Chapter 11: Armadial Riding

Chapter 11: Armadial Riding

The last day had passed by in a blur for Noah. After finding somewhere in the nearby forest to camp, the two of them had fallen asleep quite quickly. Noah had asked about any concerns for monsters or wild animals attacking them, but Aurelia had mentioned something about aura suppression, and Noah stopped listening, quickly falling asleep soon after.

The next morning greeted him with two bright suns shining over the horizon. Stretching his limbs, Noah noticed Aurelia missing from her spot. Not feeling particularly concerned about the disappearance, he moved to grab the waterskin Aurelia had left outside, filled up from some nearby stream. Clear water flowed into his palm, quenching his thirst, before using some more water to wash his face in an attempt to shake off his grogginess.

“I really hope they have coffee in this world,” he said, putting the waterskin away.

A rustling noise of bushes had him glance sideways, and he noticed Aurelia walking towards him, with two strange armoured creatures that looked strangely like a hybrid between an armadillo and a giant sloth standing near their camp.Ñøv€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

“Aurelia... what’re those?” Noah asked, looking at the giant tanks. Before he got a response, his system gave him the answer, as he used identify.

[Armadial - lvl 37]

“Oh these? Some wild Armadials I found. Pretty much the best way to traverse a forest like this.”

“Wild ones?” Noah asked, surprised. “Are you sure they won’t try to eat us instead? I mean, that creature looks like it could pick fights with an elephant.”

“What’s an elephant? Also, armadials are herbivores, and pretty tame. They’re also known to help out humans as long as you feed them,” Aurelia said, petting the face of one of the creatures.

Noah looked at the creatures in fascination, before walking up to one of the armadials himself. They were tall, almost coming up to a bit above his head while still on all fours. Which was quite big given Noah’s height. Gently, he pet the creature’s scales body, ready to blink away if it tried to bite.

The armadial didn’t pay Noah attention, continuing to eat the grass lazily. “This is... pretty cool. We have creatures like these in my world too. Armadillos. But they’re much, much smaller, and eat insects. We’ve kinda ruined our forests so interacting with animals like this is extremely rare.”

Aurelia smiled, gently scratching the armadial under its chin, and it leaned into the scratch. Watching Aurelia, Noah turned towards his own armadial, but the creature just gave him the side eye, dissuading any attempts preemptively.

“It’s so easy to forget that everything here is new to you. The last time I was excited about armadials was when I was six,” Aurelia said, the armadial she was scratching now completely relaxed as it rested its giant face in her hands, melting.

“Did you have them in your city? I remember you said it was underground,” Noah asked.

“Not in my city no, but I’d seen plenty. They’re common enough in forest terrains, and my father once took me with him to ride one,” Aurelia replied, her eyes turning distant in nostalgic memory.

“Do you not meet him often now? Your father that is?” Noah asked.

“He died when I was fourteen,” Aurelia replied.

“Ah... I see... it sounds like you miss him,” Noah said.

“Of course I do,” Aurelia replied, frowning at his response.

Noah shrugged. “That's good. It's hard for me to imagine missing my father. I may have a man who led to my birth, but I never had a father. But I do miss my mom. And on days when I miss her a lot, I try to remember the happiest days I had with her, and cherish the fact that those moments happened," Noah replied.

“I suppose you’re right,” Aurelia said, brushing the armadial’s body. “My father was a great man. It’s good to miss him isn’t it? Sad, but good.”

“It is,” Noah replied. “You had a great father, and that’s something to cherish.”

“Thank you, Noah,” Aurelia said, her lips curving upwards in a smile.

“Is that... Layfar village?” Noah asked, squinting his eyes. He could see tiny dots far in the distance.

“It is. We should reach there in four hours or so,” Aurelia replied, glancing towards Noah. “In the meantime, why don’t I tell you a bit more about where you are in Erandir?”

“Sure, I should probably learn a bit more common sense so I don’t instantly out myself as an outerworlder,” Noah replied.

“Mhm. The kingdom we’re currently in is Melior Republic. It’s a monarchy, but we have a council of elected members that keep the powers of the throne in check. The Awakened society that I mentioned? They play a huge role in this, consisting of a majority of the members. Guild leaders, some famous adventurers. These are the people that form the council.”

“A quasi monarchy. Not what I had expected,” Noah replied.

“There’s a power struggle happening there right now, but I’ll leave that for later. Melior falls in the south east section of Erandir, and where we’re right now is pretty much as close to the edge of civilization as there is. Further from here, in the direction we came from are the Lost Woods. It’s an B grade zone, so pretty terrifying creatures live there.”

“B grade zone?” Noah asked.

“Mana grade zones are what determine the general mana density in any area. Monsters and their strengths are a direct result of the mana density of an area, this area for example, is E grade, so the monsters here are typically of F and E grade. A B grade zone will have extremely powerful creatures present in them,” Aurelia replied.

“Interesting. So if there’s a B grade area, then does that mean there’s A grade areas too?” Noah asked.

“Death valley. It’s in the far north,” Aurelia replied.

“What an innovative name,” Noah said. “Glad to see people’s naming senses don’t change even across worlds.”

“I enjoy the simplicity of it. Even if you’re someone who has no idea where the hell you are, you’ll hear Death valley and know you need to get out. It’s simple, and it does it’s job,” Aurelia replied.

“I suppose that’s fair. But I wonder what kind of creatures live in Death valley. Undead?” Noah asked.

“Everything. Undead, basilisks, wyrms. All sorts of monstrosities. Even Dragons. If the rumors are to be believed.”

“Oh? Any Dragon you may know?” Noah asked curiously.

“Not really, no. It’s considered bad luck to say a dragon’s name, in case it appears. Entire cities are wiped out when they do,” Aurelia replied.

“Appropriately terrifying,” Noah said, thinking over one day riding one. Perhaps if he could convince it by defeating it in a riddle.

Time flew past, as the two of them continued to talk. Eventually, the two suns were reaching high up into the midday sky. Noah watched Layfar village in much greater detail now, rows of house with neat and compact constructions and a fair amount of brick laid paths met him. The scene looked a lot more like a frontier town to him than a remote village.

People began to notice the two of them approaching on their giant armadials. Distantly, Noah heard a kid shout ‘Adventurers’, in an excited voice. Quickly, a crowd began to gather.

“Is this how they greet you everywhere?” Noah asked, looking at Aurelia.

Aurelia shook her head. “Only in small villages like this one,” she replied.

Noah watched the children gathering at the village roads, and looking at him in wonder and excitement.

“I think I’ll enjoy this.” he said, as the two of them entered Layfar Village.