Chapter 70 - 69: Journey

Chapter 70: Chapter 69: Journey

The merchant caravan traveled east along the official road. Just after leaving Hogan City, vast expanses of farmland flanked the road. In broad daylight, many people were working in the fields. These lands belonged to the small villages surrounding Hogan City. With agriculture as their main economy, these farming and pastoral villages provided the residents of Hogan City with grain and meat in exchange for goods they couldn’t produce themselves. Although the population of each village wasn’t particularly large—typically not exceeding a thousand—these villagers and farmers actually made up the vast majority of the world’s population.

However, this scene was only visible around Hogan City. As the caravan advanced, the weeds along the road and the surrounding trees gradually became denser, and the traces of human habitation faded away. Massive trees, so thick it would take several people to encircle them, began to appear everywhere. Thick layers of fallen leaves piled up along both sides of the road, and the sounds of chirping birds and buzzing insects grew louder. Perhaps due to the presence of Magic Power, or perhaps because the land lacked development, the wild plants in this world grew exceptionally lush and tall.

"Stay on the official road, and whatever you do, don’t wander off," the coachman reminded Gaode. Young people tended to be impulsive and liked to stir up trouble, so he felt the need to give an extra word of caution. The official road was maintained year-round by the authorities, who dispatched Mages to inspect and clear out nearby Earth Vein Creatures. While it couldn’t be called absolutely safe, it was relatively secure in most situations. But once someone left the official road and entered the Primordial Forest, all bets were off.

Gaode nodded. He wasn’t about to court death for no reason.

Normally, the caravan would rest for seven to fifteen minutes every two hours, allowing both people and livestock to recover and resupply. But since they had just departed from Hogan City after several days of rest, everyone’s energy and physical strength were at their peak. Thus, they traveled non-stop until noon, when the leader finally ordered a short rest.

Hearing they could take a break, Gaode quickly jumped off the carriage. As the novelty wore off, the discomfort of the journey finally began to show. In his past life, many people would feel exhausted after riding a smooth high-speed train for half a day, let alone Gaode’s current mode of transport—a bumpy carriage meant for cargo. After just half a day, Gaode felt his backside going numb from the jolting. Fortunately, his recent diet and exercise routines had paid off, making his constitution much sturdier.

After stretching his body a bit, Gaode took the waterskin from his waist and took a sip.

"You brought too little water." The coachman also jumped down from the carriage. He unfastened a cowhide waterskin from his waist—one that was clearly two sizes larger than Gaode’s—took a massive gulp, and said, "I’m Gru.

"Water sources in the wild aren’t safe. If you want to resupply, you have to go to the villages and towns along the way, and it’s another two days’ journey to the next one that has water."

"It’s fine, I’ll drink sparingly," Gaode replied.

He didn’t explain further. The reason he brought less water wasn’t due to a lack of common sense, but because the Water Creation Skill gave him the confidence not to carry extra. For ordinary people traveling long distances in this world, clean drinking water often took up the bulk of their weight limit.

Gru then took a strip of salted beef from the cloth bag at his waist, snapped it in half, and offered it. "Want a taste?"

Looking at the two pieces of beef in Gru’s hand, Gaode hesitated for a moment before taking one.

Gru smiled and popped his remaining half into his mouth, chewing vigorously. Seeing this, Gaode felt reassured enough to take a bite.

The beef had been cured with salt, making it extremely salty. After undergoing a long period of marination and compression, it was incredibly dense, even dry and hard. Gaode chewed twice and found it a bit strenuous; after a few more chews, he simply swallowed it whole.

Seeing this, Gru let out an honest laugh. "For normal folks who aren’t used to it like we are, they usually have to tear it into tiny shreds to eat."

"You couldn’t have said that earlier? I already swallowed it..." Gaode thought, twitching his lips.

After the brief rest, the caravan set off once more. Having actually experienced it firsthand, Gaode finally understood how arduous long-distance wilderness travel was for ordinary people.

And this was just the official road.

If one were to dive headfirst into the Primordial Forest to hunt Earth Vein Creatures for resources—like Pierre did in his youth—the challenge would multiply several times over. There were no smooth, flat paths in the Primordial Forest; not to mention the rugged and steep terrain, it was riddled with peril. Between regular wild beasts and the far more ferocious Earth Vein Creatures, even a Mage would find themselves biting off more than they could chew, let alone an ordinary person. For a typical Mage Apprentice, entering the Primordial Forest to hunt alone was nothing short of gambling with their life.

Night fell.

Traveling at night not only impaired vision—increasing the risk of getting lost and encountering danger—but also severely drained the physical strength of both people and livestock. Therefore, stopping to camp for the night was the best choice. By dusk, the caravan had already found a safe spot and set up a temporary camp to spend the night. In truth, the caravan had traveled this route many times; they had long since planned exactly where to stop on which day and at what time.

Gaode’s 15 Silver Coins were definitely well spent.

A dozen carriages were arranged in a circle to form a rudimentary campsite. They lit a fire, boiled some hot soup with the salted beef, and ate it with black bread—a simple meal for the journey. After arranging for people to take turns keeping watch, everyone went to sleep. These men spent all year outdoors and had long mastered the ability to fall asleep quickly anywhere to replenish their physical strength.

For Gaode, however, falling asleep was exceptionally difficult. Putting aside the occasional roars of beasts echoing from deep within the forest, the flying insects attracted by the firelight were enough to drive him crazy. Moreover, sleeping in the wilderness left Gaode with a profound lack of security.

"A High-Ring Mage should have the ability to solve the problem of sleeping outdoors," Gaode thought to himself.

As the saying goes, demand determines the market. By the same logic, demand should also determine Magic.

Regardless, shrouded by this overwhelming sense of insecurity, Gaode barely slept a wink all night, only managing to doze off in scattered, fitful spurts.

When the morning sun rose the next day, the caravan quickly packed up and set off once more.

Having gone the whole night without proper sleep, Gaode dozed groggily in the carriage for most of the morning before finally waking up completely.

"Normally, how many days does it take to reach Bremen City?" Gaode asked Gru.

Indeed, the caravan’s destination—and Gaode’s as well—was Bremen City, the largest city in the entire Bremen region.

"It took about seven or eight days on the way here, but the trip back usually only takes five," Gru replied after a moment’s thought, giving a conservative estimate.

"In the middle, there’s a day where we have to take a short detour to a small town near Camond City to restock food and water. We’ll also rest there for a night, otherwise the drain on the physical strength of both the men and the horses would be too immense.

"In our line of business, it’s all about the long game. Rushing to save a day or two won’t earn us much more coin, so it’s pointless."

After spending a day together, Gru had clearly grown more familiar with Gaode and had become more talkative.

Gaode naturally nodded in agreement. Traveling while fatigued was always a massive taboo.