The sun was high in the sky, and Alex stood in the town square sweating while the fat leader talked about the rules of the caravan.
"The first rule is not to come out of the assigned carriage. Even though we will be traveling through the outer forest and many poisonous creatures are hiding in the Dark forest. I don't want you to die and embarrass myself in front of Tom," said the leader trying to scare Alex.
"I won't come out," replied Alex, without mentioning he came from the inner forest.
"Good, the second is to abide all the commands said by the guard captain," said the fat man pointing to the fully armored knight beside him. Alex can't see his face but felt a little sorry for him standing in a baking iron pot.
"I will,"
"And once we reached the Smuggler's town, you have to stay in the inn and do not go out."
"What is a smuggler's town?" asked Alex. From the name of the town, it sounds as if a criminal's den.
"It is our next destination. That is the border town of the kingdom of Fresia. We will rest for the night there before leaving for the Tyros tomorrow morning," said the fat man.
"Got it," said Alex and listened to the long list of rules, basically telling him to shut up and stay in.
"Ok, when will we start our journey?" asked Alex.
"Two demi-humans booked the caravan at the last minute and are running late. Once they arrive, we will start immediately," said the fat man and asked a guard to show Alex his carriage.
Walking to the back, Alex looked at the medieval-looking carriage. A driver in leather armor sat in front, reigning in the wind horses. Behind the carriage were five horse carts full of goods.
After getting in and closing the door, Alex found the carriage to be dark. Although his eagle vision is good, it is an inconvenience to read books. As he looked at the ceiling, he found a pentagram with different symbols such as stars, moon, etc... connected with complex lines.
Alex immediately recognized it to be a magic array for the lighting. However, there was no switch.
'The heck,' after fumbling without any results, Alex gave up and opened the sliding window.
He opened his book, 'Adventure guide to Rookies,' and started reading. The first sentence immediately caught his attention.
If you are a commoner or a Rookie, do not kick yourself. 30% of humans do not have mana affinity and remain commoners. While 30 % of the remaining people stay at the Rookie stage cause they cannot activate mana. This book is for Rookies and commoners who want to venture into the Dark forest and stay alive.
'It seems many people cannot activate mana,' Alex was thoughtful. However, Alex already activated his mana after practicing with the Vicious Vines in the howling crater. So as long as he reached the Martial Palace in Tyros city, he can start his professional path.
As he was reading his book, the light from the window dimmed. Before Alex can turn his head, he heard a jovial sound.
"Ah, tribe benefactor, finally found you. I never thought I would be traveling with you," came an enthusiastic voice.
Alex looked up and saw a strong demi-human with black tiger ears, wearing a medieval-style t-shirt. Inside the shirt, he can still see the bandage.
"Kyzer. What are you doing here?" Alex was a little surprised to see him here.
"I am going to the Tyros, benefactor."
"Stop calling me benefactor, call me Alex," said Alex.
"Thank you, Bene... Alex."
"So the parchment I gave you worked, huh," said Alex.
"Yes. I gave it directly to my grandpa. He was skeptical at first, but when the Innkeeper allowed us to book the whole Inn, he finally accepted the fact."
"The whole inn?" Alex was surprised and felt a little sorry for Risten Rufek. But it would be interesting to see his fox face when he received the bill.
"Yes, with the tribe accommodation taken care of. Grandpa urgently booked the caravan to the free city Tyros. Now we have to find a suitable Employer for the tribe," said Kyzer. Alex remembered that the tribes who lost in the war had to go to the city and then serve a Legend.
Seeing Kyzer, still standing under the hot sun and sweating. Alex immediately asked him to come in. After settling in his seat, Kyzer touched the array on the ceiling, and a light ball the size of a lemon was produced, illuminating the carriage.
"How did you do that?"
"It is easy. You have to insert mana in the star symbol," said Kyzer showing the star symbol.
"If you want to close it?"
"Just insert mana in the crescent moon symbol," said Kyzer touching the crescent moon with his index finger. This time Alex clearly saw a blue aura covering the index finger.
"Got it. Let me try it," replied Alex.
"A Rookie can't..", said Kyzer, but was astonished to find a blue aura burst from Alex's finger and touch the Star symbol. Soon a light ball came out.
"Aren't you still a rookie. how did you awaken your mana?"
"How do you know I was a Rookie?" asked Alex without answering. All the people he met knew he was a Rookie. But he never knew the other party's ranks at all.
"Didn't you practice Mana sense when you awaken?" asked Kyzer, confused.
"How do I practice Mana Sense?" asked Alex excitedly.
"Since you already awakened your mana, it should be easy for you. Close your eyes and try to sense the energy around you."
Alex immediately closed his eyes and started to focus. He sensed the warm air and heat flowing through the open window. And the leather armor on his skin. After a while, as he was about to give up, Alex sensed peculiar energy above the head.
'The light orb.' thought Alex.
After the initial results, Alex focused on the ceiling. Soon he can sense the concentrated mana in the light ball. Excited, Alex focused in front of him and soon sensed the huge energy many times his own. It was like a bonfire. He quickly opened his eyes.
"How did it go?" asked Kyzer.
"It was a success. What rank are you?"
"I am an Elite rank," said Kyzer.
"Cool," said Alex and once again focused on sensing the mana in the surroundings.
He once again sensed the Kyzer's huge mana and tried not to get distracted. Soon he focused outside and sensed the 10 meters around him. He sensed the driver and the wind horse. Both of their mana is a lot less compared to Kyzer.
'They must be a professional rank?' thought Alex.
Just as he was getting comfortable with the new perspective, a blazing flame entered his perspective.
'A Master rank warrior'
Alex quickly opened his eyes and saw a grumpy old tiger man walking towards the carriage. His left arm was cut off at the elbow. His black eyes gave a dangerous glint, which frightened the passersby. On his forehead, Alex noticed the drawing of the three vertical lines and a horizontal line, similar to a real tiger's forehead.
He looked at Kyzer before getting in. As he sat down, he squeezed Kyzer, who was practically sticking to the window. Seeing the friendly youth uncomfortable, Alex asked him to sit beside him before he stopped breathing.
"Alex, this my grandpa Cletus and also the current chief of our tribe," said Kyzer, while the old man remained grumpy.
"Grandpa, this is Alex, the one who gave the parchment this morning,"
As soon as he heard parchment, the old man's face turned a 180-degree as he smiled happily.
"Really. Good Kid, Thanks to you, I got a breather and can go on with my plans, Ha Ha Ha." said the old man while patting Alex.
"I just wanted to help,"
"People like you are rare these days. Tell you what, If you have any troubles you can come to me. I will do what I can." said the old man seriously as all his laughter vanished. Alex was a little thrown off by the mood swings of the old man.
"Thank you. I will."
As they talked, the carriage began to move. The long line of carriages slowly moved out of the town wall. Looking back, Alex saw the small town and the three mountains in the background.
Alex breathed a sigh of relief. He was here only for a day, and it felt like forever.