Chapter 55.

Amber at first didn’t go at full speed, but it changed once she was far enough into the wilderness. Having traveled from Laria to the capital a couple of times, she knew the way from the two cities like she knew her daily commute route. Well, almost. So, Amber sprinted at full speed. 

At first, it was uneventful, all she saw were the passing trees, the mountains, the occasional rock on the road that she accidentally kicked⁠— launching it into a tree and snapping its trunk in half from the sheer forces at play. All in all, it was a normal trip for her. She basked in the sunlight, she felt the wind, and she jumped off cliffs. 

It was something she could have never done on Earth, and it was something that filled her with life. Not because it was thrilling or exciting, but because it made her feel free. At least, even if it was during this short trip to Laria, Amber felt free. She was well aware that she wouldn’t take the two weeks that caravans usually took because she was going much much faster than that. 

In fact, it would maybe three or four days at most with little stops, but still, Amber decided to enjoy herself as much as she reasonably could. So, she made the decision to stop and enjoy any sight that she found interesting. 

The first stop was a waterfall near a cliff, she used the water to was her face off bugs ⁠— it was quite normal for her to be showered in them running that fast ⁠— but after, she enjoyed the beauty. She enjoyed the falling downward stream that made a rainbow from its mist, she enjoyed the sounds it made, and she enjoyed sitting at the cliff and swinging her legs playfully.

She had never made an effort to enjoy nature like this, but now that she did she really appreciated it. 

“I wish I had my phone, though…” She tilted her head. “Though, if Ax’thra got it to work maybe he took some pictures of his birthplace?”

She didn’t dare to actually mention the higher realm out loud, but she thought about it. She thought about Val’leri’s vision and she wanted to definitely see it in person⁠— that or on a photo album either were fine. 

“That said…” Amber stared down. “I can really fall from here, break every bone in my body, and somehow survive? It feels kind of absurd to think about.”

She was in battle, any inhuman feat wasn’t particularly thought about too much, but right now it was different. She was aware of it, and somehow it clicked on her even more that she was in a completely different world⁠— well she was kind of used to it, it just felt shocking still. But she wasn’t complaining. 

Amber enjoyed her relaxing time for a few more minutes before setting off again. It was going to be quite the fun and entertaining way back to Laria. Relaxing even. 

 

* * * 

 

Amber proceeded to have two more stops throughout the day, one was at an incredibly dark cave which she explored for about a minute before going back. Unfortunately, it was connected to an incredibly expansive cave system and the likelihood of getting lost or spending multiple hours in it was quite high, so she had to cut her losses.

But still, she did leave a carving on the wall with her name on it using the Cursewelder. Perhaps someone would see it, perhaps nobody would, but it didn’t matter too much ⁠— it was something done on a whim after all. After that, she hit the road again and it wasn’t until multiple hours later that she made another stop⁠—

An abandoned shed she found, it was slightly dilapidated, it had holes in the ceiling, the floorboards creaked, but it was right next to a beautiful river that she had to check out. Given the fact that the sun was setting, Amber decided that it was a good idea to spend the night there. 

So, she made herself cozy by cutting down an entire tree, all it had taken was a single swing, then she chopped it into pieces and threw them right by the riverside before igniting them on fire. And just like that, she had made herself a campfire. 

Amber then proceeded to get another tree trunk, this time for her to sit on, and once that was done she looked at the sky above. It was a dozen times more beautiful than Earth’s and yet it was a whole lot less amazing than Ill’hine’s, but Amber didn’t think about the latter. Comparison was the thief of joy or something along those lines. So instead, she relaxed and looked at the stars and while at it, she took one of the meals she had gotten at the restaurant. 

It was vegetable soup with some kind of meat reminiscent of chicken, while it was a simple meal, Amber found it comforting. 

“Six months of no human contact, a little over a month of human contact, then two weeks of no human contact before leaving the tower, then two full days of non-stop contact.” Amber tilted her head. “Kind of weird to think about.”

Her time in the tower was memorable and yet parts of it were kind of a blur, to be honest, it was hard for her to imagine how long she had spent in this world. She had spent like two weeks with Ax’thra, then gone off to some dungeon, went to help Liz⁠— 

“Ten months…?” she guessed. “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter, I can just ask Ax’thra when I meet him.” 

With that, she turned to look at the surrounding wilderness. She saw the rustling trees, the flowing water of the river, and finally, her eyes landed on a deer-looking animal that was looking at her from afar. Amber stared at it, and the animal stared back, and it wasn’t until it began to approach that Amber saw it for what it was⁠— a very weak monster. 

 

[Cervi Agil. Lvl. 10]

 

Amber didn’t care too much about it being dangerous⁠— because it wasn’t. However, it was damn cute. Aside from some spikes on its back, it basically looked like a cute ass deer. And so, she moved her hands forward and offered her soup to the animal. 

It took a couple of minutes, but eventually, it made its way near her and actually⁠— began to eat the food she gave it. Amber nearly melted watching it scarf down her food, and in the end, she couldn’t help but give it another plate of some random meat and veggies. And she got to fucking pat it. 

“This is fucking awesome…” she muttered.

Normally monsters were scared out of their minds when they were in her presence, but this time wasn’t the case. So, she enjoyed feeling its incredibly soft fur to the fullest. It was a literal deer with bone spikes on its back, it didn’t look funny, it didn’t look too high fantasy to her, it was just cute. 

Well maybe the fact that I can kill it so easily isn’t so cute, but… She smiled feeling its neck. It’s still nice. 

The animal ate for another minute before the food ran out, while Amber wanted to keep feeding it, it would’ve been stupid to waste all of her food on just this. What if she found an even fluffier and cuter animal later?

So, she watched the animal leave as it disappeared into the forest, and just like that. She was alone, once more, but she was also slightly happier. 

After that, she extinguished the fire ⁠— not wanting to leave it unattended and accidentally burn the entire forest ⁠— and then she went into the shed and slept on the floor. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing ever, but she made a mental note to buy either a sleeping bag or a full-on mattress in the future. 

And just like that, she ended her first day of traveling. 

 

* * * 

 

She woke up a few hours later and when she exited she found the same Cervi Agil from yesterday standing just a few meters away from her. It was the deer she had enjoyed patting, but she didn’t want to give it more food. So, she ignored it as she prepared herself to depart. 

Except, it followed after her. It wasn’t until she reached the road again that the monster seemed hesitant, and Amber couldn’t help but feel slightly bad. It was a cute thing, and it seemed kind of helpless after all. She had to go but at the same time it felt wrong to just abandon it like that. If it was that damn desperate for food maybe it just couldn’t hunt on its own. 

It was too weak, its level was way too low for that… 

And Amber suddenly had an idea. 

“Come here.” She gestured for the deer monster. “Come, come.”

Her voice was low and quiet, and it was seemingly enough for the Cervi Agil to approach, and that was when Amber⁠— pounced. She swept it off its feet as it thrashed for a moment in confusion, and then carrying the deer in her embrace she grinned.

“Now, let’s get you some levels.”

And she set off. 

Of course, she didn’t set off right into the forest, no⁠— she still set off to Laria, but now with a monster that she forced to tag along. There were probably plenty of monsters for the Cervi Agil to kill, now she just had to coincidentally run into them. 

Maybe, just maybe she was making a mistake by bringing the monster out of its safe habitat and out into the unknown, but that was why she was going to level it quite a lot. 

 

* * * 

 

It took about four hours, but eventually Amber saw monsters. Ferocious wolf-like creatures of over level 50. 

Sure they were attacking a group of people, so she had to hurry, but they were enough for her needs. And so, with excitement and slight nervousness for saving the people in time, she rushed with Quick Dash and got to work. 

 

* * *

 

Cecile couldn’t believe her luck, it was damn terrible, and her heart ached. Her heart ached with guilt, she had hired three Gold Ranked adventurers for this journey, it should have been enough under most circumstances except⁠— 

She winced as a Rabidwelf tore into the throat of one of the adventurers. And even though the adventurers had managed to kill two of them, it certainly wasn’t enough given six of them remained. Right now two adventurers remained alive, but for how long? The horses had already died or fled!

She had to do something! 

But what? Sure, Identify showed her as a Warrior, in fact, a level 80 one⁠— but she was a damn merchant. Her class was a literal merchant class, it wasn’t meant for combat. She wished she had prepared some type of enchantment scroll, but she had been over-confident. She had survived the Great Desert multiple times for many years, so getting to Laria shouldn’t have been a problem with adequate preparation!

Preparation she thought she had⁠…

But she had been incredibly wrong for some reason or another. For starters, the Rabidwelf were meant to reside much further in the forest, so it shouldn’t have presented a problem but she was wrong⁠—

Cecile winced as the warrior protected the mage, the two were holding off so desperately to protect her⁠. And that’s when she finally made her decision, she didn’t think she’d end up dead fighting against some damn level 50 monsters, but she was at least going to try to fight alongside the adventurers. So, she summoned a sword from her storage and stepped forward.

“What are you doing, get back!” the mage said.

But Cecile shook her head. She still got attribute points, she still had some strength even if it was nowhere near the strength she should have for her level. 

And so, she stepped next to the shield warrior and prepared her sword. She wasn’t ready for this, she wasn’t ready to die, but she was no fucking coward. And so, she prepared herself to swing as the Rabidwelf pounced for her. 

This was it⁠— 

And it was kneed⁠— she watched an armored knee break its jaw in slow motion, and with a shriek, the Rabidwelf was thrown away rolling onto the ground. And at that moment, all the other Rabidwelfs turned towards the new face who was⁠—

Cecile paused. What the⁠— 

It was an armored woman with a damn monster in her arms?! 

Of course, the pack of Rabidwelf did not give a shit about that, instead, they all gathered to rip her to shreds. Cecile assumed the woman was a warrior but⁠— where the fuck was her weapon? But before she could think more, the woman stomped. 

The ground shattered in a blink and all of the Rabidwelfs were stunned at once, then with a faraway kick she chopped the legs of multiple of them. It was like a wave of energy Cecile had never seen before, and then the warrior sprinted and consecutively kicked.

Each of her kicks crippled a Rabidwelf, leaving them unable to run or do anything, it was a completely one-sided thing, and for good reason.

 

[Warrior. Lvl. 125]

 

This person was strong. 

And most definitely had a rare class. 

Cecile gulped⁠, the possibility of getting mugged was high. So she watched the woman’s movements with utmost cautiousness and she⁠— set the monster she was carrying around on the ground and then urged it towards the Rabidwelfs.

“Come on, you can do it, kill those bastards,” she whispered gently. 

Cecile blinked but immediately grew wary of the monster, she recognized it as a Cervi Agil, but maybe it was a rare variant or⁠—

 

[Cervi Agil. Lvl. 10] 

 

Was level 10… 

She couldn’t make sense of things, not even when the warrior urged the level 10 monster to attack and verbally encouraged it and cheered for it when it attacked. 

Cecil watched as the monster laboriously finished off the Rabidwelfs one by one, all while receiving constant cheering and support⁠— it even got some food tossed at it as a reward! 

In the end, she lost track of time, but the adventurers remained as wary as ever. Instead, she just watched as the monster dug its hooves into the Rabidwelfs until each and every single one of them died. 

And by the time they were done…

 

[Cervi Agil. Lvl. 35] 

 

It had leveled up 25 fucking times. The same level that some people wouldn’t reach in their lifetime was reached by a monster in the span of like an hour…

Cecil couldn’t believe it.

A sigh left her as the warrior grabbed the surprisingly docile monster into her arms and then turned to them. The adventurers tensed. 

“So, I can assume what I’m doing is not normal, but can you all put your weapons down?” she asked. “You’re like scaring the deer I’m trying to level.”

“Deer?” Cecile raised her eyebrow. “Is that what you’ve named it?”

The woman shrugged in response. 

“Anyway, why are you here… warrior?” she asked.

“Well I saw a bunch of people getting murdered, so I figured I should help?” the woman answered, confused. 

Cecile was still skeptical⁠— but then again she had just seen the woman level up a monster for some reason or another⁠, perhaps they were nefarious reasons, but either way, she had yet to try anything. 

“I know my level makes me look scary and all, so if you all don’t need help, I’ll just take my leave.”

With those words, the warrior turned around, causing the adventurers to breathe a sigh of relief. And Cecile… bit her lip. The warrior was preparing to sprint away, and while this wasn’t the highest leveled person she had ever met, she had most definitely been saved by them. Not only that but…

If I can hire them… 

So, she called.

“Warrior!”

The warrior turned to her and raised her brow.

“What is it⁠—”

“I want to hire you!”

 

* * * 

 

Amber blinked at the warrior. She was a woman of the same stature but with deep purple hair and violet eyes. She was dressed in comfortable travel clothes, oddly enough. She was level 80. 

“Why would a level 80 warrior want to hire me.”

“I’m a level 80 merchant, not a warrior, that’s why,” she answered immediately. “And you are incredibly strong, so I hope that answers your question.”

“Right…” Amber looked at her up and down. “And your goods are?”

She smiled and lifted a black ring, and Amber got the meaning of it immediately. But still, she couldn’t accept it.

“Even if you pay me a thousand gold, I won’t agree to it.”

At that, the woman’s eyes went wide. “Wait, why?”

“I’m going to Laria and want to get there in about three days’ time, so,” Amber pondered for a few moments. “You’d slow me down significantly.” 

The merchant blinked and there was a very long pause. Amber thought that would be it, but then she was told to give her a moment and she went to talk with the adventurers. 

It took about a minute but she returned.

“What if you give me a ride all the way to Laria,” she suggested. “That is my destination too, I have a small one-person cart you can pull.” 

Amber blinked. “What do I get in return?”

“Well, I’m a merchant that specializes in goods from the Great Desert so⁠—”

“Do you often go to the Great Desert?” Amber interrupted. 

“Uh, yeah…?” The woman was confused.

“Deal,” Amber said immediately. 

If the woman had visited the Great Desert multiple times then befriending her was most definitely worthwhile. Though, she wasn’t about to act as a cart horse either, so Amber gave her condition.

“But you’ll ride on my back, that or sit on my shoulders,” she stated simply.

The merchant blinked. There was a long pause before she sighed.

“Fine…”

With those words, she went off to talk to the adventurers, it was a long talk and one where she apologized for the death of their comrade; much to Amber’s surprise. She paid them some gold coins after that they began to make their preparations for leaving to the nearest town. They also began to burn the corpses including one of an adventurer. Then, the merchant returned and nodded at Amber.

“If I’m going to do something so embarrassing can I get your name?”

“Amber, and yours?”

“Cecile,” she said, defeated. “Is there no other way you can bring me to Laria?”

“Not really,” Amber replied. “Can you think of something that’s not your cart? I’m not about to feel like something less than an equal to you when I’m doing you a favor. In fact, you should count yourself lucky that I’m not lunging you like a potato sack.”

The merchant paused at her words, and after a brief silence she nodded. 

“Right, that is fair I suppose…” Cecile said. “I’m asking for a lot anyway, so let’s do it.” 

Amber smiled and knelt for the woman to get on. In the end, she chose a simple piggyback ride, and after all was said and done, Amber set off again, making the merchant scream in the process. 

 

* * *

 

On the first day, Cecile vomited onto the road so much that she passed out. On the second day, she also passed out, leaving Amber mostly alone. Amber in the meantime, managed to level the deer, or Deer as she decided to call her to level 47. She was planning to take Deer all the way to fifty so she could get her… evolution? Hopefully at least. 

According to Cecile, Deer was a she, which Amber found interesting, and thankfully they didn’t run into any other caravans or anything during their travel, so the headache of trying to protect Deer from other humans wasn’t a thing. 

On the last day, Cecile finally managed to hold a conversation, and Amber finally got to ask what she had in mind.

“So you are a merchant but it says warrior,” she started. “I’ll admit I never so much as used Identify on a merchant, but what is that about?”

“It’s just a non-combat class.” Cecile sighed, talking slowly. “Surprised you didn’t learn this as a kid when choosing what you wanted to be.”

Amber shook her head. “I grew up in a different world so I didn’t.”

“Yes, I can tell.” Evidently, Cecile didn’t take her seriously. “Anyway, there are non-combat classes and combat classes, non-combat classes are ones such as chef, receptionist, merchant, etcetera.”

She took a long breath before continuing her explanation.

“Of course, you don’t need these classes to be good at your job or anything, but for example, if your non-combat class uses magic you’ll be classified as a mage under Identify,” she said simply. “Does that answer your question?”

“I suppose, I’m curious about what a merchant class even does, aside from the obvious answer of securing better deals, but.” Amber took a moment to think. “You’ll probably throw up if you try to talk that much.”

“Correct,” Cecile agreed immediately. 

And so, they returned to silence with the occasional small talk. Overall, the only times they talked were during the resting times at night, and using that period Amber had gotten to somewhat get to know Cecile. And she learned a few key things. 

Cecile was well over 50 years old even though she looked to be like 22 at most. She was a well-established trader and had a decent amount of connections as well as good knowledge about the Great Desert, and a final thing, she had long earned enough to retire but had no other purpose in life other than to trade. 

Amber found that a bit sad, but upon learning that Cecile wanted to make enough money to buy an entire country, she changed her mind and found it kind of admirable. 

She had also learned interesting things about the Great Desert, namely; there were whole damn nations in it and somehow Thieney or literally nobody else, thought to mention that ⁠— though, perhaps to the other people it was obvious, but to Amber it wasn’t. Apparently, Torl was the main trade hub of all of these nations, the tradehub that received goods from the sea that was at the other side of the desert as well as Cytel. 

The City of Torl, which was where the Grand Dungeon of Torl was located, was quite important to a lot of territories, which is why it was also deemed a neutral and self-governing place. 

Cecile did note that due to the conditions of the desert, mages weren’t particularly common outside of the confines of Torl due to the lack of mana ambient mana, so Warriors were actually the favored class there. 

Overall, Amber found the experience to be incredibly lightening and she realized that when people named the desert as the Great Desert; they meant it because it was actually massive. Even though, Cytel in the map looked to be just as big inside the map⁠ she had seen— and was the largest territory in it, apparently the Great Desert was three or four times its size. 

So Amber, learned quite a lot. Meanwhile, Cecile got to learn that Amber was like 21, which got her called a liar. Cecile also got to know that Amber was leveling up Deer on a whim, which was met with doubtful skepticism, and lastly, Cecile learned⁠—

“Wait, you are the hero of Cytel Amber?!”

Apparently, those were widespread news amongst certain circles. Not necessarily the general public, but that was enough for Amber to sigh. 

Finally, towards the end of the third day, they arrived at Arthra forest, where Amber made a stop and took Deer inside. Cecile chose to wait by the road while that happened. 

 

* * *

 

Amber headed deep into the forest until she found a Grand Drake. 

 

[Grand Drake. Lvl. 55]

 

And when she did, the monster stared at her dangerously before⁠— bolting away. Amber immediately dropped Deer and used Quick Dash, appearing on top of it before doing a downward kick.

She felt the monster’s skull crack as it was sent right into the dirt. 

And like clockwork, Deer approached and began her attacks. She had learned a multitude of skills from being able to shoot the spikes on her back to even growing claws from her hooves. So killing the Grand Drake took just a few minutes instead of a few hours and of course, Amber watched all the way through like a proud mother. 

“In four days, you’ve grown from a helpless deer to an independent adult.” Amber nodded as Deer finished off the Grand Drake.

 

[Cervi Agil. Lvl. 51] 

 

“And now, it’s time to say goodbye,” Amber stated. “Just promise me you won’t kill humans?”

Her question rang in the air for a moment and the monster⁠— bowed. Deer bowed to her for a very long time before giving an affirmative nod. Amber smiled at that, and while Deer seemed to still want to come along, Amber couldn’t take her. 

So instead, she gave the monster a very long hug before departing, one that made her shed a tear or two as the monster whined. 

Maybe I’ll try to visit… 

After a rather emotional goodbye, she departed from Deer and left her alone while giving her some survival tips, but Amber was quite sure the monster didn’t need it at this point. 

After she returned, she picked Cecile up and they reached Laria not too long after, arriving early evening just as the sun was setting.  

Amber set the merchant down not too far away from the gates and received a wobbly nod in return. 

“As for your payment,” she said taking out a sack of gold. “I’ll be generous and pay you⁠—”

“I’ll collect it in a few days,” Amber said. “How long will you be in the city?”

“For about a week?” Cecile guessed. “Then I’ll depart.”

“To?” she urged. 

“To the Great Desert, of course.” She harrumphed before walking away. “If you want to find me, just look for the most expensive inn I guess. But for now, I really need some rest, so I’ll go.”

“Make sure to stay at least a week!” Amber called.

She got no reply, but she watched as the merchant proceeded to basically skip the queue and show a badge that got her instant entry into the town, much to Amber’s surprise. 

And now, she was stuck with a bunch of terrified adventurers that didn’t dare get close to her. 

Should I go to the desert with her or stay around longer? Amber wondered and just as she did⁠—

She was hit in the back of the head, something that didn’t even hurt but an angry voice scolded a moment later. 

“Velda! What the fuck are you doing?!”

“I just felt like it! We haven’t seen her in eight months so she deserves it! 

Amber blinked and turned around only to see two familiar women standing behind her arguing, they both looked dirty as if they had just come back from a long journey. And the sight made Amber pause. 

“Liz?” 

The blonde mage meekly smiled. “Hi, Amber, sorry about… Velda, she’s in her rebellious phase…”

And Amber couldn’t help but smile.

After so much time, they finally met again.