Terra, a vast and boundless continent.
From Yan Country and Higashi in the east, to Bolivar and Sargon in the west, the north is a long snow line formed by Sami and the Ursus Empire, and the southernmost land is the Aegir coast of Iberia.
However, the only civilization on this continent that truly borders the sea is the not-so-long coastline of Iberia.
Only there is the continent's known boundary.
But what lies to the north, east, west, and south beyond Iberia?
Is the known territory of Terra, this "land," truly the full extent of Terra?
Is the reach of civilization one-half, one-third, or... merely a small corner of the land?
No one knows. No, perhaps someone once did.
For thousands of years, even before humanity mastered Originium Arts, countless virtuous individuals embarked on explorations beyond the known Domains.
The Burning Wind Scorched Earth southwest of Sargon, the endless snowfields north of Ursus and Sami, and the numerous ruins beneath Leithanien... all once captivated countless people.
But the era of explorers and pioneers has passed, and humanity's territory has been fixed within this confined range.
Under the influence of Originium technology, rapid long-distance communication was established, and the distance between the nations of Terra had never been so close.
And never so far.
The communicating nations and races did not, as idealists had imagined, unite as one and advance together into the unknown domains—land, sea, underground, and even the boundless stars above!
Quite the opposite—the struggle for resources, the clash of beliefs, territorial conflicts, discrimination due to disease, casualties among the people... all of these have set the wheel of hatred in motion, crushing every person living on the continent.
Nations rose and fell; kingship is not eternal.
After the decline of the Sarkaz royal court, countless generations' efforts to restore the nation never succeeded.
The Gaul Empire once flourished, but it was completely annihilated under the encirclement of the Anti-Gaul Alliance.
The Victoria royal family was once strong and united, but with Columbia's independence, the throne has been vacant for decades.
The military expansion of the Ursus Empire once covered half the continent in war; although still powerful, it now faces both internal and external troubles.
As for Iberia, its golden age has vanished with the arrival of The Great Silence, leaving only countless famine-stricken towns struggling along the coastline and a helpless national authority.
There is nothing new under the sun, and humanity forever repeats the same yet different mistakes.
And beneath these fragmented, isolated, and wary nations, there exist things beyond human imagination.
Once they extend their tendrils from non-human Domains into the real world... they will not care for "politics" or "civilization," only Chaos and eternal torment.
This is what Kal'tsit has seen and heard.
As an ordinary traveler on the Terra continent, her greatest wealth is the collection of stories stored in her mind.
However, this trip to Saltwind City, rare as it was, led her to a not-quite-Perfection, but good enough, ending.
— — — — — —
Dust, gravel, yellow sand, mottled yellowish meadows, and occasional clusters of tightly connected bushes.
There were no specially constructed roads here, only dirt paths barely formed by the ruts left by passing vehicles.
Through the wide glass car window, this was all Goki could see.
It had been a week since Goki and Skadi resolved the Abyssal Church issue, boarded Kal'tsit's Originium car, and left Saltwind City, moving away from the Aegir coast.
Leaving the Iberian coast and heading inland, the temperature grew hotter and the environment drier.
A tropical grassland climate, this is the climate for most of Iberia's territory.
Of course, not long ago, Goki and his group also passed through the edge of a humid Rainforest.
Goki roughly guessed that the Rainforest climates of Iberia and Sargon were near the equator of the planet where the Terra continent is located.
And now, they had crossed the equator from the Aegir coast in the Southern Hemisphere and entered the Northern Hemisphere.
Stopping and starting, the car had already traveled over a thousand, nearly two thousand kilometers, from the declining south of Iberia to the relatively declining north—in short, it was very much in decline.
After driving continuously for over a week, the Originium car barely approached Iberia's border.
Although the prototype was always the very bad Spain, it was clear that the area of Iberia could not be contained by one Spain.
And Iberia is not the largest country in Terra.
If Goki was not mistaken, the entire Terra continent was probably much larger than Eurasia and Africa combined.
"Yawn—not there yet."
With his hands on the steering wheel, Goki yawned, lightly tapped the accelerator, and carefully observed the road ahead.
Although Yharnam had no cars, having been a Hunter for so long, Goki had not completely forgotten things from Earth; the driver's license he got when he was young had not been in vain.
There is no oil in the Terra world; all energy comes from Originium. Plastics for bags, and nylon needed for the black, white, and mixed stockings worn by the girls on Rhodes Island, are made through other industrial methods.
And the energy used by the vehicle Goki was driving was naturally not gasoline or diesel, but an electric car powered by an internal Originium generator set.
Therefore, strictly speaking, the term "accelerator" does not exist in Terra; at most, it would be called an "Originium accelerator."
Of course, the gear design was no different, and the brakes were still the same brakes—although the car Goki was driving was electric and had automatic driving and cruise control functions, the brakes could still stop it.
So, after only observing Kal'tsit's driving for a short while, and humbly asking this "Leithanien scholar" for guidance, Goki mastered the technique of driving an Originium car in less than a day, able to take turns driving with Kal'tsit without needing to stop for rest.
"Mr. Goki—would you like some coffee?"
Holding two steaming cups of coffee, Kal'tsit sat in the passenger seat from the back of the car, calmly handing him one of them.
Although it looked like an old van, in reality, the interior of this car was more like a large RV, with exceptionally complete facilities.
Not only were there beds, a simple kitchen, bookshelves filled with various books, Kal'tsit's exclusive laboratory bench—there was even an automatic toilet!
"Thanks, Teacher Kal'tsit—how is Skadi now?"
Staring intently ahead, Goki took the coffee from Kal'tsit's hand, and regardless of how hot it was, drank it down in one gulp. His address for Kal'tsit had changed over these past few days.
Taking advantage of this long car trip, Goki, the outsider, began to understand the current situation of Terra.
As the Doctor, the game only allowed Goki to understand parts of the plot; from Operator dialogue and files, he could grasp some of the world's current state, which was like looking at a leopard through a tube.
To truly understand the nations of Terra and prepare for his upcoming journey, Goki naturally wouldn't let go of Kal'tsit, this Terra encyclopaedia.
To say she was the wisest person in Terra might not be entirely correct; at least in terms of command, she couldn't compare to the Doctor.
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But for this Old Lynx, whose age starts at least at a thousand and has an ultra-long shelf life, no one in the entire world understands the information and intelligence of the Terra nations better than she does.
In addition, Kal'tsit's rich collection of books also gave Goki a good opportunity to broaden his horizons.
"So bitter. If only there was some sugar cube."
Drinking the coffee in one gulp, Goki handed the cup to Kal'tsit, a brilliant smile on his face.
Kal'tsit clearly still had her guard up against him, but Goki had nothing to guard against her—after all, she was the female lead; as long as he didn't have any ulterior motives, Kal'tsit would certainly do nothing.
"Sorry, there isn't any. Sugars are not in short supply, but they are still expensive Materials for medicine, and I also need sugars as culture media—just bear with it."
Taking back the still somewhat hot coffee cup, Kal'tsit looked at Goki's slightly red but completely unburned mouth, and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
However, this was not surprising. Although she still hadn't identified Goki's origin, Kal'tsit also had many Old Hunter friends with such iron stomachs.
Let alone hot coffee, that Yan Country woman could even drink molten steel without a problem.
"Also, don't call me Teacher. I don't remember teaching you anything; I just told you some common sense—common sense that all people of the Terra continent should possess."
Sitting in the passenger seat, watching the weathered rocks on both sides rapidly receding backward, Kal'tsit silently took a sip of the bitter black coffee.
Regarding Skadi and the Abyssal Hunters she represented, as well as the Abyssal Empire beneath the ocean, Kal'tsit, though not fully understanding everything, at least had a good idea.
Aegir is strong, but her strength still has limits. Facing surrounding enemies and hidden disasters, Aegir still cannot protect herself, all within Kal'tsit's understanding.
But Goki is different.
The longer she spent with Goki, the more Kal'tsit noticed his incongruity in this world.
Goki could not only understand various languages of the continent but also read some minority languages. No matter how obscure the words that came out of her mouth, Goki would understand them as the most ordinary language.
At the same time, Goki also had a broad and general understanding of the relationships between the nations of Terra. Whether it was the Ursus Empire or Yan Country, Victoria or Columbia, he had relevant knowledge.
He even inadvertently showed understanding or disdain for specific countries, clearly indicating an awareness of the world situation.
Although it doesn't sound that impressive, in reality, in this Terra where basic education is not widespread and most areas are still backward, being able to accurately understand the world's situation is an education only available to some scholars and politicians.
In contrast to Goki's understanding of Terra, he had almost no common sense about life on Terra.
He was not skilled in Originium Arts, couldn't use Originium appliances, didn't know how to shift gears when driving, and often blurted out terms Kal'tsit didn't even know.
This feeling was like passing by a small village, and the villagers cordially shared with you the technology of a mobile city's giant Originium power reactor—full of incongruity.
[Unheard-of combat techniques, and that extremely special blood. His genetic sequence is different from any known race. Among the nations of the continent, no similar existence can be found at all—truly strange.]
Kal'tsit couldn't see through Goki. This feeling of the unknown, Kal'tsit had only experienced with one other person.
[As for that guy, he should have reached Theresa by now.]
Thinking of a certain old acquaintance, Kal'tsit couldn't help but connect Goki with that person.
Goki's identity was either a unique humanoid weapon created by some unknown group, or he came from... beyond the continent.
Or even—
Kal'tsit couldn't help but look at the sky, but finally shook her head. This possibility was indeed too distant.
Shaking her ears, Kal'tsit gave up on delving further into these energy-wasting questions.
"As for Skadi, I've already prescribed her medicine. The rest will depend on her slowly adapting. I really didn't expect an Abyssal Hunter to suffer from acclimatization—Alright, stop the car. I'll drive. You go take care of her."
After finishing her coffee, Kal'tsit patted Goki's shoulder.
"I've already contacted a smuggler. We'll reach the border tonight and leave here—leaving Iberia is very easy, but the prerequisite is that we must be Iberian citizens."
"Okay, don't overwork yourself either. I'll come relieve you after I get some sleep. Sigh, Skadi really isn't making things easy."
Upon hearing this, Goki immediately lightly pressed the brake, slowly bringing the large truck to a stop. After driving for over a dozen hours continuously, even an Old Hunter would feel some fatigue.
"Don't worry, I have a plan for my stamina."
Looking towards the northwest, at the sandy horizon, Kal'tsit watched the vehicle slowly stop and then stood up again.
"Also, prepare your weapons in advance. The border has not been peaceful recently."
"No problem. I'm going to wash the cups."
Goki gave Kal'tsit a thumbs-up, picked up the two empty cups, and walked into the rear compartment—before leaving, he didn't forget to pat Kal'tsit's shoulder, which was exposed with black Originium crystals, and fled back before Kal'tsit could get angry.
"You—"
Kal'tsit glared at Goki with her emerald eyes, sat back in the driver's seat, and pressed the accelerator again.
"Truly... strange."
For some reason, she always felt that when she was with this Hunter named Goki, she couldn't help but relax.
— — — —
"Skadi, how are you doing? Is your stomach still uncomfortable—huh?"
Walking into the rear compartment, Goki didn't see Skadi.
"Whoosh—"
And with a flushing sound, a slender figure in a red dress staggered out from a side door in the rear compartment.
"Goki... uncomfortable."
Her small face was somewhat pale. Skadi clutched her hat and stomach, squinted her eyes, and walked weakly towards Goki, her movements even a little unsteady.
Seeing her movements, Goki immediately panicked.
"Skadi, you must steady yourself, don't, don't, don't, don't pounce over, the car won't be balanced—"
Bang — — — —
Accompanied by a heavy thud, the steadily moving vehicle suddenly jumped, one wheel even lifting off the ground for a second, and Kal'tsit in the driver's seat felt herself lift into the air.
"Sigh, my instruments, I hope they aren't really broken."
Kal'tsit somewhat regretted recruiting these two people.
The Nona Abyssal Hunter's first journey into the land was not so smooth.
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