Chapter 15 – Journey (1)

The goal of the journey was simple. It was a wandering for survival.

During the travel, Veloc intended to kill some monsters, level up, and use his knowledge of the future to find hidden treasures.

Once he grew stronger like that and his safety was finally guaranteed from all kinds of monsters existing in the world, he planned to look for a clue to return home.

Veloc thought that he had truly become a warrior inside an RPG game. Furthermore, it felt like playing a new version with an expansion pack added, after clearing only the original game. However, a game played inside a monitor was not enjoyable at all.

It was indeed shitty, after all. Veloc spat out.

“This damn wor— tsk.”

He bit his tongue. He should not have carelessly babbled while riding on a running horse.

The two had been moving on horses for several days.

Passing by the trading city of Roben in the south, they kept heading upward.

It seemed they were approaching the heart of the Kingdom of Adria. Adel, who was following behind, asked a step late,

“Lord Veloc. Where on earth are we going?”

Veloc hesitated for a moment. It was because he did not know how to say it.

He knew the future, and the blacksmith living in the mountains near here was actually a craftsman of incredible skill.

He could not very well say that he planned to commission him to get equipment for hunting demons and monsters.

He did not want to bite his tongue again. So he spoke simply.

“I will get you a suit of armor.”

“Armor?”

“Full plate armor. We should get you a suit.”

Though he spoke briefly, the effect was superb. Adel’s eyes widened. She was also a warrior. How could she not be greedy for equipment?

However, shiny plate armor always had one problem.

“Won’t it be expensive?”

“Leave it to me.”

Despite Adel’s concern, Veloc said readily. He had the money received from the Lord, and he had also received a substantial reward from the church.

They were wealthy enough to have plenty of money left over even after getting the full plate armor.

“Lord Veloc…”

Adel bowed her head deeply. Her voice trembled, and a tear trickled down.

The new equipment was good, but she was more grateful for her master’s caring heart. It was the moment the deeply moved girl was about to open her mouth. Did they catch the scent of money?

Swoosh—

Arrows flew from the other side of the bushes. What looked like dots grew larger in an instant.

But Veloc’s superhuman body shone once again.

He slightly moved his elbow. The plate armor wrapping his body was a heavy shield in itself.

Clang, clang, clang. The arrows were deflected helplessly.

“Ambush!”

Adel, who was following behind, was flustered, but she immediately raised her shield to block the arrows flying in as follow-up attacks.

Neighhh!

Although they did not slit the throats, the bandit group’s plan was successful to some extent.

They startled the horses and brought the wandering knight’s party to a halt.

“You son of a bitch! I told you to hit the horses!”

“Fuck. How am I supposed to hit a running target accurately at this distance?”

Along with the murmuring noise, the bushes rustled.

As three or more bandits, easily numbering over thirty, emerged with fishy smirks.

Armed with quilted armor, axes, and clubs, the bandits believed in their overwhelming numbers.

Thanks to that, they were bold enough to block the path of the heavily armed knight.

“It’s a woman. A woman!”

“Me! I’m going first!”

From among the bandits who were giggling among themselves, a bald man who was a head taller than them

and had better equipment stepped forward.

As if he had done this many times, he slammed the ground with a hammer encrusted with dried blood. Then, he grinned, showing his yellow teeth.

“Nice to meet you, Sir Knights. Have you heard our name? We are…”

Interrupting the bandit leader, Veloc said to Adel,

“Which time is this?”

“It is the fifth time. Public order in this place is truly a mess.”

“It will get worse as we go to the center. The south was actually on the better side.”

Hearing their conversation, the leader was flustered.

‘What are these bastards? Why are they so calm?’

No matter how skilled a knight is, they have no choice but to be nervous when surrounded by dozens of bandits.

With no time to accelerate the horses, arrows fly from the back and blades fly from the front.

But why are they reacting like this? That strangely familiar attitude…

‘No, that’s not what’s important right now.’

The leader stopped thinking and adjusted his expression. A leader of a group leading many had to know how to maintain his dignity under any circumstances.

Even more so if he was leading a bandit group, which was a world of rough men.

Regaining his composure, the leader growled.

“You bastards! How dare you interrupt me? I’ll give you ten seconds. Put down the armor and weapons you have right now—cough.”

The leader could not finish his words. It was because the crossbow held in Veloc’s hand spat fire.

The quarrel that flew like an arrow pierced his mouth and shattered the back of his head.

The leader rolled his eyes and laid down his heavy body. Hanging the fired crossbow on the saddle, Veloc drew his spear.

“I’m busy on my way. Experience points.”

“I will handle them.”

Adel also drew her spear. The steel spear, which seemed to exceed two meters, glistened in the sunlight. The bandit group composed of deserters was flustered.

Before they could do anything, their leader had died. However, these seasoned killing weapons soon gripped their weapons and renewed their fighting spirit.

This was partly because the dividend to return to them grew as much as the deceased leader’s share.

“Leader! Fuck! Kill them!”

Veloc and Adel kicked the flanks of their warhorses. The horses snorted and galloped forward.

Because the distance was close, they did not gain enough acceleration, but the hooves looming right before their eyes were enough to terrify the bandits.

However, the bandits instead wore despicable smiles. Then they sent a signal to the rear.

“Shoot!”

Swoosh—

The bandits holding crossbows in the rear shot their arrows. They aimed for the horses.

No matter how heavily armored a knight is, if you dismount them, surround them, and strike them down, it is over.

Foolish knight! They were going to make him regret not abandoning his horse.

Seeing the bandits’ actions, Veloc was slightly surprised. Neither did they show fear against a knight, nor did they target the armor instead of the horse. Their actions looked strangely familiar.

Are they deserters? An ordinary knight would not have been able to cope.

But Veloc was no ordinary knight. He was a warrior who had even hunted a demon.

With a relaxed expression, Veloc spun the spear held in both hands like a windmill.

With the wind pressure, the arrows shot at the two were deflected helplessly. The bandits’ eyes widened.

“What…”

They expected him to block with his armor like before, but he deflected them with his spear?

What the fuck. Is he some legendary knight or something?

Whether the bandits were flustered or not, Veloc was faithful to his primary duty. He thrust his spear into the backs of the dazed bandits.

The tattered cloth armor was easily pierced, and the bandits became lumps of meat in a feast. Blood dropped, and internal organs spilled out.

“Oh fuck! He’s no ordinary guy! Bring the ropes!”

The brave bandits did not give up. Soon, the bandits swinging their wrists in the rear threw ropes at Veloc. It was to hook his body, pull, and dismount him.

Adel, who had dismounted and was slaughtering the bandits, shouted loudly,

“Lord Veloc! It is dangerous.”

“Is it?”

Veloc gave a half-hearted answer and caught the flying rope with a snap.

“Got you!”

The bandits scoffed. Soon, three or four gathered and began to pull the rope Veloc held.

Now they just had to pull him down and it was over. But…

“Why isn’t he budging?”

The bandits groaned for a long time. But it was useless. It was like trying to move a massive boulder.

Watching the bandits’ tricks, Veloc yanked the rope backward.

“Uh, uh, uh.”

The bandits flew like kites in the sky. Exerting a slight force in his wrist, Veloc flung the rope away.

The bandits flew back toward their comrades. Crash!

The guys who rolled on the ground groaned. With nothing in his way, Veloc spurred his horse again.

Neighhh!

“Aaargh!”

“Heeek!”

The warhorse accelerated wildly and trampled the lying bandits. The sensation of bursting flesh and crushing bones was felt directly beyond the saddle.

Veloc did not utter any particular impression. Veloc, who had now become an adept knight of this medieval land, paid attention to how he should crush the enemies instead,

and how to raise his experience points.

“Aaargh. You son of a bitch!”

A few bandits, whose reason was dominated by anger, charged with long spears. Veloc responded by throwing the spear in his hand.

Whoosh—

“Kegh.”

The thrown spear, combined with terrifying power, pierced the bodies of four bandits at once and lodged into a tree. The branches swayed, and dry leaves fell in showers.

An intuitively visible, immense strength.

For a moment, silence hung over the battlefield.

“U-Uaargh.”

“Monster!”

With the scream as the starting point, time began to move again.

A few clever fellows fled frantically. A few stood frozen in place.

Not missing the opportunity, Veloc drew the longsword at his waist and struck down on the head of one frozen guy in one go.

With his other hand, he drew his mace and deflected the spear thrust by another bandit. As the guy stumbled and fell, he threw the mace too.

The chunk of iron, reflecting the sunlight, flew toward the bandit, casting a huge shadow.

A deep shadow covered the bandit’s face. In that brief instant, the nameless bandit regretted.

Following the deceased leader’s opinion. Being careless, deceived by the appearance of the young-looking knight. Lastly, becoming a deserter out of fear of the snake lord who practiced cannibalism.

Thwack!

Along with his life flashing before his eyes, the bandit’s head cracked like a watermelon, and brain matter spilled out.

Looking at the screams echoing on the quiet highway, the trembling eyes, and the wet pants, Veloc went completely wild.

“P-Please. Spare me. Sirs! Mercy—cough.”

Adel cut the chest of the last remaining bandit.

She took off the helmet she was wearing. Her black short hair swayed, revealing a sweat-drenched face.

“Phew. They are no ordinary opponents. They are not to be looked down on as mere bandits.”

“They seem to be deserters.”

Veloc said, rummaging through the dead bandits’ bosoms.

Judging by the fact that they gave slightly more experience points than the last bandits,

it indeed seemed that experience points were acquired differently depending on an individual’s military power or achievements.

Adel also quickly plundered the coin pouches following her master.

“I see. Their movements were definitely different. Their organization was also quite decent. Ah. This guy has quite a lot of possessions.”

Adel struggled to remove the gold ring worn on the bandit’s finger, and when it would not come off, she cut off the finger itself and took it.

Veloc also scavenged copper coins, silver coins, and even gamey jerky while parting blood-stained clothing and flesh.

One had to take whatever they could get when they could.

Veloc looked at the spoils in his hand with regret.

“Won’t a single rare item drop?”

“What did you say?”

“Just talking to myself. Did you pack everything?”

Finishing the looting, Veloc said, cracking his waist.

“Yes. But shouldn’t we tend to our equipment?”

Before he knew it, Adel was wiping down the weapons used in the battle with a cloth.

Due to the frequent friction with bandit groups over the past few days, the state of their equipment was a mess.

Whether armor or weapons, blood and fat are bound to get on them as battles repeat. If left for long, they would rust.

To prevent this, they wiped them with a cloth, but that was only a primary method.

To maintain them properly, they had to be oiled and rolled in fine sand.

Veloc looked at the blunt longsword in his hand and slightly shook his head.

“There’s no need. We are almost there. It’s better to get new ones this time.”

The blacksmith Luke. A human with skills superior to most dwarves was living in seclusion in the mountain before their eyes.

“He is an eccentric old man, but his skill is certain.”

“I see!”

At the fact that she could finally get her hands on new armor, Adel grinned with an expectant face.

The two resumed their movement. Dismounting and holding the reins, they climbed the mountain while parting the grass.

The summer forest was overflowing with vitality.

Between the sunlight filtering through the leaves, birds and insects chirped, and wild animals like squirrels and rabbits ran around without fear.

The horses also snorted as if responding in a good mood.

Had they climbed for a long time, holding onto the towering trees? At the edge of the mountainside, a log cabin built on a flat clearing came into view.

The smoke billowing from the chimney and the half-split firewood let them feel human warmth, if only indirectly.

Veloc thought about the old blacksmith who would be inside the house by now.

‘He definitely hated those who put on airs just because they were nobles.’

Luke was a blacksmith skilled enough to work in a noble’s workshop, but he was tired of the formalities of the nobles of that time.

Forgetting practicality, they only made ceremonial swords and armor using jewels and gold.

A sword is originally a tool for killing.

Being a blacksmith to his bones, he could not break his stubbornness. As a result—

he discarded the title of noble exclusive blacksmith and lived in seclusion in the mountain, hammering iron lonely.

Without being disturbed by anyone, to make stronger swords and sturdier armor!

‘With his skills, he is fully qualified to be respected.’

Veloc was willing to bow his head to someone who had reached a peak in a certain field, especially if they could be of great help to him.

If it was a sword and armor made by a master, hunting demons and monsters would become much easier.

Veloc intended to politely knock first. But before he could act, his faithful squire, Adel, kicked the main gate open with a bang.