"Now, what should we do?"
Evan asked the Demonic Crow perched on his head.
"Hmm..."
Unfortunately, the answer he was expecting never came.
"... Can you not waste my time?"
Damn crow. If I could, I would break its beak right now.
"Alright, alright. I'll tell you your test now."
Finally!
"Not far from here, the Grimgar Kingdom's Royal Army Camp has been established. Your test is to destroy that camp. Can you do it?"
"..."
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! What do you mean by destroying a kingdom's military camp?! Do you think I'm Superman?!
"... Isn't that a bit..."
"Haha! You think the same as me, don't you? This is too easy to be an entrance test, isn't it?"
"..."
The crow flapped its wings and puffed out its chest high.
"Be grateful to Lord Magnus for giving you an easy test. In the past, Lady Selene even had to kill a high-ranking noble in a kingdom."
"..."
Selene? Who is that?!
No, wait. How am I supposed to destroy that camp?!
"Wait a minute! I don't have any power! I think destroying that camp is a bit... too difficult."
A sigh was heard from above Evan's head.
"Hah... remember who you are, idiot. You may not have stepped onto the Accord path yet, but you are still a Contractor!"
Oh, so you mean I'm really strong after contracting with Lloyd?!
"Those who qualify as Contractors are blessed with extraordinary power! That's why only the Church's pawns can defeat us!"
"Oh! Then, quickly give me the location!"
Secretly, the crow laughed.
"Hehehe, their camp is quite close. 700 Ferr north from here, and you'll arrive."
"Eh?"
Ferr?
Evan heard a word he didn't understand. He immediately asked the crow.
"Ferr? What is that?"
"Hah?"
Now, it was the crow's turn to be confused.
"Ah, wait. Let me find an object as a reference."
He could already guess that the mathematics of this world must be different. He also guessed that Ferr was a unique unit of distance in this world.
Evan looked around and searched for the nearest forest.
He ran toward the tall bushes, trying to find a long enough branch as a measuring tool.
"I found it!"
What he took was a long branch, approximately 1.5 meters in length. Now, he was ready to measure this world's unit of distance.
"Demonic Crow, try measuring how long one Ferr is."
"What? You even forgot something this basic... you might not have been educated before. Such a tragic past you must have had."
"..."
Can this damn bird stop mocking me?! I got a perfect score in physics! Physics!
"Around this much."
The Demonic Crow flew and pointed from one end of the tree branch to another side of the branch.
"...!"
Is this... just a coincidence?
What the crow pointed to was exactly the length of one meter. Does this mean the discoverer of this distance unit in this world found the same measurement as on Earth?
"One more thing, list the units of distance from smallest to largest."
Evan stared at it seriously.
"Why are you so troublesome? Ugh, fine, I'll say it."
The crow turned and sat back on Evan's head.
"These are the most common ones. Starting from the smallest to the largest. The first is Veyn, with a conversion scale of 0.001F. The second is Zeth, with a conversion scale of 0.01F. The third is Thyren, with a conversion scale of 0.1F. Then there's Ferr, with a conversion scale of 1.0F. Fourth is Kyreth, where one Kyreth equals 10F. Next is Sorn, which equals 10KF and 100F. Lastly, Ylthe, with a conversion scale of 10SF, 100KF, and 1000F."
The Demonic Crow pecked Evan's head after finishing its explanation.
"So, do you understand?!"
"..."
This... is just like Earth. There's no difference at all. Only the names changed, and there was almost no significant change in each distance...
"Who discovered this measurement scale?"
Could there really be a connection between this world and Earth? Maybe the discoverer was a transmigrator like me. Ignore this crazy theory.
"It seems you are interested in knowledge. Good, good! That is the nature a Contractor should have. Always thirsting for knowledge, always thirsting for the worldly! That's what makes us the strongest."
It chuckled as it delved into its delusions.
"The discoverer was Lucian Ferris, a mathematician and existential architect from the early era of the Valtheria Empire."
"Unfortunately, no information about him remains after thousands of years. As if all his discoveries and brilliant ideas were burned away by time."
The crow slumped in sadness, tidying its feathers before speaking again.
"Just imagine if Lucian Ferris had never existed, this world would have been plunged into chaos and destruction. Because of him, Contractors can accurately calculate '??????????'."
"...?"
What did it say in that last sentence?
Why can't I hear it?
"You can't hear it, can you?"
"Yes, it felt like my ears were ringing when that word was spoken."
"That's normal, after all, you haven't officially become a Contractor. It's like a basic self-protection mechanism against Corruption."
Hmm, quite interesting. It seems that what is called 'Corruption' is truly more dangerous than I thought.
"Can I still not know what Corruption is?"
Of course, he would ask this when everything he wanted to know was hidden behind a mystery.
"In short—'Close your eyes, close your ears, close your mouth. Not everything in this world must be told and known. For those who violate it, those beyond the walls will come for you.' That's how it is."
"I see..."
The effects might be unimaginable if the existence beyond the walls came for me. Or is this just a metaphor?...
"Just ignore it, let's finish this quickly."
Demonic Crow snorted with a serious look.
"Yeah. I'll move now."
Evan stood upright, ready to leave, but it seemed like he had forgotten something very important.
"...Where's north?"
"..."
Sigh…
The crow lifted its wings and pointed in a certain direction. It turned out to be the same direction Evan had entered the Golgrith race's cave earlier.
"On my way!"
Evan tensed his muscles, feeling the burning pain surging through his body. He used it as fuel to push himself forward, his speed nearly rivaling that of a professional sprinter.
"Is this really my current strength?! Hahaha! This is amazing."
I feel a freedom I've never experienced before! It's like the chains that have chained my neck for years have finally broken free.
"Your physical abilities are quite impressive despite having no foundation. You seem to have some talent for becoming a Knight or Martial Artist."
Hearing Demonic Crow's praise, Evan smirked and boasted.
"Heh… so you can compliment someone, huh?"
Demonic Crow turned its beak away.
"Shut up and stay alert to your surroundings."
Evan dashed through thick bushes and towering trees. What he wasn't sure about was how eerily quiet the forest was. Was this a common phenomenon, or was there a special factor at play?
"This zone is usually very quiet, aside from Shadows that roam around. In a few more Ithis, we'll reach the edge of their barrier. Make sure you stop at a distance of 500-Ferr from their location."
Huh? Ithis? Is that their unit of seconds? Maybe. Given that I can reach nearly 20 meters in less than 4 seconds, that means I should be able to get there within a few minutes.
"Noted."