Chapter 7 – Setting Out

“Hey, you! Did you sign in this time?” The guard said as he approached me.

I stepped back a few feet, my eyes darting back and forth. Should I run? I have Cora with me. If I took off, I didn’t want all the blame forced on her.

While I was thinking of what to do, Cora stepped forward. She had noticed the worried expression on my face.

“I signed us in,” she explained.

The guard gave Cora a skeptical look. “Oh yeah, what’s the name?”

“Cora Wimark.”

“Wimark…Wimark, you say.” Looking her up and down, without checking his note board, he responded. “Okay, then my apologies, carry on.” Then he walked off.

My questioning gaze fell on Cora. “What was that about?”

Beaming back a smile. “I’m glad he didn’t check. I only signed myself in. So, where are we heading?”

“We?”

“Yes, I can’t stay here, and what if they catch on to my little lie. I’d be in trouble.” She pouted. “Plus, you said you would train me. Remember?” She asked, looking up at me with her green eyes.

I did say I would help her train, and with the look she was giving me, I didn’t think I could tell her no. Just remembering her sobbing down in the dungeon was enough to break my heart. Plus, on the other side, this could be my chance.

I was 0 for 2 since I had died, but I was going to ask.

“Cora, would you like to travel the world with me?”

Those eyes looking up at me blinked a few times, then filled with a new fire.

“You mean like a traveling swordsman training his apprentice!?!?!” She said, practically bouncing up and down. “Yes, I will travel with you!”

I was at a loss for words. What was she talking about? That wasn’t the response I expected.

Cora continued. “I used to read stories like that all the time! This is going to be so much fun, Ruten!”

We were beginning to get a few stares from people in the encampment with how excited Cora was getting.

“We should probable get going.” I slightly gestured to the people now staring at us.

Realizing a few people were staring at her, Cora turned slightly red then nodded.

♦♦♦♦♦

“So, where are we going?” Cora asked.

A merchant wagon passed us as we walked down the dirt road. The sun was still high in the sky, but I didn’t think we would reach our destination for a few days.

“Strafton,” I said.

Cora frowned. “Why are we heading to the capital?”

“Well, it’s the next town on this road, and I have a request that I need to fulfill for an important client,” I said, trying to sound like it was an actual request and not something Zozi had asked me to do.

“What type of request is it that would require you to go to the capital?” A look of worry crept across her face.

“Well, the request was to gather sweets from everywhere I visited. Since the closest city is Strafton, I figured I would go there first.”

The worried look slowly faded, returning to her usual smile. “Ha! That part wasn’t in the stories I read. So about our training, when can we start?”

“Well, this trip should take us a few days, so how about in the mornings when we are refreshed?”

Cora nodded excitedly.

♦♦♦♦♦

A few hours had passed since we started walking. I could tell Cora was beginning to get tired. It might take us more than a few days if this was the fastest pace we could keep. I had to remember Cora was already in the Dungeon when I found her and fighting for her life. So the fact that she was only just now showing signs of fatigue was impressive.

“How about we set up camp in the next clearing we find?”

“No, I can keep going.”

“You’ve been through a lot, and it was rude of me not to notice until now. As a master, I’m making the decision.” I grinned.

 “Fine, Master as your humble apprentice, I accept your decision.” She said as she laughed.

The clearing we found was surrounded by trees. It wasn’t deep into the forest but did have enough trees to stifle the wind.

“This looks like a good spot. Let’s set up camp here.”

Cora nodded in agreement.

We both stood there for a moment. I don’t think I had camping supplies, and from the look of Cora’s pack, I don’t think she had any either. I had planned to continue through the night when I left, so I hadn’t asked Zozi about any camping supplies.

I undid the string on the magic bag. Hoping there was something we could use for camping supplies in the bag.

Reaching in, I thought of bedrolls and was happily surprised when I felt something in my hand. I pulled a rolled-up bedroll from the bag. Cora stared at me in surprise. There was no way this long bedroll should have fit in that bag.

“It’s a magic bag. The person who gave me the request for sweets gave me this bag to store them in.”

“Wow! That’s amazing. I can’t believe someone would let an adventurer just take a magic item like that to gather sweets.”

“Well, she was a rather eccentric person.”

We continued setting up camp. Digging out a campfire pit and gathering firewood. Setting up the bedrolls around the fire since we didn’t have a tent. Luckily this was one of the warmer seasons, and it shouldn’t get too cold outside.

As we lit the campfire, I heard a deep rumbling growl. Instinctively I grabbed for my sword at my side. Then I realized it wasn’t the growling of a predator but Cora’s stomach. Cora hadn’t apparently brought any rations or food with her. She thought she was heading back to Ullmet after leaving the dungeon.

I didn’t know I would need food for this trip either. Hoping Zozi had packed me something, I reached into the bag, trying to find some food. However, I only returned empty-handed. It appeared Zozi had taken all the sweets and didn’t throw in any food for my trip. I expected that much, though. As much as she loved treats, she wouldn’t leave any, and why would I need food.

I guess hunting it is. Hopefully, Zozi threw in a bow and some arrows. Luckily, reaching back into the bag, I pulled out a bow and a quiver of arrows. With those, I should be able to hunt something.

“Let me find something for us to eat,” I said as I strung the bow.

“Sorry about that. I didn’t bring any food with me. I wasn’t expecting to set out on a journey.”

With my mana sense, I started to look for any small game I could catch. I found a rabbit not far from us, and it didn’t look like there were any larger predators in the area, either. As I went in the direction of the rabbit, I could feel strange mana coming from deeper in the forest.

I wasn’t able to pinpoint where it was coming from, only the direction. The mana was different because it felt similar to Zozi’s mana when I watched her create the golem.

It put me on guard, but it did seem far enough away that it wouldn’t cause us any problems. I would just keep monitoring to make sure nothing snuck up on us tonight.

It took me no time at all to find a small rabbit scurrying around in the underbrush of the forest. Making my way to it, I focused on not making any sound.

Sorry rabbit, in this world, it’s always the predator or the prey. I let the arrow loose and was relieved when it had impaled the rabbit. The last time I had used a bow to hunt a deer, it had turned into a giant mimic, and was glad this didn’t end the same way.

I quickly made my way back with the rabbit in hand.

I pulled a small knife from the pouch to skin the rabbit. Cora watched in amazement as I pulled yet another item from this bag.

“You caught it; the least I could do is clean it.”

She must have been feeling awkward about not doing much to set up.

I handed over the rabbit and knife to Cora. She made quick work of it expertly cutting the fur away and gutting the rabbit. I could tell she had done this a few times.

This should be enough since I didn’t need to eat. I could let Cora have all of it.

The scent of the cooked rabbit reached my nose. I didn’t think I was hungry, but when the smell hit my nose, I heard my stomach start to rumble too. Okay, maybe I would have some.

♦♦♦♦♦

“You are a pretty dependable guy, aren’t you, Ruten,” Cora asked as she took another bite.

The sun had already set, and the twin moons were rising off in the distance. The calm nighttime breeze made its way through the trees carrying the scent of dew. The flickering light of the campfire illuminated our bedrolls nearby.

“Dependable? You think so?”

Wait, didn’t Zozi say something about making me dependable before I left. I thought back to the events that had transpired throughout the day. The strange monsters blocking paths in the dungeon, like they were herding me to Cora. Even going so far as to give me a torch, so I didn’t look suspect.

The lack of food but putting a bow in the magic bag to hunt, even though I don’t need to eat. Wait a second! How much of this did Zozi orchestrate?

“You okay?” Cora asked, snapping me back from my thoughts.

“Oh yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking of the person who gave me this quest. She had said something similar.”  

Cora smiled, changing the subject. “I can’t wait for training tomorrow.”

“You may be expecting too much. I don’t know if I’m as good as you think I am.”

“You’re not trying to back out on our training, are you, Ruten?” narrowing her eyes on me.

“N-No.” I put my hands up. “I just don’t think I’m all that good. I haven’t had much formal training.” I smiled back.

Cora’s glare subsided after my explanation.

“Why do you want to train so much, though?” I asked.

“Well, I used to read stories as of knights who would protect the weak. I just always admired them.”

“From a few stories you read, you wanted to dedicate your life to becoming a knight?”

“My family actually has a history of becoming knights, but my father wouldn’t let me become one. So I trained with my brothers in secret.”

“Wait a second? You’re from a family of knights. Does that mean you’re from a noble family?” I asked. I was a little worried about the answer.

“Y-Yeah, I kind of ran away after my father wanted to marry me off.” She shot me a worried glance.

“What!” I shouted. I gathered myself back together after my outburst. “So, you are on the run?” I questioned.

“Yeah, that’s why I couldn’t stick around after I told the guard my family name.”

Come to think about it, she did say her name was Cora Wimark when the guard asked for her name.

After some time passed in silence, I spoke up. “You told me about your dream, so it’s only fair if I tell you mine. My dream is to travel the world and see lots of places.” I purposefully left out the part about a beautiful woman. I could only see that freaking her out, and I couldn’t stand to be so embarrassed again if she rejected me.

Cora smiled back. “Then, let’s reach for our dreams together.”

“Let’s.”

We continued chatting into the night about the dungeon and swordplay.

♦♦♦♦♦

Cora was sleeping next to the fire.

I offered to take the first watch, keeping guard for the night. I was supposed to wake her up after my shift to switch, but since I didn’t need sleep, I thought it would be best for her to rest the entire night. She had been through quite a bit the previous day, and I don’t think I would have handled almost dying as well as she did.

Wait, didn’t I die, though. I did handle that pretty well. Maybe I would have dealt Cora’s situation as well as she did.

Having nothing better to do, I decided to get some practice in with Mana Sense. I was already using Mana Sense to scan our surroundings, but there was nothing except small animals around. I wanted to see if I could reach that strange mana I and sensed earlier while I was in the forest.

Focusing deep into the forest, I sensed the strange mana from before. It was still flowing from somewhere even further in the woods. Still, I couldn’t pinpoint the location, only the direction it was coming from.  

Now that I had more time to examine it. The mana felt divine like Zozi’s did, but there were apparent differences between Zozi’s and this mana. Where Zozi’s mana had a more ethereal nature, this mana I was sensing felt more rugged, seeping deep into the earth.

I had an urge to search for the source of this mana, but looking down at the campfire or more precisely next to the campfire, I saw Cora, sleeping. I couldn’t just up and leave her. Maybe when the morning comes, and we finish our training, we could search for the source.

For now, I would continue to practice my Mana Sense.