Chapter 15 - Road Trip

The morning arrives. My crew and I with the temporary slave Dominic made way to the abandoned frontier village. Rider arrived first at the village to prepare the horses and carriage for our journey. They used to belong to the adventurers.

Once we arrive. I notice Rider was handling around nine horses of various colors. The horse mounts of this world was slightly different from the ones seen on earth. There were exotic colors such as blue and green. They must be a type of domesticated magic beast. Their fierce impression and heavily muscled bodies can give the predators of earth a run for their money.

There are two horses tied to the wagon. They are used for pulling the supplies we have set. A large cushion is placed on part of the wagon, for Lancer to sit on during the ride. I won’t have to worry about learning how to ride the horses. I have passive riding skills from using the mounts within the game. A life saver. Rider took out a bunch of brown dirty looking leather cloaks from the wagon. They probably belonged to the Adventurers. Rider handed the cloaks to everyone.

I praise him for it. This will help cover up our equipment. As they will probably draw too much attention. Best to travel a little incognito for now to avoid trouble. The cloaks also have hoods that can cover the head and face. Useful for the girls when we hit town. Even I know great beauty can both be a blessing and a curse. Best to be cautious of drawing too much attention.

Rider being the only male of my NPCs. I had him do all the manual labor and grunt work. I am a sexist bastard. I believe equality is total bullshit. An ideal that can never truly be possible. Differences exist for a reason. I prefer a colorful world. It is more interesting compared to a grey world. Where everything is the same and people are living like ant drones. That is how I perceived the direction the world is going on earth. A personal bias opinion.

The arrogance of the human race was extremely big. The world suffered. I won’t be surprised if the human race in the new world is the same way. Should I personally get involved and ensure the human race is properly controlled in this world?

At the moment. I am unsure. Might be my personal arrogance thinking I should even try. I have checked a bit of the administrator settings. Most are locked since my soul is still not strong enough for access to everything. I saw options like creating a mortal avatar to walk the world. Such things as greater world warp or creating divine beasts.

In a way. It is a great motivation builder to force myself to earn faith energy. In turn put more authorities under my control. Trying to spread my name will be a pain in the ass. Even more so if it involves creating a new religion. I am in no rush. I will have time to think about it. Implement my ideas when I see an opportunity to do so.

For now. I am limited in the things I can do with my administrator job. I can only do blessings for now. My war authority can raise the morale of my allies by fifteen percent. The ability seems insignificant. It probably shines when in a massive battle with a large army. Morale can determine the victory or loss in a battle of such a scale. There might be more abilities I am unaware of. I do not have a mentor to guide me. I am figuring this all out as I go along.

Anyways with all the supplies and gear prepped for the journey. Everyone gets on their horses. Rider coaching the wagon and Lancer riding on the back. The horse that the new slave Dominic is riding is tied to the back of the wagon. He has no arms to ride the horse on his own without it.

The thing I notice most about the horses. The saddles do not come with stirrups. Only a leather like blanket used as a saddle. Very primitive. I could make stirrups with my subcraft smithing skill. Without leathercraft to make the straps and saddle. It won’t help much so I forgo the idea for now.

As we reach the other entrance of the village. We make way onto the road heading to the town I heard from Dominic. I notice the pikes with heads on them. I hear Dominic crying out in pain and anguish as he looks upon the heads of his former comrades.

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He notices one particular shriveled up human head. Looks like it has been mummified. Dominic yells out in horror. It seems to be the head that belonged to the adventurer named Brian. I do not know how he died. It looks like his life or his very soul was sucked right out of him. Looks gruesome.

"Brian!! Noooo!! What will I tell Mia..." -Dominic

I know it was Assassin that killed him. I do not remember her having such abilities in the game. Could it be my NPCs also take after the racial traits of the people in this new world too? If so, then I have to be more wary of them. Including their sentience they also received abilities and powers I am unaware of. I might be a little paranoid but it doesn’t hurt to be one in this crazy world.

"Why!! Why!! This can't be real!!" -Dominic

While Dominic is still blubbering with massive tears rolling down his cheeks. The NPCs are laughing at the sight. Further confirms my suspicions they are all psychopaths. We finally arrive at the small thin dirt road. Said to lead to the town. The road is full of holes and pebbles.

A bumpy ride for anyone riding on a wagon with no suspensions. Lancer is a resident of this world. She is probably used to it. Personally, I don’t care how Rider feels about it. I am sexist like that. The trip will take around four to five days to reach town. A boring trip without modern tech like phones or ipads to keep me occupied.

The scenery is beautiful with the view of great forests and small mountains. Even a clear crystal looking lake with water that probably clean enough to drink. During the trip it was peaceful. We did not meet a single bandit. I found it disappointing. I wanted to get Lancer more experience with human combat.

Occasionally. a beast of some sort would attack. Not worth mentioning considering the strength of my crew. I have not seen anything too exotic or weird yet. I am bored out of my mind. I thought long road trips with a car was bad. It is even worse on horseback in the middle of nowhere.

After camping outside for four nights. We finally made it to the town of Ezra. A sturdy looking wooden wall surrounds it and standing twenty feet tall. The gate entrance is open with guards monitoring it. I notice they are dressed the same as the frontier village guards, but a little cleaner looking.

This time I warn my NPCs to not attack unless in self-defense. To avoid the frontier village incident from repeating. I feel like I am babysitting ferocious beasts rather than people. Maybe that is how people act in this primitive world. Where survival of the fittest rings very true. Compared to earth.

I had Dominic’s mouth gagged. Preventing him from making trouble. With the slave collar I made on his neck. I doubt anyone will spare him a glance. It is cruel but a necessary measure. I be sure to release him when we are ready to leave the town. Best to have him alive to spread my name. With his position it should definitely spread. Bad publicity is still publicity after all.

We enter the town of Ezra. Made our way first to the adventurer guild after getting the directions from the gate guards.  All of us are wearing cloaks covering our bodies and faces. Except for Rider, Lancer and me along with Dominic. We aren’t drawing attention from the townspeople, so a group wearing hooded cloaks is probably common.

We arrive at a large wooden building. It looks properly built by craftsmen unlike the ones in the frontier village. The Adventure Guild branch of the Ezra town is pretty big. Looks like a tavern is attached. Rough looking men with weapons surround the place. Loud noises and laughter are coming from the tavern section.

I had everyone get a table in the tavern to order drinks and a meal. Paid with the money we took from all those we have killed so far. Lancer and me then take a short trip. Across the tavern section into the adventurer guild section of the building to see their manned counters. Once we reach the counter with a middle aged woman…