The innkeeper came with a tray full of steaming bowls and placed them on the table. The bowl was filled with meat, peeled potatoes, and some vegetables. Aldred grabbed the wooden spoon and took a big bite. The taste improved his mood, and he wasn't angry anymore.
Surprisingly, the fat man came and looked at him. "Sorry about earlier. I think the alcohol got in my head."
Bartrem and the others were sitting at the edge of their seat all this time, ready to reinforce Aldred whenever necessary. But when they heard the fat man apologize, they relaxed and leaned on the chair.
Aldred sighed and shrugged. Since the man apologized, it would be stupid to be mad about it.
Mira smiled. "It's okay. People are irrational. Sometimes we become what we don't want to become and do things that we do not mean to do."
The fat man smiled and scratched the back of his neck. "Still, I have to apologize. Why don't you put the bills on my tab? I see all of you are soldiers from the look of your armor."
"Yes, we are," Mary said. "I am curious. What's a Gold Rank like you do in this place?"
The fat man smiled. "Just like you, we also want to travel to Mount Fargon. You guys want to look for the astrolabe right?"
Aldred looked confused. 'Wasn't this supposed to be a secret? How could a random Gold Rank know about this?"
The fat man laughed. "I am an adventurer. Treasure seeking is one of our activities. Besides, do you think you can obtain this treasure alone?"
"What do you mean?"
"This treasure can affect the balance of power in this continent. Everyone will come for this treasure, and it's much better to have more allies than more enemies."
"But there is only one treasure," Aldred said.
"You think too far ahead. You should be worrying about getting the astrolabe first. As for who will get the treasure, it will be decided later through negotiation or fight."
"That seems fair. I can either give you something as valuable or we can fight to decide who gets the treasure."
The fat man nodded. "There are a lot of strong and influential people out there, we cannot fight them alone." He pointed back over his shoulder with his thumb. "Those four guys behind me are Gold Ranks. I notice you have five Gold Ranks in your group. If we make an alliance we can have ten Gold Ranks."
"What do you think, Mary?"
"I think he is right. We cannot fight everyone around. Besides, he is an adventurer. I am sure he knows more about Mount Fargon than us."
Bartrem noticed Aldred was looking at him. He nodded in approval.
"I guess we will be relying on you then." Aldred shook the fat man's hand. "What should I call you?"
"Just call me Bacon."
"Bacon?"
"That's my name."
"Okay…My name is Aldred." He pointed at the girls one by one. "This is Mary, Mira, Sophia, and Mareona. That one right there is Bartrem."
"Nice to know you all. Lady, fill their belly with drinks and food. Put the bills on me."
The soldiers smiled and cheered for him.
Aldred and Mira smiled. What a turn of events. First, Aldred was so angered by him that he considered taking his life, but now he could imagine the fat man to be his best friend.
The fat man looked at the ring on Aldred's hand and smiled. "Nice ring."
"Thanks. Someone very special gave it to me," Aldred said as he recalled the empress' blushing expression.
Then all of them drank and ate merrily. The fat man told them about his adventure in a strange place called Duria, also known as Steel Forge. He said that the kingdom relied on a device called machinery which was made mostly out of steel and powered by mana crystal. But their most powerful weapons or machinery was called archtech and was powered by a powerful and rare mineral named archnite.
He then proceeded to tell his adventure in other places where the people had literal shards on their foreheads.
The more Aldred listened to the man, the more captivated he became. Beyond the border of mankind, there was another world out there, waiting to be explored. Aldred wondered if he could visit all these places someday.
"If you guys want to visit Duria, I suggest you don't because they're not very accepting of foreigners."
"Why?"
The fat man shrugged. "Not sure why. They have cool machinery, but will never sell it to foreigners. And they strictly enforce this rule."
Aldred nodded, becoming even more curious about this country.
Night time came, and they decided to rent the inn for the night. The next morning, they gathered outside the village and set off.
The caravan camped and slept when night came, but they immediately continued their journey in the morning. Days passed, and the cooldown for the dungeon had ended, so Aldred sent his undead there. But he was surprised that he received less than half of the exp than before.
[You have earned +50 Experience from the Copper Rank dungeon]
[You have earned +50 Experience from the Copper Rank dungeon]
[You have earned +50 Experience from the Copper Rank dungeon]
A few days passed.
Aldred sighed, still thinking about how little EXP he got from the dungeon. Was this the reason why a Gold Rank took so long to reach Platinum Rank? He sat on Mary's lap, fondling her breast as he felt bored.
But something came.
Aldred peeked outside the window and narrowed his eyes. Ahead of them, a group of monsters with the body of a raptor and a head of a cobra charged toward the caravan. Their black scales brushed against the grass.
"A group of Velobra is attacking!" Bartrem shouted. "Men, Get in formation!"
"I will take care of them." He jumped out of the window and flew to the sky. Bacon, the fat man, was about to handle the situation, but Aldred told him to sit tight and enjoy the show. He also told Bartrem that he could do it alone.
The caravan did not stop. They did not need to as Aldred flew forward with black mists appearing on the ground. His army of undead charged out of the mist with Milet leading in the front.
Aldred started with fireballs and arrows. Exploding the enemies and making their bodies look like sea urchins. Milet arrived with a powerful swipe. His spear beheaded five monsters at once while the other undead bashed themselves onto the monsters.
"Push!" Milet shouted as he controlled the undead to make an arrow formation and cut through the middle.
Bartrem watched with widened eyes as the undead followed his strategy. Push through the center and attack the sides. It was easier said than done, and it required many practices to execute. How could these undeads do it?
Bacon also couldn't help but stared at the undead as they kept pushing forward and killing monster after monster like a cold-blooded killer. These undeads had no regard for their own safety. When the Velobra attacked, the undead would instead let themselves be attacked before beheading the velobras.
Aldred was proud of his undead. It seemed like Milet had trained the undead within the dungeon.
[+150 EXP]
[+150 EXP]
[+150 EXP]
[+150 EXP]
[You have leveled up]
Aldred checked his stats.
—————
[Aldred]
Health Points: 130/130
Level: 61
Titles: Tough Boy
Power:
-Fire Manipulation (Click to show the list of skills)
-Water Manipulation (Click to show the list of skills)
-Shape Shift Lv. 1 (Click to show the list of morphs)
Attributes:
-Strength: 24
-Vitality: 26
-Intelligence: 52
-Dexterity: 12
Stat points: 72
Skill points: 72
He smiled in satisfaction. Suddenly, a loud roar came from the distance.
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