"The Northern Territories" was the name most people used to refer to the northern region of the central continent. For the most part, it was a harsh land.
Things weren't as bleak as they were on the Demon Continent, but since snow covered the ground for a third of each year, farming was difficult. Food was far from plentiful. Most of the nations in this region were poor and weak, often fighting over scraps of resources while their citizens eked out a living.
There were also many monsters, and most of them were much stronger than those in the Asura Kingdom.
This attracted warriors-in-training and veteran adventurers to the area, but it wasn't enough to bring the region close to prosperity.
However, there were a handful of countries that managed to thrive even in this harsh environment.
These were the states called "Magical Nations":
The Kingdom of Ranoa, known for its magical learning institutions.
The Duchy of Neris, known for its magical implement manufacturing.
Finally, the Duchy of Basherant, known for its expertise in arcane research.
These three countries had formed a close alliance, pooled their collective magical knowledge, and achieved a dominant position in the region.
After achieving D-rank as adventurers, Suzanne and her party lost their jobs and will now move south to the Asura Kingdom to reestablish themselves.
And, as it happened, I needed to return to Asura as well.
I still had too many unanswered questions about what happened, and an answer wouldn't hurt.
Counter Arrow, the group that saved my life.
They were confirmed by a total of four people.
Timothy, the main mage and leader of the group, at first glance seems like a good guy, so I took my hand away from the hilt of my sword in his presence.
Suzanne, the woman who greeted me when I woke up, is a frontal warrior and sub-leader of the group, she seemed to have a sort of maternal aura towards me although I don't blame her, this body is that of a ten year old boy after all.
Patrice, also a warrior, I don't know much about the man but he seems like a nice guy anyway.
And finally Mimir, who is the healer of the group.
Fortunately, Fittoa is only two months away from this point, so getting there will not be a problem.
The problem now is contacting my family, after having breakfast with the group I brought up the subject
"Suzanne, Timothy...may I make a request please?"
They both looked at me in confusion but nodded.
"I know you will help me return home but... I want to contact my family please, if someone would be so kind as to lend me money to send a letter... I would be very grateful."I said while bowing slightly.
"Don't worry kid, after all you could pay us when you start working with us" Suzanne said as she patted me on the shoulder and I smiled.
These were definitely good people.
"But...do you know where I can sign up to become an adventurer?" I continued with confusion.
"In the adventurer's guild, obviously, it's not far from here, we'll accompany you," Suzanne continued with a smile.
The group guided me to the adventurers' guild, it was a building that actually looked like a tavern in any case, upon entering through the door the glances turned to us but especially to me.
But I ignored them anyway and walked towards the receptionist who had some pretty big breasts if I do say so myself.
"Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild, How can I help you?"
"...I want to register as an adventurer," I muttered.
The woman didn't even flinch and just nodded as she pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen from under her desk.
"In that case, please fill out this form with your personal information," was all the woman said.
I filled out what was asked for and ten minutes later the woman handed me a small metal plate.
Name: Rudeus Greyrat
Rank: F
Age: 10
Race: Human
Occupation: Swordsman Mage
Hmmm...I never specified what I did, was it perhaps chosen by magic? It wouldn't be a surprise.
"So, were you able to?" Suzanne pulled me out of my thoughts and I saw how they already had a job proposal which they handed to the receptionist.
"and could you please make a proposal for sending a letter to..."
"the city of Roa in the Fittoa region in the kingdom of Asura" i added.
The receptionist tilted her head slightly for a few seconds before nodding.
I gave him the letter and Timothy paid for it, it was a total of one Asuran silver coin...I would make sure to pay it.
"We also want to add him to our group," Timothy continued, just as we had agreed.
The receptionist nodded again and so I became a temporary member of Counter Arrow.
It didn't take us too long and we left the guild.
"...what job did you thake?" I asked.
"Something simple, exterminate wild boars in the forest to the south, those things are a very dangerous pest around here and we'll be able to eat some" Timothy said
"Hmm...I feel like that's a job even I could do," I muttered.
"you're sure?"
"Yes, very sure," I said as I patted the handle of my sword.
"Now that I think about it, you haven't told us what you specialize in. I see you have a sword, but you can also do magic. What are your ranks?" Suzanne asked, and I shrugged.
"Even if I told them, they wouldn't believe me," I muttered.
"Come on, kid, how bad can it be?" Patrice said suddenly joining the conversation.
"Well...I am a sword saint and double advanced in the Water God and North style, in addition to being a saint rank in water magic and advanced rank in the other branches..."I murmured weakly.
Even coming out of my mouth they seemed like pure lies
"...I see," Timothy muttered and Suzanne just looked at me with narrowed eyes.
"I told you it would be hard to believe!" I protested.
"Well... you're right, how old did you say you were again?" Mimir said as he approached me and now that I see him properly, the guy has green hair...
I hope Sylphie is okay...
"I turned ten two days ago"
"Well, when we're hunting the wild boars you can show us your skills," Suzanne said mockingly.
"I don't think you need a long lightsaber for a simple boar but...it's okay"
...
"Be careful where you step, these woods are full of Treant trees that can trap and devour you" Suzanne's voice pulled me out of my thoughts as we walked through the snowy terrain.
"Treants? What is that?" I asked.
"Monster trees, they are found in every forest and vary in power and danger, but don't be fooled."
"I see, that's interesting"
The forest was completely covered in snow considering it was spring, the northern territories are no joke...
"There! There's a pack of twenty, Suzanne, Patrice, take care of them" Timothy said and when they were about to jump into action I stopped them.
"Wait, I can go, after all I want to help you as much as I can" I declared.
Concern formed on Suzanne's face but before she could protest, Timothy stopped her.
"Are you sure you can do it alone?"
"Trust me, they won't see it coming," I muttered.
Suzanne didn't seem satisfied with my answer but before they knew it I had already rushed towards the boars.
I just wanted them to stop underestimating me and also the sooner we left the better.
"haaa!" With a quick movement of my sword the heads of the boars began to fall one by one.
I didn't need to use any technique or magic, just my simple brute force and speed was enough.
(ziiinng!!)
And so in less than ten seconds, I killed twenty wild boars with perfect cuts.
My group looked at me from a distance in total shock as I approached them as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"So, how many of these do you need to collect the reward?" I asked.
Timothy blinked several times as he came out of his state of shock to look at me.
"h-how did you..."
"I already said it, I'm a sword saint," I replied.
"Well... you must admit that's something extremely hard to believe, especially for a child as small as you... but I guess you're not lying," Patrice said, scratching his chin.
"Yes, but seriously, are those enough or do we need more?"
"Ha! Yes, they are..." Timothy said out of nowhere, attracting all their attention.
"Hmm? What?" Suzanne asked.
"What Rudeus asked? Those boars are enough. Now help me skin them," he said, and so we did.
It was quick work.
Apparently, to collect the bounty, we had to carry the skins from the neck to the head.
Needless to say, we drew a few unwelcome glances because of this, but again, I didn't care.
Fortunately, we earned the equivalent of two silver coins, and they paid me half, but obviously, I didn't accept it.
"Consider it my payment for the letter," I said, and my group laughed.
It was a pleasant day, and I also discovered that the group was three jobs away from reaching rank C, where we could finally take caravan escort jobs.
But for the day, we were fine.
My letter would travel while I earned money to travel here.
...
[Ghislaine Pov]
Directly east of the Asura Kingdom and just beyond the mountains, in the middle of the Central Continent, was a sphere of many small nations fighting each other for dominance of the region.
This place, where countries were built only to face their demise soon after and be rebuilt once more, was called the Conflict Zone by the locals.
The mercenary country of Markien supported all other nations equally and without discrimination.
The mercenaries they sent were incredibly feared. Their troops were great warriors, their commanders calm and collected, and their tacticians excelled in military tactics.
Once they entered battle, they led their allies to victory without fail.
They were a symbol of triumph and fear on the battlefield.
That was what it meant to be a Markien mercenary. But as of a week ago, half of that army had been wiped out by just two women...
...
"Haaa!!" With a guttural scream, I sliced the enemy soldier in front of me in two.
"Attack! Surround her! Don't let her escape!" The commander's shout echoed across the battlefield as hundreds of other soldiers rushed toward me.
"Eris!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.
"Yes!" she responded as she buried her sword in the stomach of one of them.
We were surrounded by soldiers, but most were intermediate level, so none of them posed any problem for us.
"Yeaaagh!!" My sword cut through an entire fleet of soldiers like butter. I immediately grabbed Eris and we rushed toward the opening she had created.
"They're escaping!" the general yelled again, but we had already left the place.
I didn't understand what was happening. Everything changed in an instant a week ago. It was after seeing that light in the sky. I barely had time to take Eris in my arms, but the light caught me before I could reach Rudeus, and the next moment I appeared here.
I didn't know how, I didn't know why, but we had been teleported.
I recognized this place, the barren lands, the distant sound of swords clashing all over the place, the destroyed fortresses...
For some reason unknown to me, Eris and I had been teleported to the conflict zone, more specifically to the north of it, three months away from Asura.
When I realized it, I found myself surrounded by soldiers while I held Eris in my arms.
I didn't hesitate for a second and killed everyone who stood in my way, which caused an entire army to chase us.
Fortunately, Eris is an outpost of the sword, so she can defend herself well here.
I'd been here before in my time with the Black Wolf Fangs, though it was a brief stay, but we'd left our mark on the place.
"I just hope Rudeus is okay..." Eris murmured.
The concern was evident in the girl's voice.
"He'll be fine. He's strong. Even if he's in a more dangerous area, he'll manage just fine," I said with a smile, but I was worried too. Still, I simply shook my head as I shook that thought out of my mind.
My only priority now is to get Eris out of here. Rudeus can protect himself well, and given how smart he is, he'd probably be looking for us by now.