Death... and me

"Hahaha!" Triwe couldn't help but laugh in response. "Come on! The continental barriers are alive? There's no way such a thing is true. I'm not familiar with how powerful the top experts of the Realm of Gods are. However, I'm pretty sure that none of them would be strong enough to match the energy released by the continental barriers. That's just a ridiculous notion."

Hearing that, Rean could not help but feel like he had just experienced deja vu. That was basically the same argument he discussed with Luan and Fluki a day ago. "Well, everyone can have their own beliefs."

The crab didn't mind it either. "We're used to the humanoids and demon beasts calling us crazy. To be honest, most of us also find it hard to believe, but it's part of our history already. Whether it's true or not, I doubt we'll be here by the time an answer is found."

Rean and Triwe agreed with the crab. "That's true."

The traversal went along without any issues. Eventually, Rean and Triwe arrived at the spirit races' Traversal City, Gamaia, and were left by the crab straight away. From the looks of it, the crab already had to attend to the next member of the humanoid race and bring the guy here.

The two then came out of the building where the crab left them and looked at the city surrounding them. Immediately, there was a huge difference between this one and the city on the humanoid races' side. "If I didn't know better, I would say this was a ghost city.."

First of all, there weren't many buildings. Spirits more commonly lived in nature, so the settlements they eventually built were in synergy with nature itself. A good example was back in Huring Continent, where Rana, the twins' sister, lived as the Fairy Queen. Their small town, if one could call their home like that, was all within the trees.

This city still had many buildings similar to the ones on the humanoid race territory. However, compared to the city Rean had just left, there was almost nothing. Not to mention that most of them only existed because of the humans who came to visit.

Yet, the main reason for calling it a ghost city was because of the spirits' ability to stay hidden. So instead of the spirits that had to keep their forms visible due to their duties, most of the spirits in the area were invisible to the naked eye. Of course, Rean and Triwe knew that there were definitely a lot of spirits around. That was especially the case for Rean, who could already control space. He could indeed tell where and how many spirits there were in the area.

"In fact, even counting the spirits that are not visible, this city has a lot fewer living beings than the humanoid races' side. Most of the spirit races don't give birth the same way as the demon beasts or us. They usually need special conditions to take form. Out of the three powers, the spirits are by far the bunch with the smallest number," Rean explained.

"That's not entirely correct," Triwe added. "You definitely know about the devils on the northeast side, right? From what I heard, they're even fewer in number than the spirits. It's just that each one of them is extremely strong."

Rean didn't mind, clarifying, "I said three big powers, not four. The devils are basically invaders. Well, they are definitely strong. All three powers had to ally to keep them in check."

Triwe couldn't go against those words. "That's true."

"Alright, shall we take the teleport formations? We can teleport all the way over to the continent of the Azure Lilibel Spirits," Rean asked, preparing to leave.

"Teleport formations?" Triwe looked at Rean as if he was looking at an idiot. "No wonder you said this was your first time coming here to buy the crystal directly. You know nothing about this place, right?"

Rean had a bad premonition, asking, "Could it be that there are no teleport formations here? No, wait, that doesn't make sense. You said it yourself. You could use your position as a member of the Drugo Organization to use the teleport formations for free. There has to be teleport formations here."

Triwe sighed in response. "There are teleport formations. However, very few cities of the spirit races have them. The spirit races' territory is the place where the Formation Guild has the least number of branches. With that being said, it would be almost impossible to teleport all the way over. Especially since the Azure Lilibel Spirit Race is a few continents away. What my free pass can get us is access to the Spirit Stream."

"Spirit Stream?" Rean had never heard about that before. But then again, he knew about forging materials but not the story behind most of them, as it never mattered much to his job.

Triwe nodded with a smile, saying soon after, "I wonder if I should charge you for the information or not. Perhaps a few Divine Stones would be nice."

"Oh, almighty member of the Drugo Organization. Please bestow your friend with the knowledge necessary to use the Spirit Streams," Rean asked without a shred of embarrassment.

"Hahaha!" That was the first time someone talked to Triwe like that, even if it was a joke. "Alright, alright. The Spirit Streams are channels of constantly moving Divine Energy. It only happens in the spirit races' territory and could be said to be another reason for the lack of teleport formations. It's so good that these channels go through even the dangerous continental barriers unimpeded."

Triwe continued, "Above all is its ability to bend space as it passes through the continents. If you and I were to fly all the way to the other side of the continent, it would take us who knows how many years. However, if we enter the Spirit Stream, a month should be enough to arrive there."

Rean understood. "So, it's not as fast as going through teleport formations but is a lot cheaper in comparison. Long distance teleports spend a lot of Divine Stones, after all."

"Exactly," Triwe confirmed. "In fact, it's free to use for the spirits themselves. Only other races need to pay Divine Stones to enter. Well, except people like me, who have a free pass thanks to the Drugo Organization's badge."

"I'm counting on you." Rean really wanted to see it now.