Chapter 35: Companion

The boat sailed down to the southern area of the sea. The ride was relatively smooth, and Tristan enjoyed the cool ocean wind. Without the orcs and elves, this place would be a pristine, beautiful world worth living in.

Tristan spent his time on the ship getting to know more about the group. Like the famous saying, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. By knowing more about them then Tristan can have the advantage.

The four of them were actually a newly-formed adventurer group made because of a similar quest. Depending on the type of quests, some could be finished individually. However, the more dangerous quests usually would require a group. Though it was more dangerous, the rewards they would receive upon completion were usually worth it, so they decided to form a group.

Borin actually had something that happened in the past with orcs. That made him obsessed with taking the same quest over and over again with his kid brother Piyo, who has been helping him.

Meanwhile, Seth and Herrera carried no burden like that. They merely joined the group for easy money and for travel. According to Seth, the brothers leading the team carried a secret that made their quests feel much easier.

After getting to knowing the adventure team members, Tristan decided he should find out more about Barry..

Barry joined the Erantell Guards' recruitment around three years ago, and he was just promoted to captain last month, at the age of 19. It was such a significant achievement, for it marked his status as the youngest guard who made it to Captain in the whole Arkadia Kingdom,

Barry always spent his time training, as he wanted to join the Knights at the capital. Not only would the pay be better there, but he would also make his family proud.

"What do the knights do?" asked Tristan

"Protect the king and the kingdom, of course"

From Barry's explanation, it was clear that this world was constantly under threat. This kingdom alone had to face barbarians from across the eastern sea, while orcs prowl the southern side and dark spawn lurk in the north, always waiting for a moment to strike.

"Dark Spawn?"

"Yes sir... They are the group of orcs and goblins united under the leadership of the dark elves"

Barry starts explaining the geography of the Arkadia kingdom and everything around it, including where the territories of the dark elves, orcs, goblins, and barbarians are located.

Tristan felt even more hopeless. This world would probably have no relaxing days, there goes his plan to just relax in this strange world. He now has more reason to find the way back home next week when he returns to the Cursaac site.

Half a day passed, and the boat steered in the direction of the islands. It followed the rivers for another few hours before reaching its destination.

Cola Village, the place that ordered the job.

It was a small rural village located near the river. Judging from the sparse amount of houses and the abundance of wild plants growing all around them, the village should have no more than 100 residents. Even deep inside the small village, the rushing sounds of the river could still be heard, combining with the rustling of leaves and the wind to create soothing background noise.

They were given a warm welcome as if they were heroes returning from a long journey and given a small feast to celebrate their victory. The festivities were a soothing break from their long journey.

During the festival, the village elder talked about the details of the quest to the group. The village had known about the presence of an orc camp in the forest for quite a while, and before all this, they lived in an unspoken truce where one would not disturb the other. But, something seems to have changed recently, and the orcs had started to venture out of the forest to steal their food and scare the children. A few days ago, some young men from the village were killed, the escalation quickly led to the quest. Considering the amount of reward and the size of the town, it seems like the village elder had offered the entire town's savings

After the feast, they were escorted into a large house with half a dozen rooms for them to stay in. The house was divided into two floors, A large dining room took most of the first floor, combined with the living room and all the bedrooms on the top floor.

"We are all safe here, so no need to worry go get some rest. You'll need all of your strength for tomorrow's job." Borin said

Tristan asked Layla to sleep in the same room but she declined before he could get his question out, "Tris, I'm 18 already! I don't want you to treat me like a kid anymore, you understand!." Layla walked upstairs into one room and closed the door without waiting for Tristan's answer.

Unable to retort, Tristan could only settle for the second room next to hers, while depending on his enhanced hearing to keep his sister safe.

But when he was about to go inside the room, he saw a figure approaching him from the corner of his eyes.

Tristan turned around and looked at the figure. It was the purple haired beauty Hererra the fire magician.

"The beds here are really cold, you know. I can accompany you tonight if you want?" She gave Tristan a flirtatious wink. Her true intention was no mystery.