Seth Chapter 67

Seth and Rebecca kept running till the early sun came up in the morning.

Tall grass rose around them as they descended down the hill and took breaks from time to time. Most of their belongings and food items were in the carriage, so they only had their clothes and a few coins on them.

No one seemed to be following them and there was no sound of battle around them. No beams coming for them. There was only the sun up in the sky and grass around them with rabbits peeking at them hiding in them.

Still, they couldn't relax and their hearts were heavy, like they were carrying a boulder on top of it.

From time to time, Seth would look back and find no one. Rebecca would tug at his arm to tell him to keep walking.

Like that, afternoon came up and the tall grass turned into a wide road that seemed to lead to a town, going by the signs of wheels that seemed recent enough.

They took the road and from time to time, carriages would pass them by, but they didn't stop to answer any of their questions.

“Going by where we were, I think we are on our way to a town called Altra. It was the only town near the road where we were camping. We have come west, away from the territory of the House Kermite,” Rebecca said as another carriage passed them by. They could see a river far up ahead and silhouettes of people around it.

“Is it close to Hallmark City?” He asked. “Our original plan was to go there before moving to the academy.”

“No, we seem to be near the border of the territory and Hallmark is in a different direction,” she said, giving him a stinging gaze. “If we move back there, we will waste time. Noah told us to go to Nightshard City, so let's go there. We can report about the whole incident there and it will reach the local authorities. If we delay, Seven Seals might find us again. They are a huge organisation you know.”

Seth returned the gaze and nodded, “I know. Let's move towards Nightshard after eating something in the town.”

Without any more words between them, they kept walking and saw people up ahead that seemed like hunters returning back to the town.

A bit of questioning and they confirmed that they were five minutes away from Altra Town.

They walked with them and soon reached the town. The guards let them enter once both of them Identified as travelling adventurers.

The town was small, but guards were all around since it was on the border of a territory. Although nobles didn't outright fight against each other, small clashes happened from time to time, so the security was tight.

After asking the locals, they were led to a small inn that didn't seem as big as The Rabbit Hole, but it was cheap. It looked like it had seen better times, but none of them were complaining.

A few people sat downstairs eating their lunch and once they booked two rooms, both Seth and Rebecca also sat down after ordering a bowl of mushroom stew each.

“I'm so tired. I will head to bed once I eat my fill,” Seth said, stretching his arms and glancing around to see if there was anyone suspicious around them.

It seemed like the whole inn was filled with hunters that he had seen returning to the town and a few other people who seemed to be travellers like them.

They eat their food with a glass of beer next to them while chattering about nobles, local monsters and what not. With no phone or internet in this world, the only way to pass time in an inn was chatting with random people.

“Same. I nearly thought we wouldn't make it once Gabriel appeared,” Rebecca said, drinking a glass of water and talking in whispers. “It's been hours since we parted ways with Noah. Do you think he's okay?”

“I could still feel him around the forest area where we left him, but there's nothing other than that. My mark lets me know his location, but it's not strong enough for me to know if he's okay. I have no idea how he is right now.” Seth explained. It was the first time he had used his skill and now, he felt a strange sensation in the back of his head.

He could pinpoint the exact location of Noah and could seek him out, but if he tried to focus more on the sensation, his head would hurt. He had already tried during their sprint to the town.

“Let’s trust that he will take care of Gabriel. All we know the battle has ended and he's resting to recover,” Rebecca said as the stew arrived.

Both of them took a sip out of it and nearly burned their tongue. It wasn't their fault since they were hungry.

Blowing air into the soup, Seth spoke, “Are we going to stay in the town for a day or two to wait for Noah? I think he will be able to find us pretty soon if we are here.”

“Yeah, let's wait for two days. We need to check out any carriages that might be heading to Nightshard City too,” Rebecca said, furrowing her brow. “From what I know of the geography, it will take nearly a week to reach our destination. Our coin will last us till then and once we are there, I can take help from my master.”

“Okay, let's do that.”

Seth focused on finishing his stew as the conversation died down. Both of them were too tired to carry forward the heavy conversation.

He quite enjoyed listening to people around him, feeling like it was a stark contrast to the burnt down town and the battle in the forest.

He just hoped Noah would knock on the inn's door soon, so that they could continue their journey.

***

They spent the next two days in Altra Town and despite them waiting for Noah, he didn't show up.

Seth kept feeling his mark, but there were no movments on it, so he could only assume Noah was resting at one place. They contemplated whether to wait more, but decided to make a move towards Nightshard City since a carriage was moving there.

If they missed, there were no other carriages moving there for now.

So, on the morning on their third day in the town, they took the job of bodyguards for a human merchant company heading towards the academy city.

Initially, Seth assumed it was going to be an easy job, but after two days, he realised that the level of monsters around them was simply increasing.

“Seth, look back.”

Rebecca yelled and Seth turned to look at a Minotaur swinging down his arm that was shaped just like an axe. He used Flickering Step just in time to avoid it and appeared right behind it before stabbing it in the back.

The Minotaur cried out and stumbled forward and his head hit a barrier. It tried to break it, but Seth used Void Blades to cut off it's head.

It fell on the floor and he wiped the sweat off his forehead before smiling at Rebecca.

You have defeated a Level 27 Azar Minotaur!

You have gotten experience!

Notifications flashed in front of him as both of them turned back to walk towards the carriage.

“That took more than a few minutes,” he said. “Why is there even a minotaur here attacking up in the middle of the road?”

“They live in the valley there and appear on the road sometimes because they love human meat. Merchant meat is anyway more delicious with the fats.”

Rebecca chuckled, pointing on the other side where a valley could be seen. Seth wanted to take a peek into it, but they were short on time.

Walking towards the back of the carriage, he shouted, “Okay, it's done! Let's move!”

“Thank you, Seth,” one of the merchants inside said and the others smiled. “Last time I was here, an entire band of them attacked. We barely escaped.”

“No one died?”

“A few adventurers did.”

Seth didn't reply to that and simply sat in the carriage with Rebecca before it started moving again. They were close to the city and the closer they got, the level of monsters they faced simply increased.

“Is there a dungeon around here?” he asked, looking outside at the plains around them. The road was one of the widest he had ever seen and there were more than a few carriages on it, all of them heading towards the same location.

“More than one. Other than that, there are ruins, monster hunting grounds and other places. Nightshard City is special and compared to it, Sacria City is very tame.”

“I can see that,” he said. “It seems like a cool place.”

“You will understand better once we are in,” Rebecca muttered, then her voice turned into a whisper. “Can you feel Noah?”

He looked at her solemnly before shaking his head, “No, the connection broke two days back. I have not sensed anything. From what I know, he didn't move since we got to Altra Town.”

“Do you think he's—”

“I really don't want to take a guess,” he said. “Gabriel is strong. We both saw his strength and Noah was taking it seriously, but I don't know if he is as strong as him. It can be that Noah got defeated in the battle since Gabriel at least seemed to be on the same level of strength as him.”

Rebecca lowered her head hearing that.

They have contemplated about it since they had left Altra Town, but if Noah was fine, he would have found them by now. It could be that he was still recovering from his injuries after the battle, but he had potions on him.

Even without them, a Rank 8 human would heal at a rapid rate where even the most lethal injuries won't take more than a day. That was something Noah himself have told him.

So, the situation only prompted Seth to think of the worst scenario that could possibly happen.

I hope he's not dead and finds us soon. If he is—

“We are here!”

A shout from the driver of the carriage broke his thoughts and the carriage slowed before stopping in the next minute.

All of them got out and saw that they were outside a large gate. Walls twice as large as Sacria City rose with intricate patterns in all of them and beyond that, Seth could see spires and towers reaching up towards the clouds, making him feel like he was in New York City with the tall towers.

Taking a look around, he saw the area laddened with grass with plain terrain beyond it leading up to the valley and cliffs. It seemed like the city was made in a location with lots of different terrains.

A line stood in front of the gates that seemed like it would take over an hour before they would be let inside.

Seth frowned and headed towards the back of it before Rebecca grabbed his hand.

“Where are you going?” She asked, looking at him with obvious confusion.

“To the end of the line. We need to get inside right?”

“We don't have to stay in line. Academy students have special permits to skip all that anytime they want. Lots of students go in and out of the city, so they get it to skip time. I got a permanent one on me. I can use it to get us in.”

She said and before he knew it, she was talking to a guard, showing him a bracelet that he hadn't noticed before.

Once he saw it, he became subservient and opened up a small door by the main gate.

The next second, she trailed back towards him before smiling.

“Let's go. We need to meet my master.”

That was the first time Seth realised that Rebecca might just have special status in this academy city.