Andric woke up long before the sun rose above the horizon. He cast a spell on his body, filling him with energy, and gently sighed. Now that the moment of his departure was eminent, he couldn’t help but feel a little hesitant. After his reincarnation, he hadn’t left Einburg a single time. Over the years, he had grown attached to the place.

Andric collected himself, then gathered the items he wanted to take with him to Mahtzig. He took two extra sets of clothes, an extra pair of shoes, and a winter coat. He wore a large straw hat, which was usually worn by field workers to protect them from the sun. Even through Andric never worked in the field, he had one of the hats. He hoped it would make him a little more inconspicuous on his journey.

Alda hadn’t slept at all. When Andric went to the first floor of the house, she was in the sitting room, drinking tea.

“I’m leaving,” Andric said to her, pausing before the door.

“Be safe,” Alda said, barely keeping herself from crying. Over the course of the night, her thoughts bounced around inside her head, making her increasingly worried.

Andric looked at his mother, then punched the air a few times while activating the spirit energy inside his arms. The punches looked forceful, and Andric displayed an air of toughness. “I’ll be fine!” he confidently spoke, and he exited the house.

The town was quiet. Only a few farmers started their day so early, and most of them were experienced ones who wanted to finish their daily work before the sun fully rose. A few guards surrounded the town, but all of them were tired. The merchant caravan was somewhat active, with many guards protecting the wares from thieves who might come in the night.

Andric walked slowly toward the merchant caravan. His left hand held a rope that went over his shoulder and bound his roll of clothes. Along the way, nobody stopped him. He arrived at the merchant caravan without anything more than intimidating looks from the guards.

The merchants of the caravan weren’t ready to leave, and only a few people were preparing for departure. Andric didn’t know it, but many merchants were sleeping in Einburg, passed out after a night of drinking the local wine. Andric quietly found the wagon he was going to travel in, then sat a short distance away.

There were people sleeping on the ground near the wagon. Some of them had blankets to sleep on or under, and it made Andric remember that he didn’t have a blanket. He wondered how well he would sleep without a bed. If he didn’t sleep well, he couldn’t use magic to fill his body with energy, like he did that morning. He frowned, thinking about it.

An hour later, the sun peeked over the horizon. The crowing of roosters awoke many townspeople and merchants, and the merchants started preparing to leave. In less than an hour, hundreds of people and horses were moving around at the outskirt of Einburg. The horses were gradually attached to their owners’ wagons, and goods were loaded into the backs of the wagons. Meanwhile, Andric watched from beside it all.

At dawn, a loud horn blew over the merchant caravan. The preparations became even more rushed, and the people who were traveling in the same wagon as Andric woke up. They moved lazily, rolling up their blankets and putting their gear on the wagon. After the first one stepped up to sit inside the wagon, Andric followed them inside. When everyone sat down, there was only enough room for a couple more people, and only if they didn’t have excessive luggage.

Andric sat with his bundle of clothes on his lap and his straw hat on his head. The wagon cover didn’t go all the way down to the side of the wagon, giving Andric’s hat space to expand behind him. The lower part of the wagon cover was pinned up, where it could be unpinned to shield the inside of the wagon during rain. Andric considered traveling by wagon to be primitive, but he had no other option. If it was the old days, he would’ve flown across the sky, reaching his destination in a matter of hours. Then again, if it was the old days, he wouldn’t be in his current predicament.

Before the wagons started moving, a man climbed into the wagon driver’s seat, turned his head back, and asked, “Everybody here?” He scanned his eyes over the people sitting in the back of his wagon, making sure there wasn’t anyone extra. He recognized Andric from the previous evening.

“Yeah,” a traveler replied, and the wagon driver faced forward.

Andric silently looked at the other people in the back of the wagon. There were two families, and the rest were lone travelers. The parents helped their sleepy children stay upright, even though most of them were similarly tired. The merchant caravan arrived and departed at different times than normal when they stopped at a settlement, making it difficult to get used to. The merchants who had been on the road for decades could easily wake up exactly when they needed to, but the travelers who had only been with them for a month or a few had a harder time. Needless to say, the children were the worse.

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The merchant caravan set off a few minutes later. Sunlight showered the eastern side of the wagons, and Andric tilted his straw hat to keep it out of his eyes. Over one hundred horses trodden across the grassland, filling the air with noise. Gradually, Andric adjusted to the new atmosphere.

Miss Erminhilt’s estimations for Andric’s travel time were mostly correct. Every town was spaced about ten days apart, with the merchant caravan going about twenty miles per day. Hochland was in its rainy season, making the merchant caravan slow down whenever a storm came through. When it rained, the wagon cover was pinned down, and Andric had to take off his hat.

The rainy days and the days around them were the worst. Humidity built up in the air, and movement was restricted in the wagon. At home, Andric could dry out his clothes inside his home, but he couldn’t do that while in the wagon. When a gust of wind splashed his clothes with rain water, he couldn’t change out of them. Sleeping on the wet ground was also terrible. To make due, Andric had to search for sticks to make bedding from. He dried them by a fire, then barely had something suitable to sleep on.

The most annoying part of the journey was all the horses. When he interacted with horses in Einburg, it was usually only one at a time. The merchant caravan had over one hundred horses. Their defecation stank terribly on hot days, and their loud neighs were constant. Guards circled the merchant caravan at all times, and their horses were the loudest of all.

Martialists at the Novice realm obtained superhuman abilities, but all martialists valued a good mount. If a martialist could run faster than a horse, they simply needed a better horse! Besides using ordinary horses for mounts, martialists could also use spirit beasts that evolved from horses. Human realm martialists typically had normal horses to ride, but Novice realm martialists rode Novice realm horses. The Novice realm horses were arrogant, tough, and prideful. Wherever they walked, they made themselves known.

Along the way to Mahtzig, Andric learned the frightening difference between a Human realm martialists and a Novice realm martialist.

About thirteen days after leaving Einburg, the merchant caravan was slowed down along a wooded section of road. With the wagons in the front slowing down without warning, the rest of the wagons became closer together, and many people were angry about the closeness. All of a sudden, the merchant caravan guards rode their horses into formation and circled the merchant caravan with more vigor than any of the previous days.

At the front of the merchant caravan, the captain stood at the top of his wagon and scanned the forest around him. In front of him, all across the road, was a line of bodies. Horses naturally wouldn’t step over dead bodies, and many of the horses inside the merchant caravan weren’t trained to overcome their innate fear. While two Novice realm martialists went to clear the road, the rest of the guards prepared for an ambush from the forest.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, a massive horde of bandits jumped out from behind the trees. They wielded swords, axes, and crossbows, and they numbered in the hundreds. Unlike the guards of the merchant caravan, the bandits didn’t ride horses, but they weren’t limited with their mobility. Many of the bandits were late-stage Human realm martialists, and they easily ran throughout the stalled wagons.

When the bandits attacked, Andric kept his head down. He couldn’t use magic without his identity as a magician being exposed, so he had no way to help the guards or the merchants. If he were to use a spell, he would first need to build the spell in his hand, where anyone would be able to see it. Of course, if his life was in danger, he would immediately lash out against whatever he perceived as a threat.

Most of the merchants and travelers in the merchant caravan were low-stage Human realm martialists or non-martialists. In Andric’s particular wagon, the families were completely helpless, and the lone travelers were uninterested in assisting where they weren’t paid to assist. One of them, who identified himself as a mid-stage Novice realm martialist, complained about the wagon being slowed.

A bandit ran to the opening of the wagon and brandished a sword at the riders, shouting at them, “Hand over your valuables, or I come in swinging!”

The Novice realm martialist looked at the bandit, then weakly thrust his palm toward him. A ray of white light exited the martialist’s palm and hit the bandit’s chest. With one movie, the bandit was sent flying, spewing blood from his mouth. He quickly turned and ran, and the martialist humphed once before turning his head back to the opposite side of the wagon.

The merchant caravan’s guards were outnumbered, but they had a stronger overall martial realm and better weapons. Their mounts were useful for killing the bandits who were on the outside of the group of wagons, but they became a hindrance when the bandits ran inside the cluster of wagons. The Novice realm martialists jumped across the wagons, slashing their weapons through bandits they passed over.

After a few minutes of fighting, the bandits retreated. They covered their retreat with their crossbows, and their Novice realm martialists held off the merchant caravan guards until all the surviving bandits escaped into the forest.

The merchant caravan guards were very experienced. Instead of chasing after the bandits, where their mounts would have a difficult time moving through the forest, they stayed near the wagons and circled around them. They were ready for bandits to attack from another direction, and they remained on high alert until the captain led the merchant caravan out of the forest.

That night, a casualty report was taken by the captain. None of the Novice realm guards died, none of the merchants or travelers died, and only a few Human realm guards died. Some cargo was stolen, and some passengers were robbed, but the losses were manageable.

The bandit attack made Andric worry, but he ended up getting through it without exposing himself. He was grateful for the Novice realm martialist who shared the wagon with him, and he along with several others thanked him for protecting them. The martialist remained indifferent, casually watching the scenery around the merchant caravan.