Taol's Compendium of Nent

Chapter 6: The World Beyond (Flos)

This will be my final entry for the Continent of Flos. As far as I’m concerned, all that is behind me. By the looks of it, I’ve certainly written a lot about that wonderful continent in my journal – I’m sure that the Exploration Team will be pleased with whatever findings I have written here, that is for certain.

Looking back at the year-long journey, I can see that I have changed a lot as a person. I left Urok a weak, somewhat insignificant being. But my dream to become an explorer came to, and believe it or not, I actually squared up to the challenge. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be writing in this journal even at this very moment.

I think everyone would be proud of the change that I have went through as a person – sure, there’s a lot of changes which I am still trying to come to terms with, especially with the magic that I currently possess because of my time back at the ruins in Flos, but personally, I’ve been dealing with it pretty well.

There is still something that is bothering me, though. After fighting that horrible beast in the ruins after gaining my newfound powers, I couldn’t help but feel immensely displeased, and it is something that is still bothering me even now, while we’re on the carriage to the closest village from the mountain range.

Are there other monsters like this? More importantly, will they be connected with whatever magic I possessed? The idea of having to face such horrid beasts in other continents during our journey does greatly stress me out, but I’m certain that as my proficiency in this strange power grows over time, these monsters will become less and less difficult to deal with – then maybe there will be a point in time where these beasts will merely become a hindrance.

But honestly, I find that really hard to believe.

Still, I cannot let this bother me or erode my confidence – maybe I have this occult power for a reason. Maybe fate does have something in mind for me. I just hope that it isn’t anything gruesome or menacing. Maybe Novus will have some answers about what I have experienced back at those ruins. Either way, I’ll have to find out by myself – and of course, I have my own time-weathered friend with me, so what’s the worst that could happen?

There’s been a lot of thoughts in my mind, many unanswered. What is the purpose of this journey? Sure, it is to find the edge of Nent, but…surely there has to be more than that. I still cannot forget how stressed Lord Bell was when he sought out the help of the Exploration Team in hopes of finding the edge of the world. Why did he want us to do this? Why did he want us to send us off on this seemingly never-ending journey?

What if there is no edge of Nent? What then? What would this mean? What would be the significance of my journey? The struggles that I’ve made, the difficulties I’ve overcome? The changes that I’ve made to myself, both physically and mentally? Would it all result to nothing? Surely that can’t be the case, right?

I feel immensely worried…as if I’m walking into a hotpot of unexplained dangers that I myself am not ready for, regardless of how prepared I could possibly be in the coming future.

I want to feel motivated, but the only positive feeling I have now is anticipation for the land of Novus and what awaits me within this new, strange land.

I’ve heard about how the Exploration Team has links all over the globe. Maybe the ruler of Novus may know a thing or two about the Edge of Nent – perhaps they might know something that Lord Bell doesn’t. Surely that could be the case, right?

I’m looking at the environment around me just outside the carriage window, and I can see that it is way different to what I am accustomed to in Flos. Everything looks cold…almost as if these lands are meant for seasoned travelers and adventurers.

But I suppose I could call myself a seasoned explorer now, right?

Spending a whole year venturing through a whole continent…I have learned a lot from my travels. I have gotten stronger than I had previously anticipated. Maybe I might meet more companions along the way – at least Tirza won’t get bored having to just stick with me from start to finish. Now that might be a grating experience for her. But it’s not like I know what she thinks, anyway.

Right, Tirza…where do I start with her?

At first, she looked like this beacon of recklessness and aggression, but she is genuinely a nice person. The fact that she looked after me after the ordeal we had in the ruins involving that flesh monster does show that – she seems like a very…reserved and reclusive person in terms of her nature, and she does remind me of…well, me. Before I took up this whole exploration gig. Even I felt immensely reclusive, but that was only because of the fact that I felt like I didn’t belong. That I was unremarkable.

But now I can say with some semblance of confidence that such thoughts have long since passed – I still have this lingering dread that it might come back to haunt me, but I must learn to move on and progress to the future. It’s the only way I can develop for the better as a human being, that I am certain…

That being said, I would love to learn more about her. It has been a year, but I’ve yet to know more about who she was before we met that day in the forest. She always never wants to talk about her personal life and what she did during her childhood years…but perhaps there are some things which shouldn’t be talked about when it came to her. If she wanted to have her privacy respected, consider that wish fulfilled.

But maybe at some point in time, I will find out either way. It’s not like I spoke about my past to her, either. I suppose it is only fair to keep things equal for the time being.

I wonder how long it will take for us to explore the entirety of Novus? Feels like it would take even longer than the time it took for us to explore the whole of Flos…I expect this to be a bigger challenge than our first continental exploration adventure, that is for sure.

And you know what? I think I am up to the challenge.

I told myself that I would come back a legend, and there’s no way I’m straying from that goal now – not when I have made considerable progress.

With that, I declare my exploration of the Continent of Flos complete and officially marked as over. My next coming entry logs will be me detailing my experiences exploring the Continent of Novus with my companion. My findings will be reported once this book is complete. “A terra ad sidera explorabimus. Quod calcare possumus, revelabimus. Sicut illic est vocatio casus, casus est qui nos servabit in via nostra.”