In a small town of less than a hundred inhabitants, life is very simple. Its inhabitants get up at sunrise, getting to work as soon as the first rays of light appear on the horizon. Once the sun goes down, the work day is over, and the exhausted peasants put down their tools and gather among themselves at various places in town to have a good time. And after a bit of fun, they return home to rest to gather strength for the next day.
That is the life of a farmer. Day after day their routine continues unchanged. That is why when something happens outside their routine, the whole town is interested.
On the outskirts of town, peasants plowed their fields under the relentless sun without stopping for a moment to rest.
"Eh?" A villager who stood up to wipe the sweat from his brow exclaimed, alerting his colleagues.
"What's up, Henry? Are you okay?" Inquired one of the nearest farmers.
"What's that?" Henry asked, ignoring his friend, drawing the looks of the others.
In the distance, beyond the lush meadows that surrounded the town, beyond the stream that irrigated its fields, a black dot had appeared on the horizon.
"Hmm. Don't know. It's very far"
“It looks… like a carriage” said one of them with narrowed eyes.
"You sure?" Henry asked, somewhat puzzled.
"I think so"
"BOY!!" yelled one of the farmers. Moments later, a boy barely five years old came running.
"What's up, uncle?" the boy asked innocently, as he tried to wipe the mud from his hands on his clothes.
"Bah. Playing with mud again, if your mother finds out you won't be able to move again in your life” said one of the adults joking.
"No, Uncle. Please don't tell her” the boy said, scared. Laughter resounded among the peasants.
"Forget about that. Go to town and tell the others that a carriage is coming to town" Hearing that they weren't going to tell his mother, he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly hurried away.
…
A small carriage approached from a distance. Although it was a small carriage, in the eyes of the villagers, it was a luxury that they dared not wish for.
The horse-drawn carriage was steered by two imposing men, clad in armor. When the carriage arrived at the center of the village, all the villagers had come closer to look at the carriage.
Watching the two men dismount, an elderly man stepped out of the crowd with a smile.
“Welcome to our humble town. My name is Mati-
"Prepare us food, and a place to sleep" Without letting the old man speak, one of the men ordered, and said his demands. After that, without any ceremony, threw a small bag of coins to the ground.
"Of course. We have the best stay in the place prepared for you, sirs. Someone! Guide these gentlemen to rest”
Despite the tone of the strangers, the old man did not dare to get angry and responded with a smile as he bent down with difficulty to pick up the bag.
The men ignored him and followed his guide, who took them to the largest house in the area. Once they got there, one of the men went into the house to prepare their rooms while the other went to the carriage and opened one of its doors to let out the person inside. When the soldier opened the door of the carriage, light began to flood inside, illuminating the person preparing to get out.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
From within the carriage, a bespectacled youth wearing a magician's robe stepped out of the carriage, to the astonishment of the few who dared to follow from a distance.
…
After entering his room, Zack went to the bed and lay down on it without stopping for a moment.
"Ohh"
A sigh of relief escaped Zack's lips. After spending the day locked in that narrow and uncomfortable carriage, nothing could make him happier than being able to relax in a bed. Even if the quality is much worse compared to his world’s.
A while later, Zack got up from there and went to the window. Although everyone tried to pretend nothing was happening, Zack could see how their eyes were directed carefully toward the place where he and his guards were resting.
Watching passersby slowly walk down the street has a hypnotic effect, and Zack began to plunge into his own thoughts.
Two days have passed since Zack left the capital and headed toward his destination: Stromblade City. During these days, Zack has been able to carefully observe the behavior of his captors. As Zack suspected, his importance in the eyes of the kingdom's top brass isn't too great, and the only two guards in charge of protecting him were more concerned with preventing him from escaping than with the dangers of the road. Although not for that reason they should be underestimated. After all, they are knights of the capital, and few things in the way can threaten them.
Zack mentally visualized the map of the kingdom that he saw in the library. He knows that it will not be easy to escape; not only are the guards in much better shape than him, but it will be impossible to lose them on level ground.
There are only three places where Zack has a chance to escape. Due to complications on the way, the approximate time to reach Stormblade City is five days.
A day's drive away from here, there is a huge forest you have to cross to reach the northern part of the kingdom. The forest is full of dangerous monsters, and until now, it has not been possible to document everything it hides. The forest offers multiple resources and serves as a natural barrier in case the demons come to conquer the northern part of the kingdom. Therein lies Zack's first opportunity.
Past the forest, the terrain becomes rocky and difficult to traverse. The northern region of the Parmece kingdom is full of mountains, which prevents the rapid mobilization of troops. It is precisely because of these characteristics that the troops from the northern continent have such a difficult time attacking.
On the way, three days from here, Zack and his escort will have to go through a valley with many cracks and forks. That's the second chance.
Zack carefully watched for areas where he could escape, only to sigh and shake his head. In the forest, it will be easy to lose the guards, but it will also be easy to get lost. Not only would the dangers that Zack would find himself be unknown, but with a single oversight, he could go deeper and deeper inside it until he was totally lost.
In the valley, it will be much more difficult to lose the guards. The moment he steps out of the carriage he will be surrounded, and forced inside. If the terrain is known, it doesn't matter which way Zack takes. In the end, he will be captured. Also, the valley is not a safe place either. Inside it, bandits and renegade soldiers take refuge with the sole intention of assaulting travelers who pass through it. Even if Zack managed to escape, should he run into one of these groups, his ending will not be pretty.
Zack could only remove those places from his mind. Stakes are too high to make them viable.
(Which leaves only one place, but that alone is not enough) he thought as he directed his gaze from the window to the door. Zack raised his hand, and a ball of mana appeared in his hand. Mana is invisible to the naked eye, but that doesn't mean there's no way to detect it.
knock knock
"Mister Wizard, are you alright?" a voice sounded from behind the door. Despite not interacting with them, Zack detected that he belonged to one of the guards in charge of 'protecting' him.
"Yeah. I was practicing spells. Is something wrong?" Zack replied as if nothing happened.
"I just wanted to inform you that I have notified them to bring something to eat to his room"
"Ahh. That would be fantastic. Thank you ”he replied in a surprised tone, but inside Zack sneered to that excuse.
(Things won't be as easy as expected) Zack thought as he listened to the sound of footsteps leaving from outside his room, and his face became serious.
Despite the little appreciation received from the castle, it seems that they do not want to lose sight of you during your trip. The people who accompany you can detect mana.
Detect mana is an innate ability that cannot be learned, either you have it or you don't; most of the time those who can detect mana get the wizard class, but on rare occasions where your magical talent is too weak, or your talent in another area is stronger, it is possible to receive a different class. Not that this is a bad thing, but it allows you to acquire different classes, which other people can't get when they reach tier 2.
Zack outlined a small smile. If it were someone else, escaping would be impossible, but he has been preparing for this for six months. Something like that was already in his plans.
(This will be interesting)