1128 My Queen...

Liam stared at the system prompt that flashed in front of him displaying the stats of the elven woman. "Level 250… Inferior water element affinity… inferior fire element affinity… Not bad."

The woman smiled shyly and nodded.

Liam did not bother responding to her. What he was more interested in was the fact that these people had a system too. This confirmed it. Surely, they must have a system affiliated store?

"I have a job for you." Liam locked eyes with the elf. "I need you to run to the nearest system shop and buy me a list of herbs."

"My Lord?" The elf looked surprised.

Liam's heart instantly sped up. What happened? Did he say something wrong? Did he just give away his identity?

"My Lord, it would take me ten fortnights to travel to the Pyronia Kingdom. I am also not confident in making the journey. Please forgive my incompetence."

"If I may, shall I request the aid of someone stronger in our clan?" The elf asked nervously, her eyes lowered as if worried she might offend him.

Liam's heart rate steadied. He had not given himself away; it was just the practicality of the journey that seemed to be the issue.

"Pyronia Kingdom? That's certainly far," Liam nodded. "Very well, you are excused from this task. Don't worry about finding another person. I will get this done another way."

The elf looked relieved but also somewhat disappointed, perhaps at not being able to fulfill his request. "Is there anything else you require, my Lord?"

Liam remained silent for a moment before eyeing the elf again, this time in a more obvious manner. "Come. Sit next to me and give me company while I eat some food."

The woman gulped and sat down next to him. Liam then casually tossed his arm around her, pulling her closer and playing around with the robe that loosely covered her slender figure.

He then picked up a fruit from the tray. "Tell me. Have you ever been to Pyronia?"

Three hours later…

As the elf finally left Liam's chamber, he looked out the small settlement with a grave expression on his face. Thanks to the woman whose name he had already forgotten, he learned a lot about the place he was in.

But it was not good news.

For starters the situation was much worse than he assumed it to be. It seems that he was mistaken. Here, in this world, the system shops were not just rare, they were super exclusive.

Meaning, there was just one and only one system shop for the entire Empire.

As for why this was the case, Liam did not understand. Perhaps the Emperor of this territory used it as a means to control power distribution, or maybe there were other limitations he wasn't aware of yet.

Either way, this was a significant problem for him. It restricted his ability to acquire resources, information, and advanced skills or abilities that could be critical for his progress.

Not to mention he was probably being hunted by the elven royals. Liam had no idea how strong these elves were. The strongest of them could be at a level he wouldn't dare face.

Considering that they were a B-ranked world and their clans, kingdoms and empires had existed for centuries, there was no way they wouldn't be able to locate an ant like him. He would be a fool to underestimate them.

However, he had no other choice. He had to stay here. He did not know how to even exit this world.

Besides, he was not going anywhere without Luna. Back in those ruins, he only felt her presence vaguely but here he could feel her presence more concretely.

Even if he was not able to locate her, he could still feel that she was here. Somewhere here. He needed to find her first. He needed to find out what happened back home.

Liam inhaled deeply the rich nourishing mana all around him. This would have been a wonderful place to stay under different circumstances.

As he was looking outside, he couldn't help but wonder, was the elven empire really the strongest force here?

Surely, there must be someone stronger than them? Did they have control of the entire world?

Liam couldn't ask the elven woman everything. Otherwise, they might grow suspicious of his ignorance. "I need to go outside tomorrow and see if I can purchase a map or perhaps some information."

Liam sat back on the austere cot in the room and closed his eyes to meditate. It was nighttime and there was nothing much he could do today. He took in the abundance of the elemental essence around him and washed his body slowly with it.

Though there were many obstacles in his path, there was still one rook in his corner, a chubby conniving rook. "Any day now…" Liam murmured as he continued meditating.

***

Meanwhile… in other parts of Tirnanog…

In a densely wooded area, shadowed by the towering ancient trees, several elves gathered around a mysterious altar. Their faces were masked in a blend of reverence and caution as they stared at the figure atop the altar.

"My Queen…" An elf stepped forward. He held a basket full of fruits and rare herbs, which he gently placed before the altar. "We have gathered the offerings you have requested."

Unlike the ones Liam had eaten, these fruits were anything but ordinary. Each and every single one of the fruits and herbs were full of mana and elemental essence. They were top-grade treasures.

Not just that, even the elves serving were anything but ordinary. All the elves were at least level 500 and above and they wore expensive elegant clothing laced with the finest threads and expensive gems.

However, when they stared at the figure atop the altar, they only had a look of complete and utter reverence. They even seemed nervous if this assortment of treasures was enough to please the high and mighty figure.

Thankfully, the queen seemed to be pleased.

"That's enough for now. Bring me more tomorrow." She said as she waved her three tails with a lazy yawn.

The audience immediately broke into a mad fervor.

"All hail Queen Luna!"