Chapter 35: One step into the wilderness
I didn’t know how long we rode, but my butt ached quite a bit when the speed of our mount finally decreased.
“We have arrived.”
I quickly jumped off the horse-like creature after the words of the captain.
After my feet touched the ground, I slowly opened my eyes. The blurry figure of a huge fence made of wood roughly cut welcomed me.
The barricade was around fifteen feet high and was built in a circular shape with a trench in front of it. I often forgot that the technology of this world was far from the one in my previous world, but this medieval-like defense reminded me of this fact.
The other soldiers of the party also dismounted their respective mount. I turned my back on them as I was following the leader of their small group. Even if I didn’t face them, this didn’t mean that I dropped my guard. I hadn't forgotten how they begged their captain to abandon me to my fate.
I didn’t know why they reacted that way, but I doubted that it was only because they were fearful of me. Certainly, a child able to survive against so many opponents was far from ordinary, but I was sure they didn’t consider me a real threat.
They were well-trained soldiers dispatched into the wilderness by the kingdom after all. Their strengths and battle experience couldn’t be possibly lacking.
While being alert toward them, we reached the fence on foot.
After passing in front of a couple of other guards, we entered with the leader of the soldiers leading me. By only perceiving the mana, I wasn’t able to discern any details of my surroundings, so I chose to keep my eyes open for the time being. Even if it wasn’t really pleasant to have a blurred vision, it was still necessary to observe my surroundings and gain some understanding of my situation.
After opening the huge wooden gate, I was allowed to enter the camp.
With the exception of a few small wooden buildings, there were only large tents arranged in an orderly fashion. The camp was tidy but still gave a weird feeling. First, the tents seemed quite old and damaged. They seemed to be made from animal’s pelts from different species and gave an impression of disorder that shouldn’t belong to a military camp.
I noticed various fighting brands on the fence, but also on the grey armors worn by the soldiers. It was obvious that life in this camp was quite harsh and that it had already been some time since their arrival.
A human camp inside the wilderness.
From the moment I learned of its existence, I was curious about its appearance but now I was quite disappointed. There wasn’t a great army as I originally thought. The soldiers looked strong and well-versed in combat, but they gave a feeling closer to men desperately struggling to survive than conquerors.
I was already aware that I only encountered a fraction of the creatures living in the wilderness. My greatest advantage was that I was alone. Unless I encountered them, it wasn’t very likely that the strong animals living in this region would attack me. However, it was a different story altogether for this fortified camp. They clearly tried to dissimulate the fences as much as possible, but their presence still didn’t go unnoticed.
As a result, the number of attacks that they suffered was probably quite high. The fact that they were able to settle despite that was a sufficient proof of their strength and determination.
Sure enough, while walking into the camp, every soldier I met was a veteran of life and death battles. Even if I wasn’t a soldier myself, the three years of fighting in my previous life gave me enough experience to discern someone who was well-versed in combat. Despite their appearance, it was impossible not to notice that.
We walked a couple of minutes under the curious stares of the surrounding soldiers. Their surprise was understandable. A child suddenly appearing in a military camp located deep into the wilderness was certainly something to be surprised about.
The three men finally left under the order of their superior. I started to relax after their departure.
As we were heading deeper into the camp with their captain, I began to grow impatient.
“Where are we going? I thought you were only going to tell me the location of the town. There is no point for me to head deeper into this camp.”
The leader of the party, whose name was Farris, didn’t even look back to answer and continued to walk.
“We are not bandits. We won’t send a child out just before the night even if he can defend himself. I will give you a small tent but go wash first. It’s difficult to think of you as a human with all this blood”.
I didn’t look at my face after the fight with the horde of Otsoll, but the strong stench of blood had already penetrated my nostrils. The soldiers had arrived too quickly and had not given me enough time to wash with my water magic as I have always done.
I obediently nodded and quickly expressed my thanks before accelerating my pace to catch up with him.
While we were heading toward the place to wash, I tried to ask a few questions about this camp to gain a better understanding of the situation.
I didn’t have much hope that he would answer me, but contrary to my expectations, he answered without arguing.
“Why are you stationed here?” I asked in a curious tone.
“What do you mean? We were dispatched by the Kingdom.”
He immediately answered but his voice showed that he didn’t understand the point of my question.
“Well, I know that but your goal can’t be to establish a colony in the wilderness, right?”
I understood it the moment I laid my eyes on this endless and savage land. The wilderness wasn’t meant to be dominated by Humans. The time spent on my own in this place devoid of human influence only strengthened this belief.
“We tried, a long time ago. However, the most dangerous creatures of the wilderness are hiding deep inside. As long as we don’t disturb them, they will not act. As long as we don’t disturb them that is… Even Master mages don’t dare to enter rashly inside the wilderness by fear of provoking these powerful existences. If we try to gather powerful mages or numerous people in the same place then we would be attracting too much attention.”
I nodded after his explanation. I didn’t know what kind of creature could instill fear in the heart of an entire kingdom, but I clearly didn’t want to find out. Humans were already lucky that these strong monsters didn’t want to conquer their territory.
“However, gathering several garrisons of a few hundred men who aren’t strong mages isn’t a problem except that we must adapt to the environment and fight with animals and strong deviants on a daily basis.”
“If these garrisons and advanced towns aren’t to conquer the wilderness, then why are you here?”
“You’re quite curious, aren’t you?”
My repeated questions began to irritate him as his answer became sharper. I quickly shut my mouth. I was curious about it, but not enough to risk being excluded from the camp just before nightfall.
However, to my surprise, the captain leading me sighed a little and resumed his explanation as if he didn’t say anything earlier.
“We are here to help the elves.”
“The elves?” I asked carefully.
“They live in the wilderness right in front of the entrance of the 'Narior Desert'. They are in the front line when fighting against deviants coming from there. However, if they can’t repel the Wild wave then it would threaten the Dorell Kingdom. So we are here to help them if they wish.”
I frowned a little hearing his words.
“Wouldn't it be simpler if you were fighting alongside them in the first place instead of waiting for them to ask for help?”
Hearing my words, the captain smiled sadly.
“It would be, but this is impossible. We don’t know when the Wild wave is coming. We can’t live in the Great forest of the West because elves wouldn’t allow it and we can’t live in a large fortified camp near it either. Elves are able to live together in the wilderness because they are much closer to nature than us. The strong creatures living inside probably think of them as a part of the wilderness which will never be our case no matter what.”
I nodded firmly. There was no doubt that what he said was the truth. The elves lived in harmony with nature and didn’t have any hidden motive or ambitions, unlike humans.
“We can’t live in great number or a long time at the same place. That’s why the position of our camps like this one needs to be changed on a regular basis.”
I finally understood why these soldiers gathered. It wasn’t to help the elves as he said. Maybe it was a part of the reason, but it was more than anything else because of human’s fear of deviants.
These vicious and bloodthirsty creatures became more powerful with time, so it was probably a wise choice to hunt them regularly even in the wilderness as they did in the forest near my hometown. They scattered many small camps and hunted weak deviants before they could become a threat to the Human kingdom. However, because of the harsh environment in the 'Narior Desert', it was impossible to do the same there.
Their only choice was to wait for this wave of strong deviants to enter the wilderness. The elves were their first target so they took the duty to repel them, but if they failed then the number of strong deviants in the wilderness would skyrocket. It wouldn’t be possible to hunt them in the same way.
While I thought about the words I heard, I recalled a map of the Eastern continent I saw in school.
It was clearly separated into two distinct parts.
One for men to live and one where they couldn’t prosper no matter what.
These lands, where humans couldn’t really settle, were called wilderness and were located in the south-west part of the continent. The desert of the south, or 'Narior desert', located south of the red mountain along with the Great Forest of the West belonged to these lands where ancient monsters were lurking and new threat constantly rising.
Outside the dangerous wilderness was the only Human Kingdom of this continent, the Dorell Kingdom. Even if the humans in this Kingdom had to hunt down new deviants on their territory, it was far from the situation that was unfolding in the wilderness.
It wasn’t that humans could perfectly protect their borders, but because natural barriers prevented the strong and mysterious creatures from roaming the entire continent.
The sea to the west and a large river to the North separated the wilderness from the rest of the continent. This great river has allowed the Dorell kingdom not to be totally cut off from the western part of the continent. Finally, a large mountain range to the east of the wilderness, fortified by Humans, allowed the Kingdom to defend its territory.
Because of this great mountain, there were only two possible accesses to the Dorell Kingdom from the wilderness.
The King’s valley, from which began the Blueway linking the Dorell kingdom and the Great forest of the West, was one of them. The three fortresses at the South-East of the wilderness was the other possible access and was the entrance I was trying to reach.
The Dorell kingdom developed along these barriers to prosper but still feared that one day the monsters that were hiding in these lands would take back what they owned.
While I was trying to remember the details of the map in my head, the captain still leading me inside the camp became silent, no longer wanting to speak.
We walked a few more minutes inside the camp with only silence between us. This man seemed reliable but I stayed on my guards.
However, when we arrived at the place where soldiers washed, he quietly waited in a corner without looking at me or uttering another word.
After cleaning myself in this corner of the camp made for this purpose, I finally arrived in front of a poor-looking grey tent. It was so old that it seemed like just a gust of wind would blow it away.
There was just enough space inside to stuff a simple bed. In my old world I would certainly have complained, but after several weeks sleeping outside on the hard ground with the constant threat of being attacked, it was heaven.
“You will sleep here for tonight. We will give you enough food and water for a couple of days along with this map.”
Farris quickly handed me the items he mentioned. My gaze was immediately attracted by the small piece of yellow paper.
“I don’t have any money to pay you for this.”
“I don’t need money. Each soldier has this map so it’s not a big loss. Just remember that you will leave tomorrow.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“I understand. I won’t make things difficult for you. Thank you very much.”
I expressed my sincere thanks to Farris before his departure.
If not for his good will, I knew there was no way they would let me sleep inside just like that. I appreciated the basic comfort, but I was the most grateful for the small map given to me.
It was crudely drawn but it was a map nonetheless. According to the information on this map, I will be able to reach the town in three days at most.
I couldn’t refrain a small smile from appearing at the corner of my lips.
I was finally seeing the end of my troubles.
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While Sillath was peacefully sleeping in his tent, a young man was calmly strolling in the camp while eating what looked like an apple. The cold breeze stirred his long, unbound dark hair. His steps were light and didn’t produce any sound disturbing the tranquility of the night.
After a few minutes, his pace finally decreased. He stopped his feet in front of a large tent dimly lit.
Without any hesitation, he stepped inside as if he owned the place.
Three men were quietly waiting inside. Two of them looked exactly the same with a rough-looking face and middle length dark hair along with a robust appearance. The third one was thinner with short blond hair devoid of any shine. They sat on the hard ground despite the fact that a couple of wooden chairs were available.
The young man slightly furrowed his brows after witnessing the expression on their faces.
Something clearly happened.
After slowly sitting on one of the chairs, the delicate yet cold voice of the man finally broke the silence.
“So, what are you doing here with these faces?”
His words clearly held a touch of mockery, but the three men seemed not to notice it. They were clearly accustomed to such daily abuses.
"Have you heard about what we found this afternoon during a patrol with Farris?"
The high pitch voice of the short man didn’t hide his anger.
“How should I know?”
The young man was clearly slightly irritated by the stupid question of his subordinate.
“We found a lonely kid.”
“A kid? So that’s your great news? Why should I care about a lost beast man or a running slave?”
The young man finished his fruit quickly as if to compensate for his disappointment.
“That’s not all, boss.” The high pitch voice of the man broke the silence once more.
“Then explain Klaud”
His cold voice didn’t hold the slightest bit of respect for his comrade in arms. Their equipment was similar, with a worn-out plate mail along with gauntlets made of steel. Only Klaud had a short sword on his belt. The only other difference between them was the small gold medallion on the young man’s chest. It was the same that Farris wore, a captain’s medallion.
Except for this detail, they looked exactly the same but their attitude couldn’t be further away. While one was sitting on the harsh floor with a pale face, the other was sitting proudly in his chair as if he was sitting on his throne looking at his subject.
“He wasn’t alone when we found him. He was surrounded by dozens of dead Otsoll.”
“Otsolls?”
“Yes, it was a small pack without any deviant leading it, but the kid is probably around ten years old. It shouldn’t be possible to kill so many strong foes on his own.”
The young man pondered for a bit before asking.
“Are you sure he is the one who killed them.”
“He was the only one there and he was still covered with their blood. Honestly, boss, this kid was creepy with his eyes closed bathing in the fresh blood of these animals.”
“Is he human?”
“He said that he was, but honestly, I don’t believe him.”
“Then which race does he belong to?”
The high pitch voice which was frantically speaking until now finally stopped. Klaud scratched his short blond hair with an embarrassed expression on his ordinary face.
“A beast tribe probably but honestly I’m not sure which one. He doesn’t have the long ears of the elves nor the large build of a dwarf so he is clearly not part of any of those.”
The young man finally smiled after hearing these words. His face was a little pale and cold, but this little smile on his pretty face gave him enough charm to bewitch any ordinary woman.
“I finally understand why you’re pissed Klaud. You’re afraid, aren’t you?”
“That…”
The face of Klaud contorted in an awkward expression without another sound escaping his mouth.
With a mocking smile, the young man turned his attention toward the other two men in his tent.
“It’s the same for you two, isn’t it? Ozan, Hator?”
The two men with the exact same sturdy stature, unfitted for the race but quite effective for hand-to-hand combat, turned their heads uncomfortably after hearing their names.
These two were the twins of the garrison. They were well known for this fact among their peers but also because they rarely spoke. Some soldiers often joked that their fists talked more than their mouths.
However in this instant, with the piercing eyes of the young man on them, they didn’t dare to stay silent.
“Yes”
“It’s not natural.” added his brother on his left.
After hearing these words, the young man finally lost his smile and looked at them as if he was looking at ants.
“Klaud, Ozan, Hator. To be honest, I don’t dislike any of you but when I hear this crap coming out of your mouth, I can’t help but want to slap your sorry faces.”
None of the three men dared to make a single move after hearing this cold sentence. They were simply waiting for their captain and master to make a decision. Be it blames, recompense or punishment they could only wait for his decision. It has been their fate and daily routine since they met this man six years ago.
“You’re afraid of this kid because you don’t know what race he belongs to and you’re angry at Farris for letting him enter the camp just like this. I clearly understand that. Your fear is justified. After all the weak always fear what they don’t know.”
He paused for a slight moment to give them a mocking glance. They were fellow soldiers, but he clearly did not value their abilities much.
He cleared his voice before resuming his speech.
“As for Farris, I agree with you three. This fellow is too honest and straightforward. Knowing his temper there was no way he could leave this kid alone in the wilderness. Well, he isn’t a complete fool either, so I doubt he will let him stay long in this camp. I’m also sure he put him under surveillance so that he doesn’t cause any trouble.”
“So this kid will soon leave, right boss?” the high pitch voice full of hope resonated once more inside the tent.
“I’m sure he will. That’s why we must hurry up with our preparations.”
The three men looked at each other with puzzled expressions. After a few seconds, Klaud voiced out their interrogations.
“What do you mean, boss?”
The young man sighed a little in front of their lack of competence and understanding
“For his kidnapping, of course.”
He didn’t let them any time to voice their surprise. He quickly continued to explain his thoughts.
“If he isn’t an Elf or a Dwarf then there is no need to dig it any further. If his story is true or not doesn’t matter. As long as he isn’t part of these two powerful races, then it doesn’t matter if he is a human or a beast man. On the contrary, what matters is that he is alone and can use magic well enough to kill. I would be a fool to miss this chance.”
“We didn’t see him use magic. He just told us he was a mage but he may be lying. Maybe he used his beast form to kill those Otsolls”
“And what kind of beast man is able of that? Killing dozens of Otsolls by relying entirely on the strength of their beast form? Moreover, he is just a kid so this form shouldn’t be strong enough yet.”
Klaud finally closed his mouth after the reasonable explanation. Beastmen referred to many different clans able to transform and regress to their ancestral form of animals. It was a powerful ability but not almighty. The strength of this form depended on the race they belonged to. If a kid was able to kill so many Otsoll on his own by relying entirely on the strength of this incomplete form then he obviously belonged to a powerful clan. Although most of them were extinct or hidden, it was simply impossible for them to leave one of their precious children alone in the wilderness.
Klaud slowly nodded after the reasonable argument of the young man still sitting on his chair above him.
After a few seconds of silence, the young man spoke again.
“If he didn’t use his beast form to kill these Otsolls, then he used magic or a rare treasure. There isn’t any other option. However, he is just a kid. He isn’t a threat to you, much less me.”
His three subordinates nodded frantically after the words full of confidence of their superior.
He was a Saint earth mage. Someone who achieved the last Barrier magic of the earth element. His prowess as a mage was quite good because he was only sixteen when he achieved his rank.
No matter the strength of the child they saw, it was impossible for him to have attained this rank already.
Moreover, just like Farris and their boss told them, he was only a kid. His strength and potential were far from complete.
The soul produces the majority of the mana. It’s the amount of mana produced by the soul that is measured before school because it varies between individuals. Everybody knew that the Great noble families had members with an important mana pool. In the first place, it’s partially because of this that they have become Greater noble houses in this country where magic is king.
However, even with a mana pool as important as them, it was impossible for a child to have a perfect control over his mana like a Saint mage. The waste of mana with each magic wasn’t negligible. Klaud knew that a special physique, able to naturally handle a large amount of mana, could balance the loss of mana by a lack of control. However, it was something extremely rare in their Continent.
Moreover, even if the child had a large mana pool and a good control over his mana, he was still limited by his body. Nature was made so that a child would always be weaker than an adult.
It was an unshakable law of nature.
The physical abilities of a mage were directly related to the amount of mana he could handle.
To obtain a greater ability to use magic, every mage had to train physically and had to use their magic daily. However, something like that took time and required a fully grown body.
As a result, a child's undeveloped body couldn’t possibly handle the entire mana produced by the soul reducing his ability to use magic.
It’s because of this fact that the warriors living in the Northern part of the Western Continent were famous. Their control over their mana was lacking and inferior compared to the other human kingdoms, but their physical abilities created by the cruelty and the cold of the north were top notch.
With a harsher environment and a more rigorous training, they could hold their ground and even scared the mages from other kingdoms who had a better instruction from an early age.
However, even their strongest children could not compare to the most ordinary adult.
After thinking about the words of their leader, the three men finally understood.
The strength of the soul.
Control over mana.
Physical strength and affinity of the body with his mana.
A child couldn’t possess all these things.
That’s why a Saint mage like their leader who achieved perfect control over his mana and who trained as a soldier for several years didn’t put this child in his eyes.
They weren’t in the same category.
After thinking for a bit about the words of his boss, Klaud finally opened his mouth with a slightly relaxed face.
In a world where magic existed, it wasn’t possible to judge the strength of someone by his appearance, especially considering the number of different intelligent races existing. That’s why Klaud was afraid of this fierce-looking child covered in blood. However, after the words of his leader, he remembered that this fact didn’t apply to children. That’s why they were the principal target of slavers.
“Then are we really going to kidnap him?”
His leader simply nodded, moving his long and beautiful hair together.
“Of course. A child using magic will get me a fortune in the slave market.”
“And what if he is really a human?”
One of the brothers finally asked with his rough voice.
His question was justified. Even if slave trades were perfectly legal for most of the Beast tribe members, selling a human child wasn’t legal.
The young leader smiled mischievously after his words.
“Then it would be even better. Human slaves aren’t allowed in the Kingdom, but once we sell him who would check if he is human or not? The rarer a product is, the more it pays.”
The three men quietly accepted the words of their leader without uttering another word.
“We can’t act while he is inside the camp. Tomorrow, I will lead a mission with you three to hunt a few animals. Once he is further away from the camp, we will use this chance to capture him.”
The brothers nodded at the same time, but Klaud knitted his eyebrows.
In front of his reaction, the young man couldn’t help but grow slightly irritated.
“What is it Klaud?”
“Nothing boss, it’s just that I don’t understand what we will do with him after that. With the cover of a mission, it will be easy to capture him without anyone noticing but we can’t bring him back to the camp. We can’t stay too long away from the camp or this will raise suspicion.”
“True. We will have to sell him immediately after his capture to an ambulant slave caravan. The price will be lower but it’s our only choice.”
The wilderness couldn’t hold any large human settlement, but many small hidden villages of beast tribe members existed. After the Great War and the loss of their native land, they didn’t have any other choice but to wander in the wilderness to escape the persecution from humans. Because of this, many slave caravans traveled inside the wilderness in search of these numerous villages. They could also escape the influence of the Dorell kingdom while doing their job.
For these men, the wilderness was the place where they collected the most of their ‘resources’ while the Dorell kingdom was their market.
A lonely human kid using magic and without any background was a rare opportunity for any slave trader. They couldn’t let go of this chance, no matter what.
“I will contact them tonight. Go rest, and be ready to leave at dawn.”
“Yes, boss”
Not daring to ask any other question, the three men quickly left the large tent.
The place finally became quiet.
The young man couldn’t hide his large smile anymore. Even if the light smile he exhibited previously made his face charming, this smile revealing his white teeth gave him a ferocious face, almost savage.
This man was Haron Tagrar, the third son of a noble family in the Dorell kingdom. Even if he achieved the last barrier magic of the earth element at only sixteen, he wasn't recognized as a powerful mage by his family.
As his two brothers inherited the lands of his father, he had no other choice but to rise in the hierarchy of the kingdom through magic. He trained bitterly for five years while perfecting his barrier magic, but nobody paid any mind to his effort.
In the end, he had no other choice but to engage on this mission in the wilderness with these men he despised to gain some fame and brighten his future.
However, two months after his arrival, he still didn’t have any remarkable military achievement. He couldn’t waste any more time, but he didn’t want to risk his life either. Only a strong artefact could bring him the strength he needed.
However, these mysterious objects were expensive.
Too expensive for the third son of a second-rate noble house.
This lonely boy was his chance to change his life.
He had already waited for too long.
This time he was ready to succeed no matter the cost.
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"I don't create characters, I free them so that they can tell us their story."