439 Frozen World
I got bored of it in less than an hour. I also recalled what the gatekeeper mentioned.
"Something about vicious criminals setting up a stronghold or whatever. Guess I better stay in Accelerated state to avoid them? Then nobody's moving besides me, no chance of bumping into anyone."
And thus, though I'm not in a hurry, walking under Accelerated state means everybody else's time moves slowly. Or rather, stops altogether.
Which also means that this day will get longer to me.
Some youngster said '24 hour a day is not enough time'. Huh? What was his name again?
Please mister postman.
An endlessly stretching road ahead. I keep walking in this frozen world while sorting out my priority list.
(First thing first, I gotta deliver these letters. Next up, give Kanedor a good wallop. Lastly, go and find the ideal spot to live a reclusive life.)
I found spots that fit that criteria multiple times already. But all of those spots were neighboring to places like the elven village, the kingdom or the empire. I can just imagine sparks flying my way if I settled there.
I don't want that. I want to live quietly without getting dragged into trouble. Where nobody who knows me is nearby. I want to create that place.
Somewhere with minimal chances to get hit by a spark of conflict.
Thus I took my time thinking all that while slowly making my way forward, yet not even one second had passed in real world.
Birds flying in the sky are frozen mid air, same with grass blown by the wind.
The scene of me walking by myself in this world feels surreal.
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
But thanks to this, I won't have to meet anyone on the way. I'm confident those vicious criminals or something would turn up the instant I undo Acceleration.
(Don't tell me I can dodge event flags if I keep this up? It's worth trying.)
I noticed something important here. I was convinced I'd get in a trouble after hearing the gatekeeper, but there's no flag to be raised this way.
(There's nothing to it if I don't encounter them! Yay! My peace of mind is safe!)
I got spirited up from such a simple revelation, without realizing the disadvantages it holds.
The 'Unrest' within me will always coil around me. It's obvious I'd have to pay the piper later.
I gradually started thinking about things seriously as the scenery remained static.
A world where only I move, or consequently, a world where nobody else but me can move.
A frozen world where time does not pass, nothing ever happens and people don't mingle.
Alone in such a world, can I truly be called alive?
I found out one other thing as well. I don't get hungry while under Acceleration, ever.
I've walked quite a distance. I think it's been six hours sense-wise. My belly should have started rumbling by this point.
Yet it just doesn't. In fact, I don't even feel hunger.
I'm getting scared of myself for seemingly ceasing to be human.
I also don't get tired. No matter how long and how far I walked.
This is way beyond having a lot of stamina. It's just weird no matter how you slice it.
(Yet, I'm 100% sure, I'd get dragged into a mess if I undo this state. All my experience so far is ringing the alarm bell in my head.)
At the end of the day, I'd rather not have to deal with unpleasant things.
(I'm fed up with having to deal with bad guys.)
I don't really care about them as long as they don't show up before me. I won't proactively seek and eliminate them or anything. I'm not an ally of justice.
Thus I kept advancing ahead. All the way to the federation. All while leaving my mind unoccupied.
It takes three days traveling from the kingdom to the federation. Normally that is.
But I kept walking and walking while ignoring all the small towns and villages dotted along the way.
I finally came back to my sense once it was near the end of the road, unsure how long it was. My head was completely blank until this point.
Around four hours have elapsed in the 'world' since my start line at the commercial city.
It's still before noon, not even half a day has passed. As I try to look away from how beyond abnormal that is, I turn my attention at the federation's gate.
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