On the Road

Now it was one thing to expect a certain troupe in a magical setting such as this, it was another to experience it. A smooth and super fast horse drawn carriage ride was definitely causing some disassociation. Internally it was as if they weren’t moving, but if one would look out of the front towards the driver, their movement was the same as a dive on the highway back on Earth. Leo then wondered exactly how much force was necessary on the outside to impact the internal passengers.

“Must need a pretty big impact.” Zentella nodded to herself seemingly also thinking about such a thing.

“What was that sweetie?”

“Nothing.”

“Oh… urk!”

“Sophia, if you were going to get motion sick, why did you even offer to join us?” Leo asked.

A couple of days ago Leo fully utilized the Goddess’ “freebie”. She had given him knowledge of where a shard could be located. With how unstable the ritual was and how powerful the energy was needed inside the orb, the shards seemingly caused their own personal warp gates to open and plug themselves into them. Thankfully they all remain in this world.

The guild receptionist attempted to compose herself before answering. “Of course… I had to come… I’m your official manager!” she smirked, “You surprised me when you suddenly wanted to visit the Dungeon of Eltar. I was fully willing to wait for you to get your bearings before suggesting a dungeon dive. But since you insisted, I had to be there.”

Leo raised an eyebrow, “Do all managers follow their adventurers wherever they go?”
“Most do. If you registered a town as your base then I could work there,” She then puffed out her chest in pride, “After all, there is greatness in you two, I need to be there to document all your achievements accurately.”

“You just want to ensure you get your investment returns.” Leo sighed, after talking to some of the other guild members Leo learned a few things about exactly what he signed up for. Essentially, Sophia was not only his manager now, but his liaison to personal requests should he be sought out. This meant he gave up his negotiation rights along with his bank account and book keeping. One adventure even claimed that they hold their rights to their stories and publish them for the public. Considering how she phased her words just now, Leo now truly believed it. “Zentella, did you sign anything?”

The small girl nodded, “I did… Should I have not?”

“Probably.” Leo groaned, “But that’s on me.”

Sophia scoffed, “You’re making it out like I’m some kind of schemer.”

“Would a self-respecting adult take advantage of a child?”

“She hardly is one with her monster strength.”

“Hey.” Leo glared a bit a Sophia before turning to Zentella. Whether the comment bothered her or not she did not show it. Still, she was a kid. ‘No need to treat her as a freak.’ Leo reasoned in his head.

“Anyways,” Sophia continued on seemingly pass her motion sickness, “First things first, once we reach Bellen we should stop by the guild to procure an updated map.”

Dungeons in this world seemed almost illogical by any standard means, but not to Leo. Like any good dungeon crawling isekai, they appear out of nowhere and are filled with monsters and treasures. Some claim it is because of a strong monster creating a den. Others say dungeons themselves are the monsters with their ever-changing layout. Speaking of monsters, there appeared to be two categories; natural born and spirit born.

Natural born monsters were like a mutation in nature. Should an animal species mutate and be able to absorb mana they become a natural born monster and can procreate from there. This was like the horned-rabbits that Leo hunted for his first request. Spirit born are essentially mana that takes the form of a beast. There is no cause or indication of how these are created in the wild, unless a Demon conjured them. Like the thralls that overwhelm the party. However, dungeons seemed to be their breeding ground.

Clearing a dungeon was routine for adventurers. While there had been no cause for concerns from the dungeons when left alone, the guild will always place bounties to incentivize clearing them out.

“Danger.” Zentella called out jumping to the floor.

“Huh?”

“What do you sense?” Leo asked. This was one of Zentella’s special skills. In the small time he traveled with her, Leo found out that she had a near sixth sense for sensing hostiles.

“Enemies… about thirty… no 15. All on horseback. They will reach up to us in about 5 minutes.”

“Ok.” Leo nodded attempting to get up too.

“I know you two are eager, but you can relax.” Sophia, then turned to the driver window. “After all, that’s why I scheduled us for this caravan. We got a decent party too… hurk… protect us.”

Sure enough, like Zentella predicted, bandits had begun to surround them on horseback. The carriages came to a halt, but thanks to the magic that gave them speed, it was a smooth stop. Leo looked outside and took note that the party assigned to this job had immediately took action and began engaging the bandits in combat. It looked like your typical party; A mage, a priest, an archer, and their warrior leader. Now, while Leo wasn’t an expert in this world combat yet (excluding his skills), all those late night gaming sessions with his friends made him know shoddy teamwork when he sees it.

“When was this party made?” He asked turning to Sophia

“About a month ago. But they have good members who have been in the guild for a while now. They can handle these bandits.”

“What about the 15 attempting to flank us?”

The two turned to Zentella as she was on the ground again with her eyes closed.

Attempting to put on a brave face Sophia stammered, “I-I’m sure they can handle this.”

“What direction Zentella?”

“That way.” She pointed to the side opposite the current fighting.

“All right.” Leo said stretching his arms up, “Guess that’s my cue.”

“Wait, we can just warn them.”

“Too risky, the drivers and other passengers could get hurt. They might not be the best, but they are currently holding them off well enough. Rattle them now and we are practically asking to get hurt.”

“Exactly.” Zentella then got up and unsheathe her dagger and was about to head out of the carriage.

“Oh no, not you.” Leo said grabbing the back of her collar and lifting the young girl up.

“Down… now.”

“You are stronger than me, I need you to protect Sophia.”

“But you aren’t strong enough to face them alone.” Zentella retorted

“We’ll see. I’m going to try out some things and if it looks like I’ll die, then I’m counting on you to save me. I can trust you right?” Leo the held out his pinky finger

Zentella looked confused. She mimicked and held out her pinky as well. Seeing as the girl was lost, Leo took the initiative and shook it with his pinky. Placing her next to Sophia Leo existed the carriage.

“Are you crazy?” Sophia said stunned at their exchange knowing the small girl’s temper.

“Just watch Sophia.” Leo called back pulling up his system screen, “You won’t be losing your investment that easily.”