Life is meant to be enjoyed.
It was such a simple sentence, but it carried so much meaning. Corwyn already knew that Hanaan was the kind of person to stay positive no matter what happened. But after hearing about his past, he couldn't understand how he could be like that.
However, the answer turned out to be very simple. Hanaan never fought for things like money, influence, or prestige. He fought for his survival, so he could keep on living and search for his happiness. Now that he no longer had to worry about dying of hunger or thirst, Hanaan no longer sought happiness in survival itself, but in the many interesting things existing in this world. To him, life really was only about finding enjoyment.
"I guess you're right!"
Corwyn mumbled, his face gradually becoming brighter. Hanaan patted his shoulder and laughed.
"Ain't I? So many people merely want money and power, so that they can get themselves whatever they want from this world. But in my opinion, the happiness you achieve yourself is a thousand times more wonderful than all the happiness you could possibly buy. So I will continue to put all my effort into the things I currently try to achieve."
"Oh? And those are?"
"Obviously, to support you in your goal, Corwyn! Because bringing joy to my friends makes me happy, as well!"
Corwyn's eyes widened as far as they possibly could, and Teo was no different. They both didn't know what to say. If Hanaan had been a long-time acquaintance of them, then they could maybe accept his declaration and share a joyful moment full of tears. But they had only known each other for little more than two months. Something like this coming out of the blue caught them completely off-guard.
"If you say something philosophical like this, Hanaan, it completely ruins your image of a battle-born warrior!"
Teo couldn't hold himself back any longer and replied with a cheeky smile. Hanaan grinned brighter too and immediately countered.
"It doesn't matter if I sound philosophical or not, this is how I truly feel. I am always loyal to my friends, and I will help them out in any way I can, no matter what problems they have or who their opponent is!"
"I guess that part about you really can't be questioned. But now that we are talking about friendship and all that stuff, something else just came to my mind. How did you and Dalios get together as a team? You seem like the polar opposites of each other, personality-wise."
Corwyn joined the conversation again and posed another question at Hanaan. Dalios, who had kept quiet until now and wore the same emotionless expression he always had on his face, finally reacted as his name was mentioned. Like a statue that had come to life, he pulled one eyebrow up and looked at Hanaan with a questioning look, as if he was silently asking him what to say. Hanaan looked at his partner next to him for a short moment, then returned his attention back to Corwyn and Teo, wearing a cryptic smile.
"You see, Dalios was actually a gladiator in one of the coliseums in the eastern part of the desert once. I battled him when I came to the coliseum just for fun, and we ended up drawing. After the fight was over, I asked him if he wanted to become my partner since he was the most capable fighter I had ever seen, and he agreed, so we left the coliseum and started to do jobs together. Ever since, we have been a team."
(So it was like that, huh?)
Corwyn thought while he nodded in acknowledgment. The story sounded simple and believable coming from a simple person like the red-haired warrior sitting at the same table as them. However, Corwyn had a feeling that he kept the story simpler as it truly was. As far as he knew, the gladiators of the coliseums in the east were slaves being forced to fight there for their lives, serving as entertainment for the citizens. He couldn't imagine someone would be able to leave that place so easily. Hanaan must have done something he didn't want other people to know, not even them. Corwyn wondered what that "something" was and how he pulled it off. But thinking about his story again, Hanaan was far from a normal person as well, joining an event where people battled each other for their lives "for fun".
Corwyn didn't ask any further and simply said:
"So you two have been a team for a long time now, huh? I wonder how the two of you managed to work together until now. Oh, I didn't say that to offend you, of course, but since you have such different personalities, I'm curious how your cooperation is working."
It was meant as an honest question, so Hanaan obviously didn't mind Corwyn asking. However, he couldn't help but scratch his head, embarrassed.
"Uhm, I don't have anything against you asking me about it, really, but the answer will disappoint you. When we are on an escort mission, most of the time I just tell Dalios he can have half of the opponents, while I take the other half. We don't really have any sort of teamwork at all. The only times we intervene in each other's fights is when it gets dangerous, but against normal bandits or small monsters, how dangerous can it get? Unless they come in large numbers, of course!"
And once again, Corwyn and Teo had to hold themselves back from letting their jaws drop in surprise. They had thought that in a long-term partnership, one would try to complement his battle style to the partner's, but this logic didn't seem to apply to the two muscle-heads in front of them. Even Corwyn and Teo had better synergy than Dalios and Hanaan.
Corwyn groaned.
"Currently, I feel like the more I get to know you, the more it makes my head hurt, so we should stop this conversation for now. I guess the fact that both of you are still alive and well is proof enough that your cooperation might not be an efficient one, but you don't seem to need better teamwork in order to survive. Therefore, I have no qualification to criticize you."
"That's a very honest attitude you have there. Better keep it like that, sometimes asking more questions will only confuse you all the more."
Hanaan drank some of his beer again, and Corwyn followed suit. If Hanaan wanted to keep some secrets, then there was no way he would ask him about those, since he had no right to pry into other people's business. Corwyn himself had also tried to keep his ability a secret before, so it wasn't like he didn't understand the sentiment.
He chose to not bother himself with this anymore, so he decided to bring up a different topic.
"That reminds me, you said you often had to fight bandits earlier?"
Hanaan nodded in affirmation.
"Yeah, they tend to hide in some abandoned villages or old ruins, waiting for merchants to pass by and then rob them off their wares. Most of them are wanted criminals in the cities or people who lost their work and need to find other ways to obtain money."
"I don't know if I should pity them or despise them for having to resort on that. But what makes me curious is why no bandits have attacked us thus far..."
"It's quite simple, actually. Bandits tend to move in small to medium-sized groups, since too many of them would have a hard time hiding from the eyes of travelers. Also, more people mean more mouths to feed, and people with little money can't buy enough for that. Their size could threaten a merchant's caravan with a small escort, but a large expedition party like ours? In addition, nearly everyone in our group knows how to battle, so there is no way simple bandits could win a fight."
"That makes sense I guess."
Corwyn murmured. He wasn't too thrilled on encountering bandits, so if they stayed away on their own volution, he definitely wouldn't complain. Teo was the same, apparently.
"I hope they will stay away the rest of the trip as well. I might be a soldier, but I would like to avoid battle if possible."
"Mhm, let's hope so. Alright, it's already late, and we planned to go to the market early in the morning, so we should call it a day and get some rest upstairs."
"Yes, let's do that!"
Teo yawned as he voiced out that last sentence, even though he had just slept multiple hours not long ago. The four of them stood up, paid their bills, and went back upstairs to their respective rooms.
Neither of them had noticed the person sitting on the table behind the one they had just vacated standing up shortly after, and leaving the tavern with an evil grin on the mouth.
The preparations over the next few days in Tarrov went smoothly, and Corwyn and the rest were ready to move out again. Over the short amount of time they spent here, Corwyn actually made quite a profit by manufacturing weapons with his ability and then selling them on the market. Teo and Hanaan shot him envious glances from time to time, finding it impossible not to feel jealous over this simple way of making money. However, they profited from it as well, so they kept their mouths shut and didn't complain in any way.
As soon as the squad leaders of the expedition party had finished their preparations as well, Rogar gathered all the members at the gate, like he always did when it was time to move out again.
"Everyone, I hope you have rested well over these past few days. It is once again time for us to continue our travel, and this time, it will be a route without stopovers the entire way until we have reached Corlina, approximately one month from today. Corlina will be our last breakpoint on our road into the jungle, so we will leave the desert and enter the unknown in the not too distant future. Every one of you should start to physically and mentally prepare himself for what is about to come, because once we enter the jungle, there will be no safe routes anymore!"
Murmuring went through the adventurers present. Some suddenly tensed up, others had sweat that didn't come from the heat run down their faces. It was not surprising. Out of the whole expedition party, less than a tenth of the men were survivors of the previous expedition. Most of them, including Corwyn and his friends as well, had no experience with areas outside the desert and therefore couldn't help but feel nervous.
"However, I have no doubts that we will prevail! Because even though many of you are inexperienced, people like me who went with the last expedition didn't have much experience before that either. When facing the jungle and its inhabitants, knowledge is very important, but what is even more important is the guts to face whatever is to come head-on! As long as you can be brave, but not reckless, you will manage. And concerning your lacking experience, of course, the other survivors and I will provide you with everything we know. So let's face those dangers together, and achieve what no one else has achieved before!"
Cries of valor were the imminent answer. Corwyn had to hand it to Rogar, he knew how to motivate others. The expedition party started heading out, with Corlina as their next destination. One hour later, the city was already out of sight.
At the same time, a tiny group of people, riding on camels, were heading out into the direction the expedition had headed for. Every one of them wore grey cloaks and grey headpieces, covering their entire figure.