Princess Alora’s entourage finally passed through the city gates and began traveling along the roads outside the city. Feeling more at ease, Broken decided to remove his helmet and took a deep breath of relief.
Princess Alora chuckled softly and turned to him.
“Yes, Princess?” he asked, looking a bit puzzled.
“Why do you seem afraid of being seen by so many people? This is a chance for you to raise your profile, being in the same carriage with me,” she remarked.
Broken sighed. “I think quite the opposite, Princess. Sure, I’m happy to be in the same carriage with you. But you might not know that I’m certain more people will hate me just for being here with you.”
“Really? Are you talking about the locals or the players?”
“I’m not sure about the locals, but players will definitely curse me and hunt me down,” Broken replied. “You have to understand that many players idolize you. So, my being in the same carriage with you will surely make me a public enemy.”
“Are you scared?”
“Scared?” Broken paused for a moment before sighing again.
Alora simply chuckled at his reaction. “I think you’ll have to get used to it. I’ll be needing your help more in the future.”
Broken nodded resolutely. “I guess this is a risk I can bear if it’s for you,” he said.
“So…” Alora continued.
“Yes?”
“Are you one of those players who idolizes me?” she asked.
Broken paused for a moment, taking in her words. He was conversing directly with the crowned princess of Dissidia Kingdom. She wasn’t just any ordinary person; she was a royal, guarded by two Knight Grand Crosses. He felt unsure about the best way to answer such a question, especially given his limited interactions with people.
“Yes,” he answered quickly. “I can’t deny that I idolize you too.”
Alora chuckled at his words. “That’s a simple and straightforward answer.”
Broken nodded. “I’ve learned a lot about your profile, Princess.”
“And?”
“Being a half-human, half-elf crowned princess, but in a difficult position even in your own home,” he said.
“Oh really? I’m glad you understand my situation,” she responded.
“I mean, in my world, I often find myself in similar situations.”
“Are you a prince from a kingdom in your world? A half-race not desired by your people?”
“No,” Broken replied immediately. “Quite the opposite. I’m seen as trash on the streets, in the eyes of many people,” he said, laughing a bit.
“Is that literal or some term only you players understand?”
Broken shook his head. “What I mean to say is, more like being outcast because of situations beyond my control, things I never asked for.”
Alora nodded. “It seems hard, huh?”
“What do you think, Princess?” he asked in return.
Princess Alora paused, then looked straight ahead. “Being a crowned princess is a huge responsibility for me.” frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Broken nodded slowly. “I can see how hard you work, even going down to the battlefield for it.”
Alora continued, “The ruler of this kingdom,” she said, pausing again, “has always been a warrior, a battle commander, a warlord feared by many. Not the kind of ruler who simply sits on the throne and issues commands.”
“Don’t other kingdoms operate the same way, Princess?”
“Yes,” Alora replied. “Most rulers are strong. But not many descend into every single battle that happens within their territories.”
Broken nodded, understanding the difference after hearing it directly from Alora. It also made him realize why Alora had such high overall stats, even though her level was around 200. She could clearly win against players at similar levels, which was evident just from her stats. As for her skills, that was still a question he hadn’t found the answer to. He needed to see firsthand how Princess Alora fought in battle to truly understand.
After discussing her role in the kingdom for a while, Alora began to delve into what they would be doing during the expedition.
“So, you decided to join this expedition without knowing the details beforehand,” she said. “What if I trap you and steal your armor?”
Broken chuckled softly at her question. “No, please. Don’t do it now while I don’t have much value. Wait until I have more. Surely you won’t go to all that trouble just to acquire this simple set of armor, right?”
Alora giggled at his words. “So…” she continued, “we are going to visit the miners today.”
“Miners?”
“The kingdom’s ore supply has been disrupted lately. There have been many reports of increased monster activity in the kingdom’s mining area, and I’m going to investigate the cause,” she explained.
Broken tried to piece together the situation from her brief explanation. So, there is a central mining area where many miners work, but due to increased monster attacks, the ore supply has diminished.
“Couldn’t you just issue a quest to the players, Princess? They would be happy to hunt those monsters for experience points,” he suggested.
“No, I believe the situation we’re facing this time is quite unique,” she replied. “But I won’t draw any conclusions until we see it firsthand.”
“Yes, I’m both eager to fight hordes of monsters and do some mining,” he said.
“You’re a miner too?”
“I haven’t done it for long, but my Mining Technique is at level 5,” he said quietly, feeling a bit embarrassed for mentioning the level of his mining skill.
“Is that how players show off?” she giggled.
“Thanks for the compliment, Princess,” he replied.
Remembering the mining, Broken also recalled having previously repaired the pickaxe he received from Gia. It was a cherished item tied to his memories of mining Moonstones. Originally, the pickaxe was only Elite-grade, but after repairing and restoring its durability, it luckily upgraded to an Epic-grade pickaxe.
[The Iron Solemn Pickaxe]
[Grade: Epic]
[Stamina +50]
[Durability: 100/100]
[Weight: 325]
[Only someone who works with unwavering dedication and toils tirelessly day and night deserves to wield this pickaxe. Commit yourself to the craft of mining, and show the world that you can shape a new future through your hard work.]
[Skills:]
[Increases the chance of mining high-quality ores by ten percent.]
[Significantly reduces the stamina needed for mining.]
There were no additional skills, but the existing ones were upgraded, offering better values. The pickaxe also now had a Stamina stat of 50. This was perfect for mining, as it provided him
with extra stamina.
Should he do some mining later? Not necessarily to acquire ores, but perhaps just for the fun of it since he hadn’t done it in a while. After all, it would be a waste not to use the Epic-grade
pickaxe.
The journey was quite long, taking around two hours. This was the longest time Broken had ever spent talking with Princess Alora. The more they talked, the more comfortable he became, gradually forgetting he was conversing with a crowned princess. This was largely due to Alora’s relaxed demeanor and her encouragement for Broken to speak his mind freely. For Alora, she felt she was gaining a lot more support, particularly from the players. Initially, this support came from the Ass Guild, but now she was hearing stories from Broken about people who had even formed fan clubs to idolize and admire her. To Alora, it was a unique and
fascinating tale.
Finally, they began to enter the mining town, a small settlement primarily inhabited by miners. Princess Alora’s entourage proceeded into the town and prepared to meet with the
City Lord.