Chapter 22: A Mission?

Ken lied in his bed as the sunlight shined through the window into his eyes. He was adamant on getting some more sleep, but at this point, it just wasn't possible anymore. He stood up from his bed, walking over to the window while covering his eyes from the bright light.

"Why is it this bright... so early, wait, if it's this bright that means it's most likely already noon!"

After realising he had overslept Ken grabbed his equipment and slammed the door open rushing downstairs.

"It's all because I stayed up fighting last night, so it's definitely not my fault for oversleeping... but what if they were waiting for me this whole time!"

Ken panicked trying to think of an excuse once he ran into Zad. As soon as Ken reached the bottom of the stairs, he looked around, Zad wasn't there. There were only a few people along with Arthur, who was cleaning the tables. Arthur saw Ken and continued cleaning while talking to him.

"Ah, you're awake. You're probably wondering where your friend is right?"

Ken spoke in a sarcastic tone when replying to Arthur.

"Wow, it's like you read my mind."

"You don't have to put it like that... how about you take a seat and we'll have the chef make you something to eat."

Ken being hungry wasn't in a position to refuse this offer, but could tell that Arthur wanted something from him. He sat down and proceeded to try and talk to Arthur.

"So this place has a chef?"

"Of course, but he's only here for the beginning half of the day since he's so busy. It's not like we can afford to pay to have him full-time either, hard to come by people that can cook as well as he can. It's not like you spoke to me to learn about the chef though did you, you must want to know where your friend is?"

"All I did was try to have a conversation with him..."

Ken sighed and decided to find out.

"You say that like you know where he is."

"He woke up early in the morning, letting me know he was heading for the new training grounds to practice his magic control. I think it's a great area for him to cover since his swordsmanship is above average, surprisingly."

Ken jumped up out of his seat, attempting to walk out of the inn, Arthur put his hand on to the collar of Ken's jacket and gripped it tightly holding him back. He then told Ken.

"Zad told me specifically to make sure you don't come after him."

"Seriously?"

"Of course, it seems like he wants to train alone right now, he'll be no match for you right now anyway so it'd be pointless."

The food was ready, and Ken began to dig in. In the middle of eating Ken was met with an awkward stare from Arthur. He stood there, waiting for the right opportunity to talk to Ken. As much as he tried to be natural about it, Ken could feel Arthur's gaze directed at him.

"You know you don't need to keep looking at me like that..."

"What, you could tell?"

"How, could you not realise how obvious it was..."

"I'll just come out with it then, do you know how adventurers make gold?"

"Killing creatures and claiming bounties right?"

"It's right to say that's one of the main methods. However, there is another."

Ken looked eager to find out more about what Arthur had to say.

"What do you mean?"

"Missions/Tasks from people that come by the area. They pay the village the amount their willing to give for the mission, we take a small fee for the village and show them to people that are looking for some easy gold. They could go to adventurers individually, and pay them but that's quite risky."

"And since you're short on adventurers, you want me to help you out?"

"You really do catch on fast. Cra most likely would've been the one to take on this mission if he was able to walk, but I wonder what happened to him, oh that's right you destroyed him and his body."

"I know what you're trying to do, but since I have nothing better to do today, I'll accept. What exactly does the mission entail?"

Arthur decided to sit down and explain the mission thoroughly to Ken.

"Do you have a map?"

"I do."

Ken reached into his pocket and grabbed his map, he put it on the table and opened it up, showing the majority of Zarxion. Arthur pointed at locations on the map, showing Ken where he will need to go.

"Interesting, it looks like your map is missing some key areas, but I doubt you'll need to worry about those for now. Your mission will be to escort a merchant to the docks over by this river."

"Something as simple as that?"

"It's not simple, for a merchant that's unable to use magic or fight well, they rely on adventurers to keep them safe. The merchant already has tried to go alone but spotted goblins on the path, so he was forced to retreat."

"Goblins, huh?"

"You've never heard of them?"

"I have, but all the goblins I've ever ran into were super weak, and that was when I was a child."

"That must mean you've never run into a group right. Only a few that travel alone?"

"Something like that."

"Usually, when goblins move in larger groups, they're lead by what we call generals. The generals are probably no match for you, but can cause a lot of harm to people that aren't as strong."

After finishing his meal and hearing what Arthur had to say, Ken looked around asking.

"So where's this merchant?"

"I told him, to come back in a few hours, I would have an adventurer ready to accompany him by then."

"So you planned this from the beginning..."

Ken sat there patiently waiting for the merchant to arrive.