The interior of the caravan was much more spacious than Hori had anticipated. Inside the carriage, there were multiple rooms. Some of the rooms were straight up filled with various goods that were set to be sold.
Others were filled with young men such as himself who had no money to pay for transport and had resorted to hitching a ride with the caravan.
Most of them were cleaning the interior of the caravan while a few of them dedicated themselves to security.
Hori decided to join the few that were protecting the caravan. What were the odds of the caravan getting attacked while he was on it.
"Oi! Kid, come clean the storage room". A burly figure called out to Hori.
Hori regarded him with irritation and anger almost immediately. Those blokes should be happy that someone as important as him actually agreed to travel with them.
He was the author for crying out loud!
"If you don't want to work then you can leave". The burly figure said lightly. He seemed somewhat irritated by Hori's change of expression after he'd spoken.
"Actually, I think I'll work as a security". Hori said.
His words caused the burly figure to laugh. "You can't work as a security". He glanced at Hori's figure.
While Hori might be a semi talented mage, his physicality did nothing to suggest that he might have an iota of strength inside him. So while he might be somewhat strong on the inside, his body did nothing to flex that.
It was only after the middle aged man glanced at him that Hori realized one fatal flaw in his plan. He was in the body of a fourteen year old child. A fourteen year old child that wasn't quite impressive physically.
With a sigh of resignation, he looked at the burly figure. "Where's the broom?"
The burly figure smiled and clasped his back. "That's more like it. The broom's in the storage room". He left Hori and went to supervise some of the other 'freeloaders' that were riding with them.
Hori picked up the broom and went into the storage room. He swept the floor for some seconds and collapsed on the floor soon after, he was sound asleep.
Bang!
Something hit the carriage. Hori who was in the storeroom should've felt the grunt of it if he wasn't so sound asleep. In fact, the noise from the collision didn't wake him up. He just turned over and continued his nap.
Matter of fact, he probably wouldn't have woken up if not for the uproar that happened moments later.
"Bandits! Bandits are attacking!"
"Security team gather and resist!"
"Holy shit! Do we actually have to do work?!"
Hori rubbed his eyes. His ears were assaulted by the screams that resonated around him. He stood up groggily and walked out of the storeroom.
He was greeted by a chaotic scene. Dozens of figures running up and down. The security volunteers going into positions while preparing to face off against the bandits.
Hori took one look at the people who were supposed to protect the caravan and deduced that that the battle was probably going to end in their defeat. Most of them were shaking and looked nervous like they had never fought a single battle in their entire lives. They probably didn't expect to do anything throughout the entire trip. They just planned to freeload.
A feeling of disgust and irritation welled up inside him when he thought about people doing what he himself would've done if not for the burly figure.
"Oi! Kid!" The burly figure called after him. Hori glanced at him slightly then focused his attention on something unimportant. "Kid! I'm talking to you".
"Me?" Hori muttered.
"Yes". The burly figure frowned slightly. "Go and fight those bandits".
"I'm sorry I can't". Hori answered almost immediately.
"What did you say?!" The burly figure stepped forward and glared at Hori in an attempt to intimidate him. "If you don't go out there now, I'll throw you off. We can't have freeloaders like you who won't help when trouble comes staying in here!"
Hori scoffed. "I insisted that I wanted to be part of the security team and you sent me to clean the store room. I have paid my debt, if you want me to help then you'd have to pay me extra".
The burly looking figure looked as if he was about to lash out at Hori, but his expression calmed soon after.
"If you help, I'll give you five Yeds". He said.
Hori's face shone with delight. Yeds were the currencies that were used in his fictional world. He built around it such that one Yed would be worth roughly around what one thousand dollars was worth in the real world.
"Seriously?" Hori asked. He didn't bother to hide the greed that shone in his eyes.
"Yes". The burly figure said. "Now go fight those bandits!"
You smelly kid! I just need you to hold them off for a bit while the important people make their escape. If you're lucky enough not to die, that's just the heavens being kind on you.
|Ding! Host has unlocked new mission|
|Save the merchant caravan from roadside bandits|
|Reward: 1x non elemental spell |
|Penalty: Electrocution|
"What?!" Hori screamed as soon as he saw the penalty for failing the mission. How heartless could the system get?!
|Mission starts now|