136 3.48 The Eastern Province

The Southern province was where we were at. Other than that, there were Eastern, Western, Northern, and Central provinces. Unlike what one would expect, the capital wasn't in the central province; it was in the Western province.

I was interested to learn more about the eastern part of the nation — especially since Jackie said he went there for training. I would soon need to travel to the northern part of the country, so learning more about the other provinces might be a good idea.

"Your skills do look impressive compared to locally trained knights. I am interested to know what kind of training you did in the east."

"Oh, if you want to know, I can tell you about the adventures I went through during my training."

"Yes, that sounds fascinating, although…"

It looked like everyone else had already gotten into work, and we were getting in their way.

"It's a bit noisy here. Let's go over there"—I turned towards Ronald—"Ronald, wanna join us?"

"Nah, I think I will help them for a while. See you guys later."

"Okay, I will come to give you a hand in a while."

After this conversation, the two of us walked towards what appeared to be a bit isolated part of the forest. This part had small trees, and most of them were not useful for construction.

"So, where should I start…"

He put his hands on his chin and started thinking. He looked like a novice celebrity who just found his first fan, but I just ignored his expressions and gestures. Information was what I was really after.

I could have asked the questions directly, but that would require knowing the questions. I had very little knowledge about the province, so making him reveal what he found intriguing was a good idea.

"Oh, that time when we went to the region near the Dragon shrine."

That sounded interesting, so I listened closely as he continued.

"So, once I joined a bunch of adventurers on a trip to the foothill of the dragon shrine. It was a dangerous adventure as it was claimed that no one would return alive from that place. We had a party of twelve adventurers, composed of three healers, six knight swordsmen, and three support magicians. We went there to search for a rare gem known as Moonstone."

I had only been to an adventurer guild once, but it looks like they work in organized parties there. It was a good thing since having a balanced party would help you complete the quest faster and easier. Also, there is the fact that they would be able to cover a variety of quests that way. Naturally, not every quest would be about fighting.

'But more than that, this moonstone sounds interesting.'

"Moonstone, what kind of gem is that?"

I was not that big of a collector, but this did make me feel like going on a journey to find it. Who knows, I might be able to find what others didn't?

When I looked at him, he was staring at me. I probably got lost in thought and kept him holding for too long.

"Sorry, I just started imagining what kind of gem that would be. Anyways, were you able to find the gem?"

"Of course, not. The fact that I survived such an adventure is great in itself. Gem or not, I was one of the few braves who fought the monsters in that region and came back."

His tone and the way he was spreading his hands while speaking was making it sound so cool. But his words lacked the power to make it more interesting for me. In fact, I lost more than half of my interest after knowing that he failed.

"Anyways, back to the main topic. So, what happened during the adventures?"

"Interested to know more, ain't you? I knew you wouldn't be able to resist the excitement of hearing more of my tales"—He looked straight at me and continued—"We were able to reach the foothill. But it turned out to be the home of savage goblins. A whole village of goblins attacked us. Nine died during the battle, while the three of us survived. Among the ones who survived, one lost his left eye, while the other lost his left leg. I was the only one who was able to survive this with just this scar."

He showed me a cool-looking scar on his arm, which made me wish his story was as cool as he was making it sound. Although, I realized, by the normal standard, it would indeed sound cool.

"That does sound like an awesome adventure, but at the same time, it feels dangerous and frightening. Hope your dead companions are resting in peace."

He looked down towards the ground. "Yes, they were a really lively bunch. They would probably crave adventure even in heaven."

I knew that heaven and hell didn't exist, but I didn't want to ruin his moment of recollection by spoiling that.

"Yes, adventurers can be like that… Also, what kind of cultural difference is there between the society here and society there?"

"It's hard to compare; there are too many things that I find different." He put his hand on his chin and thought for a while. "They were clothes that could be strange to people here. And they feel more organized and what was the word... civilized. They have knights and magicians like here, but they are dressed in different kinds of armor. This armor of mine is also from the same place."

That made my excitement peak again. I wanted to ask more about the province, but since it looked like the knights needed some help, it was a good idea to talk more about this some other time.

"I would love to hear more of your story Jackie. But for now, it looks like we have some work to do. Why don't we discuss more on this during the afternoon break?"

"Oh, yes, I would love to tell you more about my adventures. What I told you was just a mere thriller; there is a lot more that you will find intriguing."