Onwards to Ferdra

Following the next day, both of us finally start our journey to Ferdra from the base of the mountain village. The only path separating the Capital of Frostguard and the bottom of the mountain was another flipping Forest.

With the amount of forest I have traversed through, I'm surprised that I'm not an elf myself. However, the major difference between these forests is that the one leading to Ferdra wasn't dense. If anything, the trees were spread apart evenly and wide enough to see the path ahead. The best part is that we were not alone when crossing the forest and that there were merchants, travellers, and adventurers all heading in the same direction we were going. If anything, I was relieved that I didn't have to spend my time in the Forest like a savage beast.

While crossing the forest, We passed by an old man that was carrying an unusually large bag on his back. There were a couple of items strapped onto the bag, a lantern, a pickaxe, a frying pan, and a shield.

As we moved on forward. suddenly a loud crash was heard behind us. I turned to find that the old man had fallen down, with all his inventory spilling out. Concerned, I head over to give a helping hand, picking up the items that he dropped. The items that were dropped mainly were monster's body parts that were already butchered and skinned. Passing it to the old man and lifting him up from the ground. The old man spoke to me.

"Thank you, young lad."

"You a merchant old man?"

"Yes, but I'm mostly retired. All the items here are just something that I needed to pass to my kids in Ferdra."

"Red, pick the stuff up and run forward." King Darius ordered me to do so.

"Huh. I thought we were done with trai____."

"Go."

With no choice given, I lifted what felt like 30 Kg on my back and slowly run upwards the snowy path forward as training.

[Dialougue Logs]

King Darius: "You sly fox. You knew I was here that's why you picked this disguise to check on me."

The Old Man???: "Hahaha. I can say the same about you. Nice blue hair."

King Darius: "Shut it. It's easier to travel around without gaining any attention. Especially from Serene. "

The Old Man???: "Fine. Fine. So who's the lad carrying my stuff?"

King Darius: "That will be my attendant."

The Old Man???: "So where's the Queen and Princess of Mydarn"

King Darius: "Bah, I didn't want to travel with them. Serene is always nagging while the Queen and I are having a bet. She predicted that Serene would make it to the top 3 and would win. I told her no, maybe the genius from the Empire would win this time again. But she laughs at me, saying that Serene reached 4th Class, this year which is the youngest in history so there's no way she would lose. So I made a wager saying someone else would be the winner this year."

The Old Man???: "As always, both you and the queen are as competitive as always. But, You'll be surprised by what Frostguard can show this year. Hehehe."

King Darius: "Hoh, looks like you have a secret weapon this year huh."

The Old Man???: "How about making the wager bigger? I'll include all the nobles in as well."

King Darius: "Sounds Interesting. What does the winner get?"

The Old Man???: "Something interesting we found recently in a cave nearby."

King Darius: "Hoohh."

[Red's POV]

While running forward. The first thing that appeared in my field of vision were tall towers that reside all the way at the back of the Kingdom. There was a long drawbridge that separates the forests and the Kingdom. Catching my breath after the heinous task given by that demon. I noticed that beside the Drawbridge were stones that were randomly placed on the ground. There was also a designated spot for these random stones in the form of a very big circle built on the ground. There were also a couple of what I can only think of, mages or wizards, on-site checking the condition of those stones and were on standby. There were runic symbols written all over the stones. As I took a closer look at it, the guards on the drawbridge yelled:

"Hey! Stay clear from that area."

"Hu____"

Suddenly the stones started emitting a sort of lighting all over themselves. The painted runic words suddenly glowed as they all floated above. In union, the stones were floating among themselves like how synchronized swimmer does as they slowly got into a position that formed a shape of a very very big circle. Suddenly, the lighting all started connecting in the middle, and before I knew it.

Zoom!

A portal appeared.

Finally realizing what this was, I tried to dash away at the last moment. But I was too late. A Horse leg appeared and stomped on my foot.

"HOLYYYYYYYYYY F*CKKKKKKKKKK_____________!!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs at the excruciating pain in my foot.

"Huh. What's that trash at the bottom of the carriage?"

As I lay on the floor because of the heavy luggage, the carriage, wagons, and horses just passed by me, moving forward to the drawbridge. There were a couple of people talking to the guards and passing them some documents. Still in pain from the stampede from the flipping horse, I noticed a gaze from above. I tilt my head looking above.

Peeking out from the carriage window, a male around my age was staring at me. he had brunette hair and a fairly handsome face. But the face he showed me was that of absolute disgust.

"It's just some commoner." He spits on the ground beside me and tossed me a gold coin.

"Run along now and do not bother us unless you want to be decapitated." he shoos me away as the guards from the drawbridge permit them to enter.

As I recovered myself from the ground, the king and the old man appeared from behind me.

"Any troubles, Red."

"Nothing as of now," I replied.

"Well then, I will be taking my leave. Thank you so much young man for your help."

"Oh, no problem"

I passed his belongings back to him and said goodbye. As he was leaving, I could have sworn he smirked at the King before leaving. Either that or I'm in too much pain that I'm hallucinating.

The King removed his disguise and show the Guards a gold badge. Both of the guards immediately bowed 90 degrees for the King as they allowed us to pass through together.

Before we were allowed in through the gates, they welcomed us saying:

"Welcome to Ferdra, the Capital of Frostguard."