BXBX NOVEL Chapter 340 339: The Road Ahead
Slipping them on, I nodded to myself at the comfortable material and freedom of movement they provided, before tightening the straps a little and beginning to hang everything on my belt.
Three daggers - one of which was unenchanted due to my lack of mana last night - were sheathed on my belt, my Protective and Breeze Fangs hanging on my right and left hip respectively, while the last dagger - the new one - was sheathed on the back of my belt.
Hanging on my left side was the potion satchel, evening out the weight of the Protective Fang a little.
Finally, I hoisted the pack onto my back and nodded, not finding too much of a problem with the weight at the moment, but that could change at any time.
Balling up my old clothes and armor, I stuffed them into a spare rucksack that I had and tied that up, planning of disposing of it before leaving.
Double checking everything, I nodded to myself as I exited the room of the inn, leaving behind a clean and tidy room that had been aired out.
Stopping at the counter on the first floor, I handed the key back and bought myself a roll, some bacon, and some scrambled eggs, making myself a small breakfast sandwich and eating it as I left the inn entirely.
Making my way past the giant statue of the Maiden Polaris, I glanced up at the chunk of Starstone in her hand, wondering what exactly that could be used for if it wasn\'t just a decoration, before shrugging as I continued onwards, towards the north entrance of the city.
According to the map I had bought, this road will take me all the way to the northern most tip of the Nevrokopi State, where I will then need to traverse the few smaller roads to enter that cold forest area that lay in between Nevrokopi State and the Wekalian Steppes.
Walking through the city, I got a few looks from passerby\'s, my armor hidden underneath the fur cloak that Oya had gifted me.
My fluffy ears were on display as I walked around, and considering the lack of Beastkin in the area, I could understand the curiosity, but as always there were those looks of both appreciation and lust.
Keeping my expression flat, I continued along the main road of Polaris City and found myself standing by the towering gates soon enough, long lines of men and women filtering in and out of the city as they went about their day.
The line to leave moved quickly enough, but it still left me feeling antsy as we trudged towards the gates, where the guards looked everyone over before letting them through.
I wanted to begin my journey in earnest, and these short checkpoints stifled progression, halting it to a crawl...
Sighing, I once again reviewed the map, wanting to make sure my memory of it was as good as it possibly could be.
From here on out, the road was an almost straight shot through Nevrokopi, but there were obviously twists and turns since this was... well, a road spanning hundreds of miles.
There were an incredible amount of branching paths that led to other cities and things that, according to the old lady, were spots that \'spawned\' the monsters.
Much like Fovos Forest back home or the Zhu\'Rong Caverns at the capital, these spots were areas that spawned monsters, and as such they were subject to being occupied by the Nevrokopi State for resources and profits.
\'Shining Den\'
\'Tranquil Lake\'
\'Moonlit Orchard\'
There were many of those spots located on the map, and I noted that there were two that were extremely close to the main road.
That could mean trouble, depending on just how strong the monsters were that spawned and how strong the inhabitants of the various \'Guilds\' as the old woman wrote down were.
Taking my mind off of that, since those places were far away, I focused instead on trying to figure out what \'landmarks\' I could look for as I journey today, to try and get a good idea of how \'fast\' I was moving.
North of Polaris City was a singular mountain, which I could just barely see from here, and past that, roughly the same distance between me and the mountain, was a cluster of small lakes.
Looking around the long line of people, I took note of the sparsely populated road off into the distance, a small smile appearing on my lips at that.
Since I was going to be on foot, I wanted to run on the road, and if people were present it would be much more annoying than necessary.
I would refrain from utilizing advanced magics out in the open, but besides that I needed to figure out what pace I could set for the journey going forwards.
Moving forwards a step, I sighed again as the line continued to slowly exit the city, until it was eventually my turn.
Nodding to the guard, I opened my bags and let them check before departing, my feet hitting the stone road as I set out in a light jog at first.
My pack bounced against my back as I moved, and I took note of my weapons under my cloak as I made sure everything was secure.
When I got a good distance away from the gates I sped up, finding a rhythm as I moved without magic first, watching as the frozen tundra around me passed by in a blur.
Taking deep, even breaths through my nose and exhaling through my mouth, I regulated my body as I moved, keeping a steady pace for an hour.
My mind was blank as I moved, and I only focused on the mountain slowly growing closer and closer as I ran.
Pausing for a moment, I turned and glanced back at Polaris, a small smile gracing my lips as I took note of the distance I had created in a mere hour or so.
Turning back towards the mountain, I sent a surge of mana towards my feet and activated a simple Wind Spell, while also activating the enchantments in my boots and grieves before resuming my run.
With the wind billowing through my hair, I made great progress as I passed by the mountain with hours remaining in the day, my heart beating with joy as I realized that this journey would not be as long as I had feared it to be.
Maybe.