Chương 24: Bufort

The rest of the mission went agonizingly slow. Damion was not sure if he was glad the rest of the mission was uneventful or not, but he wished he had something to take his mind off the few minutes of carnage he had seen. The years he spent training with Ms. Teft to prepare himself for this moment suddenly felt insufficient.

As the caravan sped along the road Damion hardly noticed the scenery and when they emerged from the Benault Forest it was not the lack of trees that snapped him out of his stupor, but the afternoon sun. For much of his new life, Damion had treated this world as a fantasy game. Now that he had seen death up close, Damion was realizing his mistake in taking that approach. This was not Earth.

Nerotath might look like Earth and have a great number of things in common with video games and fantasy novels, but Damion was now fully accepting that he was living in a real and sometimes brutal new world. If he did not or could not fight, he might as well search for some peaceful profession like his parents and live a happy and quiet life in the safety of the Green Zone. However, Damion already knew he had the strength to fight when his life was threatened.

He did not want to become blood thirsty and seek out the lives of people, but he realized if anything, man or beast threatened him or his family, he would have no problem killing it. With the help of the Magic System Damion believed he would be able to achieve power to do whatever he wanted in this world. What did he want though? That was the question Damion was struggling with. To live a carefree life? To start a family? Just a few years ago the answer was to explore this new world.

Damion found himself wanting all of this, but he knew that first, he needed to have the power to protect his life and those he cared about. He needed to become stronger. By the time the trade caravan reached Bufort, Damion had steeled himself to the horrors of his new world as best he could. Now only time would tell if he was going to rise or fall.

"Alright, everyone dismount," Mr. Hoyt called out as his trucks came to a stop inside Bufort's gates. Bufort was not nearly as large as Saung, but the biggest difference was the building in the center of the city. A large fortress of grey stone that rose above all the other buildings in the city. On it's battlements Damion could see siege weapons and men in armor patrolling the ramparts. Damion guessed that this building was the Sentinel Order's garrison.

The Sentinel Order of knights was charged with patrolling the White, Green and Yellow Zones. But they mostly focused on Yellow Zones. Most White and Green Zone cities had the Protector Order looking out for them. This fortress in Bufort served as a rest and resupply point for Sentinels in the area and in an emergency, could house the entirety of Bufort. It was the last bastion in the event of a beast wave.

"You alright Damion?" Ethan asked as he rested a hand on Damion's shoulder.

"Oh… yes, I'm alright."

"Bit much for your first mission huh? Most escorts aren't like this. Those were hardly even real bandits. Probably villagers from nearby that decided trying to steal food was easier than buying it." If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"You think?" Damion asked. He had been weighing the fact that he had let two of them go and was unsure if those two would harm someone else in the future or not.

"Yeah, my dad says the guys he fought were only E Rank and not very good at that. Most of the other escorts reported the same, all low rank folks."

"Your dad?" Damion questioned.

"Mr. Hoyt, he's my dad," Ethan clarified.

"On missions he always makes me call him Mr. Hoyt, he doesn't want people to think he treats me differently. I think it's a load of crap, he's a C Rank, he can do what he wants."

"Come on, let's go to the Adventurer Association and get our pay."

"You mean you have to take the mission too?" Damion questioned.

"Of course. To advance in rank you have to complete so many missions in addition to passing the Association tests." Damion seemed to recall Ms. Teft briefly mentioning such things before, but he obviously had not paid that much attention. Ethan led Damion to the Adventurer Association where they presented their badges. The clerk checked their terminal and then passed Damion a silver coin while Ethan received a silver and twenty copper ones.

"You get a better reward at a higher rank?" Damion asked, unsure if that was the correct answer or if it was just because Ethan's father owned the caravan.

"A small amount. Dad handles most of the fighting for the escorts, he usually just needs extra bodies to deter bandits. It is decent pay for F and E Ranks like us, but no D Rank ever joins for what he offers and since he is C Rank he feels he doesn't need them. If he ever does runs further out he might get better escorts, but between here and Saung, bandits are a rarity. We hardly ever even see any Ferocious Beasts."

"I guess I should hurry up and grab the mission for the return trip," Damion said when Ethan started towards the door. Damion headed to one of the Adventurer Association terminals and scanned his badge. He was surprised to see there were more missions available to him now than before, but he figured it was a new day. After Damion found and accepted the escort mission for the trade caravan back to Saung, he began browsing other missions.

"Anything good?" Ethan asked, looking over Damion's shoulder.

"Nothing that I can be sure we will be done with by the time the caravan leaves," Damion answered.

"What about that one," Ethan said pointing at a mission. Mission: 1607-12-422 – Type: Solo Hunt – Start Time: N/A – Target: Fire Scorpion x 5 – Location: Benault Forest – Reward: 2 Silver"The forest is a big place. I have no idea where to go."

"Trust me on this, take it. I'll take it too. I could use a little extra pocket money." Damion selected the mission as Ethan went to the terminal next to him and filtered through until he found it and accepted it himself.

"This mission is always up. The foul things are a menace, but hardly worth most people's time. Meet at the gate we came in, 09: 00. I'll show you where they are in the forest." With that, Ethan left Damion in the Adventurer Association. Damion wanted to look around Bufort to see how else it differed from Saung, but first he went over to a clerk on duty. He wanted to make sure he had food and a place to sleep before he set out exploring.

"Excuse me ma'am, can you tell me how I go about getting a room in the Association for the night?"

"First time away from home kid?" the clerk who, despite being only in her 30s, looked to be a grizzled veteran with several scars on her face and close-cropped brown hair. Damion just nodded, but presented his license, since he assumed she would need it. The clerk took a quick look before speaking.

"Dinner starts at dusk, it's first come first served, but usually there is plenty, but if you are last you might not get your fill. Rooms are barracks style on the third floor. I've put you in for one bunk and a locker. Breakfast starts just before dawn and lasts two hours. If you aren't up by then you will have to find your own food."

"Thank you," Damion managed to get out, but the clerk had already turned her back and was ignoring him.