Meeting the Guards

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay, I have a very important exam coming up next week so that's the reason why I haven't uploaded it sooner. After the exam passes and I hopefully pass it, I'm going to do 2-3 chapters weekly so except a more frequent updates from me and this story.

--- General POV ---

Guards immediately became alerted at the mysterious voice coming from one smaller room in the castle, right after he spoke, the boy presented himself to them. They pointed their weapons at him, fearing they might have to face a rogue adventurer.

"Who... WHO ARE YOU?!" one of the guards asked as he pointed his sharp spear in the boy's direction, fear evident in his voice which made Niall feel a bit sorry for startling the poor man like that.

"I am Niall, and I don't want to harm any of you. It was me who killed these bandits, so you don't have to worry. I'm not one of them." Niall spoke as the guards widened their eyes in shock. A boy his age taking out the entire bandit camp sounded like a mere joke.

"Are you an adventurer then? What kind of power do you possess to make this mess out of them?" One taller man, who looked like their captain asked calmly, not breaking eye contact with Niall.

"I am not an adventurer yet. However, I am inspired to become one once I arrive in Orario. As for my powers... well, I have them and I'm not comfortable revealing them out of the blue."

The guards looked at each other with ease now, they lowered their weapons and sighed as they noticed that the boy was speaking the truth. "I will ask you a question though, what are you guys even doing here? And what kind of military are you?" Niall pointed at the dumbfounded guards.

"That's the sort of question we should be asking you... anyway, we are guards of the town nearby, the town of Agris. In the morning our scouts who had been overlooking the area for a while came rushing back to our town, visibly scared to the bone. They reported that screams of bandits echoed through the castle ruins, but later on, no bandits returned... so we decided to send a firm brigade here to inspect the possible cause, searching for potential danger."

The captain spoke the entire story to Niall. Niall, on the other hand, totally could see how this kind of thing would happen. Of course, that nearby town would have scouts overlooking the bandit camp because, at any time the same bandits could decide to invade the town itself.

These guards could be an easy way to the city, which could help him get a carriage from some merchant who's moving towards Orario. Hearing this amazing idea in his mind, Niall decided to take the initiative.

"Well, it's kind of rude to not introduce yourself after I introduced myself, you know..." Niall spoke and pointed to the captain, who sighed. "Eh... My name is Marcus, and I'm the captain of the town militia. You know, we could use someone like you in our ranks," he smiled proudly, expecting that the boy would accept such an honorable offer.

Niall, on the other hand, had the usual emotionless expression plastered on his face the whole time. His unusual cold, stoned behavior disturbed the guards a little. "Thank you for the offer, but I'll pass. As I said before, my goal is to get into Orario and become an adventurer. Speaking of that, since I cleared this area of these bastards... I want you guys to bring me along the way toward the town."

Marcus the captain was a bit disappointed at his answer but accepted it either way. "Sure, I guess, since you did a very good job at protecting the town and its people, we are going to find you a carriage to Orario and get you some supplies before you depart."

Niall nodded as he moved closer to the guards, "That sounds very nice. I have some supplies with me but some more couldn't hurt, I guess. What are your next plans for this place since the bandits that plagued it exist no more?" Niall placed a finger on his chin.

"That's for the administration of Orario to decide. We just must protect the town and its people themselves. Hence, other matters such as that are unimportant to me," Marcus said, resting his hands on his hips, finally experiencing relief because he and his men won't be bothered by this ruin anymore.

"It'll probably be a place for something like wargame if you heard about it, it's the event held by the gods who have a dispute with each other. I mean, I can see how this ruin could be used for that kind of thing." Niall hearing the Captain speak immediately remembered that this place will be the place where a wargame between Apollo and Hestia familia will be held in the future. 

Speaking of the future, "Oh Marcus, have you perhaps heard of any interesting news from Orario these days? You know, something honorable to be spread around these regions." Niall looked Marcus directly in the eye which made the captain uncomfortable.

'What's up with his stone face all the time?' Marcus questioned himself before openly replying to the boy, "Yeah... Sword Princess reached a level 5 a couple of days ago... that's all worth mentioning that I know of." 

Niall was surprised at Marcus's answer, 'Far as I remember Ais reached level 5 three years before the cannon started so that could only mean that I'm currently three years before Bell arrives in Orario...' Breaking his thoughts, Niall looked up at the captain.

"So much away is the city from here?" Niall asked as he realized that he had plenty of time to become strong before Bell arrived. He would hate to become a side character, left in the dust behind Bell, the anime's main character. 

He will need to grind as much as possible since his system allows him that, for other adventurers, it's different since for one to level up, a person needs to have at least skills 500 and achieve something great to level up.

However, for him, it's only a matter of the grind itself. He liked it, no, he adored the idea of being able to grind like crazy for something he wanted. Even if he wasn't a hardcore gamer in his past life, that doesn't mean that he's not capable of grinding itself. 

He's a very strong-willed person once he finds something to pursue. And not being held back by such an atrocious designed falna system could only mean that he will rise to greatness quicker than any other adventure in history. 

"Ehh the city is not too close but we arrived here fast thanks to our quick horses, we will arrive by midnight pretty much," Marcus replied as he scratched the back of his hair, Niall on the other hand looked forward to seeing a fantasy city in first person.

Captain Marcus commanded his men to rest inside before the rain stopped, they were wet already so they needed to warm themselves as quickly as possible. "Let's rest here until the rain passes" Marcus spoke and both he and Niall sat down. 

"Do you have a falna on you, Marcus?" Niall pointed out a question on the tired captain, he replied, "Unfortunately no, despite me being the captain of the town's guard. I never found myself in the dungeon, as an adventurer. Simply as that, it's not my call so instead I decided to serve the town itself, eventually becoming the captain after a few years of hard work." 

"Well the surface monsters aren't that strong as dungeon ones, but still.... If I were you, I would have gotten a falna because, in a world like this, it's a must." Niall took a sip of water which he pulled out from his backpack.

"I get you, and it indeed is a good idea but I'm not like that. I'm simply terrified of the dungeon as much as I hate to admit it, I respect anyone who dwells in that place for the living because I never could." Marcus sighed as he looked upon his past, memories of him leaving Orario after two days of arriving there. 

"Also kid, it may be rude to ask something personal like this... but what's up with you and your lack of emotions? I have some retired adventurers as the soldiers under my watch and even they have emotions, unlike you." 

"It's one of my skills that freezes up the emotions, although the idea of not having emotions sounds terrifying... I like it." Niall forced a small smile to form since his brain couldn't do that automatically. Hearing this, Marcus was flabbergasted by such a weird power.

He knew that you need a falna to have magic and skills unlocked, but he decided not to push his questions onto the boy.

"So, do you know anything about Orario and the gods residing in it? Or are you just going in like a blind chicken?" Marcus asked seriously, looking at young Niall who stared back at him, ignoring the joke he just made. Marcus continued to speak.

"Listen, boy, Orario isn't the same as the rumors say... It's a very dangerous place filled with a bunch of assholes who want nothing but power, glory, and women. Of course, there are exceptions, but without any life experience behind you, and most importantly, luck... Orario will just swallow you whole."

Niall appreciated the words of advice, but he couldn't reveal that he already knew much about the city and the people residing in it. His knowledge wasn't just from the anime, it also came from reading light novels, watching Danmemo, and generally exploring the Wiki.

"I appreciate your concerns, Marcus, and for sure I will keep your words in mind. Still, the path of being an adventurer isn't easy so I expect all kinds of hardships along the way." Marcus smiled and nodded, and both of them turned their gazes to the fire burning right in front of them.

The rest of the guards listened to their conversation, intrigued by the boy and his powers. A boy his age killing the entire bandit army was unheard of, at least in this era.

Many of them were ordinary men who wanted to serve their town and its people, but some were once adventurers who decided to retire due to various reasons. Most of the time, the reason was fear. The fear of the dungeon and the monsters residing in it hadn't allowed them to become proper adventurers themselves, but there was no shame in that because everyone had their calling.

Everyone has their path to follow, no matter how bad or glorious it would be; destiny is connected to the core of every being roaming the vast reality.

"Sir Marcus..." Niall called the captain, turning his head to face Niall, Marcus raised an eyebrow.

"Do you know of any other bandit camps nearby?" Niall's question surprised Marcus, and he gasped in disbelief. Marcus couldn't believe what the boy had just asked him.

"...Not really, but there are a bunch of bandits stationed around Orario, you know? They mostly target merchants and their goods. It's a weird thing that Orario isn't doing anything about them since merchants bring in the income after all..." Marcus pondered that topic.

"Yeah... it's pretty weird why Orario hasn't sent a couple of adventurers already to clean up the mess that plagues their roads..." Marcus lost himself in thought for a moment before Niall brought him back to reality.

"Well, I will do the job instead of those arrogant adventurers. I earned quite a bit of money from killing these guys today, so earning even more money sounds like a good idea," Niall murmured, audible only to Marcus.

Placing his hand on his forehead, Marcus let out a sigh. "Ugh, I've only known you for less than an hour, and you're already starting to sound like trouble."