After more than ten days of traveling, Yulia arrived at a place called the Kalor Realm.
It was a medium-sized realm, its territory less than one-tenth of the Jade Empire. Its most distinctive feature was its adventurers and the Adventurer’s Guild.
The Kalor Realm had many cities, each with its own branch of the Adventurer’s Guild. The entire realm was structured around the guild’s framework, making it a nation where adventurer culture thrived.
This was, in fact, Yulia’s first planned destination.
Before leaving the Jade Empire, she had questioned Edward about the origins of the Power of Dragon and Phoenix legacy skill.
His answer was that he had obtained it from a large ruin somewhere in the Kalor Realm.
After awakening, Yulia had realized that the Power of Dragon and Phoenix seemed to be a skill tied to either herself or the Golden Kingdom.
Which meant that she had to visit the ruin where it had been discovered.
Kalor Realm was a gathering place for adventurers, a land where adventurer culture flourished. Aside from locals, many adventurers like Yulia came from other realms.
Although not particularly vast, this realm was well-known, and its adventurer rankings and honors carried genuine weight.
Anyone who pursued adventuring as a lifelong career would inevitably want to make their mark here.
Of course, those from too far away might not bother. But other realms likely had similar areas.
Yulia entered the Kalor Realm without issue and, following the descriptions she’d been given, soon arrived at Yana City.
About a dozen kilometers outside Yana City lay the ruin where the Power of Dragon and Phoenix had been found—locally known as Daranek Ruins.
This time, Yulia wasn’t wearing a mask—just a black robe.
A mask was too conspicuous. Most people would stare out of curiosity.
She’d only worn one before for convenience.
Surely everyone understands—if I don’t cover myself up, my overwhelming beauty and charisma will definitely charm the crowd, causing traffic jams wherever I go.
Sigh, such is the burden of being too beautiful. Being this devastatingly attractive is truly a curse.
Must I bear this misfortune forever?
If so, I’d rather reduce my beauty by one point—from 101 down to a mere 100.
…No, wait. Even that will be a loss for this world.
This time, Yulia returned to Golden City and applied some makeup, adding slight imperfections.
She then warped space around herself slightly, applying a reverse beauty filter that was strong enough to twist a chopstick into a circle.
And of course, she made herself look a bit more mature.
Although her inner self was already mature enough, some people were shallow and only judged by appearances.
Thus, the end result was a rather cute girl with a beauty score of 60-70, appearing around fourteen or fifteen years old.
Her height was still padded to a solid 1.5 meters.
Standing outside the city, Yulia watched the bustling crowds—groups chatting and laughing as they came and went—and couldn’t help but smile.
“Now this feels like another world.”
This is how a fantasy world should look like.
Back in the Jade Empire, the presence of players meant hearing vulgar slang and public channel chatter everywhere—it just didn’t feel right.
And the last place she’d visited had, unfortunately, left her with unpleasant memories.
But here, in the Kalor Realm, it finally had that atmosphere.
She entered the city and headed straight for the Adventurer’s Guild—always the best place to gather information.
Some were buried in mission boards, others browsing goods, and many more drinking and boasting—Yana City was vibrant and lively.
“Hello, this is my first time here. What should I do?”
Yulia approached the front desk to inquire.
Several receptionists were on duty, and one stepped forward to respond.
“First time? Yana City isn’t a border town—how’d you end up coming straight here?”
“A friend recommended it. I heard there’s a pretty interesting ruin here, so I thought I’d check it out.”
“Ah, you must mean the Daranek Ruins. Plenty of people come for that.” The receptionist nodded. “First, let’s get you registered.”
She wrote down her name as ‘Lia’ again. For her strength, she listed herself as Gold Rank after some thought. Of course, her profession was Mage.
The recommended strength for exploring the Daranek Ruins’ deeper layers was Gold Rank.
“Gold Rank, huh?” The receptionist glanced at Yulia, then back at the form, murmuring.
“Is there a problem?”
“Ah, honored adventurer, if you’re claiming to be Gold Rank, we’ll need a quick test to verify that.”
“Not that we doubt you, but there were cases where adventurers exaggerated their strength, entered the ruins’ depths, and… didn’t make it back.”
Yulia nodded. “No problem.”
The receptionist brought out a crystal orb, and Yulia followed the instructions.
Under her control, she displayed strength at Mid Gold Rank.
“Honored adventurer, your strength is verified, and you’re allowed to enter the deeper layers of the Daranek Ruins. Here’s your identification badge. If you wish to learn more about the ruins, you can inquire at the information area to the left.”
The receptionist’s attitude became noticeably more respectful.
Gold Rank was a significant threshold—once an adventurer reached it, they were considered a true elite in the eyes of the public.
After all, 90% of adventurers never crossed that barrier in their entire lives.
“Thanks.”
Yulia gave a slight nod and headed left.
Thankfully, this Adventurer’s Guild actually have standards.
No nonsense about ‘even the strongest must start from the bottom, gather herbs and do menial tasks before taking on actual quests’.
If it was one of those guilds, this could’ve dragged on for hundreds of thousands of words1.
Just as she reached the information area, someone blocked her path.
“Miss Adventurer, you’re heading to the Daranek Ruins too, right?”
The one who stopped her was a young man in his twenties.
Yulia glanced up at him, then sidestepped without a word, continuing forward.
Not interested.
Stopping someone was one thing, but forcing them to look up at you? That was too much. His first impression scored negative one thousand points.
Yeah, that’s instant disqualification.
The young man had a decently handsome face and wore what he probably thought was a dashing smile—but he’d just been completely ignored.
His expression stiffened, but he quickly stepped in front of her again.
“Miss, I heard you’re here for Daranek Ruins. Our team’s heading there too, and we’re just one person short. Why not join us?”
“I have plans with someone else, thanks.” Yulia replied politely but kept walking.
“Miss, who are you with? How many? If it’s not too many, maybe—”
“You’re annoying!” Yulia’s voice turned icy as she cut him off. “If you keep pestering me, I’ll have you thrown out.”
“Ah—my apologies. Sorry for interrupting you.”
The man lowered his head and retreated.
But as he walked away, he muttered, “What a shame. We’re just one short.”
Yulia shot him a brief look but paid no further mind, focusing on her own business.
Team up? Hell no.
Teaming up will just slow me down!