“Alright then, hold this Agreement Stone, after reading the memory, think I agree, this stone is for the gathering task, this one is for the patrolling task”

Brother Gerard instructed.

“What’s an agreement stone Brother Gerard?”

He asked, he had only seen of mana and memory stones in the original’s memory, not agreement stones.

“Oh this, it’s just a normal memory stone, but this stone has to be processed by a Mage with the skill [Memory Draw] which is a skill available for level 8 Mages, using the skill they can draw an agreement, while leaving a small space where a memory of you agreeing could be stored. There is also a mapping stone, it’s the same concept but the Mage leaves a blank canvas, where you can project what you’ve seen, although you’ll need to train a bit to use mapping stones”

Brother Gerard explained, even adding explanations about mapping stones.

“Oh, thanks Brother Gerard”

He said as he picked the stone for the Gathering Task, he read through the memory and it was as Brother Gerard described. He thought ‘I agree’ then he saw his name as well as the words I agree in the memory stone. It was the same for the Patrolling Task, he looked through it, and saw nothing amiss so he thought ‘I agree’ and the deal was done.

“Alright then, I’ll work on your stuff, then we’ll let you choose the area you’ll be patrolling, wait for a bit”

Brother Gerard said while smiling, he went inside the building behind the Task Board. He probably got some sort of benefit from this but Aeron thought it’s win-win situation. He didn’t wait for long as Brother Gerard came out of the door then beckoned to him.

“Come in, and oh Jarred please watch out for this kid’s horse, we’ll be out in a bit”

After handing Spirit to Jarred he followed Brother Gerard inside, the interior actually looked like a government office, there were counters lined up, while people waited for their turn. They passed by them then entered a room with a big round crystal ball in the center, when they went nearer and he saw that the crystal ball was actually a huge eyeball.

“This is a Level 9 High-Grade Beast Memory Eye, the contract beast of the Governor, unlike your pets, contract beasts are bound by a contract, the Governor provides and feeds it while it lends us its ability, Eva show us the map”

Brother Gerard explained, after he said show map the huge eye ball turn to Brother Gerard, it then started to transform, Aeron could see the City of Una, then the map zoomed out where he saw flags on the edge of the Endless Forest near the City.

“Those flags are areas that’s already been assigned to someone, you can choose the area you want to patrol, also you can think what you want to change since your inside Eva’s influence, it won’t read your memories but it will eat the thoughts you direct to it then treat it as an order”

Aeron looked around the map, since the areas near the city was already taken, it aligned with his earlier plans, he’ll have to choose the ones from afar.

‘Hmm it would be better if my place was near a source of water’ he thought, Eva caught on to this thought then the map zoomed in an area quit far from the city, there was a small stream that was probably branched away from the Great River of Orz that cuts through whole continent. Orz was said to be a Titan Snake, because of a battle with another Titan the Great River of Orz was formed, whether it was real or not, no one knew.

“Hmmm, Brother Gerard, can I choose here?”

He pointed at an area a short distance away from the small river, there were even a couple of hills as well as a small forested area separate from the Endless Forest, it was the perfect area for him. Only it was really far from the City, he knew it was dangerous but he really liked the area.

“As long as it’s near the edge of the Endless forest, unclaimed by others, and its inside the jurisdiction of the City of Una, then you can choose it as your patrolling area”

Brother Gerard stated, although Aeron could see him smile wryly, he probably never expected someone to ask for an area so far from the City.

Although most people would probably ignore the land near a danger zone, Aeron never planned to be weak. He already had the Golden Monkey as assurance, with Arthur and his army of monkeys then Aeron will have nothing to worry about in the future, this was also in addition to his anomalous skill.

“Where would you like to place the house? We’ll mark it with a flag after you choose”

“Here”

He pointed between the small river and forest, then Brother Gerard marked it with a flag. The Distance between the City and his place was 1200 km, this was also one of the practical skills derived from [Mana Manipulation] Skill, they called it [Mana Calculation]. As long as you have knowledge about distance and time then you’ll be able calculate using [Mana Calculation]. It was like an automated clock, calculator, and measurement device. With Spirit speed it should would take about 10 hours to travel and considering the amount of rest time in between, then it should take me half a day to go to my area.

“Alright it’s settled, now you’ll have to wait for your house to be built with the additional travel time, it’ll be approximately 7 days before your house is built, if you need a place to crash then you could stay in my tent”

Brother Gerard explained while offering him a place to stay.

“Thank you very much, I would be delighted Brother Gerard”

“Alright then, wait outside for a bit, I’ll finish up then I’ll show you to my place”

Brother Gerard said smilingly. Aeron was thankful to Brother Gerard, after showing him the tasks he even offered his place to him.

“Okay Brother Gerard, I’ll be waiting outside”

He replied as he walked outside. When he walked outside, he saw Jarred feeding Spirit a fruit.

‘Spirit does make you want to feed him huh’

Aeron mused, remembering his parents were fond of feeding Spirit fruits on its short stay there.

‘Now my only problem is the Governor’s task’ he thought

“Good horse you have here, what’s its name?”

Jarred asked while brushing off Spirit’s mane.

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“I named him Spirit, the name’s Aeron by the way”

“Spirit, good name! I’m Jarred”

They shook hands. After talking for a bit Jarred went back to his counter. Aeron waited for a bit before Brother Gerard came out of the building.

“Let’s go, you can I ask me anything you want to know” Brother Gerard said as they started walking east from the center.

“Okay thanks Brother Gerard, I’m actually quite curious, even if you knew I was able to pass the requirements for the Patrolling Task, why did you trust me immediately?”

This question has actually popped in his head while waiting, even if he had the ability, they still strangers. Brother Gerard would also be punished if he were to be an untrustworthy person.

“Hahahha you’re sharp kid, do you want to hear the truth or the lie?” Brother Gerard laughed then asked me, he had his smile still but now it looked a bit different, though not the malicious type of different.

“The truth then”

“Truth it is, it’s actually simple, you’re an Ironbull” Brother Gerard said while smirking.

“People like you with famous Families wouldn’t risk smearing your family name, especially in Pioneer Cities, tasks like this have heavy emphasis in trust because if there is ever any danger such as Beast Tides or a stray Ferocious Beasts or even Titans, then it would risk the safety of the whole City if the person assigned escaped instead of reporting to the City, this is also the reason for the generous rewards”

Brother Gerard explained, it was truly as he said, with the Family’s name on the line Aeron wouldn’t risk doing anything underhanded.

“Oh, hehe that really is the case, Brother Gerard what are Ferocious Beasts? I’ve never heard of one”

Aeron asked, he was truly curious about this, he didn’t find any information about Ferocious beasts in his memories.

“Ferocious beasts are beasts that’s devoured by madness, they would attack anyone they see be it beasts or humans, the cause is still uncertain, this only happens to areas with forests though, much has yet to be known. It’s easy to spot them, they’re eyes will glow red and are highly aggressive, it isn’t much of an issue if it’s only a Low-Grade Beasts, you could even kill them yourself. But it’s a different story for High-Grade ones, they’re strength might rise to a whole Stage just like the skill of Berserkers [Berserk Overlord’s Might]. There is actually a reward if you find the cause.”

Brother Gerard answered.

“Oh we’re here” Brother Gerard stopped then pointed at a large tent, it was the size of a regular house.

“Wow your place is big Brother Gerard”

Aeron also couldn’t help but complement, not just because of its size, but also because the material used to weave the clothe of the tent was a rope vine, the same material as the rein’s on Spirit. It was an eye-catching brown tent amidst the green ones.

“It’s nothing much, you’re much more impressive considering you got a horse, if you haven’t noticed yet, you’re the only one with a horse in the whole City”

“Oh why is that Brother Gerard?”

Aeron asked, all he knew was that Horses were rare and are level 5 beasts, as for why they were rare, he truly didn’t know.

They sat down at a sofa stuffed with vines then covered with demon beast fur, this was very unexpected. Brother Gerard was only wearing vine clothing after all, to have such a luxurious sofa would mean his financial capabilities were far from what a normal Task Master spend. It was then that he noticed the surrounding furniture was decorated with demon beast furs and leather.

“Surprised huh? But don’t be blinded by this much, I am after all an obscure son from a wealthy family, most of these aren’t hard to get. As for you question about the rarity of horses, it’s not something others should know, but since we’ll be partners from now on, then I’ll make an exception”

Brother Gerard said before continuing.

“Horses aren’t really very rare, but the thing about them is that a herd of horses is usually led by a Transcendent Horse, Transcendent Beasts compared to a Transcendent Professional are much more powerful, and if a Professional were to meet a Transcendent Horse alone then chances are, he’s going to die. Transcendent Horses are as powerful as other Transcendent Beasts, but the same as their low level counterpart, they have a huge advantage in speed and stamina, the largest herd would also be guarded by a very powerful High-Grade Horse and about 4 other High-Grade Beasts. If normal herds are already guarded by Transcendent Horse, how strong do you think the Strongest Horse would be?”

Brother Gerard said, while waiting for Aeron’s guess.

“Demigod?” Aeron guessed.

“Wrong! Hahaha the Strongest Horse Beast is at God Level! Along with its knight who are at Demigod level”

Brother Gerard said in almost shouting voice. Aeron was stunned, still Aeron thought since there were normal herds, it should mean there are shouldn’t be a shortage of horses.

“hahahha you’re probably thinking that this should not be sufficient to make horses so rare? Right?”

“Yes”

“hehe it’s because they are being collected and hoarded” 

“collected?” Aeron asked with surprised mixed with confusion.

“Yes! You see the most powerful Horse Beast also has another Title, the Horse King!”

Badump badump badump

Aeron’s heart started beating fast.

“You see, Kings are unique existence, there will only be one of it, while the King is still alive, but when it dies, its crown will be passed down to a random horse. Newborn or adult doesn’t make much of a difference, although it is said that newborns have a larger chance. What’s more is that there is a rumor going on saying the current Horse King is injured, for some reason it had fought with another King, the Monkey King, as for whether any of the Kings are dead, it is still unknown”

Boom!!

Aeron thought something inside his mind exploded, this was truly unexpected, he had thought Arthur was just an infant beast at most, although it had king on its name, there were actually other beasts with King on its name, but he didn’t know that it was a True King.

“Then Brother Gerard, are they also collecting monkey beast too?”

Aeron asked. It seemed like he had to be more discreet about Arthur and his monkey army.

“I heard there were some but not a lot, monkeys live in forests and are much harder to catch than others, horses are easier to find and observe. And now that people are starting to collect them, they have become rare commodities. To be honest, I actually wanted to buy Spirit but seeing how close you are with it, I didn’t proceed.”

Brother Gerard said while confessing he had planned to buy Spirit.

“It’s okay Brother Gerard, although I probably wouldn’t have agreed because Spirit is gift to me by my parents”

Aeron also explained, he also understood, the party had the interest and money, it was a normal reaction. He also explained further why he wouldn’t sell Spirit, although Brother Gerard said he didn’t proceed with the thought, the mere fact that he mentioned it meant he still attempting to sound Aeron out.

“Oh right, Brother Gerard someone task me to find news about whether a girl comes out of the Endless Forest, do you have any suggestion Brother Gerard?”

Aeron didn’t know how to proceed with the Governors task too, he planned to search for ways while waiting for the house to be built, but since he had Brother Gerard here with him, he might as well try.

“I could actually help you with that, I’ll ask my people to try and listen for news about her? Do you have any specific description?”

Brother Gerard asked as he offered his service.

“Oh thanks again Brother Gerard, I only know that she is carrying a long sword with her”

Aeron said a bit embarrassed, it seemed Brother Gerard had provided him with everything he needed in this City.

“Don’t sweat it, although I’ll have to make you buy me a Notification Bird for your first month using your merit points, they cost 50 merit points. I’ll have to use one so I can send you the news within the shortest time possible. You see Notification Birds would only accept one target their entire life so just compensating me with one will be fine, also Notification Birds are exclusively used by Cities so the only other way to get them is finding them in the wild or buying them through merit points.”

“I’m fine with that Brother Gerard, really thanks”

“It’s fine hahaha I already made you call me brother so this isn’t a problem at all” Brother Gerard laughed heartily.