As they continued their travel, the caravan stumbled upon a group of gnolls. They were half men half hyenas standing with two legs. Bartrem told his men to take care of them. And so they did. With their power and strength increased in every battle, the soldiers were more than happy to kill more monsters.
Aldred watched the fight unfold from his carriage. “They look similar to us humans. They even have spears and armor.”
“They are,” Mary said. “In fact, they have their own nation as well. It’s called Aliravilia. Located to the northeast from Ceraisian Empire.”
“Then why are these bandits here?”
“The same reason with every bandit. Humans turned to stealing too, and sometimes they run to other kingdoms to do their bidding.”
“Interesting,” Aldred said as Joseph beheaded three gnolls at once.
“Did you know that Mount Fargon is located in Thignia?”
“Thignia is a name of a kingdom?”
“Yes. And they are a kingdom of vampires.”
“Wow. Vampires? Are we going to be okay?”
“They’re a civilized race. Like us humans, they won’t attack unless offended.”
“There has to be racism right?”
“Of course. We humans cannot buy land in Thignia, and if we want to make a business, we have to get a local to be our partner. Also, they can take the business whenever they wanted.”
“I am surprised you guys don’t kill each other with that rule in place,” Aldred said
“If you read some history books, you would know.”
Aldred bitterly smiled. “I already can take a guess what’s written in those books. Let’s talk about religion. Does God exist?”
“Of course.”
“Oh… But I don’t see you pray like Mira.”
“Ceraisian is protected by the god of war. As long as we are in a war, nothing else needs to be done.”
“That’s very convenient. So do you worship this god?”
“We’re not a religious empire, but we need the protection of the god. Yet, we’re not actively worshiping him. Just fight a war and that’s it. Besides, gods almost never do anything. No matter how terrible a plague spread on the empire, or how terrible the war is, they still do nothing.”-.
“Have you seen a god before?”
“Nope.”
Aldred sighed. “What about you, Mira?”
“Zalous exist. He is a powerful deity that brings hope to all. He even selected powerful heroes that wield the power of martial art and magic.”
“Bartrem said something about that before. Does god really give them that power?”
“Of course. Only heroes can learn martial arts and magic at the same time.”
“I never see these so-called heroes. With their advantage, why didn’t they defeat Ceraisian yet?”
“We have more numbers,” Mary said. “Heroes are powerful, but they are rare. That’s why you never met them. Their state birthed heroes occasionally, while we pumped out gold ranks at a rapid rate, so the balance never break.”
“So the god of war helped the empire in pumping out Gold Ranks?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Aldred scratched his head. He knew god exist on this planet because his father had told him about it. They were not really god, but simply powerful entities looking for worshipers. That was all.
The soldiers beheaded all the gnolls and the fight was over. They picked up the weapons, armor, and collected some of their body parts such as nails and teeth.
“What are they doing?”
“Collecting monsters parts. Those can be sold to merchants,” Mary said.
The soldiers started to peel the skin of the gnolls.
“Is this okay?” Aldred asked. “If humans were on their lands, wouldn’t they skin us as well?”
“Their nation is too far away from here. We don’t have to worry about angering them. We do not have any diplomatic relationship with them because they are too far.”
Aldred nodded. That explained why humans hadn’t gone to war with these guys.
After cleaning the battlefield, the caravan set off again. They went further north and not long after, they arrived in a small village.
This was Vilmiers. Unlike most villages he had seen before, this one did not have any farmland. Probably because the climate or the soil wasn’t good for crops. A bunch of villagers dragged deers and pigs out of the forest and brought them to the village.
“They seem to rely on hunting for food.”
“Let’s get in their adventurer inn. They have the cheapest yet tastiest food,” Mary said.
“You have adventurers in this world? Are they like go to the mission board, accept requests, kill monsters, protect important figures, and the such?”
“Yes. That’s what they do.”
“They’re like a freelance mercenary or people with power doing grunt work right?”
“Yes… when you put it that way, their job doesn’t sound like an honorable occupation.”
Aldred shrugged. “Let’s eat something. I am starving.”
They entered the village through the west lane. Soon after, they saw an inn with the adventure sign. Bartrem ordered his men to bring the monster’s carcass inside. Seemed like he planned to sell them all in this place. When Aldred stepped in, he realized there were not many people inside. The mission board was only left with three requests.
Aldred asked the waitress who was also the receptionist and the cook of this inn.
“Business isn’t that good in this place, though I have to say I fair better than everybody else.”
“This place is located too far away from other villages and towns so it’s normal,” Mary said. “If you go to the south and open a business there, it’s so much better.”
The waitress sighed. “How can it be that easy. I don’t know any other place than here. I got this place from my dad, and I have been taking care of it ever since. Anyway, what would you like to order? I still have to bake an apple pie for another table.”
“Do you have pizza in here?” Aldred asked.
“I never heard of that before.”
“Never mind. Just give me something with meat.”
“Deer stew it is then.”
Mary and the others ordered their food and she noted them one by one before leaving immediately.
“Where do we go after this?” Aldred asked.
“We have to go further north to a smaller village called Boncy. After that, we go west where Mount Fargon is.”
“Have you gone there before?”
Mary shook her head. “Only a madman will go there. According to what I hear, there’s no single person has ever reached the peak of Mount Fargon.”
“Knowing that, and we still go there?”
“It’s much better than staying in Pharder’s fort.”
Aldred laughed. “You’re right.”
“Hey, be quiet.” A fat, bald man said, sitting at the table near them.
“Are we that loud?” Aldred asked Mary.
“Not really. This is a public space. It should be loud.”
“Hey, did you listen to me?” The fat man said. He put his index finger on his mouth, signaling him to be silent”Be quiet.” Then he turned around and talked loudly with his friends.
Aldred did not know how to react to that. The guy obviously talked louder than them.
Bartrem then came onto their table with a mug of beer and put it in front of Aldred. “Since you’re a soldier now, you have to drink this,” he said, hiccuping.
“Bartrem, are you drunk?”
He hiccuped again. “No, I am not.”
Aldred laughed. “This is the first time I see you drunk.”
“Hey, tone it down,” the fat man said. “Didn’t you listen to me? I told you to be quiet.”
Aldred was angered. All he did was talk with Bartrem and laughed. It wasn’t even that loud.
Mira held his hand. “Ignore him, Aldred. Some people need to be treated as if they were invisible.”
Aldred nodded and they continued to talk like normal. The fat man told him to be silent a bunch of times which pissed him off, but Aldred ignored him.
The fat man stood up and approached them.
Mira smiled. “Remember, Aldred. Do not let emotion consume you. Handle this situation in the best way possible.” She planned to teach Aldred that solving everything with power wasn’t the right thing. It was better to do things calmly and non-violent as possible.
The fat man pointed at Aldred’s face. Aldred kept on smiling, and reach out his hand for a handshake.
“How are you doing, sir? Having a good time?” Aldred asked calmly.
“No. I am not here for that. Be a good boy, okay? I told you to be quiet.”
Aldred was angered, but he kept his smile. “It’s a public space, sir. I am just talking with my friends.”
“You’re loud.”
Aldred laughed to calm the situation. “Yeah, people said I am loud sometimes. Sometimes my girlfriends said I am loud.” Aldred just said random things at this point. He did not care. He just wanted to de-escalate the tension.
“You have a girlfriend?”
“Yeah,”
“I felt very sorry for your girlfriend.” He then sat down on his chair.
Aldred took a deep deep deep breath, but the fire in his heart swelled.
Mira frowned. That person was very harsh towards the boy. She worried that Aldred might lash out and confront the man physically, but the boy did not do that. He stayed silent and looked down at the table.
“Did I do the right thing, Mira?” Aldred asked with teary eyes.
Mira’s heart clenched. The boy must have held all of that rage within him. ‘He’s a good boy with self-control. But the boy’s heart is clearly broken at this point.’
What the man did earlier was outright bullying. Any man would have confronted him, but Mira told Aldred to avoid violence to solve the problem. His pride as a man must be shattered now. Even though he was still a boy, Aldred was a soldier, so his pride must be high as well.
“I felt violated,” Aldred said in a low tone. “I felt like I should have destroyed him.”
Mira felt his anger. This was what she feared. She feared Aldred would fall to his emotion and become a monster. The boy had great talents and potential, but if he turned into a monster, God knew how many would die with every step he took.
“The world will keep trying to bring you down, child. It will turn you bitter and lead you to be a monster. But it’s okay to become a monster.”
Aldred looked at her in confusion.
“You should become a monster, Aldred. But you must also learn how to control it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Weak men, weak people have no place in this world. The reality of the world is, the strong eat the weak, so I want you to be smart. Avoid confrontation if you are weak, but defend yourself if you are strong.”
“Which mean?”
“Are you weaker than him?”
“No.”
“Did he violate you?”
“Yes.”
“Every single being in this world deserved justice. Justice must be enforced, and for that you need power. You have the power to put justice for his action. Tell me, Aldred, what punishment fits this violation? Does his life worth more than your anger?”
Aldred wanted to say yes, but the more the thought about it, the more he realized it wasn’t worth it. “It’s not worth his life.”
“What is it worth then?”
Aldred walked to the fat man.
“I don’t have any food for you, boy. Sit dow—”
SLAP!
He was sent flying a few meters away before landing on the ground. His friends were shocked. The fat man wasn’t a normal person, he was a Gold Rank, so when the boy sent him flying they couldn’t help but stare at him with widened eyes.
The fat man stood up and stared at him in anger. “You dare!?”
Aldred summoned Milet and the other undead. They stared at the fat man with lifeless eyes which made him tremble in fear.
“I gave you mercy. Do not take my kindness as weakness.”
The fat man sweated but said nothing.
Aldred sat down again and sighed in relief.
“Feeling relief?” Mira asked. Though what Aldred did was too much for her standard, at least the boy did not kill him. She had to teach him her values little by little.
“I don’t know,” Aldred said. “I kinda still want to kill him.”
Mira sighed. ‘This will be a long lesson.’
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