The group followed Jonathan through fields of giant crops for a few minutes. Alice noted, with some amusement, that wheat and apples were nowhere near the only crops grown in Jonathan’s country. She spotted some sort of pepper, carrots, and several far more exotic-looking crops as well. Finally, after about ten minutes of walking, they reached a large building. It was one of the strangest architectural designs Alice had ever seen. It looked like someone had made a palace-themed farmhouse. The farmhouse was much, much smaller than an actual palace – it was three stories high, and probably had thirty rooms in total. The walls were enchanted with a basic resilience enchantment, as well as a temperature regulation enchantment. The material was nothing special – it almost looked like regular wood, much to Alice’s confusion. Jonathan gestured towards the farmhouse, and then winked cheerily at the group. “A stupendous palace, wouldn’t you say, Lady Alice and Lady Cecilia?” he said, grinning. “It’s the envy of other [Kings] and [Queens]. Truly, a marvel of magical engineering and architecture alike. It’s also the very center of Superbia, the most powerful nation in the Shil Confederacy.” Cecilia actually giggled at that. Alice also chuckled softly as she looked at the farmhouse. Superbia felt… safe, somehow. The indications of monster attacks and the broken System felt almost nonexistent here, and Alice had never had the [King] of a nation adamantly poking fun at his own nation before. It was a strange, novel experience that pushed the crisis out of Alice’s mind for a few minutes. “It’s definitely a mighty palace,” Alice said. Then, she raised an eyebrow at Jonathan. “Out of curiosity, you don’t… well…” “Seem to take my glorious and powerful nation seriously?” asked Jonathan, raising an eyebrow at her. He grinned. “I get asked that question a lot, actually. I think a lot of people who come to meet with me expect to see a petty tyrant, lording over my random chunk of wasteland and holding a trumped up opinion of myself. Or something like that.” Jonathan shrugged. “To be honest… I founded Superbia as a joke. I mean, it isn’t entirely a joke. I do think that [King] and [Farmer] actually have some pretty good synergy for making ludicrously efficient farms. There’s a reason I make so much money as a [Farmer]. Lots of crops that aren’t supposed to grow on this continent flourish here. But at the end of the day, my nation has five people in it. It’s hard to take yourself too seriously when you’re aware that your nation has a weaker military than an average city’s [Guard] station.” Jonathan grinned. “Not that I can’t ward of [Bandits] or monsters, mind you. I’m still an Immortal. But… my nation is basically only a nation on technicality.” Jonathan shrugged. “Of course, there is one other reason that I founded the nation of Superbia. Besides just the levels in [King] and the synergy between [King] and [Farmer].” “Oh?” asked Alice, curious. “I’m… I’m [Farmer’s] son. Not real royalty,” he said. Cecilia looked questioningly at Jonathan, who shrugged and nodded. “I understand. Nice to meet you, Jacob,” said Cecilia. Allira and Ethan eyed Jacob critically for a few moments, before Ethan nodded. “I’m Ethan, one of the Immortals from Illvaria,” he said. “Allira, another Illvarian Immortal,” said Allira. Then, she turned back towards Jonathan. “He seems a bit silly, but not bad.” Jonathan actually beamed at Allira’s words. “He keeps trying to leave, but my wife isn’t keen on it. Still, he’s a fine young man.” He said. “Illvarian Immortals… Then know Murim?” asked Jacob. His eyes started to shine with expectation. Allira and Ethan nodded, and Alice started to get a better understanding of Jacob’s situation. Jacob seemed to admire Murim. He also had a lot of [Explorer] magic stuck inside of his body. He kept trying to leave… And he couldn’t have picked a worse time to actually succeed in ditching his parents for a while. Normally, Alice felt that it wasn’t a bad thing for children to find their own path. Admittedly, that was probably due to how she was raised. Her parents had always Keep reading on NovelHub - where stories come alive! In most cases, she felt that Jacob getting in a bit of exploring would be a good thing… That is, it would have been a good thing if the System was up and running properly. Unfortunately, it was currently broken beyond repair. Alice also started to feel even more uneasy. Just a few minutes ago, she had been thinking that it was nice in Superbia because she couldn’t see any signs of the collapse of the System. The moment she had entered the farmhouse, another problem had reared its ugly head. Alice inched her way over to Ethan. “Ethan, can you put up a privacy Perk?” she asked. Immediately, a bubble of rainbow mana flickered into existence around the two. “What did you want to talk about?” “I have two things to say. First, I have a question. How much do you trust Immortal Jonathan? Is it all right if I discuss more detailed parts of the collapse of the System, or should we only distribute standard information to him?” “Immortal Jonathan is pretty trustworthy overall. In his own words, he’s just a simple [Farmer] who happens to be the [King] of the greatest nation on Luliv.” Ethan rolled his eyes. “Jokes aside, he’s a good person.” “Then, second question. Do you think it’s a good idea to tell Immortal Jonathan that his son is flooded with [Explorer] mana, and Jacob does not have a Class seed to handle it?” Ethan paused. For a brief moment, his expression turned into horror as he looked at Jacob and Jonathan. “Really?” Ethan asked. “Jacob is…” he frowned, and then put a hand on his forehead. “No, I can see how that would have happened. That doesn’t surprise me. Damn.” Ethan sighed. “[Explorer], huh. I haven’t visited Jonathan recently, but I did hear that his kid kept trying to leave the country. Why hasn’t he ever picked up the damn class before now?” Alice shrugged. “I don’t know. It does seem like Jacob was arguing with his mother earlier. Maybe we can get some ideas from that? But if I had to guess, I imagine that his parents were afraid of him getting kidnapped by [Bandits] or something. It’s hard to say. Either way, he never got the class, but he has a lot of the mana for it.” “So how in the world did the kid get access to [Explorer] mana now, after the collapse of the System?” Ethan sounded more numb and frustrated than genuinely curious. Then, Ethan sighed. “Nevermind, I guess it doesn’t really matter. Maybe Jacob got the [Thief] class by stealing something from his father and then returning it? That would get him the stealth Perks he would need to slip away, and wouldn’t leave any traces behind if he immediately returned whatever he stole. It still leaves quite a mess behind.” Then, weirdly enough, Alice saw a hint of.. respect in Ethan’s eyes. “The kid knows what he wants, that’s for sure. Still, kind of foolhardy. I’m willing to bet that if his father caught him, he would be forced to shovel manure for months on end. At least, if that’s indeed the way he started exploring the area. Either way, his timing couldn’t be worse.” “What a mess. Well, I don’t think hiding it from Jonathan is a good idea.” Ethan let the Perk dissipate, and then gestured towards Jonathan. “I trust him. Let’s tell him everything about the collapse of the System, and go from there.” Alice nodded, and the two made their way back towards Jonathan, who was still watching as Cecilia, Allira, and his wife chatted with each other, and the younger boy and the little girl played in the fields. “Jonathan…” said Ethan, hesitantly. “I… or rather, my apprentice, has some news to share with you.” Jonathan looked at Ethan’s face, and then Alice’s, before his gaze hardened. “Not the good kind of news, I take it?” Jonathan grimaced. “Well, let’s hear it. The sooner I know, the sooner I can get to handling it. Is it a monster swarm heading this way?” Jonathan frowned. “If we evacuate my wife and kids to the nearest city, the two of us should be able to face it down, if you’re willing to help out.”