I'm more like a... tourist.
Admiring the light-blue sky through the window opposite me, I chuckled and zipped up my backpack.
"Next stop, Station 67, Yunhee!"
The scenery of the sky and my body had remained still. Yet, within three hours, the train had already traveled across the human realm, approximately the distance from California to New York.
As the train came to a stop, I casually stood up and exited through the doors, immediatly feeling a rush of cold air bombard my face.
Unlike the capital city train station, which was a building, the station here was completely in the open with no walls or ceiling, standing amidst the marketplace.
Dozens of screams bombarded my ears as I walked into the Cloud River City, renowned for its nature.
"LOTUS PAVILION TICKET, 2 GOLD COINS."
"BUY MEDICINE, MADE FROM SPECIAL LEAVES FROM THE PAVILION, HERE!"
In the distance, way past the marketplace, a massive pyramid, as high as the skyscrapers in the capital and as wide as a city block, stood.
Made long ago by the elves, the stone-brick pyramid had vines and leaves all over it, painting it a mossy and natural green.
The Lotus Pavilion...
Ignoring the vendors, I strolled through the open city street and toward the pyramid's entrance.
The Pavilion was said to be the most beautiful piece of architecture in the entire world.
The pyramid was completely hollow inside, featuring artificial waterfalls, jungles, and forests that were intertwined with ancient stone-brick houses and even a castle.
Pulling out my tablet, I casually flashed my student ID to the security guard, who immediatly smiled and stepped out of the way.
"Enjoy your stay!"
No questions, either?
As I stepped inside, a gust of humid air instantly surrounded me, while the calming sound of countless waterfalls crashing against rocks entered my ears.
It was...amazing.
All I had written was a single paragraph about the pavilion in my book...yet, something so beautiful had been made.
A smile on my face, I immediately stepped on the wooden bridge, crossing over the massive river that flowed throughout the entire pyramid.
Unfortunately, I didn't see anyone floating in the water, even though I had modeled it after a lazy river that I had seen in a waterpark.
Walking through the jungle on an already-made path, I eagerly examined my creations: birds with four hands, insects with two heads, or even an ant the size of a tree stump.
By absorbing the mana-rich air within this pyramid, the beasts had evolved rapidly, allowing natural selection to take place as mutations were more common.
They weren't demonic beasts, so I didn't have to worry about them attacking unless they were angered.
As the jungle trees disappeared behind me, I finally sighed and took a breath upon entering the plains area.
Filled with cleanly groomed grass and various pink cherry blossom trees, the area was stunning and tranquil, with countless people simply lying down and sleeping on the ground.
Beyond the plain, a medieval-style fortress with four watch towers came into sight, seemingly abandoned with no humans near it and vines all over the walls.
At that moment, as my eyes scanned the castle's highest point, where a massive flag stood, my entire body halted.
...what?
A massive flag stood atop the castle's spire...completely blank.
No...it can't be...I removed that in the final draft, didn't I...?
Standing at the border of the human and elven realm, Yunhee used to be part of the Elven territory in the past.
However, hundreds of years ago, when the demon realm first attacked, the elves lost a significant amount of power, their army being completely unprepared at the time.
Thus, the greedy human realm had used the chance to seize this city from the elves in exchange for aid.
Even after the defeat of the demons, this territory had remained in the humans' control, angering many elves.
After all, the Lotus Pavilion in Yunhee was a sacred place, built by Elven ancestors, so many were furious about losing it.
According to Elven ancestor legends, there was also something special hidden inside the Pavilion.
Thus, as the prologue to my book, a group of elves secretly snuck into the Pavilion and infiltrated the fortress, attempting to search for the rumored items from their legend.
The humans would eventually notice this and send heroes; however, it would all be too late.
By the time of their arrival, the group of elves had discovered the area they were looking for and left, causing a rift to appear between the humans and elves.
However, later on, I decided that the human and elven races should be allies, with the Elven prince joining the protagonist's party, so I ultimately removed this scene.
But then...why is the flag blank?
It made no sense.
The flag was an artifact that created a magical barrier around the fortress, preventing anyone from getting too close.
Yet, as displayed by its blank color, it was...off.
The reason why the human had realized the fortress had been invaded was the...blank flag.
That means...the barrier around the fortress is gone. Someone...is inside?
Confused, I veered off the main path through the plain and entered the oak forest surrounding the fortress.
Bracing myself, I carefully walked step-by-step, expecting to collide with an invisible wall at any moment...but nothing happened.
...I can't have changed the plot by simply taking a train and coming here, right?
Raising my pace to a sprint, I weaved through the trees, which were so densely packed together that no light leaked through, shrouding the forest in complete darkness.
Maybe...the castle's defenses are just turned off today?
No, not possible.
Standing at the edge of the forest, hiding in a bush, I gazed through the square-shaped holes in the fortress's portcullis.
And... I saw it.
A figure with two pointy ears, long silver hair, and an elongated nose.
The scene I had removed from the book was replaying in front of me.
"..."
This world is based on my book...but what version of my book?
Watching the elf frantically search the courtyard, I carefully retreated.
It was only a matter of time before they found the place they were looking for.