The bearish man and his wife left soon after, and Ethan was now alone with the old priest, who gently closed the doors of the church and sat beside Ethan, tending to the fire.
After a few moments had passed, Ethan asked.
"Was that the man who saved me?"
The priest turned to him, surprised.
"Yes, how did you know?"
"It was just a guess of mine."
"Hmmm..."
The priest didn't talk much after that, leading Ethan to shut his mouth as well. He sighed and took another look at his body's condition. A full natural recovery could be expected in about a week; if Ethan focused a bit, he could speed up his recovery.
Which was exactly the plan; unfortunately, it would have to wait. His Ki reserves were abysmal. He needed to wait until his Ki recovered to actually do anything. He hated how defenseless he was here and at the mercy of others.
Others he didn't even know.
Ethan took a deep breath and analyzed his surroundings once more. He couldn't turn his head well, but in the corner of his vision, he was certain he saw what appeared to be an idol, a hand-made sculpture of a beast hidden just behind the fire.
'... What even is that?'
A personal hobby of his priest friend? Probably. Ethan felt strange looking at the sculpture, and so he focused on something else.
'I'm probably in the eastern lands, some remote area. Although I don't smell the sea at all... and why is there such heavy snow?'
He regretted not taking the damn geography classes back in the Royal Academy seriously; he mostly slept through those boring lectures. It would have helped him here much more had he taken those classes seriously.
'... damn it.'
Ethan couldn't shake off the bad feeling he had; it was the fear of the unknown and the possibility of the worst-case scenario blooming in his mind, no matter how much he tried to calm himself, it wasn't happening.
To distract his restless mind, Ethan began his breathing technique, accelerating the regeneration of his Ki reserves, but he couldn't do it for long. It was eating away at him.
"Priest."
He called out and took a deep breath as Igimo turned to him with an irritated look on his face. He was in the middle of cooking some porridge, and didn't like to be disturbed. To him, cooking a good meal was a sacred process.
"What?"
He grunted, and Ethan asked.
"... Where is this place?"
Igimo remained silent for a while, and with each second that passed, Ethan's worries only increased.
He should have realized it sooner, the languages he didn't understand, the environment which didn't suit his knowledge, and the broken Liuk spoken by the priest. Ethan prepared himself for the truth, but he couldn't hide his fear and anxiety, no matter how much he tried.
Igimo took a deep sigh and told the young man where exactly he was.
"You are in the Principality of Miniak, a nation in the eastern area of the continent of Alapur."
And when the truth was finally revealed, Ethan took a deep, trembling breath as he realized.
"Shit, I'm fucked..."
Igimo chuckled, for indeed, Ethan was fucked.
----
The Empire of Valka is unyielding. It stands at the heart of the Mighty Continent of the Sword, Vakuma, and extends to the north. It is the nation with the most land and people, the mightiest force on the continent, and the people of the Empire are mighty and one with the sword and war.
To the south are the kingdoms of the people of the Sun and spirits, warriors who don the flames of the sun itself and surround themselves with spirits to enhance their knowledge and fighting prowess.
And to the Eastern Lands, are the people of the sea, merman and fish folk, they who harness the power of the tides and the sea to defend their home. They are the least populated, yet the ones with the most vigor.
The continent of Vakuma is filled with unyielding warriors; the mighty rule the continent. The sword and the art of war are honed through multiple engagements with each other. Vakuma was a continent embroiled in war, and thus, the people of Vakuma are strong.
Incredibly strong. However, Vakuma is not the only continent to exist in the world. There is one more, the continent of Alapur, the land of the Gods, whose people had managed to cross the Cursed Sea and invade the continent of Vakuma.
The land of the Gods had laid siege to the continent of swords, and it had been this way for a thousand years and more. Alapur had been on the offensive, while the warriors of Vakuma could only defend their continent, with no hope to attack unless they, too, found a way to pass the Cursed Sea.
For a thousand years and more, Alapur had invaded Vakuma, and for a thousand years and more, Vakuma stood strong.
And Ethan?
He just found himself deep, deep in enemy territory with no chance of a rescue, only himself. In a continent he was unfamiliar with, and worse, with no idea how he had even got here.
He was deep in enemy territory, without any way out.