In some other parts of the kingdom, one could see a group of skeletons walking in armor.

"We're there, my child," replied one of them, wearing armor decorated with colorful mana stones while also carrying a shield and a black spear.

A small boy called Az nodded at his remark while his face was veiled under a coat.

"Milord, what are our plans now," questioned another skeleton after bowing.

During his adventure in the forest, Az awoke a few skeletons, but only three of them regained their consciousness.

The strongest of his summons was called Ogron. He wasn't loyal to Az and felt only pity for a young child wandering around the forest. That's why Ogron promised Az: "I'll protect you till your reunification with your siblings."

One of the two other skeletons was a female one, called Simaev, which only submitted to Az after Ogron beat her. She never felt any desire to babysit a young child with an old monster.

On the other hand, Otaz was the last one of the three that got awakened.
But unlike the rest, he immediately swore his loyalty to Az after his rest was disturbed.

Even though Otaz wasn't the oldest agewise, he was still the one coming from the most ancient times of the group. In his former life, magic only consisted of occult magic and runes.

For whatever reason, the awakening of the dead was seen with great importance, which is why Otaz accepted the young child as his master without any hesitation.

"All of your should hide your appearance. We don't want any citizen to find out that a group of sentient skeletons is visiting a small insignificant border town with me," replied Az.

Ogron nodded in approval. Thus they entered the border town with the sole goal of stocking up supplies, changing equipment, and selling hides and other valuable materials which they found.

It was quite a dead town. There was nothing much to see, except for a few people walking in ragged and dirty clothes through the street. The group consisting of four walked to the next best shop that bought hides from adventurers.

Walking inside the shop, one could see a bored shopkeeper that ignored the group. The store was dusty, and rats were seen from time to time. Only after placing a few hides onto the counter did the shopkeeper bat an eye.

The old merchant merely glazed at the four before putting on his glasses to inspect the hides. Nodding, he showed them his interest in buying these beast hides.

After a few minutes, he looked up before asking with a smile: "How much do you want for it?"

"500 silver coins and no negotiations," Az stated, but the merchant shook his head before replying: "300."

Az shook his head before stating: "The farthest I will go is 400," and the merchant sighed before giving Az a pouch of coins.

But instead of Az, Simaev took the pouch. Slowly, she began counting the coins in the sack as sweat trickled down the merchants' forehead.

"That aren't 400 coins," were the only words she coldly uttered while slowly taking out her weapon.

All of the other skeletons followed suit. Ogron's spear pressed slowly against his throat, and he pleaded: "Please spare me. I will give you double of the promised money."

Nodding, Az held out his hand, and the merchant gave him three pouches.
Only after making sure he hadn't been scammed again did the group decide to head out in search of the other items they needed.

Sighing, Az muttered: "Everyone treats me like a child."

"But you are a child. A sweat one indeed," replied Simaev while grabbing his hand with her gauntlet.

"Show some manner and call him Lord," retorted Otaz.

But before the two could argue about how they should treat their master, Ogron ended their argument with a sigh.

He stated: "Both of you died as brave adults only to act like children after being awoken from your endless sleep."

Ashamed, the two nodded in agreement.
After finishing their little shopping trip, the group headed to the guild's tavern.
Upon entry to the guild tavern, vulgar comments were heard from the benches as waiters or waitresses regularly supplied them with alcoholic beverages.

"Lord, this doesn't seem to be a place where we should stay more than a few minutes," Otaz commented.
Ogron nodded in agreement to his comment before walking with Az towards the counter.

"Guys, I'm going to show the newcomer that only adults are tolerated here," a drunken adult said with a laugh as a group of men cheered him on.

Az just shook his head, knowing what was heading towards them. But before the drunk man could touch Az, Ogron's fist punched against his face, and he toppled over.

All of Az's followers pointed their weapons at the man lying on the ground, who only whimpered.
Slowly, Az knelt and picked a pouch attached to his waist. With a smile, he looked at the silver coins into the pocket as the man pleaded: "Please, I still have to feed my children," as he grabbed Az's leg.

Feeling disgusted, Az replied coldly: "Then you shouldn't have tried to do something stupid. Be grateful that I'm letting you live."

Ogron, on the other hand, only stated: "If you continue holding his leg, you'll lose that hand."

Fearfully, he let Az's leg go, and the group walked toward the counter, where Az stated coldly: "I would like to apply for a hunting license."

The girl on the counter nodded, fearing to face the wrath of the two. She asked Az basic stuff while Ogron and Az elaborated, and after like 10 minutes, the necessary paperwork was filled.

With a forced smile, she stated: "It'll still take a day, but the fees for the membership can be paid immediately."

Nodding, Az paid the fees before walking to the pin wall, where all the missions were listed.

Ogron picked a few easy hunting missions for Az up, who only twitched at the sight of them before complaining: "the rewards for these missions are low. Shouldn't we be doing missions with better rewards?"

"Az, the missions I've chosen for you are for your further development and not to make money. You are aware that you are inexperienced in most areas. Till now, your henchmen were doing all the dirty work for you." Ogron answered with a smile while patting Az on the head.

Az looked away out of embarrassment before registering the missions at the counter.
On the way to the exit, two men in shining armor blocked their way.

Az only raised his eyebrow at the sight of the two, and one of them stated: "How about you join us. Such strong warriors should not be wasted on a child. Our boss pays well."

Ogron shook his head in amusement before stating: "We have no interest in joining anyone. We can't be bought, and anyone who wants to harm the young one will lose his head."

The two men swallowed and stepped aside, and one of them uttered: "I hope you'll reconsider."

"You know my answer, so step aside," Ogron told them impatiently.

Thus the group left, and it didn't take long till a new debate started. This time it's about which weapon the young master should learn.

"Master should learn how to use a scythe. In my culture, the whisperers of the dead have always used scythes," Otaz told Az.

"A scythe is a stupid and impractical weapon. Az is better of using a bow. Just look at how young our Lord is. Az should not focus on close combat," Simaev retorted.

"He should use a spear because it is the best melee weapon," Ogron replied proudly, swinging his spear.

"How about I decide it," sighed Az.

"No," replied the rest of the group in unison.

In the end, all three weapons were purchased since no agreement was made.

"I am a mage. Shouldn't I focus on using a mage staff or so?" asked Az.

"These are weak mages. Of all mages, they are the first to be killed because they're lacking in self-defense," stated Otaz.

"Someone who doesn't even have any combat nor weapon experience shouldn't use magic. Using magic spells makes it too easy. One shouldn't become over-reliant on magic," lectured the group.

"Fine by me. But I wanted to become a magician and not some crude hunter," told Az as he tried to convince them with an innocent look.

"Such spells don't work on me." Ogron stated while slapping Az's head gently before continuing: "Becoming a hunter is much nobler compared to becoming a stupid magician who hides before any close combat."