85 Plans For Our Next Move

Returning to our room in the inn, Lia asks about the weapon we scavenged off the guard we encountered. I don't fully know or comprehend all the mechanics behind how they work, but I manage to explain what little I do know.

"In my previous world, these things were pretty common and much more advanced than the ones I've seen here. The one we picked up tonight is would be called a handgun where I'm from. If my knowledge on firearms is correct then this uses a system called percussion lock, I'm not clear on how it works but it shoots those metal balls we picked up at high speeds. Compared to what I am more familiar with, this would be considered outdated, but I'm guessing that around here it's the latest improvement."

"Let me take a look at it for a second," Lia asks, and handing the gun over she makes it glow with a blue tint, "I was right."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing much, I channelled some mana into the gun. It was probably designed with this in mind as a way to enhance the shots and give it more strength. From the descriptions you gave me, the people in your old world are much more fragile compared to here and a simple shot from something like this probably wouldn't mean much for anyone above level 10. But if you add mana too it then it becomes significantly more dangerous, my guess is that it is probably more devastating than a mana infused shot from a longbow. I can't say for certain that this is the case without testing it though. We can test this later though, for now, let's rest up and get ready to for tomorrow."

With the night passing and the sun rising we head to the Adventurers Guild after a quick meal in the inn. Taking a look at a map, Lia suggests heading to Ugernum. It's a large city that's within the sphere of influence of the Capital but it is far enough from it that it would take a little less than a day to arrive from the Capital. Its location makes it rather convenient for our... activities, but there is one small problem, there aren't any quests for us to take that will lead us directly to Ugernum.

"Are we going to have to head there by ourselves?" I ask, turning to Lia.

"Let's ask one of the receptionists once they're free. Maybe there is an easy route or a quest that hasn't been posted."

After a couple of minutes, we have our chance as one of the receptionists isn't busy and we take the initiative to ask her about a route to Ugernum.

"An easy route to Ugernum? That's pretty far from here so there usually isn't anyone heading there specifically nor is there a clear route from Lofinium and Ugernum. Walking in a straight line from here to Ugernum will take you over unpaved territory, through forests, and over mountains, I can't really recommend it. I think it's best if you take an escort quest to a city that's closer and try your luck there, but unfortunately, there aren't any escort quest available right now. If you're really in a hurry, then you can just walk along the roads, but if you don't have a carriage then it will take a few weeks."

"I see, just for reference, how long would it take by carriage and taking the straight path? Lia asks.

"A carriage will shorten the journey from one to one and a half weeks depending on its speed. Taking the straight path could take anywhere from a little over a week and a half to three weeks, all depending on how strong you are, how fast you move, but most importantly is your luck."

"I understand how our strength and speed will affect the journey, but why is luck the most important part?" I ask as the person with probably the worst luck in this world.

"There is the most obvious part, the weather, but at many different times, various bandits have taken root around there. But they aren't what you need to look out for, especially since as far as I am aware, there isn't any around right now, what you need to watch out for are the monster encounters. I can tell you two are foreigners, so you probably don't know the reason why there aren't any settlements in that area. There are many high tier monsters that lay claim to the inner parts of the forest and the mountains. And at the very top of the food chain is The Ursine Lord, Gaoh, he lives in a cave at the mountain peak above the clouds and occasionally wanders around the mountain and forests. Lord Gaoh is the reason we never have to deal with the bandits that try and make a base there, as he clears them out every so often."

"Ok, that's all I needed to hear. We're going along the roads ourselves or we're going to wait for an escort quest."

"I think I know why, but I'll ask anyway since I thought you wanted to go there quickly, but why don't you want to take this route?" Lia asks.

"Almost every time I'm near the Legendary Monsters or something related I almost die. I nearly got turned into an icicle by the child of Zaratan a while back and we both nearly died when Timah was fighting another monster in the forest not that long ago. And while they aren't Sacred Beasts, Cetus chases me around every time he finds me and that old rabbit, Skvader, kinda creeps me out."

"Yeah, fair enough," Lia says before turning back to the receptionist, "Thanks for your help ma'am."

"Your welcome," the receptionist says as we take a seat at an empty table.

And as we sit down, Lia asks, "So what now? I'll let you choose since I don't really mind either way."

"Hmm... we can wait for a few days to see if an escort quest pops up. If nothing shows then we can just head to the next closest city by foot and check at the Guild Branch there."