The Soldier Mage 24 Chapter 24

"Urgh, ever since I've gotten out of the academy, it's been one thing right after the other. I thought this was supposed to be a break!"

It had now been 5 days since the cla.s.ses and exams stopped but that did not make him slow him. On the contrary, now that he had some semblance of Freedom, there was so much that needed and that he wanted to do that he always had to push back his schedule.

"After helping these adventurers out with their contract, I'm taking a day to myself. I deserve it don't I?"

Even with excellent work ethic instilled by years of waking up early and on time, performing the same routine every day, there was a point where a man's spirit started to waver. Even enlisted guys get time off every so often!

But today would not be like this. Wilfred slapped himself in the face a few times to prime himself up and went downstairs to wrap up his preparations. He had spent the night using his [Construct Artifact[ ability to get ready for any kind of possible fight they may encounter. This morning what was left to do was get some food and camping gear.

He set out as fast as he could, grabbing breakfast on the go and eating while walking to the market district. What he was looking for was an adventurer oriented store, there he could get a sleeping bag or something similar and the few basics for living in the wilds.

His money pouch was rather heavy nowadays as he still retained almost all the money from the sale of the Mana battery. The adventuring supplies ended up costing more than he thought but he opted for higher quality as well. His conscience was telling him that it was a waste of money but his back would thank him when he had a good night's sleep instead of waking up like someone stepped on him. For the portable sleeping roll, a basic cooking kit, a st.u.r.dy backpack, some miscellaneous things like rope, fire starter and a lantern, it had cost him 32 gold 41 silver. All of the previously mentioned were hand made and due to demand prices rose way above what it cost to produce them.

Looking in his coin pouch and counting the coins after the purchase, there were still 217 Gold, 322 Silver, 2503 Copper coins remaining. Naturally, Wilfred had inquired about a storage ring or such item and had found out that they did indeed have some but the prices started at 800 Gold and were custom ordered items which took weeks to get.

He then directly headed for the adventurer's guild and couldn't help but think about the spies. Would they follow him out of the city? With the party he was with now, he could also opt to confront them.

Wilfred entered the adventurer's guild and as expected the party was already sitting at a table waiting for him. Seeing him enter, the three of them stood up and walked towards him. Alcot was the first to address Wilfred.

"Oi! You're actually not bad kiddo, I'm glad you're coming with us after all."

The others nodded in agreement.

'"So where are we going though?"

Halam answered Wilfred's question.

"It's a little bit out of the city, into the forest to the west. We travel all day today and we should be there the next day before noon."

It took close to two hours to leave the city, there was a rather large line of people also leaving and this slowed down traffic, especially when merchants used carts. With only two road exits from the city, things like this were bound to happen. This was due to the city's design of the north being the ocean and the river flowing to the east, one could only exit from the west or south on foot.

Leaving the city is easier and much faster than entering it. In order to levy taxes properly, the guards check merchants entering the city's cargo and charge a fee depending how much and what they bring in. This can cause long waits as merchants sometimes argue about the tax and try to negotiate it down or bribe guards. Many merchants therefore a.s.sociate with the merchant's guild and provide manifests of what they are trading, with the proper doc.u.mentation the tax is lessened due to the guild having made a deal with the Kingdom.

Leaving by the west gate, the party followed the road leading to Sondano. Off in the distance a large forest is visible from afar with tall trees sprouting up every now and then. Being this close to the ocean meant that the temperature was a bit colder on this road especially since it was very open and nothing to stop the wind.

Leganon felt all four seasons when they came around, winters being especially brutal by being near the ocean. Wilfred did not mind the snow so much but if he had the choice he'd rather live somewhere warmer. He regretted not making the ATV after a few hours of carrying his bag around, it was starting to get rather heavy for him. It was definitely on his to-do list but he also wondered how the adventurers would have reacted towards it. One of these days he would simply stop caring what others thought and what they might do but he wanted to get stronger beforehand.

Travelling like this, Wilfred learnt a good deal about his companions and even about the guild.

Alcot was the one that had been with the guild the longest, close to 18 years now. His former party had died during a contract and he had sulked for a long time, drowning his worries in alcohol. That was until Halam was putting together a team and had asked him to join. Alcot had refused but been curious so he had followed Halam and saw his party having some difficulties so he joined in to help them. The thrill of battle brought a smile to him once more and he decided to join.

Fig was the newest party member, just a few years over 20, he decided to become an adventurer for fame and wealth. He was an excellent marksman and Halam had approached him about joining his party. Wilfred also learnt that while individual adventurers have a ranking the party that the adventurers belong to also has one, more often higher than their own individual ones. The guild recognizes that there is strength in numbers and that for example three or more adventurers of Novice rank could be able to do a Journeyman rated contract.

Not much was said about Halam and he himself did not say much on the subject, he tried to keep his past a secret. Wilfred shared a bit about himself, how he grew up in the city and his father is a smith. They were very impressed with how early he had been able to attend the academy and how humble he was of it. If it was them, they'd have been bragging about it on the rooftops.

Conversation turned a bit more casual with Alcot telling jokes and singing some songs. After some time, they could see the small village of Sondano and headed South west following a trail into the wild. Remembering the ingredients from his alchemy book, Wilfred kept an eye out for potentially rare plants or mushrooms. Getting a bit closer to Fig, Wilfred asked him a question.

"Hey, Fig. You're an alchemist right? I was serious the other day, have any tips for me?"

"Hmmm, uhh well, I think our recipes will be different since most of what I learnt is related to cultivating while mages do it differently. But for potion brewing, you need a mortar & pestle to start. Grind up the ingredients properly and follow the instructions to the letter. Some call for mixing with oil, others water. More advanced potions may need extra equipment too, such as a calcinator or a retort."

Wilfred listened intently, wanting to remember as much as possible when he would try to make his own.

"Now, if yo---wait, stop. What's that noise? Everyone quiet."

They were rather deep in the woods now and the sun had started to set not long ago. An orange hue shone through the branches of the trees and all seemed rather silent to Wilfred. Taking Fig's warning in consideration, he scanned the surrounding area looking for anything moving. He kind of wished he had brought his drone now, it might have been useful but in a forest it had limited use.

A small twig breaking under some weight caught Wilfred's attention, as well as Fig's evidently, and both turned towards the sound to see some predator approaching them. It was hard to make out from this far out but Wilfred thought it looked sort of feline-like. His preconceptions were shattered however when it's tail rose up and it looked like a scorpion stinger.

It approached slowly, keeping it's head low and raising its tail above the gra.s.s. Fig whispered to Wilfred as he motioned for him to retreat slowly.

"s.h.i.+t, that's a Coiled Stalker. They're pretty fast and vicious, that tail is also venomous."

Wilfred muttered a low [a.n.a.lyze], hoping to glean useful Information but the creature kept moving in and out of his sight.

"Can we not just...kill it?"

Fig shook his head negatively.

"They're very agile and their pelt is tough, hard to penetrate."

Reaching into his bag as he walked backwards slowly, keeping eyes on the Coiled Stalker, Wilfred withdrew a small round shape and kept it in his hand. Seeing how the adventurers were happy just retreating, he decided to take this into his own hands.

"I'm going to count from 4 okay? I'll throw this thing at it and then begin counting. When I say zero, close your eyes alright? You'll heard a...weird sound, then you can open them again and we're going to kill this thing. It's going to trash violently though."

Wilfred removed the safety pin and pulled the main latch pin, priming the M84 grenade, also known as a stun grenade or commonly referred to as 'flashbang'. Keeping his eyes on the beast, he lobbed it a safe distance in front of him but not too far so that it would end up behind it.

"Four, three, two, one, ZERO!"

Wilfred closed his eyes and waited to hear the distinct sound of the grenade exploding before opening them. From the screams behind him, he guessed that either Halam or Alcot did not manage to close their eyes in time or opened them too early, there was nothing he could do for them now however.

The creature trashed wildly, striking with both it's claws and tail at anything around it. Obviously disoriented from the flash and the loud noise, it's balance was also unstable and it fell all over the place.

Fig reacted fast and notched arrows to his bow, firing into the Coiled Stalker as fast as he could. Wilfred also helped, unleas.h.i.+ng [Wind Blade] as fast as he could. Halam joined the fray slightly after, once the beast was already wounded and most of its energy was spent. He parried a few swipes with his spear and drove the spearhead home into its heart.

Everything was over in a matter of a dozen seconds.Still, Wilfred's heart raced, it was one of the first real fight he was in since coming to this world where it was a life or death situation. Alcot cursing out loud drew Wilfred's attention and he walked over to help him.

"Ahhhh! My f.u.c.king eyes!"

Grabbing the big man's hand, Wilfred lifted him up.

"The effects are temporary, you'll be better soon, don't panic."

Alcot clenched his fists but refrained from doing anything.

"That's twice now that you p.i.s.s me off! I know I said I like you but even the G.o.ds have limits!"

Halam stepped in to calm Alcot.

"The Coiled Stalker's dead already Alcot and it's all thanks to Wilfred, show some grat.i.tude."

Alcot spit on the ground and sat down on a tree trunk with Wilfred's help.

"Easy for you to say, you ain't been blinded."

Fig and halam started skinning and cutting up the carca.s.s, slicing strips of meat off of it and keeping some of the body parts. Once most of it was done, Halam came towards Wilfred and Alcot.

"We'll set up camp here tonight. It's late enough and the Coiled Stalker's presence will have scared off most of the other wildlife around here. Fig, start a fire and we'll eat. Afterwards we'll set up turns to sleep and keep watch."

Having recovered from the effects of the stun grenade, Alcot got up and headed into the woods to grab some kindling and dry wood. Feeling left out, Wilfred asked if he could do anything.

"I can help if you need anything done."

However Halam waved negatively.

"No, it's okay. You just relax and recover. We need you at your best for tomorrow when we reach the bandit's cave."

It did bother him when adults treated him as a child but it would be very awkward to try and explain to them that no, he was an adult and could do all these things. Therefore he let it slide, he could enjoy the break.

"Is that really safe to eat though? Fig said it was venomous."

"Oh, yes very. Delicacy even. We don't eat the tail or the glands. Venomous means its bad when it stings you, poisonous its bad if you eat it."

The adventurers went about their tasks and soon a small camp was erected. The scent of meat grilling on the fire filled the air and Wilfred shared in the meal with the trio before going to sleep.