Chapter 85: Thousand Mountain Forest And Hunter City

Chapter 85: Thousand Mountain Forest And Hunter CityThey swiftly established their camp ahead. It consisted of a modest tent, while Apollo skillfully prepared a Frost Wolf for roasting in the unforgiving cold. The temperature plummeted to such extremes that conventional fire was rendered ineffective. Master Aaron ingeniously employed his lightning life force to cook the meat.

"Ragnar, what have you decided? Where do you plan to go from here?"

Old Man Aragon asked, looking at the young man, who seemed to be affected physically and mentally by the things that happened in the city.

"I am going to the east and travelling through the sea to Gale Island. It seems to be a good training place for wind life force warriors."

"Oh! Gale Island is indeed a great place." Both Master Aaron and Old Man nodded like they had even visited the place.

"Master, where are we headed, and when will you begin teaching me your renowned swordsmanship?" Apollo inquired eagerly, his thoughts already filled with anticipation of mastering new techniques.

"Haha, originally, I intended for you to spend a few months honing your skills in the ’Runic Tower’ and facing rigorous battles in the ’Battle Arena’ before achieving a breakthrough to become a limit breaker. However, plans seldom unfold as expected," the master chuckled, acknowledging the unpredictable nature of their journey.

"Now that you’ve reached the rank of limit-breaker, it’s time for you to delve into my swordsmanship," the master declared. "Our next destination is ’Hunter City,’ located near the Thousand Mountain Forest."

"Hunter City!" Apollo’s eyes glowed, remembering some details that he read. This wasn’t some hidden place, so he knew a little bit about it.

Hunter City is renowned for its proximity to the ’Thousand Mountain Forest’ on the border of the Santok kingdom, where the inhabitants worship the god Santok. Despite its name, the forest does not consist of a thousand mountains; rather, it is an endless forest that spans one-tenth of the land of Rion.

The Thousand Mountain Forest is also the home of countless species of monsters, natural spirits, and beast clans.

Hunter City, from its name, can be understood as a place where a large number of hunters gather and hunt various monsters in the Thousand Mountain forest. However, their primary hunting grounds lie along the forest’s borders and outer regions, as the most formidable creatures dwell deeper within the forest’s expanse.

There is even a saying that at the centre of the Thousand Mountain Forest reside divine beasts that are not weaker than gods.

Even the outer is so large that even a veteran hunter who has experienced that place for hundreds of years wouldn’t claim to know it fully and its dangers.

So, naturally, fewer people would try to enter the inner region, which is said to be a hundred times bigger and countless times more dangerous than the outer region, to die in the mouth of ferocious beasts.

Apollo knows all of this because the old book he read seems to have been written by some hunter who described such things briefly.

He wasn’t sure how much of this was true, but he was looking forward to visiting Hunter City.

"Oh! When we arrive, remember to join the ’Hunter Guild’; it’ll greatly benefit your future endeavours."

Master Aaron quickly recalled that the Hunter Guild regional branch was in the city and promptly brought it up in conversation.

"Yes!"

Apollo nodded. The Hunter Guild is a loose but quite powerful organization, so joining it has many advantages.

Old Man Aragon would also accompany them to the hunter city, as he still had to craft the weapon Apollo had requested, a task he intended to fulfil there.

After a brief rest, the group set out again. After travelling for two days, Ragnar decided to part ways with the group.

"Goodbye. Hopefully, we will meet again," Ragnar said before parting ways with the group. After the farewell, they went their separate ways.

Apollo, his master, and Old Man Aragon pressed on with their journey. After a relentless week of travel, they reached their destination. From their vantage point, they beheld a lush forest teeming with diverse plant life and towering trees. The city ahead was encased within massive walls, dozens of meters high, crafted from imposing stones.

It appeared majestic and impregnable, with countless guards stationed around its perimeter. As they arrived at the gate, they joined numerous others who had also come to visit Hunter City.

With ease, they entered the bustling city after paying a few coins. The streets teemed with diverse vendors peddling an array of goods, from food to monster materials to curious oddities.

Merely a few steps into his stroll, he sensed the city’s prosperity, palpable in the throngs of people engaged in business from various regions.

The stark contrast between the city and Frostheld struck him immediately. Here, countless mortals of varying strengths roamed the streets, a sight unheard of in the icy confines of Frostheld, where the biting cold ensured only the most resilient could endure.

He saw numerous children running away with their friends, eating or playing with them. He also saw some rough guys looking at him coldly.

They seemed to be members of local gangs that attacks new weak travellers that came into the city.

He had heard of such a group, as almost most of the cities have some kind of gang or organization. And also, his looks kind of attract attention, especially after his breakthrough.

White, silvery hair and deep blue eyes aren’t your typical look that can be seen everywhere, so he naturally got some extra attention. He also noticed looks from quite a few ladies as he was walking by the street.

He might be twelve, but from outside, it was very difficult to tell.

Master Aaron and Old Man Aragon paid little heed to their surroundings as they swiftly arrived at a Porsche-filled area brimming with numerous bungalows.

They soon entered one such bungalow, which appeared impeccably clean and well-maintained.

Apollo was mildly taken aback, yet considering the immense wealth of both elderly gentlemen, his surprise was fleeting.

Master Aaron, a formidable swordmaster hailing from a prestigious noble lineage, boasted generations of inheritance. On the other hand, Old Man Aragon, a master blacksmith, likely surpassed even Master Aaron in wealth.

So having some villas in Hunter City wasn’t something unexpected.

"Choose any room you like, and let’s rest for today. We’ve been travelling for ten days; you must be exhausted."

"While we old-timers, also plan to unwind with a few drinks, I recall there’s some hundred-year-old wine stashed in the cellar."

"Ah, finally, something worthwhile to drink after all these days."

With those words, both Master Aaron and Old Man Aragon left him to his own devices and made a beeline for the wine cellar.

Apollo, utterly fatigued, didn’t utter a word. He randomly chose a room and fell into a deep sleep, unaware of his surroundings. When he awoke, it was already the next morning.

Feeling refreshed, he emerged from his room to find Master Aaron and Old Man Aragon, both inebriated and sprawled out in different corners of the house, fast asleep.

He sighed, seeing this. Knowing that they might not wake up early, he decided to go out and look around the city.

When he went outside, he saw bustling crowds. Here, he only saw humans, as the city is within the human kingdom.

He also saw numerous slaves, as it seems to be a prominent business in the city. Among the slaves, he saw quite a few members of the beast clan.

It made him feel a bit disgusted, as slavery was something to loathe, especially since he still had memories and education from his previous life.

But it wasn’t the same world; here, with power, everything is possible; slavery is just the tip of the darkness hidden in this world.

Looking at the human slaves, or the slaves from the Beast Clan, he sighed but didn’t think or do anything here, as he wasn’t some good guy who would help people randomly and frankly wasn’t rich enough to buy slaves.

He moved forward, leaving his place, and went to different stalls and vendors to try different delicious foods, as he was quite hungry.

Being a human city, gold coins were the standard currency, and fortunately, he had some money with him that his grandpa had given him when he departed from the Fletcher family.

As he was eating happily, he noticed someone was following him, but Apollo didn’t behave differently, as he felt the person’s strength was weak; it wasn’t even a limit-breaker.

Judging from the aura, the person’s strength seemed to be on par with someone who had opened three or four prana circuits.

Now capable of dispatching hundreds of such individuals without breaking a sweat, he allowed the person to continue following him, curious to see what their intentions were.

He strolled around and ate happily at different stalls, not caring about the person trailing him.

Having satisfied his hunger, Apollo changed direction, veering towards the deserted corner alleys where there was no one around. He intended to give the mysterious follower a chance to attempt something foolish.