To Elysion
Sweetwater Kingdom, South Border Town.
On the city’s outskirts, one could see the remnants of fortifications from the Hundred Years War everywhere. The gouged-out ground, massive craters, war cemeteries, burnt-down forts and houses — all posed as a glaring reminder of the violent battles of the past.
Although the sweet peace had made the residents less weary, the soldiers still manned the borders dutifully.
Alfred and Milo entered the town before dawn. After some rest, they headed towards the office of the Swift Foot Guild.
“Why can’t we just enter Elysion secretly and not go through these boring procedures?” Milo complained with a tired voice.
“As I have said multiple times before, we should avoid unnecessary trouble and suspicion.” Alfred continued with a tease, “Besides, who was the one complaining that she couldn’t fly anymore?”
As Milo is a Nature Spirit, she doesn’t have a base form. So she could transform into a giant falcon and carry Alfred on her back while flying.
“A lazy cat like me shouldn’t spend so much time traveling,” Milo replied from her comfortable position on Alfred’s shoulder. “I just want to reach Elysion quickly and lie down all day.”
Alfred gave an amused smile and said, “Don’t worry. We are doing all this to relax later.” But he thought to himself, “Still, this world is really big. It took us two weeks to reach here even with flying ten hours a day.”
After about four hours of walking, they reached a large four-storied building. Built with the best quality Dark Iron Wood, the Swift Foot Guild’s guild house exuded a sense of awe and magnificence.
“The bastard horse-dealers have made it big,” Alfred thought as he entered the lobby on the first floor.
The Swift Foot Guild was founded by a few orphans and bastards sometime during the Hundred Years War. They were originally horse dealers who collected injured horses from the battlefields and sold them after nursing them back to good health.
Slowly, after two hundred years of development, they had become one of the largest transportation guilds in the whole world.
Arriving in front of the counter, Alfred registered for the next part of their journey.
A large caravan was departing after lunch on the same day. Alfred bought one of the last remaining high-class seats with a hefty sum.
There were still two hours till the departure time. Alfred and Milo entered a nearby high-class restaurant to have their lunch.
The clean interior and the well-dressed waiters appeared quite elegant in contrast to the rusty-looking Alfred. But nobody dared to chase him out after noticing his short mantle adorned with a crest of a crown surrounded by tea leaves, which represented his status as an established Mage.
One of the waiters approached him and asked in a low voice, “How may I address you, Sir?”
“Alfred Steelheart. Is there a table available for one?”
“Sir Steelheart, I apologize for the inconvenience, but all the tables have already been reserved.”
Alfred somewhat expected this and turned around to leave. But just as he was thinking of which restaurant to try next, he heard a soft voice, “We won’t mind sharing our table with Sir Alfred.”
Alfred turned around and, after looking in the direction of the voice, saw a young elf of about sixteen years of age. Beside her was another young elf of around eleven, apparently her brother. Apart from the siblings, there was also a well-armored elven female Knight sitting at the head of the table.
Since they had already invited him, Alfred sat down at the table and gave an acknowledging smile.
At the same time, he observed the young elves.
The girl had beautiful blond hair tied up in a bun. Her green eyes sparkled like gems in the gentle rays of the sun coming from the window. Her fair skin had a rosy tint which hinted at her noble upbringing. Her round face had the cuteness and charm of a curious teenager. She was wearing a long white mage robe decorated with a crest of ivy sewn in gold threads — the crest of the Goldenwind Kingdom, Alfred’s birthplace.
Coupled with her looks, which resembled his mother’s, Alfred speculated that she might be a member of the royal family, and hence his relative.
The North is the home of the Elves. There are five large kingdoms ruling it, all run by elves at the top. In fact, Alfred’s parents were elves. But he was born as a human, which was why his father hated him and suspected his mother of adultery. Later, Alfred came to know that his brother, the present King, had exiled him for the same reason.
The young brother had a similar appearance. The only difference was that he was wearing a fur jacket and leather pants instead of a Mage robe. In this world, only Rank 1 and above Mages can don a Mage robe or mantle.
Alfred couldn’t sense mana the way trained Spell Mages could — he had never undergone Spirit Tempering, after all. But three hundred years of living among Mages had given him a sharp intuition for gauging strength. The faint pressure radiating from the boy marked him as a Rank 0 Stage 4 Apprentice Mage, while the girl carried the unmistakable bearing of a Rank 1 Stage 9 Mage. Both were very commendable achievements for their age.
Finally, the Knight, a Rank 4 Stage 1 Grandmaster Battle Mage, was wearing armor made from the bark of the Tree of Life — a standard uniform of a Knights Templar from the Church of Life, the main religion of the elves.
Alfred concluded that the party of three was of no ordinary strength or background.
As he was surveying the elves, they were also studying him.
The young miss who had invited him thought, “Now that I look at him from up close, he really does look like an elf — in fact, a royal elf. Those bright green eyes look similar to ours.”
The human Mage who looked no older than twenty-five had his bright golden hair tied up in a small ponytail. His angular jawline and sculpture-like face radiated a majestic and confident aura. His slightly limpid green eyes had a hypnotizing stillness to them, as if she could stare at them forever.
“…but he is clearly a human. Hmm… maybe he is from a branch family of the royals. Or maybe,” her eyes lit up, “he is a secret bastard prince.”
Curbing her excitement a little, her eyes drifted to his attire. “His leather pants and vest look so old! Does he have an attachment to old things? Or is he very poor despite being a Mage?”
The Knight had similar thoughts as well. But she was confused by another discovery. “I can’t detect any mana on him. Is he really a Mage? Or is he using some artifact to hide it?”
Indeed, Alfred carried no mana of his own. He had never undergone Spirit Tempering and possessed no internal mana reserves. The power he wielded came from converting his life force on demand through Vita Fons — and when he wasn’t actively using it, there was simply nothing for another Mage to detect. To any magical sense, he appeared as ordinary as a common farmer.
Regardless, the Knight introduced themselves first. “I am Knight Tisha. This is Mage Elisa Goldenwind and her brother Eliot Goldenwind.”
She paused for a second to observe Alfred’s reaction to the name Goldenwind. But to her and the siblings’ surprise, he was as calm as a rock. Hence, they raised their vigilance a bit.
She continued, “As you might have guessed, we are traveling. Our destination is Elysion. You look like a traveler as well, Sir Alfred.”
Alfred had a large bag on his back which he used to deceive others while traveling. In reality, all his belongings were stored in his spatial pouch. Traveling light would indicate his wealth and attract unnecessary trouble.
“Yes. I am also traveling to Elysion. I am leaving with the departing caravan in the afternoon.”
“Oh! We are also leaving with the same caravan,” Elisa chimed in with a beaming smile. However, she quickly calmed down when Knight Tisha gave her a look.
In the meantime, the waiter quickly served the dishes. Alfred ordered the popular Sweetwater Mushroom and Chicken Stew along with white bread.
The elves had also ordered the same dish, but they had many other side dishes as well, which displayed their lavish noble attitude.
They ate their meal in silence. Alfred also kept a reserved attitude, as he didn’t want to mingle with them any more than necessary.
After the meal, they exchanged another round of courteous words and left the restaurant.
Alfred sat in the lobby of the Swift Foot Guild to wait out the remaining time. The noble elves were led to some high-class private lobby by the guild staff.
Finally, at two in the afternoon, Alfred boarded a carriage and left the South Border Town.
The carriage he was in was rather large, similar to those minibuses from his previous world. For power, it was pulled by two large Gale Horses, which are Rank 1 Magic Beasts. Hence, the carriage smoothly cruised at a speed of sixty kilometers per hour on level roads. The suspension was not that bad either. Alfred felt no different than riding a modern car on a bumpy road.
Coming out of the town, their carriage joined with fourteen other similar carriages filled with goods and people and continued their journey.
The Gale Horses had no trouble running even after sundown, as they were Magic Beasts equipped with good eyesight. Hence, the caravan traveled during the night as well.
Around three in the morning, they stopped to feed and rest the horses. At daybreak, they started moving again.
Food was served to the travelers at their seats. The carriages were even equipped with a mini toilet. Alfred was amazed by the development of transportation in this fantasy-esque world. The caravan stopped in the afternoon again to feed and rest the horses.
Alfred left his cozy window seat to get some fresh air. At present, they were surrounded by an endless coniferous forest. The cold and dark forest looked eerie to his fellow travelers, but for Alfred, it evoked a sense of nostalgia. During the war, this region had been part of the frontlines. Spell Mages and Battle Mages roamed these forests, ripping each other’s lives apart. Even today, rogue Mages, bandit Mages, and numerous monsters roamed these parts. Hence, no sane person dared to settle down here. Even the road they were using was maintained regularly by the soldiers of the Sweetwater Kingdom.
Alfred pulled out his pipe and lit it. Smoking quietly, he recalled a few memories from his time in the war.
After some time, he noticed the elves coming out from the ladies’ carriage. Alfred appreciated the gender division of the carriages — it greatly reduced unnecessary conflicts. He smiled at them from a distance, refraining from developing any more familiarity.
Suddenly, Milo, who had been resting inside Alfred in her spirit form, manifested on his shoulder and said in a displeased tone, “I smell dogs.”
Alfred put away his pipe and took a deep breath. “Seems like a wolf trail.” After that, he pulled out his pipe again and continued smoking leisurely. “Don’t worry. Around these parts, they are definitely Flame Wolves. At best, they can have a Rank 2 Alpha. On the other hand, I sensed a Rank 3 Master Mage among the guards in the last carriage. We won’t be bothered.”
“A Master Mage in the guard team! This guild is so rich,” Milo exclaimed.
“Indeed. The bastard horse-dealers have really made it big.”
By dusk, the caravan was ready to continue their journey again. But suddenly, they heard the howls of wolves. The guards sprang into action quickly and pushed everybody inside the carriages. Following that, the caravan hurriedly left at full speed.
Seconds later, huge red-furred wolves came out of the forest and chased after them. Fortunately, the Gale Horses were faster than the wolves.
But the wolves were relentless in their chase. They condensed fireballs in their mouths and shot them at the caravan.
In response, an old man appeared from the last carriage and waved his staff, producing a strong gust of wind to deflect all the incoming attacks. It was the Master Mage who was with the guard team.
The wolves tried again several times, but they were not able to break the defenses of the old Master Mage. Finally, the wolves gave up, and the caravan continued its journey. By four in the morning, they had reached the southernmost outpost of the Sweetwater Kingdom.
The outpost was guarded heavily by soldiers, and so it was their scheduled resting spot. The travelers rested in the inns for the following day and prepared themselves for the next part of their journey, which was the most difficult. To reach Elysion, they would have to follow a mountainous trail and cross the notorious Howling Pass.