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ric beckoned to Fredrinn and the other two. "Come here. We need to get those things off of you guys."
When they heard his words, they were bbergasted.
Looking at their stunned faces, ric chuckled. "Stop dawdling ande here."
Fredrinn nodded to his wife and whispered. "We can trust him."
His wife hesitated for a moment, but she still chose to listen to her husband. "Alright."
She walked nervously towards ric and bowed to him. "Greetings, sir."
ric nodded to acknowledge her greeting. "What''s your name?"
"M-My name is ine, sir." She responded without daring to look at him in the eye.
ric used the key given by Roy to remove the locks on her chains.
ng!
As soon as the chains were removed, ine felt like she could finally breathe again.
"Thank you, sir!"
ric beckoned to the man standing beside Fredrinn. "What''s your name?"
The former hunter was a bit nervous. He didn''t know what kind of person his new owner was. His only hope was that he would be treated well.
"My name is Mark, sir."
"Not bad. You managed to be a Knight Apprentice. Did you receive formal training from someone?" ric asked while observing the man''s expression.
"I live in a small vige, sir. We were only taught how to hunt. As for Knight training…" Mark shook his head.
Oh? He managed to be a Knight Apprentice without formal training?
He couldn''t sense any falsehoods in his words so it was most likely true.
"Do you want to be a Knight?" ric asked with a smile.
Hearing this, Mark widened his eyes. "Absolutely! That''s my longtime wish, sir!"
ric grinned at his enthusiastic response. "Alright. If you''re willing to follow me, I will have someone train you to be a Knight."
Without hesitation, Mark kneeled on one knee and muttered. "I''m willing to follow you, sir!"
ric tapped the man''s shoulder and said. "Get up. There''s no need for you to kneel before me. Let''s get those chains removed first."
Click!
A clicking sound echoed as soon as the key was inserted into the keyhole.
After having his chains removed, Mark felt light as a feather. Unknowingly, tears streamed down his cheeks as emotions welled up in his heart.
Finally, it was Fredrinn''s turn.
Henry who was standing behind ric stared intently at this beggar-looking man.
If Fredrinn revealed a trace of hostility, he was ready to pull out his sword.
On the other hand, ric remained calm. He knew Fredrinn''s personality very well. He was a man who would never break his promise. That was the kind of person Fredrinn was.
"I will do as I had promised. I will follow you, sir!" Fredrinn solemnly uttered.
ric nodded and smiled faintly. "Let''s get this over with so we can get something to eat."
He nced at the chains tied to Fredrinn''s limbs.
They really used mithril chains to restrain him.
Mithril was a rare metal that can only be found deep into the earth. Only a Transcendent Knight can forge something using this material. That was how durable it was.
After his chains were removed, Fredrinn bowed to ric. "Thank you, sir!"
ric waved his hand. "You don''t have to thank me. Now go to your wife. I know you''re eager to hold her." He chuckled.
Fredrinn cupped his fists and jogged to his wife. The couple hugged each other and exchanged a deep kiss.
ric looked away and shook his head. "Let''s do the introductionster. Leave them be for now." He tapped Henry''s shoulder.
The old man was still worried. "My lord, are you sure about setting that man free? He is an Elite Knight, a powerful one at that." He whispered.
He could sense it just by looking at Fredrinn.
"You can rest assured. I know what kind of person he is. Trust me on this." ric muttered reassuringly.
"Alright, but I''ll keep an eye on him just to make sure," Henry responded cautiously.
An hourter, they gathered for their meal.
The atmosphere was a bit awkward with the presence of three more people in the group.
"You guys should get to know each other since you will be colleagues soon." ric broke the silence.
Upon hearing his words, everyone stopped what they were doing, nced at each other, and exchanged friendly nods.
ric didn''t push them. It would take some time for them to learn how to trust each other.
"Give this to your wife. She needs to eat more meat for the child in her belly." ric said as he handed a bowl of boar meat soup to Fredrinn.
Thetter sent him a grateful look before he gave the bowl to his wife.
ine bowed to ric. "Thank you, sir."
"Since you guys will be serving me from now on, allow me to reintroduce myself." ric scanned the three former ves.
"My name is ric Silversword, the heir of House Silversword. Starting today, you are no longer ves, but my people!"
The three were stunned. They thought that he was just a rich young warrior. It turned out that he was actually the son of a noble!
"Greetings, my lord!" They stood up simultaneously and bowed to him.
"Rx. There''s no need to be nervous."
Although he tried to make them feelfortable, the three became more restrained after knowing his identity.
After eating their meal, ric told them about their destination.
"We are heading to the Enchanted Woonds."
Looking at their shocked faces, ric continued. "I know that it''s dangerous, especially for ine so there''s no need for the three of you to follow us."
He grabbed a stick and drew a box on the snow.
"There is a fortress city close to the Enchanted Woonds. The three of you will stay there and wait for us."
"My lord, I''m willing to go with you to the Enchanted Woonds!" Mark expressed his desire to go with them.
However…
"No." ric shook his head.
"It''s too dangerous for you to be there. I''m sure you are aware of the dangers within that forest."
Mark nodded apprehensively.
Almost everyone in the empire knew what kind of creatures resided within the Enchanted Woonds.
"You guys get ready, we will head out at once."
***
Three days slipped by, and on the afternoon of the 4th of January, the group finally arrived at the fortress city called Turtle Fort.
It got its name from the turtle-like forts that surrounded the city.
This fortress city was Astania''s first line of defense against the monsters thate from the Enchanted Woonds. It also boasted a huge number of warriors who were ready to protect the empire''s borders.
At this moment, the group had just passed by the heavily fortified gates. The huge ballistas sitting at the top of the walls made them feel safe and secure.
They had to constantly keep a lookout when they were traveling outside. Now, they felt that they could finally rest easy.
The group traveled for another hour to find a suitable inn. They didn''t choose a famous establishment and selected a rtively unknown ce. This was to keep their identities hidden.
At the inn''s dining hall, the group gathered for an afternoon snack.
"We should get some rest tonight and resume our journey tomorrow," ric said while looking at Yvanna.
Her face was still covered with only her eyes and mouth visible.
Yvanna nodded. "I''ll listen to you."
She was excited to return to her home. She has been gone for a long time and she missed her family and friends.@@novelbin@@
Just a little bit more.
She muttered in her heart.
She was grateful to ric and the rest of the group who came to apany her, especially ric. If it weren''t for him, she might have frozen to death a long time ago.
Thinking about this, she looked at his side profile, her gaze softening.
As if sensing her eyes, ric turned his head. "Why are you looking at me like that?" He raised his head and chuckled.
"Thank you. I wouldn''t have gotten this far on my own." The elf responded while staring straight into his eyes.
ric almost fell into a trance. He quickly looked away and muttered. "That''s what friends do."
Friends?
Yvanna''s lips curved upwards.
That''s right. I have a human friend now.
ric was the first human she had fully epted as a friend.
Sensing the unusual atmosphere between the two, the others could only pretend like they were statues.
ric realized what was happening and immediately cleared his throat. Ehem!
"You don''t need to feel embarrassed, my lord." Henry tapped his back and sent him a knowing nce.
ric ignored his teasing nce and opened the cyan screen to check his progress.
ric Silversword [Knight] EXP: 444/500
Potential: B
Traits: Horseback Riding (C), Swordsmanship (SSS), Close Combat (C), Archery (F), Hunting (E), Tracking (F), Sixth Sense (F)
Strength: 100
Stamina: 34+
Agility: 43+
Vitality: 27+
Endurance: 42+
Mana: 48+
Battle Points: 3140
Stat Points: 47
(Requirements for next advancement: 500 EXP, 100 in all attributes, and 5000 Battle Points)
I still have a long way to go.