Austronesian Empire, Imperial Majapahit, Aceh, Banda Aceh, Dock Of Aceh

First Year Of God, Second Day, First Week, First Month

Melian stepped down the iron plank, or so she thought it was. From the looks of it, it looked more like a movable dock. The ingenuity of it utterly amazed her. She touched the railings and noticed they were made of pure metal. With these railings, nobody would ever fall off the ship while disembarking. She was speechless with all the cleverness that she had found while traveling with these humans, things that would never be found, unless you thought of it hard enough.

She moved forward, realizing she was blocking the way. But with all these kinds of damages to the human nation, she couldn't believe that they could still persevere despite all kinds of adversaries.

For the past few hours, she had been mulling over the notion that the human nation didn't come from this world but from another. That's all because no matter how hard she researched and tried to remember, there was no such land southwest of their nation as it is only nothing but a vast expanse of ocean infested with dangerous sea monsters.

It is too much of a coincidence, because of the fact that the court magicians discover an anomaly beside their country, which could either cause chaos or lead to a rebirth for her nation. It could only mean one thing, and that is the gods were on the move.

As far as she could remember from reading history books, humans didn't originally come from this world. Rather, they were sent here by a foreign god 10,000 years ago. The races of the past accepted them beforehand, but this proved to be their greatest miscalculation, because they didn't realize that humans were manaless.

By the time they understood the implications, it was too late, that's because the humans had already reproduced and mingled with the other races, which resulted in diluting the pure mana pool of the races. At that time, the races were divided on how to deal with the humans, some called for integration, while others advocated for apartheid.

We could all guess what happened to those who integrated with the humans. Soon after, their mana pool became lower and lower until most of their kind became manaless. One example is the beastmen race. They loved humans so much that their race went extinct, and their descendants became known as demihumans.

When the integrationists eventually disappeared, the apartheid factions immediately made the humans and the manaless as slaves. Because in this world, those with power rules. Though sometimes, there are humans who were taken in by those with mana to share their lineage, but such occurrences were rare, like finding a speck of gold in the desert.

Furthermore, humans were like the perfect slaves for the apartheids. That is because of the fact that they reproduce too fast and especially the human females, known for their beauty, were highly valued as sex slaves.

If the foreign god transported a human nation here, then that could mean one thing, and that is the foreign god is moving. It must be fuming with anger at how the Apartheid abused the humans and the manaless.

The humans that were sent here from those times had a backwards society of tribalism. But what would happen to the world as of now, if a human nation that is technologically advanced out of all the nations, came here and saw all the misdeeds that's been happening to their fellow kind?

The reactions would definitely be not too good. It might even be extremely violent.

"But I, as the monarch of my nation, must establish a good relationship with them," Melian thought to herself. "The power I've seen from these humans is just the surface, and I sense they possess a power that even the combined might of many strong mages, even those who could split mountains, could not dent. After all, mages are individuals, we can't break something so tightly unified. These humans have the power of ingenuity and intellect. They can't be easily destroyed. Mages manipulate the surroundings but don't truly understand how things work, because they bend existing laws by manipulating mana. What would happen if someone fought them using the very laws that even mages can't fully comprehend? What does truly transpire before our eyes? Considering how technologically advanced this country is, I must believe they have more surprises in store."

Melian was about to sit in an iron carriage, which puzzled her by its lack of horses. Suddenly, she noticed a woman of great stature sitting next to her, shining brilliantly and appeared as if she were the purest thing she had ever seen.

Her first reaction was startled, "Who are you?"

"Hello, Melian. I am the Elven Goddess. Your brother has taken the throne for himself. I was about to kill him when the other gods intervened. As of now, the curse on your family is effectively gone. However, seeing how technologically advanced the humans that the foreign god sent into this world are, I can't stand by and watch my children be wiped out of existence. You are still the legitimate ruler of my children, but this is the only blessing I can give you... for now, and that is the power to speak with the humans. Their languages are diverse, so I will grant you knowledge of their entire language system and all others as well. With this, I am sure you will be able to fulfill even your father's dream of a society where everyone is treated fairly, not just by birth."

To prevent Melian from panicking, the goddess used a spell to calm her, allowing her to take in all the information.

Although it was overwhelming, Melian accepted the goddess's blessing for the prosperity of her kind. Soon enough, she could now understand what the humans were saying.

Minutes had passed since the Elven goddess's sudden appearance, and Melian had been deep in thought for quite a while. The humans at the front of the carriage hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, it is to day that the goddess had indeed shown herself only to her. Meanwhile, she had been listening to the human soldiers chatting to each other for quite a while.

"Hey, the elf in the back is kinda cute, isn't she?" one of the humans moving some sort of a panel said.

"Are we just going to assume that she was an elf?" another soldier replied.

"Of course, she perfectly fits the description of an elf from games and Norse mythology. Extremely beautiful, and the iconic long ears," the first soldier said. "Plus, they probably use magic and have a high affinity for it," he added.

"Then could that mean we could also use magic if they taught us?" the second soldier assumed.

"Is that possible?" the first soldier wondered.

"I apologize to you, humans, but almost all of your kind are manaless in this world," Melian suddenly joined in.

Upon hearing the Elven woman speak, the soldiers were utterly speechless. They couldn't comprehend how someone from another world could speak their language. Although they had learned a few hours ago that they had been transported to another world, it was still hard to believe, even if they were seeing it with their very own eyes. They were glad that the higher ups didn't cover it up, instead immediately reported it to the masses, to which they even provided evidences such as satellite images and images of unknown races that exist in this new world.

"You must be shocked that I can converse with you humans from another world," Melian said. "However, every race has its secrets to keep."

"We understand, ma'am! We hope you didn't take offense at what we said earlier," the second soldier replied.

This was the first time someone had apologized to her. She was already quite intrigued by these humans, which made it even more intriguing. After all, what kind of nation has a culture to even befriend its enemies, even after all the lives that were lost during the battle?

"It's alright," Melian replied.

"Miss, may we ask what kind of world this is?" the soldier holding the panel asked.

"Oi! We shouldn't let any outsiders know of our current circumstances," the second soldier said.

"Ah, yes, Miss, you can forget about it," the first soldier stammered.

"Idiot, you've already asked her. Might as well go further," the second soldier interjected.

Melian was quite confused as to what was happening. She had expected such a powerful nation to be more demanding and wary of outsiders, yet they treated her normally, like any other person. She wondered how they would react if they knew she was a queen of another nation.

"I am the queen of another nation." Melian blatantly said.

The soldiers looked at her with neutral expressions, which shocked her quitely at how they've been reacting.

"We knew you were some sort of high-class elf, but who would have thought we had captured the queen of another nation," the first soldier chuckled.

Upon hearing that, Melian felt a cold sweat drop on her back as sparks of lightning seemed to manoeuvr through her body.

"Hahahahhaha!" All the soldiers laughed together.

"Don't worry, miss, we won't harm you or your people. We're not a barbaric nation, we treat our war prisoners well," the second soldier said, but his expression shifted. "Well... except for the 19th Black Armored Division. Those ultranationalist fanatics are way too hardcore with their prisoners and completely disregard the Geneva Convention. But still, most of us are friendly."

"I see. Then unfortunately, this world you're on will test your resolve and integrity. Humans are slaves here because they are manaless and considered an invasive race," Melian uttered.

The looks on the soldier changed. It turned serious.

"Miss, shall we take this as a threat?" the first soldier asked with a serious tone.

"No, please don't. I am merely stating facts. Even though I am the queen of my nation, I am nothing but powerless right now. My brother has gaslighted my people, and they think I'm dead. Moreover, the majority of my citizens despise me, often due to differing ideals, and sometimes simply because I am a woman," Melian explained.

"Then you're much safer here, miss. Slavery in our nation was outlawed centuries ago, and women are treated fairly like men. While some boundaries remain, they don't reach the point of discrimination. It's just that everyone recognizes that without one sex, the other wouldn't survive," the soldier in the driver seat said.

"I see. I wish my people were like you. In this world, discrimination is immensely strong, and your fate is decided by birth alone. Those with power rule, and the weak submit," Melian said.

"We understand. Our world has gone through much, but we always persevere. That's what humanity is. Despite all odds, we shall persevere and make it through," the second soldier replied.

"I think I understand you. We, the Elven people, have been through much as well. Despite our magical superiority, we've been declining recently because of this. We have been too complacent," Melian said.

"Are you sure you're supposed to be saying this, Miss?" the first soldier said.

"It's alright. I'm about to ask for help to save my people. I'm willing to go to the negotiation table to discuss what your country needs. I know your country has just been transferred here, and I believe you need capital to rebuild, correct?" Melian said.

"Jeez, this woman is too cunning," the second soldier mumbled. "I think you should discuss this with the People's Emperor, though it might take a while, given the current state of the country as it is in shambles."

"The People's Emperor?" Melian asked.

"Yes, the People's Emperor. He is this empire's ruler and, most importantly, the people's representative," the first soldier explained.

"This country is an empire? Just how big is this nation?" Melian said, astonished.

"Let me tell you this, we are enormous. You should have seen one of our largest ships, right? Our country comprises thousands of islands. 'The navy rules the Pacific' is what we like to say. Although our navy is weak compared to other superpowers in our world, it is enough to protect all the islands," the second soldier said.

'A navy to protect thousands of islands, and you call that weak?! Just how many ships do they have? Never mind that, I am curious about this People's Emperor they were speaking of,' Melian thought to herself.

"What is this People's Emperor?" Melian asked.

"Precisely as it sounds, a people's emperor. It is the title of the monarch of our nation, who is adored by the people themselves. He cares for the people and puts their interests above all else," the first soldier explained. "If the Emperor is deemed tyrannical, the people have the right to vote him out. That's what we call democracy!" he said, proudly slamming his fist on his chest. "If the whole government becomes corrupt and doesn't follow the people's will, the people have the right to bear arms, just like the 2nd Amendment from old America before they went full Communist in the '60s."

"Interesting. Aside from your nation's political system, this People's Emperor you speak of, I've never heard of such a person in this world. How does he manage the empire? I'm sure it comprises multiple ethnicities," Melian said.

"We don't judge or base our beliefs on one's ethnicity, we judge by their characteristics. Even if we are split by ethnicities, we share a common heritage, a common culture that is present in each culture. We all share the same life and freedom, and we all share a common ancestor. We are Austronesians," the second soldier said with chest high in the air. "If that's not enough or doesn't satisfy you, then we are humans. We bleed red. No matter the colour or sex, we are all humans, and that's what's important. However, there are still rules. We still have morals and stuff like those."

Upon hearing the words of the soldiers, Melian felt like she was in a dream. Was such a thing even possible?

"Let me tell you this, Miss. The strong exist to protect the weak," the first soldier said.

After hearing these words, she was amazed. If humans could achieve something like this in such a short time, then what were powerful mages to rule even for?

"Do these answers satisfy you, Miss?" the second soldier asked.

"Yes, they do," Melian replied.

Melian stopped talking with the soldiers for a few moments and gazed outside the iron carriage that was running without horses. Everything she had seen so far amazed her. She wondered what this place might look like if it weren't destroyed by the storm? However, she could only leave it to the imagination.

To add more surprises to her, the iron carriage stopped right in front of what seemed like a ten-meter-tall concrete wall with a large gate with two soldiers stationed on the ground and nearly a dozen more standing on top of the walls. One of the soldiers in the front approached the carriage and asked the driver, which he showed something from around his neck.

Shortly afterwards, the soldiers shouted and the gate opened, allowing the carriage to enter.

Melian stared outside the glass panel, and the only thing she saw on the other side of the wall was another field. Enhancing her eyesight and looking ahead, she could see another ten-meter-tall wall a hundred meters away.

Still unable to see a clear view, Melian decided to use a type of surveillance magic that allowed her to view far distances through space.

Closing her eyes, Melian used her magic and found herself high in the sky. As she looked down, she was utterly shocked at what she was seeing.

Below her was a massive city that could rival the capital of her kingdom. Though a bit dirty from the storm, it still looked magnificent with its tall buildings and immensely bright lights. The city was surrounded by two layers of walls that seemed to have been built recently. The speed of their construction was impressive, and she noticed giant cannons, iron carriages with cannons, flying machines, and thousands of human soldiers fortifying the area more and more, and it didn't look like they were going to stop.

They had planted giant cannons everywhere, guns of enormous range, some capable of creating craters over a hundred meters in diameter. Military posts everywhere with thousands of soldiers armed with rifles that could shred a human body entirely in seconds.

But the worst was these flying machines.

Before her eyes, there were over twenty flying machines that seemed to have blades spinning rapidly and had made a bombing raid on a nearby forest as big as the city itself.

And what made her utterly speechless was that half of the forest had been wiped out.

Missiles and bombs had fallen on the forest, apparently incendiary. They had reduced a large portion of the forest to ashes in a fiery inferno that devoured everything that infested the place.

Such destructive power would be needed for a mage that possessed over 80,000 magicules to imitate this.

It would be nearly a massacre if she were sent her army for a direct attack against these humans, for an army would be devastated by those weapons.

And speaking of weapons. With all these enormous amounts of weapons set, Melian could only wonder why they were protecting this one city so much, but she would find out as soon as the iron carriage she was in approached another gate in the second layer wall.