Looking out at the endless horizon, ripe golden fields filled my entire view.

Was it not said that the most beautiful sight in all of nature was not the full-color autumn leaves adorning the mountains, but these very golden fields?

The autumn sunlight that had fattened the golden fields was now, belatedly, painting the land and lakes in hues of crimson.

Cutting swiftly across the expansive plains steeped in the ambiance of autumn was the Artemis Magitech Train, its rail line having opened just a year ago.

Tukung tukung- tukung tukung-!

I had woken from sleep and was staring blankly at the scenery outside.

Even through the window, the people outside moved with such vitality that their energy was palpable.

Must be harvest season.

As the Magitech Train headed south, the weather grew warmer, so even with winter approaching, the harvest was only just beginning.

While I was admiring the picture-perfect landscape, the voice beside me finally stopped.

“I see.”

I nodded reflexively, and as if it had been waiting, the voice began grating on my ears once more.

“Yes, and as for how the factions are divided…”

‘Stop…’

At first, I had listened with genuine interest.

The woman in the seat next to mine, who had been gazing out the window for quite some time, had apparently grown tired of the same view and struck up a conversation with me the moment I woke, as if she had been waiting for the opportunity.

It had seemed like useful information, so I had listened attentively, but emboldened by my responses, she kept unloading more and more.

This conversation, which had already dragged on for hours, was nothing short of torture, and by now I was merely responding on autopilot, my soul completely drained.

Despite her aloof first impression, she was an exceedingly talkative woman.

Seeing how her throat remained perfectly fine despite all that talking, I half suspected she was using some kind of skill.

‘If I had known this would happen, I should have just pretended to be asleep.’

The destination of this train was Trivik, a city located in the southern part of Artemis.

Trivik was also known by another name.

The City of Strife.

The origin of that moniker went like this.

The true master of Trivik was a Gold Tier player named Alfred Luhibio, but one day, without leaving any proxy behind, he had washed his hands of the city’s management and vanished.

Several years passed.

Scenting the unclaimed interests of the city, jackals began gathering in Trivik one by one.

Various conflicts over controlling those interests never ceased, and in the process, civilian factions of every stripe—both reputable and disreputable—were established.

The infighting continued for decades. But perhaps exhausted by the constant disputes between factions…

Call it rules within lawlessness. By now, things had settled to a degree, and they had established their own set of rules to divide the city’s interests among themselves.

Of course, these were temporary privileges that would vanish the moment Alfred Luhibio returned.

But fifty years had already passed since he left Trivik, and no one believed he was still alive.

If one were to ask whether the Empire had intervened…

Quite the contrary—the dispatch of an Imperial Priest to assist in the city’s administration had actually solidified the position of the uneasy factions.

Since the Empire’s overall governing philosophy was one of laissez-faire, it merely recognized basic territorial rights and refrained from interfering in whatever transpired afterward—making this situation possible.

The Empire’s territory was simply too vast to monitor and mediate every small domain individually.

“Excluding the central district, which is off-limits, Trivik is divided into the eastern, western, and northern regions.”

“This train’s destination is Yukantar, in Trivik’s eastern region. It’s where the most ordinary citizens live.”

I also learned about the eastern region’s famous local specialties and restaurants—though I was told that since the eastern region had many poor residents, its culinary scene hadn’t particularly developed.

I somehow also ended up learning why she was heading to Trivik.

“There’s a rumor that ruins have been discovered in the Regalavak Great Plains, so I’m heading to the northern region to verify whether the rumor is true.”

Ruins?

Something like cultural artifacts?

It had been three years since I arrived in this world, but scraping by day to day had been hard enough, leaving me somewhat ignorant of the Empire’s culture.

“Ruins are places that hold traces of battlefields from the past. They’re also called the legacy of ancient battlefields.”

She explained that as an archaeologist, seeking out ruins was her profession.

“The fact that this train to Trivik is packed with no empty seats is also because of that very rumor. If the ruins truly exist, dozens, even hundreds of times as many people will flood in.”

“That many people will come flooding in?”

Whatever she meant by “ruins” didn’t seem to be a simple matter of cultural artifacts.

“After all, ruins are what champions and players covet the most and seek out with red eyes.”

Champions and players seeking them out—that was something I had never heard before.

“That’s because you can obtain useful items for use in battlefields from ruins. The most notable of these are Item combination formulas.”

“Item combination formulas?”

I could not help but be startled.

I was only now learning the source of those supposedly precious Item combination formulas.

“So it’s only natural that people would flock there. Everyone wants to be the protagonist of their own lucky break.”

It seemed that ruins were not something one could easily come across—they were a fortuitous encounter that required a stacking of coincidences to find.

I had boarded the train to Trivik knowing nothing, but if ruins truly existed there, I had every reason to pursue them myself.

“What kind of place are these ruins?”

Shifting from a passive listener to a somewhat more active one in order to gather proper information about the ruins…

She seemed to finally find the conversation worth having, and began speaking with renewed enthusiasm.

“Ruins are spaces where the rules of the battlefield apply anomalously. That’s why both champions and players can fully exert their battlefield powers there.”

“Is it dangerous, by any chance?”

“Yes, of course! If you knew how many casualties a single ruin can cause, you would be shocked.”

Wondering whether there was really any need to risk my life for Item combination formulas, I debated whether I should reconsider.

“That’s why the value of high-tier players rises higher at ruins than anywhere else.”

So there was a reason why a Player’s tier mattered even here?

Having no information at all, I couldn’t easily organize my thoughts.

“I mentioned earlier that ruins are traces of battlefields from the past, right? That’s exactly right. The only way to properly explore ruins is to enter the battlefield that once took place there.”

“Enter a battlefield of the past…”

She added that ruins were mysterious spaces that even modern magic engineering technology could not analyze.

“It’s also called a ‘Battle Record.’ Battle Records sometimes feature synergies that have long since disappeared, or champions from legend.”

Perhaps because her area of expertise had come up, she was thoroughly energized.

“Even aside from material rewards, ruins hold great historical value. Archaeologists are professionals who strive to understand the history of forgotten battlefields rather than to conquer ruins.”

It seemed she was more interested in the ruins themselves than in any rewards they might yield.

“Did you know? In the past, a sparrow once became a player. The Player’s name was ‘Jjikjjak-i’—isn’t that fascinating?”

She was enthusiastically pouring out knowledge.

The conversation had drifted off topic, so I spoke up again.

“So what is the reason a Player’s tier is important?”

“Have you ever tried Winner Betting when gambling?”

“Of course.”

Winner Betting, one of the popular forms of gambling throughout the Empire, was something I had already experienced myself.

After all, it had played no small part in my ability to board this train.

“Countless records remain within ruins. So the deeper your understanding of battlefields, the more accurate your analysis of a Battle Record’s true information can be.”

A battle record recreates a portion of a past battlefield.

Choosing who would win and survive was, in essence, a form of gambling.

“Winner Betting with your life on the line. That is what describes ruins in a single sentence.”

Analyzing battle records was an exceedingly difficult task, even for high-tier players.

There were simply too many factors to consider—synergies that no longer existed, the effects of items and skills, troop formations, and more.

Some battle records offered no reward at all for risking one’s life on low odds.

Pulling the odds as close to 100% as possible was the Player’s role.

“Players can access all battle records corresponding to their tier, but champions can only access a battle record if their class exists within that record.”

In that process, champions lacking information naturally relied on the Player’s knowledge.

It was a structure that guaranteed high-tier players would be respected at ruins.

Though champions would barely get scraps by comparison.

“If you can obtain even one thing, it’s essentially a life-changing reversal of fortune, so people gathering to aim for one big score is only natural! How about it, doesn’t that sound tempting?”

Analyze battle records and predict the winner?

Was that not my area of expertise?

If ruins were truly discovered in Trivik’s northern region, it would be an enormous opportunity for me.

But the words that came out of my mouth belied my true feelings.

“Then I should hurry and secure lodging first once we arrive, shouldn’t I? If ruins are discovered, even more people will flood in.”

I deflected the topic as if I had no interest in ruins whatsoever.

My intention was to avoid revealing that I was a player or champion.

Upon hearing my response, she wore a knowing smile.

The device on my wrist had caught her eye.

Oh no.

She added with a laugh.

“Ruins aren’t unconditionally dangerous like the rumors say. Even low-ranked champions will be fine as long as they only access battle records they’re certain about.”

It seemed that in her eyes, I appeared to be a low-ranked champion lacking confidence in my abilities.

“Even if you’re not interested in battle records, visiting ruins at least once isn’t a loss. It’s a great opportunity to broaden your horizons.”

Since it was a genuinely scholarly remark, I nodded obediently.

Despite her youthful appearance, she possessed considerable professional knowledge.

“So, what about you…”

Several hours had already passed, but only now that we were having a proper conversation did I realize we didn’t even know each other’s names.

“You can call me Shin Lee.”

“Shin Lee, I see. So why are you heading to Trivik, Mr. Lee?”

My reason for going to Trivik.

“I’m… going for sightseeing.”

I had simply picked a random train departing from Artemis, but I couldn’t tell her the truth.

I couldn’t explain why I had left Luteran in such a hurry.

She nodded as if she understood.

“Ah. Well, there is plenty to see. Most of it is concentrated in the western region, though.”

The western region’s main attraction was the Colosseum.

The Colosseum, where champions competed against one another, was famous even beyond Trivik.

Because with enough skill, one could earn a fortune.

The Colosseum was a place where one could see skilled fighters from various regions, disciples of someone renowned, criminals, and even plunderer champions.

But there was also a secret place in Trivik that most people didn’t know about.

“…The Black Market in the western region is another notable attraction.”

‘That startled me.’

A sudden whisper.

The rich lavender scent tickling my nose made my stomach churn.

“Oh right, I haven’t told you my name yet, have I? I’m…”

I glanced at her face, which was full of mischief.

She tucked a stray lock of black hair behind her ear and smiled.

“Yuki. You can call me Yuki.”