Only I Am A Reader

Shhhhhik.

After the party of four ascended the stairs into the surface, the stone door automatically closed. In more precise words, it disappeared as if the exit was never there, making it seem as if they teleported outside.

'So this is what it looks like.'

Looking at the mountain that stood taller than the clouds, proving its superiority by piercing the sky, Leo was momentarily amazed by the sight. If he were to ignore how much longer either stretched beyond the clouds, the domineering Mount Heaven was as tall as the Sky Piercing Sword also known as the Progenitor Sword! This was what they had been living under all of these years!

No matter how creative one was, imagination could only take him so far. Without a doubt, witnessing the unnatural be the new natural was one of the many perks that Leo enjoyed as a 'Reader'.

'Still… This is a bit much.'

Since they were unconsciously taken here when they first joined, the place they were currently at was basically the middle of nowhere. Giving boys and girls under the age of 15 such a start was abnormal, but it definitely conceded with the way the Heavenly Strength Society handled things.

"Can I-"

Leo was just about to ask when Yeon put what she received in his hand. The other two were still absentmindedly looking around, but the same couldn't be said about Yeon.

"Baekho orabeoni?"

Cheon Sohee finally came to her senses when Leo unfurled the scroll on the ground, just as expected, it was a map, just what they needed to reach their destination.

'It really is as isolated as one would expect it to be.'

The location of Mount Heaven was directly pinpointed in the map as their starting point. However, there was practically nothing around it. Up to a certain radius, all there was to find was desolate land. Even on horseback, it would take over a week to get to the closest populated area.

'As for this…'

Clink, clink.

Other than the map that was their only source of intel until they met other people, the pouch was of no use to them at the moment. They were on their own.

"What should we do, Baekho orabeoni? I kind of missed this, but…"

'I know.'

They were lost. Having spent years living in a contained place doing nothing but training, the children of the past would naturally be confused when thrown into the vast grass plains, even Leo couldn't deny having a similar impression.

Their sorry past didn't help either. Although orphans who survived on the streets had a certain degree of wit and sense of territory, that was restricted to the city, town, or village they lived in. Once they were given an unknown starting point like this, they were even worse than normal children.

Cheon Yong didn't voice it out like Cheon Sohee, but he also silently looked at Leo. Without the instructors' directions, no one wanted to take the helm of a lost ship.

'I guess this would have been on you.'

Only Yeon looked at the map with thoughtful eyes, considering how the original Baekho would have acted, the leader of this party would have been the young miss-like Yeon, she undeniably gave the image!

"Let's take a look around first to get used to the new environment before we move out."

However, Leo had no problems taking over in her place, even Yeon wanted so. Not to mention sharing the burden, Leo felt obligated to guide the clueless children as the oldest person around, at least mentally that is.

'I wonder if it's doing okay.'

Even in the world of murim, horses were still a necessity for long travels. Unfortunately, the instructors didn't seem to agree so Leo could only miss his old 'buddy'. He had sent it back to his hometown, but he had no idea how that ended up…

"Haaaa…"

Taking a long breath of fresh air, Leo held the map as both Yeon and Sohee followed behind. Although Cheon Yong was more wild with his 'exploration', he remained in their line of sight.

"Alright, let's get going, we will march straight ahead."

The route to get to the closest human settlement was particularly detailed on the map. However, even to Leo who had gained quite a bit of travel experience during his stay at the Sword Continent, the lack of road marks in the grassy plains made it hard to make use of.

"Try to maintain a consistent pace, don't overdo it."

The little adaptation practice ended when Cheon Yong joined back with the group. After putting everything away, Leo held on to the wrapped Silver Dragon as clear clouds surrounded his feet, the easiest way to get out of nowhere was still to walk in a straight line!

Whizz!

"This feels refreshing!"

Without any warning, a group of four youths started running out of nowhere, Cheon Sohee couldn't help shouting in excitement with a flushed face, the feeling of running alongside the wind was a completely new experience for them!

'It's pitiful… but fresh.'

It wasn't just Cheon Sohee who appeared to be excited about their journey, the same could be said about Cheon Yong and Yeon. All of this was a result of the oppression they had to endure as children followed by the harsh trials of the Heavenly Furnace. However…

'The taste of freedom.'

It was all thanks to their experience that the confusing situation suddenly turned this refreshing. Freely running without bounds was far from the epitome display of freedom, but this was something that they only got to experience now.

'Though it's not a ninja run, I agree.'

Even with all of his different pasts, Leo couldn't deny how refreshing this free run was after living underground for that long. He knew that he would quickly get sick of it judging from personal experience… but there was nothing wrong in enjoying the fun while it lasted!

Wheeeeew!

The long whistle of the wind loudly announced the start of the youths' first happiness!