“If I am not mistaken, this guy’s Corinth’s Crown Prince,” Kiera thought as her eyes narrowed at the unwelcomed guest across from her.

“No need to be hostile, Miss Ashborn,” he raised his eyes, his lips curling up into a fake smile that even impressed Kiera, a former syndicate member. “I come here with good intentions.”

“My name is Ronald Lance…” he began introducing himself but was cut off by Kiera before he could even finish offering his name.

“Crown Prince of Corinth, I know of you,” she said, her cold gaze narrowing further as a dangerous glint disturbed its calm surface. “Stop with the pleasantries and get to the point.”

“Oh, then it makes everything easier!” he rubbed his hands in feigned delight, but Kiera could see the irritation hidden in his eyes; her interruption obviously hurt his princely pride.

“I’d like to extend an invitation by my royal father, King of Corinth,” he stated his business, his words making Kiera sigh in annoyance inside. “I’ll keep it short for your convenience Ms. Ashborn. His majesty offers you the title of a Duchess if you promise to marry me once you come of age and use your talent and abilities solely for Corinth’s benefits for as long as you live.”

Kiera chuckled contemptuously the moment the prince finished his words, the repressed carefree side of hers forcefully revealing itself to accurately show what she thought of the prince’s answer. As soon as she collected herself, Kiera’s violet eyes glowed with the full prestige of her killing intent, the horrific bloodlust of two lives concentrated on the prince and his lackeys.

It was not {Climatal Aura Shift} in play and neither her new short temper. From the bottom of her heart, Kiera believed being angry at the prince was beyond her— he didn’t deserve it. This killing intent purely originated from Kiera’s contempt, not from fury nor arrogance.

“My power is only for myself, not for the likes of sly, ambitious royals like you and your father, scram,” she said slowly, each word uttered in a threatening and maniacal manner.

The prince was an Lv.20 Diamond Apprentice Magician himself; however, a royal such as him who grew in a safe environment and only sparred in mock duels couldn’t fully handle the weight of Kiera’s potent killing intent. He scrambled beneath it, almost collapsing on his knees from terror.

“Y-you will regret this insolence, Kiera Ashborn, we shall meet in the arena!” he forced his own threat from his mouth, his teeth chattering. Barely able to walk from fear, the prince struggled to exit the restaurant, shamed by the burning gazes of the diners.

He clenched his teeth, vowing to torture the girl who trampled on his dignity once he was out of her sight. Not only did she disregard him, a nation’s crown prince, in public, she also did it on one of the flag airships belonging to the strongest Auction House on the continent!

Now, he would turn into a laughing stock by his peers for the entire ride!

Kiera returned to her meal, unbothered by the new enemy she made to herself, even if a whole nation backed him. In the worst case, she can request to join the Blue Rose Auction House or just disappear for a few years in the forest; she would become strong enough to kill the Corinth King sooner or later.

Finishing the meal, Kiera exited the restaurant and contemplated what to do. She was not too keen on returning to her room as there was nothing to do there in this late hour aside from training, but certainly had no patience for the parties and social gatherings held in the airship's ballrooms.

The spa building caught her eye, and after a few seconds of thought, she shrugged and walked toward it, "a chance to relax is also good."

Walking inside, she was greeted by a young woman behind a counter.

"Hello young lady, are you interested in a massage?" she spoke with a gentle smile, treating Kiera according to her physical appearance.

"Yes, full body massage, eighty minutes," she replied after she browsed through the options, revealing her free pass.

The woman instantly straightened her posture upon discovering Kiera was the Auction House’s guest. She immediately led Kiera to a private room and requested her to wait.

A minute later, a middle-aged woman entered the room, a Gold Apprentice Magician.

“Hello, young miss, please take off your clothes behind this veil and cover yourself with this towel,” she instructed and handed a towel over to Kiera.

Doing as she said, Kiera proceeded to lie comfortably on the massage table, nostalgia blooming within her.

The masseuse traced her fingers on Kiera’s back before opening her mouth, “as expected, young miss; your body is too powerful. Unless I use the full force of my Fire Attribute, I’m afraid I can’t tend to your muscles.”

Although not visible on the surface for an unknown reason, Kiera’s body’s hardness did befit her Strength stat. So, a Gold Apprentice Magician couldn’t penetrate her natural defenses and squeeze her muscles with just their Strength stat, even if it wasn’t even a fight.

“Do what you want,” Kiera gave the green light and closed her eyes, completely relaxing her body.

The lady’s palms immediately burst with flames as she gently pressed her hand on Kiera’s back, the heat that could cook a whole cow in a split second only succeeding in tenderizing Kiera’s muscles.

During those eighty minutes, Kiera felt the most relaxed she ever did in her two lives. She forgot about the tournament, forgot about the new world, and even her innate thirst for more power that prevented her from truly resting was curbed.

...

“I guess it’s nice once in a while,” Kiera stretched on her way to her room. Massage had no medical benefit to her as Tyrant Regeneration assured her muscles were never truly pulled and joints in perfect condition. It was purely for pleasure, but she understood that pure pleasure could benefit her broken state of mind.

Kiera’s routine involved eating, sleeping, getting a massage, and training her Basic Shortblade Mastery in her room for the remainder of the flight, the skill leveling once after close to forty-eight hours of training. She did receive several invitations from some people she didn’t recognize, but she never bothered to show up to the meetings.

As soon as the airship landed, a maid knocked on Kiera’s door, escorting her to Bethany, who waited in her personal room before the two went to the ship’s exit together.

Upon disembarking the airship, Kiera was welcomed with the sight of a tremendous airport filled with a vast number of airships even her enhanced brain couldn’t immediately count. Bigger than Ironfront City’s own by several whole magnitudes, maybe even as big as the city itself!

“This city is limitless,” she muttered under her breath, but her soft voice still could be heard by the woman beside her.

Bethany laughed in amusement, “of course it is; this is the capital of the strongest and biggest nation in the continent. Actually, Oriamonte is as big as the entire Kingdom of Corinth, if not bigger!”

“As big as an entire nation,” Kiera’s eyes widened in disbelief. Even if it was merely a tier-one isle, it seemed like she still couldn’t comprehend how big it really was.

As she got stronger and her speed increased, Kiera’s perception of distance started to become less and less like that of an Earthling, considering she could travel a kilometer in a second. However, an isle more than twice as big as Russia was indeed beyond the scope of her understanding.

“From here, we have to take another airship to the center of the city— where the arena and our hotel are located,” Bethany explained and beckoned Kiera to follow her with a wave of her hand.

The sight of countless streets and buildings from the airship’s window showed Kiera that Bethany’s words were not an exaggeration. The fact that the flight took three whole hours also removed the last bit of disbelief Kiera had.

Strolling through the capital’s central streets, Kiera was impressed by the number of mansions, and the sheer amount of wealth poured into the construction. There were even groups of Gold Apprentice Magicians led by a Diamond Apprentice Magician patrolling around, making Kiera understand she was in the bigshots’ area.

At first, the hotel didn’t seem too out of line to Kiera— it was only slightly big as the Redfly Inn, and its anterior was not much more imposing than the former. However, the moment she entered the lobby, her violet eyes reflected walls of gold and blue.

“Ancient Luxuria, the only hotel in the world with a skeleton made entirely of gold and blue diamond, and also the oldest one with a history of ten centuries,” Bethany introduced. “Its walls are regularly imbued with a Skilled Magician’s mana to ensure they won’t deteriorate, causing the hotel to be stronger than most fortresses.”

“A skeleton of gold and diamond?!” Kiera’s eyes widened, the small Paragon fascinated by the empire’s financial power yet failing to comprehend why someone would waste such a tremendous amount of precious resources on a place meant for temporary rest.

“Nobody tried to steal it yet?” she said, her practical side overtaking, “if it was processed into pure gold and diamond and then sold, you could easily found an organization or a nation.”

“Who would have the nerves to steal one of the Avelot Empire’s heritage sites inside the most protected city on the continent?” Bethany giggled, both amused and scared by Kiera’s words. “Even Her Excellency, the Blue Rose Queen, wouldn’t dare, and she is the most influential person on the continent.”

“Logical,” Kiera dully replied in understanding.

As the tournament would only begin the next day, Kiera immediately started training upon receiving the keys to her room. The luxuries of the most expensive hotel on Darium didn’t interest her, as she felt that she wasted enough time relaxing on the airship.