Chapter 12: Revelation
"Argh"
Ji-ho was on his knees, nauseous and barfing. Teleportation was apparently too much for his constitution.
Mundeok, on the other hand, looked perfectly fine.
"Absolutely brilliant! If this existed in Goguryeo, we'd have been invincible"
Park couldn't believe it. How was a man his size fine after what they had just experienced?!
He swore right then and there that he would at least train his body to avoid reliving that horrendous experience.
After a few more curses, Ji-ho finally opened the map and looked at their surroundings.
"We're exactly right where we're supposed to be. If we go east, we should eventually find a road leading to Gruzia"
The general nodded and without further ado, they marched.
The views once again mesmerized both of them.
Everything was grandiose, from the trees' sizes to the vast and colorful vegetation. It felt like a world that transcended reason.
This also reminded them to stay vigilant. What hid behind this beautiful nature was sure to be extremely deadly.
Luckily for them, nothing hampered their way and after twenty minutes, they reached a fairly well-maintained dirt road.
"I guess we're on the right track. I really hope Gruzia isn't as bad as it seemed on the map, though. We could have trouble getting what we want"
"Stop whining so much. We haven't even arrived yet"
Mundeok sounded slightly annoyed, which made Ji-ho awkwardly laugh.
The general was right.
There was no point in worrying about the unknown. Plus, the die was already cast, as turning back was now impossible.
After setting aside his worries, Park became strangely engrossed in the road. It initially appeared great, but the closer he looked, the more impressed he became.
There were no cracks, no weeds growing and, most impressive of all, it was perfectly leveled with no odd bumps.
Back on Earth, such results were only possible with extensive maintenance, which didn't seem to be the case here. Was magic involved?
As his interrogations mounted, he didn't notice that Eulji had stopped in his tracks, making him nearly collide with him.
"Ugh… What's up?"
As soon as Ji-ho saw the general's face, however, he was shocked.
The man was… awestruck?!
He immediately turned his attention to what shocked him, only for his jaw to drop as well.
"I see the map didn't do it justice…"
The scenery unraveling in front of them was beyond anything they had seen so far.
Standing there was…
The central mountain chain.
It was mind-bogglingly massive, to where Park questioned how it even came into existence. It was tens of kilometers high and dominated everything around it.
He finally understood why wars hadn't broken out between the continent's two sides. Who would be crazy enough to cross this absurd barrier?!
After admiring it for a few minutes, the engineer wanted to resume their journey, only to be stopped by Mundeok once again.
"Did you look at the base of the mountains?"
"?"
Park looked down and, after a few moments, gasped once more.
"What..."
Hidden through the majestic scene was a white, polished wall. It appeared small at first, but once Ji-ho solely focused on it, he realized how wrong his perspective was.
It was easily hundreds of meters tall and had a length spanning as far as the horizon went. On it were also evenly spread towers which appeared to house ballistas, although he'd have to be closer to confirm it.
Overall, and from his point of view, it was a marvel of engineering. Its defensive capabilities looked endless.
"So this is what I'll be in charge of bringing down… What a pain"
Mundeok was clearly feverish, and Park could see the fire in his eyes. He was definitely itching to see his worth in this world.
"Let's go! I can't wait to see what's behind it"
It was time to see if their gamble had paid off.
***
The closer they got and the more in disbelief they became.
The structure was impressive from afar, but it was an entirely different story up close. The sheer technical ability to pull off such a feat was otherworldly.
Wasn't this empire supposed to be weak?! Had Ji-ho made a mistake?
Next to the now worrying Park was Mundeok, who was more and more flabbergasted.
No dynasty in his era had ever dreamt of building something like this, never mind taking one down.
He was at a loss, a first for him.
They both continued in silence, thinking about their next steps and what changes their plans needed in order to succeed. The already tough road had suddenly become much, much harder.
But just as they were thinking, they saw… people?
The engineer, who was fairly reserved in his past life, froze on the spot.
This was it.
His first contact with Arcadian folk.
He secretly prayed for the humans to be like Earth's, but he knew there were bound to be stark differences, at least culturally. The least he hoped for was for their physiology to be identical or very similar.
As for Eulji, his mood noticeably improved, as he appeared to welcome the distraction. It was much better than having to wrap his mind around defeating that defensive mega-structure.
"Let's keep going! I want to see how they look"
Park sighed at the remark and envied Mundeok's carefree attitude. Being absurdly strong truly helped one's curiosity…
After a minute, they arrived close to a group of, Ji-ho assumed, wandering merchants. They were carrying bags on their backs and a few trinkets around their waists.
Their clothes were clean, but shabby, and their height wasn't that much higher than Park's, making Mundeok truly look like a monster.
After further inspection, the pair finally passed them, much to the group's shock when they noticed the general.
"Wow, this must be one of Gruzia's elite warriors!"
"He's enormous! Do you think anyone can defeat him?!"
"I'd pay good money to see him fight"
Their voices could be heard from the back, and Ji-ho was surprised that he could understand them. The system's multilingual extension evidently applied to both reading and hearing.
Mundeok apparently had the extension as well, as an enormous grin had formed on his face.
"Looks like you're not immune to compliments"
"What do you know? They clearly recognize a warrior of my stature"
Arrogance and pride oozed out of him, which made Park lightly shake his head. Still, he couldn't deny it was well-deserved praise when considering the general's strength.
After passing other groups and caravans, Ji-ho's unease vanished. Arcadia's humanity was nearly identical to Earth's, an additional fact that greatly facilitated his plans.
He also roughly evaluated their technological level at around that of the Middle Ages. Of course, this didn't factor in magic, but he was nevertheless happy.
With all things considered, he was certain his vast knowledge could have a second life here.
After another few moments, the gate came into view, and what a sight it was. It was a humongous portcullis made of… steel?
No…
As Park focused all of his attention on it, a small window appeared in front of his right eye.
[The <Transcendent Eyes> skill is activating…]
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone