Choices

Jack just sat there and staring blankly at the desk in front of him, so Joran patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry. I have a feeling that whatever you choose will lead you to become a great man."

Jack nodded before going into deep thought and weighing which option would suit his current state better. Jack is a careful and calculative person. He prefers to study every possibility before making a choice.

Time passes without him realizing it, and before he knows it, various dishes have already been served on the table. They are Fried Fenris meat with onion sauce, meat and vegetable soup, four rye bread, and a plate of steamed corn.

When realizing that Jack finally came to his senses, Joana, who already sat across him, smiled before saying, "Okay. Let's save the heavy subject for another time. We are already late for dinner. Sorry, Jack. We only could serve simple countryside dishes like this. I hope you like it."

"Ah? No. This... This is already luxurious for me, far better than dried meat that I eat at the Shadowless Forest. Thank you, ma'am… I mean, Joana." Jack still has difficulty speaking casually, but he has adapted quite well to this world language.

After dinner, Joran narrates the incident when he meets a Fenris in the woods outside Toria Village. Unexpectedly, the story is so convincing, even when some parts are a bit exaggerated. Especially the scene when he jumps heroically to save the distressed hunter.

Jack laughs before adding some more spice to the story and making it more like a tale of a heroic knight. Overall, he enjoyed the second version of the story more than the original.

Unlike her husband, Joana mostly talks about her son, Kyle, who started working as an adventurer two years ago. She begins to express how proud she is of him before started to look worried for his safety after a while, then ends with words that show how much she misses him.

When his turn to speak came, Jack asked about the surrounding town he could visit. Because he hasn't decided whether to join the army or become an adventurer, Jack believes that visiting town will take him closer to the answer.

Coincidentally the nearest city is also the main headquarters of Adventurer Guild, Alexandrium, the city of Knowledge and Power. Knowledge because the city holds the biggest library in Palonia, the Library of Alexandrium.

And Power because it is the only city that has the strength that could rival even a kingdom. Tigreal Pendragon, the guild master of Adventurer Guild, is known as 'The Strongest Man' in Palonia.

This city has the remaining puzzle pieces Jack needs to fill his conviction, so he decides to start the journey as soon as possible.

To go there, he needs to ride a horse for three days or four if using a horse carriage. And because Jack can't ride a horse, Joran will help him find a cheap carriage to rent tomorrow morning. For tonight, he will sleep in Kyle's room.

The first thing Jack does when he is in Kyle's room is looking for a mirror. He was dying to see what his face really looked like because the river in Shadowless Forest couldn't reflect his handsome looks perfectly.

Sadly this family doesn't even have enough money to buy a mirror for their only son.

So Jack opened a window before lying down so he could enjoy the perfect round blue moon that was hanging beautifully in the night sky. Slowly Jack began to drown in his own reverie.

His mouth arched up when thinking about this world's potential, about what he could offer to this world, and what he could gain from it. But those joyous moments didn't last long and died when Jack remembered about his family on Earth.

The money he left there could last them for seven years, so Jack only had those seven years to build a bridge between two worlds.

He needed to act fast because Opportunity didn't wait for those who did not walk toward it.

The next morning after breakfast, Joran takes Jack to meet his acquaintance, a horse-drawn carriage driver as he promised. After a fierce bargain, the driver agreed to receive two silver before departure and one more when Jack arrived at Alexandrium.

He tried to pay him for his service, but Joran refused politely. Because Jack did not want to be lectured endlessly by Joran, he only could say thank you. He promises Joran that he will visit him whenever he goes to Toria Village.

Shortly after, his four days long journey to Alexandrium started. But at least he has someone to talk to this time.

---

When Jack departed from Toria, a muscular man with whitish-brown hair was running while looking for someone in the periphery of Shadowless Forest. He was carrying a menacing blue greatsword with some red strips and ten holes in its blade.

His blue eyes suddenly glanced toward the top of a tree before a male voice suddenly could be heard from that direction.

"Guildmaster Tigreal!"

Tigreal stopped and waited for that man to show himself before asking with a deep voice. "Kyle, how is the Shadowless Forest situation?"

After organizing his thought, Kyle answered in an enthusiastic tone. "The anomaly stopped ten days ago, but after that, more and more monsters are coming out from the heart of Shadowless Forest, just as you predicted, Guildmaster.

"A few days ago, I spotted a group of Dark Goblins, even tailing them for a while from a distance. But I didn't dare to venture deeper by myself and decide to pull back after seeing them return to where they come from."

Tigreal nodded before giving an order, "Good. Return to Toria and inform the other. After that, wait at your parent's house until we are ready to return to Alexandrium."

"But, Guildmaster…"

Kyle tried to object, but Tigreal stopped him, "This mission is too dangerous for you right now, and I don't want to lose a promising youth again because of lack of judgment on my part.

"Nex time, Kyle. When the moment is right, I promise that I will send you and your team on a better mission."

Kyle showed a displeased expression, but after Tigreal patted his shoulder and explained his reason, he only could swallow his rebuttal and nod half-heartedly.