Chapter 12: Adamantium Goliath Cobra

"I know a safe shortcut through the forest."

Time was of the essence, and Albrecht was well aware that every precious second counts. Daley's offer was somewhat convincing, and it spurred Albrecht to grab him by the hand, pulling him outside.

"Let's go," Albrecht muttered under his voice as the two of them got out of the guild. While this wasn't what he was expecting for his first quest, he didn't really have any other choice.

Once they got to the stables right behind the guild, Albrecht got the first available horse. As soon as he hopped on, he grabbed Daley and hoisted him up. "Hiyah~" He called out, causing the horse to speed up through the city and into the Forest of Chythyllu.

Daley wasn't expecting such speedy actions from an adventurer, and it left him speechless for an ample amount of time.

Usually, adventurers would complicate a lot of things with all the paperwork and contracts before the quest could be accepted (this only happens with emergency quests— as for usual quests, their paperwork was already taken care of).

Seeing Albrecht's hasty reaction firsthand gave Daley a shred of hope. It was a light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe, just maybe, their village could be saved.

From a distance, the towering brick walls of the next kingdom over could be seen. Even though Albrecht and Daley were only a fourth of their way through the forest, the neighboring kingdom, Lomenschwaal, was visible.

It was easily recognizable but Albrecht had no idea what the name of the kingdom was since he'd been a sheltered hero. With a skeptical look, he pointed at the walls. "Is that..." his voice trailed off before he remembered what Yulie had told him. It was the Kingdom of Lomenschwaal.

"Lomenschwaal." Daley promptly answered. "They specialize in the healing arts, and most adventurers who came from that kingdom are talented healers, well, most of them."

From the looks of it, the Kingdom of Lomenschwaal was nearer compared to the City of Caharsa. And yet, Daley came all the way over to another city instead of asking for help from a formidable kingdom. This made Albrecht incredulously look at Daley as he questioned his judgment.

"W-what is it?" Daley uneasily asked after realizing that Albrecht was staring right into his soul.

"You... why didn't you ask the Kingdom of Lomenschwaal for help? They're relatively nearer compared to the City of Caharsa." Albrecht finally asked the elephant in the room.

"I mean, their guild is comparatively larger than ours, and they'd be able to provide more assistance. I'm sure they'll understand that it's an emergency and they'd send skilled adventurers at a moment's notice." Albrecht continued.

This time, it was Daley who stared at Albrecht with one of his eyebrows raised. In his mind, he wondered whether Albrecht lived under a rock all these years or not.

Unbeknownst to Daley though, Albrecht was actually from the past, and he was brought to the present as a member of the Heroes of Relics— this was the main reason why Albrecht had no idea about the intricacies and the norm of the timeline.

"Mister... did you live as a hermit all these years?" Daley asked, not stepping on any breaks as he questioned Albrecht. "The kingdoms are very influential, and they couldn't care less whether a city or two gets trampled on by beasts."

"They're too busy competing with each other while they try to approach the Dark One and defeat him. Honestly, I don't get what they're doing. Instead of working together, they're trying to monopolize Ground Zero." Daley continued.

"With that kind of mindset, they'd easily overcharge emergency quest. They'd reason out that their time is more important, and they couldn't be bothered running their butts off for a city that wasn't even in their designated territories."

Nodding his head, Albrecht finally realized what was going on. Of course, he knew just how hard it is for the independent cities and villages to fend for themselves without the protection of a kingdom. But then again, he wasn't really against it in the past.

After all, the kingdom couldn't be bothered to help since conquering Ground Zero is more important— OR SO, that was Albrecht's mindset back when he wasn't yet banished from the Heroes of Relics.

Now that he was directly affected by the thoughtlessness of the kingdom's guilds, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. He wasn't angry, not in the least, because he used to think like that in the past.

Heaving a sigh, Albrecht encouraged the horse to go faster, and before they knew it, they arrived by the entrance of a tiny village filled with purple trees. It was a beautiful sight to behold, sort of like a paradise in the lush green of the Forest of Chythyllu.

Mesmerized, Albrecht called for the horse to stop. The two of them dismounted and carefully watched the surroundings.

The Adamantium Goliath Cobra was known for its sheer size, tough hide, and powerful Zecian Aura. It could grow to a length of twenty-five elephants in line, and it could easily burrow itself into the ground, making it the best beast when it comes to surprise attacks.

Holding their breaths, Albrecht and Daley tiptoed towards the village. From time to time, Albrecht would admire the beautiful purple trees that littered the entire village. It was like cherry blossom trees in full bloom, except it was not pink, but purple.

"Where's the snake?" Albrecht hissed at Daley since he was getting rather impatient. Right now, he was as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. However, he had to set an example in front of Daley, and that's why he had no choice but to put up a false bravado while walking through the village.

Rumble Rumble!

Somehow, the System warned Albrecht of the upcoming attack. Without a second to spare, Albrecht grabbed Daley and jumped to the side. Just then, a huge snake came out of the ground, letting out a loud shriek as it attempted an attack.

"What the—" Albrecht let out as the two of them saw the Adamantium Goliath Cobra, face to face.

CREATORS' THOUGHTS
DaisukiDayoSenpai

Ready~ FIGHT!

Finally, a battle scene to start things out. You've reached a dozen chapters. Thank you so much for enjoying this novel so far. Have a great read ahead ^-^

Creation is hard, cheer me up!

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