Chapter 19

In the morning I woke up, this time not sleeping in, and went to the guild after eating some breakfast to meet up with Rain.

So far I could move my arm without much difficulty, give it a day or two for my arm to be back to normal.

“So Nyx, are you really leaving for Acton tomorrow?”

Rain asks if I am really planning to go, looking sad saying it.

“Ya”

Thinking of a way to cheer her up, I thought of something.

“I’ll just write you some letters if you want”

I remember from reading a book about the Adventurers guild that it also doubles as a postal service since they already have a network of outposts in every town.

“You really are?”

“Yes”

That managed to get Rain’s spirit up for a bit.

Right now we were walking to Hutch’s shop to pick up my new cloak and then Kinwall’s shop for my new weapons.

Entering Hutch's shop, he greets us with the same enthusiasm as usual.

“Hi Hutch, is my cloak ready?”

“Yes, I hope you like it”

Hutch pulled out my cloak under the counter, excited to show it to me.

I pick it up and examine it. It has a gray color like my old one, but was more whitish in color in comparison, and the underlining also matches the gray color.

Putting it on, surprisingly it was soft and comfy to wear.

“It feel really nice”

“Good”

Hutch gave us an enthusiastic goodbye when we left his shop to Kinwall's shop to pick up my short sword and throwing knives and spikes.

As we were walking, I saw Alex and his party down the street.

It’s not hard to notice them, with them being a loud bunch. There are people, men and women alike, who are looking at one individual with either anger, jealousy, or with some unfortunate cases, affection.

They all greeted us, except for Lucia since she is what you called a real life tsundere, she just huffed and turned her head away, ignoring me like I wasn’t even here.

“Oh it’s Nyx and Rain, how are you two?”

I told Alex that I was fine then I looked at Rain, who said she was also fine. Thankfully from looking at her expression and general reaction, she doesn’t look to be sway from Alex’s mysterious main protagonist powers.

Maria asked how my arm was, I told her.

“It’s healing, I could move it slightly”

“I see”

Then I gave my left arm for Maria to examine. She looked over and said.

“Your arm is healing up nicely. Be careful, even though it will completely heal by tomorrow, it will take a couple of days to get back all of your motor function in your left arm”

“Good to know, and thanks for the regeneration potions”

“It's fine, glad I could help. Also by the way, we heard you are going to Acton.”

“Yes I am, I’m leaving tomorrow”

“Well, see you in Acton when I finally rank up to E rank”

“Good luck on that”

I see, they are also going to Acton. Makes sense since that is where most beginner adventurers in this town, who gain some experience, go to continue ranking up their ranks, due to it having a dungeon.

“And see you all around”

Rain and I continued on our way to Kinwall's shop. Once we enter the shop I ask Kinwall if my orders are ready.

He said to give him a second and went in the back, then came out carrying some things in his arms.

“Here is your shortsword and your throwing knives and spikes”

He placed them on the counter and showed them to me. The throwing knives and spikes are the same as the ones I ordered last time. I store them in the holsters, this time I’ll make sure I won't lose them.

Then I held the shortsword in my hands, the length of the blade and handle was shortened from its original size but overall it was a good sword.

I tie the shortsword to my belt, next to my new sword.

Saying thanks to Kinwall, we went to the guild. I looked at the quest board to find a specific quest I wanted. It is an escort job to escort a group of merchant wagons to Acton that was leaving tomorrow, which was my way of getting to Acton.

Since the adventurers guild issued a travel ban, it prevented people from leaving town. The merchants and their wagons haven’t left yet, which was good for me since I wouldn't have had to wait another month for another caravan that goes to Acton.

When I went to Emma and showed her the quest I’m taking, she asked if I’m really leaving.

“Yes, there’s going to be a lot more opportunities in Acton than in Farsburrow”

“I see and by the way, when you go the guild and say hi to Iris or Vic for me if encounter them”

“Are they your friends?”

“Yes, they will help you out if you say you know me. Iris is a guild receptionist like me, she helped me a lot when I was still an adventurer. And Vic is the guild’s doctor and was an old party member before we disbanded, he can sell you some potions at a good price”

“I’ll say hi, if I meet them”

I keep that in mind since it’s good to make some acquaintances when I go to Acton.

“By the way, I was wondering where Cade is right now. I want to thank him for all the help”

“He is at his office but with the amount of paperwork he has to do due to the dire wolf pack, he is more busy than usual right now. Plus I gave him even more paperwork as punishment for making me do paperwork”

“I see…”

Now I felt bad for Cade with the amount of paperwork he had to do. If the amount of paperwork I saw Emma did when I entered into the guildmaster office, I wonder how much paperwork he is doing right now.

I was also a bit in awe from Emma nonchalantly saying she was punishing Cade, despite him being her boss.

After Emma finished entering me into the escort quest, Rain and I went downstairs to the small library. For the last 2 days we were staying inside the library, reading along silently with Mable.

I had Rain reading a book about monsters right now. So far this is her second book, she is a slow reader. The first book I had Rain read was about the Adventurers guild.

As for me, I am reading books about magic circles for beginners. Yesterday I finished reading a book about a general overview of how magic works.

So far, I have learned that a magic circle is basically like a circuit in my past life.

However that is generally not enough since it would require the addition of this world's version of Runes, which was like code, for them to actually work. With the certain combinations of Runes, you can make that magical tool to get what you want.

Additionally, runes are an imitation to the engravings found in artifacts, which were made by a lost magical civilization who we don’t really know a lot about.

The type of magic circles affects the output, shape, and overall end product, like how powerful you want them to be or if you want the spell to be a wide range or single target spell.

Runes affect what you want out of the magic tool like the combinations of Runes to make a wand that cast ice spells or healing spells.

When I finished reading the book, about an hour and half before closing time for the guild, I said goodbye to Mable and told her that I am leaving early to prepare to travel to Acton.

“So your leaving tomorrow then”

“Ya”

“Okay then"

Looking at her slight facial expression, I could see that she is a bit sad.

“Don’t worry, you still got Rain as company and I told her that I would be writing letters whenever I have the opportunity"

Then I turned to Rain and spoke to her.

“Also Rain, remember to read through the list of books I gave you”

“Do I have to?”

Rain pouted in displeasure when I reminded her to read through the list of books I made for her.

“Ya, I’m not going to be here, so you better start reading”

For the last few days, I noticed that she really dislikes reading but it’s better that I have her do so instead.

I exited the guild and went back to my inn, earlier than usual and leaving Rain to continue reading her books with Mable. I was planning on buying some supplies for tomorrow's escort on the way back, it was almost sunset and all the stores were still open.

For my escort quest, Emma gave me and anyone else a copy of the quest. It would take about 5 days of travel to get to Acton, so we are going to pass by 2 towns on the way there.

Each town is roughly 2 days of travel from each other. I should get at least 3 days worth of rations and replenish my supplies at each town.

Going to a nearby general shop that sells supplies, I bought some dried meat, dry fruits, and this time I paid extra for crackers instead of having to eat travelers bread.

In total I bought them for 8 coppers with a 20% adventurers discount.

Doing some math, the cost of supplies when I get to each town in total is 1 bronze. Additionally I’ll have to pay for my own inn, which if I remember correctly from reading a book is 25 coppers a night or 5 bronze in total for the trip. The total cost is 6 bronze, 8 if I add 2 extra bronze coins for some other miscellaneous things.

I am being paid 2 large bronze coins for the escort quest, so I’m making 2 bronze in profit from my escort job.

I went back to my inn, carrying all of my provisions for tomorrow. I immediately began packing all of my belongings into my backpack when I got into my room.

First I pack my clothes inside, then my miscellaneous things like a map or my pouch that has my jewelry, and finally my rations that I bought today.

After I was done packing, I went to bed early to make sure I wouldn’t be late at the meet up spot, at the north gate in the afternoon.

The next day I woke up earlier than usual, I checked out of the inn and gave back the keys to the old lady behind the desk.

I got a few hours till the caravan departed, which was at noon, so I went to the guild to meet up with Rain to say my final goodbyes to her, Emma, Alex and his party if they are there, and Cade if he isn’t doing any paperwork.

When I went to the guild and saw Rain waiting for me outside as usual.

“Hi Rain”

“Hi, so you’re leaving to day”

“Ya, I still got a few hours before I’m going, I came to say goodbye”

Going inside, I went to Emma’s counter to say goodbye.

“Hello there, Nyx”

“Hi Emma. I came to say goodbye, is Cade still busy?"

“Ya, I”ll tell him you say goodbye to him"

“Alright then”

After saying goodbye to Emma, I went downstairs with Rain to the library.

“You know what your assignments are, right?”

“Continue reading through the list of books you’ve gave me”

Rain opened the door to the library with a look that she didn’t want to read anymore.

“Hi Mable, I came here to say goodbye.”

“Okay, have a safe journey”

“Have a safe journey as well”

“Alright then, I’ll be off"

I left the adventurers guild after saying goodbye to Rain, Mable, and Emma. I still have about 2 hours left till I have to meet up with the merchant caravan.

I should tell Kinwall and Hutch that I’m leaving too.

Since Hutch was closer, I went to him first.

“Ah greetings Nyx”

“Hi there”

Hutch has that same energy as usual.

“I can here to tell you that I’m leaving to Acton today”

Surprised when I said I was leaving, he said to wait here for a second, he went in the back and came out with something. Then gave me a glass bottle that had a black viscous liquid in it and told me it was a parting gift.

“What is it?”

“It’s a hair dye, much better than what your currently using”

I wasn’t really surprised that he noticed that I dyed my hair. You couldn't really call it a hair dye since it just masks my true hair color instead of dying it.

“I dabble in alchemy as a hobby and I accidentally made it”

“Thanks but why are you giving it to me?”

“Let's just say it’s a parting gift. Plus this is the first production run, so why not let you have it?”

“Oh I see, how do I use it?”

“Good question”

Hutch had an eager expression like he was just waiting for me to ask.

“You first have to wash your hair with water, preferably in some flowing water because it will be messy. Then you rub it on your hair, wait for around 10 to 15 minutes, and rinse off any excess. You don’t have to worry about dyeing your skin because it only works on your hair”

Holding the glass bottle, this seems really useful. I better find a secluded lake or stream if I’m going to use it when I reach Acton.

“Thanks again”

“No problem”

I put the hair dye in my backpack and went to Kinwall's shop next.

When I was close to his shop, I heard somebody yelling at the top of their lungs.

“How dare you, somebody of low birth, refuse my order? I even made the ordeal to come to here to grace you with my presence"

“Again, I respectfully decline your commission for a sword”

Kinwall was calm, like he had to deal with these situations a lot, but I could see from his expression, he wanted this to end.

I should help him. Putting on my hood to hide my face just in case he recognizes me, I opened the door to Kinwall’s shop to see a guy, looking all self-entitled like he was looking down at everyone, shouting at Kinwall. I’m guessing from his clothes, he is a noble.

“Excuse me"

The guy turned around with a scowl.

“What do you want, brat!”

“I kindly ask you to stop, your troubling one of my acquaintances

Hearing me, his self-entitled face turned all red in anger.

“You dare talk to me, my family is a viscount family. For a mere commoner to talk back, I’ll have your head”

So he’s from a viscount family. It narrows down the list of families I had memorized when I used to be a noble, to one family in particular. If I remember correctly, he is the eldest son of the Palning family.

Seeing me quiet when I was trying to figure out which family he is from. He smirked thinking that I was shaking in my boots, which I presume was what was going inside his head with how these types of nobles are, and immediately began berating me.

“You should bow your head to the ground and grovel before me brat, just maybe I’ll let this go”

His ranting continued but I didn’t care to listen and scoffed at his demands.

“Such insolence”

Expecting me to grovel in front of him, he was surprised when I talked back, causing his face to get even redder in anger but turn confused when I spoke the following.

“For a mere eldest son of a viscount, why should I?”

I switched to how I used to talk when I was a noble. Then I began staring at the guy with cold eyes, like I was looking down at him. It gave me an aura that I was also a noble and not just any noble but a high ranking one, that was superior to his own.

He was taken aback for a bit, realizing that I’m not just some ordinary commoner.

Seeing that I was wearing a cloak with my hood on to hide my identity, coming to this shop that looked run down, how I changed my speech pattern to that of a noble, and the aura of nobility surrounding me. The gears in his empty head must have been turning.

“Be grateful that I came here in private or else if this was in any official setting, this insolence will not be tolerated and I’ll have your entire family fall into ruin”

I confirm the thoughts in his head and his smirk faltered, with his face instantly turning white in realization that he was talking down to somebody who was above him.

“I-I apologize for my rudeness”

“Good, now leave my sight”

He bowed his head, looking meek, and hurriedly left the store.

I looked at Kinwall after seeing me deal with that idiot. It looks like Kinwall couldn’t hold it in and began to laugh loudly from seeing the show.

“Ahahahah! That was an amazing sight, the look on his face. Thank you for helping me there”

“Sorry about that, having to see a noble flouting their authority”

“No problem, not the first time it happens. So what bring you here today”

“I came here to tell you that I am leaving to Acton today”

“Well, that’s good to know because I also maybe moving”

So then, from that guy, I guess even more nobles are going to find him soon so he is going to have to move again.

“I’ll write you a letter whenever I find a new place to move”

“I see, that is unfortunate. I’ll be going now.”

“Safe travels then”

Leaving Kinwall's shop, I went to the north gate.

When I got to the north gate, I saw a caravan of 5 wagons waiting in a line. I approached one of the merchants who was looking over a list by one of the wagons.

“Hi, I’m here for the escort quest”

I showed him the quest paper to show that I was taking part.

“Greetings, you’ve arrived early. There are others who also arrive early over there”

The merchant pointed to the front of the caravan.

I went where he pointed to see somebody I wasn’t expecting to see. It was Ned and what seemed to be his party.

It was surprising that they are here after one of their party members had died and are now taking an escort job after a few days. I kinda expected them to take at least a week to even think about starting another quest but it looks like they're stronger than I thought.

Ned was also surprised when he noticed me.

“Hi there”

“Hello as well. How are you and everyone else?"

“We’re all fine, but I was meaning to tell you this. Sorry for not being able to thank you for saving our lives”

Ned bow his head in thanks, looking apologetic as he does so.

“You don’t need to”

After Ned was done thanking me, he proceeded to introduce me to his party. It was a party of 5, with the youngest being the boy who ran to get help, named Oliver. Then there was Keith who was a swordsman like Ned and Carl was a tank, carrying a shield on his back. Finally the last person was Mark, who is a rogue and the person in charge of most of the logistics.

They all thanked me individually for saving them. After that we proceeded to wait for the other adventurers.

About an hour later, everyone showed up. There were a total of 10 adventurers taking this escort quest. Ned took charge, then suggested to everyone to make a plan.

Everyone decided to split up into pairs for each wagon, with each one being paired up with somebody they know.

For me, I was placed in the last wagon with Oliver.

Once the caravan started moving and was outside the gate, I looked back at the town that was getting smaller as we were moving away.

“Ummm… I want to thank you again, for saving my party”

“It wasn’t a problem”

Oliver looked a bit depressed and I heard him whisper to himself.

“If only I was stronger, then…”

Hearing him, I get what he was feeling, wishing that you could have done something differently. Back during the war in my past life, I had lost a lot of people that I know.

I stopped what he was going to say.

“There is no point in thinking that way”

I gave Oliver a look that I knew exactly what he was going through.

“Your right”

Seeing my eyes, Oliver understand what I said.

“Ya, I’ll definitely get stronger”

After seeing his determined eyes, I went back to staring out the wagon, seeing that Farsborrow was out of my sight and now we were passing through a forest.