[Lord of Abundance] Chapter 9: The Heroic Realm

 Chapter 9: The Heroic Realm

Three days later, an elegant carriage escorted by a squad of knights rolled leisurely along the wide avenues of Lovos City.

Lovos was a major northern stronghold of the kingdom—a central hub for both logistics and military defense. It was the second-farthest major city from the Fengrao Domain.

This time, Kun had chosen not to go to the nearer city of Krag. He needed not only high-quality seeds for spring planting, but also to place orders for agricultural tools.

Prices in Lovos were lower, and since good farming equipment was mostly made of iron, a city like Lovos—both a trade hub and a military fortress—offered better access to quality metal goods.

There was even a chance of acquiring decommissioned military weapons from the black market.

After all, the Everdark Forest lay dangerously close to Emerald Heart Farm, and Dawn had already discovered packs of ferocious magical beasts within it. Strengthening the domain’s defenses was an urgent priority.

Accompanying Kun this time were six warriors for protection, along with twenty slaves.

None of the three officials came—they had all been deliberately kept behind. The Fengrao Domain was still in its early stages and couldn’t function without them.

One hands-off boss was more than enough.

Inside the carriage, Li Tianyun leaned by the window, staring outside with curiosity.

Low yet intricately built houses.

Bustling streets filled with people of all ages.

Stalls lining both sides, selling strange foods and goods.

Vendors shouting in incomprehensible accents.

Everything felt utterly novel.

After all, this was truly another world.

Who would believe such an experience if he told them?

Kun set aside the ancient magic book in his hands and rubbed his tired eyes.

The book, embossed with a gilded sun on its cover, had been taken from his family’s treasury—forgotten in some dusty corner of the marquis estate.

It wasn’t a spellbook.

Rather, it was a travelogue—or more accurately, a journal—written by an extinct race: the Sun Elves.

However, preservation magic had been cast upon it, allowing it to endure as a “magic book.”

Though it contained no spells, its historical value was immense—especially to archmages fascinated by ancient magical history.

To the right buyer, it could easily secure several years of service from a powerful mage.

Unfortunately, it had ended up in the treasury of the Arlan family—a lineage of military nobles—where it had gathered dust for generations, until Kun took it.

The problem was…

The author and reader were separated by thousands of years.

Even understanding the text was difficult.

And much of its content seemed absurd—even to Kun, a Grand Mage.

“There were once two moons in the sky of Yongxu Continent. Both were shattered in a divine war.
The current violet moon was later created by the great Elven Empire, using the power of the World Tree—a supreme magical weapon and divine wonder of our race.”

“…What?”

Sixteen years of life, and this was the first time Kun had heard that the moon was man-made.

He had always thought it simply looked different from Blue Star’s moon.

“The Littlefolk and the Titan Giants were the elves’ most steadfast allies.
One, small as insects, embodying the forest—spreading life and growth.
The other, vast as mountains, children of the earth—upon death, their bodies became mountain ranges. Legend says most mountains are the remains of ancient Titans.”

“…What??”

Littlefolk? Titan Giants?

Kun had only ever heard of demi-humans.

Larger-than-human races like beastmen or ghouls.

Even the biggest ghouls were only a few meters tall.

But mountain-sized giants?

Never seen. Never even heard of.

He rubbed his temples.

Either this book was fabricated nonsense—

Or this world was far deeper than he had imagined.

After all, the era of the Sun Elves was merely the “Middle Age” in this world’s history.

Above it lay ancient and primordial eras…

And even a mythical age of gods.

By Blue Star’s standards—

It was the kind of thing that made your skin crawl the more you thought about it.

Where had all those powerful beings gone?

Erased by time?

Or…

Kun shook his head.

None of it mattered to him.

His goal was simple—

Farm his land, study his Abundance Magic, and build a place he could comfortably call home.

Opening his eyes, his golden irises gleamed—paired with radiant blond hair inherited from both the Arlan family and the royal bloodline.

If his ears were just a bit longer and pointed, one might mistake him for a Sun Elf.

After all, their defining traits were golden hair and golden eyes.

Innate affinity with magical energy.

Physical strength rivaling ancient dragons.

Ancient elves called magic “spirit power”—the origin of their name.

All modern elves were merely descendants of those ancient beings.

And the Sun Elves had been their royal lineage.

Sometimes, Kun wondered—

Did he carry that bloodline too?

Arlan lineage plus royal blood…

Perhaps something had “canceled out” and produced him—this anomaly.

Otherwise, how could a military family produce a mage like him?

Of course, this wasn’t entirely unfounded.

Modern humans had mixed bloodlines—dragon, naga, dwarf, elf…

Perhaps even traces of divine lineage.

That was why humanity, once weak and enslaved, had risen to become one of the dominant civilizations.

They were numerous.

Adaptive.

And full of potential.

Even the most ordinary child could become a powerful warrior or mage.

Sorting through his purchase list, Kun glanced at Li Tianyun.

“So, what do you think? Quite different from Blue Star, right?”

Li Tianyun nodded.

“It’s been an eye-opening journey.”

Just reaching this city had taken three days.

The slow pace felt surreal to someone used to modern life.

The endless forests.

Strange plants.

The eerie violet moon at night.

And this massive black-stone city.

Everything reminded him—

This was no longer his world.

Not just a different place—

But a different planet.

“To be honest,” Kun said with a grin, “these are probably your last few easy days.

Once we’re back, you’ll be facing hellish training.”

Li Tianyun gave a wry smile.

“Couldn’t you have told me later?”

“Heh. Better you’re mentally prepared.”

Kun also planned to buy herbs—ones that could promote blood circulation and speed up healing.

Li Tianyun would need them.

So would the domain.

He even considered growing medicinal herbs locally to save costs.

Money…

He sighed.

Being in charge made one realize how hard it was to earn—and how easy it was to spend.

For this trip, Vittorio had allocated only twenty gold coins.

And lectured him endlessly about budgeting.

Each item had a price range.

Too high? A scam.

Too low? Suspicious.

In the end, old Tate had secretly slipped him another twelve gold coins—his personal savings.

Kun had refused.

Tate nearly cried.

Saying how the young master had never worried about money before…

That he had failed in his duty…

Kun had no choice but to accept.

Thirty-two gold coins total.

Enough to support a family of five for a year.

Yet for a Grand Mage—

It was nothing.

A few high-grade crystals, one rare book—and it would be gone.

Kun sighed again.

He missed the wealthy fools in the capital.

If he’d known, he would’ve sold more “high-grade scrolls,” “premium staffs,” and those “blue pills.”

As long as they looked fancy and worked well—

People paid generously.

All his previous earnings had been invested through merchants.

Stable, long-term returns.

But profits wouldn’t come until next year.

Too slow.

“Worried about my training?” Li Tianyun asked.

“Not really,” Kun replied.

“Dawn’s pay increased a bit, but not much.

Even two gold coins a month is cheap for someone like him.”

In the capital, a Tier-3 warrior earned about one gold coin monthly.

But Dawn was exceptional.

Even five gold coins would be worth it.

“The difference between Tier-3 warriors can be enormous,” Kun continued.

“Dawn doesn’t care about money or power.

He seeks something else.”

“Something else?”

“His purpose.”

Kun’s gaze drifted into the distance.

“A knight who wields his blade to protect what he believes in…

Who walks his own path…

If someone like that can’t enter the Heroic Realm—who can?”

“The Heroic Realm… that’s beyond Tier-3, right?”

“Exactly.

Tiers 1 to 3—low, mid, high—are still within mortal limits.

Even dragons are Tier-3.

In essence, they’re not so different.

But in scale…

Humans can hardly match them.”

“Tier 1 to 3 is the realm of the extraordinary.

But beyond that…”

Kun’s voice grew solemn.

“Lies a domain only legends can reach.”

“Those who have slain dragons alone…”

“Those who have turned the tide of history…”

“Those who have defeated gods from beyond the world…”

“Such individuals are called—”

“Heroes.”

“Beyond Tier-3…”

“The Heroic Realm.”