but no one said anything else. He didn't care. Li An had never intended to get close to them and had only started the conversation because the way they were staring at him made the situation uncomfortable.
The elevator fell into deep silence, where no one spoke.
When they reached the second floor, Li An stepped out.
"What's the point of being good-looking in this world if you have no talent? Is he just going to live off some rich woman?"
The giant man muttered with disdain, only to see Li An turn his gaze toward him.
"That's not so bad, you know? If I found a sugar mommy, I'd gladly accept."
He smiled before the elevator doors closed, waved at the unusual group, and headed to his classroom.
As soon as he sat down, he once again became the target of several stares.
'I was prepared for this, but it's really annoying...'
Li An was starting to lose his patience, but in the end, he took a deep breath and calmed himself. He was waiting for someone. If she didn't show up, attending class would have been a waste of time.
To his delight, Ning Xue arrived. Her face was the same as always—an expression that looked like she wanted to kill everyone. She wore earphones in her ears.
She didn't say anything and went straight to her seat, but before sitting down, she cast a glance at Li An that lasted less than a millisecond. Then, she sat down.
Class began with the geography teacher explaining the location and dangers of the War Empire. Li An wrote everything down for Ning Xue.
When he finished, a clear smile appeared on his face.
"Classmate Ning Xue, here. No need to pay. Consider it a thank-you for yesterday. You helped me a lot."
He handed her the notes and quickly turned away, avoiding eye contact.
[You gave Ning Xue notes about the War Empire map.]
[Return 20x]
[Detailed map of the entire War Empire, including its hidden secret realms.]
[Note: Since this is a map, the system can install a new function!
[Do you wish to install? (Y/N)]
[If you choose "No," the map will remain realistic. If you choose "Yes," the map will be integrated into the system.]
'This is amazing!'
Li An loved this reward because he had just found a way to make money!
Secret realms were small worlds created by powerful individuals to select heirs and lucky individuals. Finding one was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Without hesitation, he pressed "Yes" and saw a detailed online map of everything.
The War Empire was vast, with nine states and thousands of cities, where each state had a sovereign power.
The Imperial War Academy, founded by the first Emperor to select talents, was the sovereign of the Imperial State, which housed a hundred secret realms.
Li An was impressed by this number, but what truly shocked him was discovering that the Black Darkness Mountain Range also had a secret realm.
This sparked his curiosity, and he clicked on the location.
[Black Darkness Mountain Range]
[Danger level:]
[1.5 - Normally]
[5.0 - Creature sleeping underground]
(Details: Martial Artist Fifth Rank - Danger 1.5; Unknown level - Danger 5.0)
[Darkness Secret Realm]
[Level: 1.9]
[Only accepts people from the Martial Artist Realm]
Reading this, Li An felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him.
"I'm too weak right now to explore this secret realm… And that creature…"
A chill ran down his spine. If such a being awakened, half the state could be destroyed, especially the common cities.
"Strength!"
He needed it more than ever. With this invisible threat, his determination to become stronger was reinforced.
While seriously thinking about it, he felt his senses activate, noticing a hand about to touch him. Instinctively, he grabbed it before it could reach him. The next moment, he looked up—
Only to see Ning Xue right in front of him, which sent a shiver down his spine. At that moment, he regretted having such sharp senses.
"Classmate Ning Xue, why didn't you call me?" He didn't admit fault, only asked with moderate interest.
"Look around! There's no one here! You were so out of it that you didn't even notice all the classes were canceled! Damn it, Li An!"
"Why? What the hell happened for the academy to cancel classes?"
"Demons! They appeared in Red Dust City and killed a second-year Class D group."
"Was it three people? A giant, a short girl, and someone dressed like an assassin?"
Li An felt a tightness in his stomach, almost making him vomit.
"Yes. Did you see them?" Ning Xue easily freed herself from Li An's grip and asked.
"I rode the elevator with them this morning!" Li An answered honestly. There was no point in lying. Besides, he had nothing to do with it anyway.
"Were they your friends?" Ning Xue spoke softly. Despite being a delinquent, she wasn't insensitive to human emotions.
"No, we just talked in the morning about a few things… related to me." He pointed to his own face and sighed.
"That's life."
In the end, he just accepted, indifferently, that that group was already in the past, only regretting his bad luck for having encountered a demon.
"Since I have nothing else to do here, I'm going to my dormitory."
Li An was in no mood to stick to his schedule.
'A creature underground at risk of awakening and demons appearing… Is this the beginning of a new era? Has the Martial Era ended? Is an era of disaster coming?