“I have brought you one too,” Isla replied as she pointed at one particular horse at the back that didn’t have any mounter.
“Oh… I appreciate that. How much for that horse? I will pay you back the sum.” Arthur blinked as he pulled out his pouch of money. However, Isla shook her head.
“No need, consider this a gift from me.”
“I can’t accept that. It must’ve been expensive.” Arthur replied. Looking at these animals, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that they must’ve cost a lot of money to buy.
“Accept the gift. I believe this is a good way to establish our partnership.” Isla insisted with a serious tone.
“…” The boy pursed his lips as he tried to find words to turn her down. Arthur wasn’t a huge fan of gifts since he never received any in the first place so he didn’t know how to accept one. Yet Isla didn’t seem to be backing down for some reason which put him in an awkward spot.
“Ok, if you insist then. But, I don’t really know how to ride a horse.” Arthur said as he approached the giant creature and gently tapped on its head.
“Tsk, so useless.”
At that moment, he heard a grumbling whisper that made him look up. The one who made that comment was none other than Danny. Although the entire group was oddly silent, Danny was perhaps the most displeased out of them for some reason.
“I’m sorry for not knowing how to ride a horse. Not everyone got daddy’s money to learn horsemanship.” Arthur replied with a small smile.
“What did you just-”
“Enough, Danny. It’s not time for this childish behavior.” Isla immediately intercepted the conversation before it went out of control.
“Come on, Danny. We already agreed to this.” Herculia tapped his friend on the shoulder.
“I’m not with this at all! Why are we asking this bastard to join us? He will most definitely try to use us and then run away like a coward.” Danny retorted angrily as he glared at Arthur through the mask.
Not only was he shocked when he heard that Isla had asked Arthur to join him, but he also felt very humiliated after that. The player that beat him up with ease was now somehow a part of their group. He could never accept that.
Herculia and Emmy were also displeased, but they weren’t as displeased as he was. After all, they knew that Isla had done that for a good reason. They needed all the power they would have to cross the forest and whatever lies beyond the forest.
There was no better option than the best player in the world currently. It was something that was truly worth swallowing their pride over. For the greater good and for their bigger goal, this was but a small sacrifice.
“It’s Isla’s order,” Emmy replied seriously. “If you wish to do something different, then go ahead. But, we won’t wait for you.”
“…” Hearing that, Danny clicked his tongue with a deep frown and turned away as if he didn’t wish to speak anymore. However, even his mask couldn’t hide his dark aura that was leaking out of his body.
Meanwhile, Arthur simply jumped on top of the horse as if he wasn’t the one being talked about. He really didn’t care what they thought of him secretly. As long as they didn’t do anything stupid and simply did their job, he didn’t care if they liked or hated him. This was purely a business relationship that will end as soon as both parties got what they wanted.
“Riding a horse is way easier in this game, Arthur. Just grab into the reins and simply think of where you want him to move and he will do that.” Isla explained as she approached him on her horse and showed him where to grab. Being that close, Arthur took a glimpse at her face for a moment.
Somehow, this close, she looked even more stunning than she already did. Her long eyelashes and her mesmerizing eyes looked even more beautiful up close.
“Do you understand?” She turned to look at him.
“… Yeah, this sounds simple enough.” Arthur nodded as he grabbed the reins and did as she instructed. Surprisingly, it didn’t take him long to control the horse’s movement as it started moving around.
It was as she exactly said. He didn’t need any technique or knowledge to make it move. He simply controlled it as if he was using a keyboard or a controller.
“Good. Did you bring everything you need?” She asked him.
“Yes, I’m perfectly ready.” He said.
Isla nodded her head before she turned to her friends. “As we have planned beforehand. This trip might take a very long time so we need to cross as much distance as possible in the first few days. We might end up needing to slow down somewhere so we have to avoid any hindrance at the start. Understood?”
“Yes.” Emmy replied.
“Got it here.” Herculia lifted his hand.
However, Danny didn’t reply as if he didn’t hear her.
“Danny?”
“… I understand.” He sighed as he nodded his head. However, he was definitely not happy at all.
‘Damn, this guy really holds grudges. I’m sorry I beat you up that hard.’ Arthur mused as he adjusted his seat so he can be as comfortable as possible.
“Good. Let’s move then.”
With that, one by one, the group started leaving the village. Their speed was moderate at first but they quickly picked up pace as they moved away from the village. The sound of the horse hooves echoed in the area as they started running through the dirt road, only leaving clouds of dust behind them.
Arthur looked over his shoulder at the village. He had been in this place for a few days now, but he felt as if he had spent months or years there. It was a very nice place with a very calm ambience. He knew that it was meant to be that way since it was a beginner’s area, but he still wished he could spend some more time there.
‘Well, this shouldn’t be the last time I see this place. Might come back here in the future to do some stuff.’ Arthur thought to himself.
Although he had explored a massive chunk of the forest, there was still a lot to uncover from this place. When he is done with what he wanted to do, he wanted to explore every single spot in this forest.
Whatever lied in it might be something truly spectacular.
“I didn’t say this beforehand, but…” At that moment, Arthur heard someone speaking to him. Looking to the side, he saw Emmy staring back at him. ‘Welcome to the team, uh…”
“Arthur.” The boy replied. “You can call me Arthur.”
“Emmy… I’m Emmy.” She replied with a nod.
“Thank you for welcoming me. I hope we can get along.” He smiled nicely. ‘I don’t really care if we get along or not, though.’
“…” The girl didn’t say anything else and simply turned away.
“She’s a very shy girl by nature. Hahaha!” On his left side, Arthur heard Herculia’s laughter. “Welcome to the team, my friend. I’m Herculia.”
“Nice to meet you.” The boy acknowledged him with a smile.
“Hey, you bastard, I never said I’m shy. I simply had nothing else to say!” Emmy puffed her cheeks angrily.
“Sure, sure. She’s actually just very shy.” He whispered to Arthur.
“I can still hear you! I will strangle you in your sleep!”
“No, please spare me.” Herculia pretended to be terrified as he lifted his hands up. However, by doing that, he lost control of the horse, almost making it trip and fall.
“Woah!”
“Pfft, hahaha, you get what you deserve! Karma is real!” Emmy laughed.
“…”
Meanwhile, Arthur watched their interaction amusedly. He found it quite funny but also very wholesome. They didn’t sound as obnoxious as he expected them to be. In fact, so far, apart from Danny, the others were actually not bad people.
‘I can’t really judge them yet. But, their relationship definitely looks real.’ He thought to himself.
Whether they were actually good people was still something that only time would tell. In the next several days, he will discover if he has ended up with a good group or a horrible group.
Looking ahead of him into the distant horizon, Arthur closed his eyes for a moment. ‘Whatever lies beyond this forest, here we come.’
He had a feeling that this journey was going to be very special. What he was going to see beyond this forest was bound to be mystical.
Next destination, The Last Empire.
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3
