Asura Kingdom -- Fitoia Territory -- Roa City -- Turan Town
Cui Ciyou and Dak stood at the entrance of the Adventurers' Guild in Turan Town.
Cui Ciyou saw some people dragging massive monster materials inside, trading them for joyful expressions and pouches of clinking coins;
while others walked out dejectedly, their clothes tattered and even bearing injuries.
Just as he silently observed and guessed, louder conversations drifted vaguely from the open doors of the Adventurers' Guild.
Relying on his far-surpassing human hearing, Cui Ciyou clearly heard those snippets of dialogue between adventurers.
Damn it, this quest was a huge loss!... Who knew that bunch of damned goblins would actually include a shaman who could use magic... Quest failed, not to mention the reward, we even have to pay compensation...
The trade routes in the Northern Territory are getting harder and harder to travel, and the Frost Wolf pack's active range is expanding. Still, their pelts' acquisition price went up again, high risks bring high rewards though...
Did you hear? Over in the Asura Kingdom, it seems they've issued a new Knights' recruitment decree again, wonder if there's some big move on the border...
Don't even mention it, last time I went to the Millis Holy Country, I almost got into a conflict with a Temple Knight. Those guys all have their noses up in the air, arrogant as hell...
Better not run into the Great Forest lately, the Adventurers' Guild in the "Fitoia Territory" issued a warning saying monster activity in the forests around Roa City is getting more and more frequent, might be a sign of a monster surge!
At first, Cui Ciyou simply listened to these as intelligence to understand the local customs and practices of this world.
However, when a few specific terms combined and clearly entered his brain, his entire body was struck as if by lightning.
[Asura Kingdom?... Millis Holy Country?... Fitoia Territory?... Roa?]
When these four place names arranged and combined with absolute clarity in his mind, Cui Ciyou felt as if his brain had been fiercely struck by an invisible bolt of lightning.
With a buzzing sound, the world seemed to turn silent and instantly went completely blank!
All the confusion, guesses, and clues rushed frantically into Cui Ciyou's consciousness at this moment, converging into a single answer:
[There's no mistake! Absolutely no mistake! These four iconic place names!]
In that instant, Cui Ciyou remembered the forest he had traversed through upon arriving, and those uniquely shaped monsters.
[The ones encountered in the forest earlier... those were Hobir Rabbits, monsters unique to Asura, which had appeared in Buena Village.]
[And the canine monster I killed with my own hands, resembling an Earth poodle... isn't that the "Assault Hound" from Jobless Reincarnation?]
He remembered that night when the merchant caravan and the "Grey Wolf Bandit Group" fought to the death, remembering everyone's combat methods, as well as the magician he had slain himself.
[The magician from the "Grey Wolf Bandit Group" whom I killed in a single strike, the fire he cast, the Battle Aura Carl previously used against me.]
[As well as the names of those unique sword styles that only exist under this worldview—"North God Style", "Sword God Style", and "Water God Style"—which Carl and the others mentioned when they were shocked by my combat style!]
All the details were like puzzle pieces scattered on the ground.
After the core puzzle piece of the "Asura Kingdom" appeared, they were fitted together perfectly and seamlessly.
They jointly pointed to a single possibility, and the only reasonable truth.
I... I actually... came to the world of Jobless Reincarnation?
Inside Cui Ciyou's heart, shock, bewilderment, and a trace of excitement he hadn't even noticed filled him.
<Jobless Reincarnation: Jobless Reincarnation: It Goes Hard When You Go to Another World> -- that anime work he had followed back on Earth, which left an extremely deep impression on him.
Jobless Reincarnation? Roxy...
He subconsciously thought of that water-blue-haired, gentle, and resolute petite figure.
Just as his mind was shaken and his thoughts were swirling from confirming his transmigration into Jobless Reincarnation --
Buzz -- Buzz --
From the sky, an extremely peculiar, deep, and distant roar filled with an indescribable, massive booming sound suddenly arrived.
The sound came from far to near, carrying an unnatural rhythm blending machinery and magical power.
The crowd on the street and Cui Ciyou simultaneously and subconsciously looked up at the cloudless, azure-washed sky.
Cui Ciyou's pupils abruptly shrank to the tiniest pinpricks at this moment, his breathing disordered in an instant.
He saw that high up in the distant firmament, a massive, unimaginably huge, uniquely shaped mobile castle was filled with a cold metallic texture.
Like an immemorial divine mountain, it carried an incomparable sense of oppression as it slowly appeared within everyone's field of vision.
Its complex structure filled with steampunk and magical fantasy styles, and its anti-gravity posture suspended in the air, perfectly coincided with a certain image in Cui Ciyou's memory.
[The "Armored Dragon King" -- Perugius Dola's mobile castle -- the sky fortress "Chaos Breaker"]
All the images regarding this iconic building from the Jobless Reincarnation anime flashed instantly through Cui Ciyou's mind.
Exactly the same, without the slightest deviation.
This iconic floating city that only existed in 2D animation appeared before his eyes so realistically, clearly, and shockingly.
A huge shadow cast downward, enveloping half of Turan Town within it.
[Still, I need one final confirmation!]
Cui Ciyou forcefully suppressed the raging waves in his heart and asked Dak beside him with feigned calmness.
"Dak, that huge castle floating and moving in the sky, what is that?"
Dak gazed up at the sky, his eyes filled with awe and adoration.
"Lord Ciyou, that is the castle of the Armored Dragon King, Perugius."
"...Who is the Armored Dragon King?" -- Ciyou
"Armored Dragon King Perugius... is that legendary hero who established glorious military achievements, possessed twelve apostles, and led the human race to resist the demon race in the last Human-Demon War."
"He defeated the "Demon God -- Laplace" alongside six heroes. He is a legendary hero! His deeds and legends are still sung by bards to this day."
[It seems there really is no mistake.]
[The world of Jobless Reincarnation, I actually came here!]
Cui Ciyou instantly recalled in his mind all the plots of the first two seasons of the Jobless Reincarnation anime:
The protagonist Rudeus Greyrat, a thirty-four-year-old "NEET" transmigrator from Japan, possessing magic power comparable to the Demon God Laplace...
The three mainstream swordsmanship styles in this world: North God Style, Sword God Style, Water God Style...
The Seven Great Powers: Technique God, Dragon God, Battle God, Demon God, Death God, Sword God, North God.
And... that mysterious "Human God", alongside his enemy, the equally unfathomable "Dragon God" Orsted...
These pieces of information surged within his brain.
Cui Ciyou took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, his gaze flashing with incomparably complex light.
He raised his head, looking once again at the sky-blocking aerial fortress, and whispered softly:
"The legendary hero -- Armored Dragon King Perugius, huh?"
Note:
NEET is a transliteration, originally standing for Not in Education, Employment, or Training.
It refers to a group of people who do not pursue higher education, employment, further studies, or participate in employment counseling, and spend their days idling about.
Before you continue