Chapter 396: Beyond Evergreen [ 2 ]

The difference became even more obvious when their carriage stopped at a roadside inn used by several merchant caravans.

Sage, Mina and Boren were eating near the back of the common room when a group of warriors at another table began loudly discussing a newly discovered dungeon somewhere north of the road.

One man claimed the dungeon contained nothing more dangerous than goblins and giant insects.

Another insisted a group had encountered an armored ogre inside.

A third had heard there were two dungeon floors.

Someone else swore there were at least five.

Nobody knew whether a Dungeon Core had been located, how large the dungeon was, what environmental dangers existed inside or whether anyone had mapped the passages beyond the entrance.

Mina listened for a while before leaning closer to Sage. "How do they know what rank the dungeon is?"

"They don’t," Sage replied quietly.

She frowned. "Then how do they know if they’re strong enough to enter?"

"They don’t know that either."

Mina stopped eating and looked toward the warriors again. "Then they’re just goinginside?"

Boren answered before Sage could. "That’s how people used to do it. You heard there was a dungeon, found a few people willing to enter with you and hoped whatever was inside didn’t kill you."

Mina stared at him. "That’s stupid."

"It is," Boren said. "We were stupid."

Sage almost laughed, but there was an uncomfortable truth behind the statement.

He had known casualty rates had fallen after the Guild introduced dungeon rankings and standardized information, but seeing the old system functioning normally outside Evergreen made the scale of that change much clearer.

Inside the region, he had become accustomed to adventurers walking into a Guild branch and checking a dungeon’s classification before deciding whether to enter.

Maps were updated when parties returned with new information. Monster sightings were recorded.

Dangerous environmental changes could result in temporary restrictions. Emergency teams had procedures for missing parties.

None of it was perfect, and adventurers still died, but there was at least an organized attempt to prevent peoplefrom walking blindly into something they couldn’t survive.

As their journey continued, Sage began paying closer attention to everything.

The Kingdom’s main roads were maintained reasonably well near cities and wealthy territories, but sections farther from major settlements could deteriorate badly.

Toll gates appeared whenever roads passed between certain noble territories, and fees varied depending on the lord controlling the route.

Merchant caravans rarely traveled alone through dangerous stretches, with smaller groups often waiting near towns until enough wagons were heading in the same direction to justify hiring guards together.

Wealthier merchants employed permanent escorts, while poorer traders depended on temporary mercenaries.

Messages traveled through commercial couriers, noble networks, Mage organizations or riders carrying letters between towns.

There was infrastructure everywhere, but it was fragmented, each piece belonging to someone different.

Late one afternoon, they passed another caravan heading west.

Several merchants noticed the Adventurer Guild emblem painted discreetly on Sage’s carriage, and one of them stared at it long enough that Sage wondered whether the man recognized it.

The merchant eventually leaned toward his companion and whispered something, but their wagons continued in opposite directions before Sage could hear more.

It was a small reminder that the Guild’s reputation had already begun escaping Evergreen even if its actual organization had not.

Boren had noticed as well. He remained quiet until the caravan disappeared behind them, then leaned back against his seat.

"You know what’s strange? When we were inside Evergreen, I didn’t think any of this was unusual. The Guild was just... there. Every time we entered another city, there was another branch, another mission board, another group of adventurers complaining at receptionists."

"Usually about money," Sage said.

"Always about money. But you understand what I mean. Somewhere along the way it stoppedfeeling new."

Sage did understand. He had spent so much time concentrating on what remained unfinished that he rarely considered how much had already changed.

Every new branch had simply become another marker on a map. Every thousand adventurers registered became another number on the Guild Interface.

Every merchant who opened a business near a Guild branch became part of the district’s ordinary activity. It was only after leaving Evergreen that Sage could see the contrast clearly.

Mina rested her chin near the carriage window while watching fields pass outside. "So eventually all these places will have Guild branches too?"

"That’s the idea," Sage replied.

"That’s a lot of branches."

Boren groaned. "Please don’t say that while I’m sitting here. I can already feel the paperwork."

Sage smiled and looked outside. "We’re not building all of them tomorrow."

"That’s exactly the sort of sentence you say before deciding to build twenty."

The road carried them onward through another checkpoint before gradually descendinginto a broad valley.

By then the sun was already lowering, and their driver had begun looking for somewhere suitable to stop rather than risk continuing after dark.

A little more than an hour later, rooftops appeared ahead. What initially looked like a small settlement expanded as they approached until Sage could see stone walls surrounding a substantial town built around the intersection of two major trade roads.

Wagons were queued outside the western gate, lanterns were being lit along the walls, and guards were inspecting travelers before allowing them inside.

Several inns had been built beyond the walls specifically for caravans arriving too late to enter, while a crowded stable occupied the roadside nearby.

Boren leaned toward the window and immediately began examining the buildings. "Finally. Civilization. I want a proper bed, hot food and somewhere that doesn’t charge me extra because our carriage has four wheels."

Mina brightened. "Can we look around the town?"

"Tomorrow," Sage replied as their carriage joined the line approaching the gate.

He had spent enough hours on the road himself, and there was no reason to force another night of travel when they had reached a major town.

More importantly, after everything he had seen since crossing Evergreen’s border, Sage was increasingly curious about what life looked like inside one of these places rather than merely passing through.

He settled back in his seat as the carriage rolled slowly toward the open gates.

"We’ll spend the night here."