Emery rode through the Northern Plains, passing through the mountain peaks valiantly as he shielded his face from the harsh winds. It was a difficult journey, as he trudged through thick snow, frozen lakes and steep mountains. After a full week of travel, Emery could see the horse was steadily weakening, so he eventually let the horse return and continued on foot.
With Emery's current level of strength, this weather did not pose much of a problem for him. In fact, he was actually able to travel at a faster speed, using [Spatial Gate] to cross a mountain and using his psyche to run at an accelerated rate. Surprisingly, despite the extreme weather, Emery was still able to enjoy the journey.
Once a few days, he would take a rest on top of the highest mountain around, feeling the snowflakes and the cold wind brushing his skin. And the best part of it was that, during the night, he was able to see rainbow clouds emerge among the stars in the dazzling night sky. Out of his expectations, the breathtaking experience aided him, allowing him to use [Nature Grasp] more proficiently.
The map provided by the king was really too vague. Not only was it lacking in information, but it wasn't very accurate either. Fortunately, Emery still had his spirit readings to help him with the journey.. From what he could observe, he was simply tasked to go west until he reached the sea and then travel south until he found the nearest fishing village to ask for directions to Bergen Town.
After three whole weeks of travel, Emery was finally able to see the sea he was tasked to reach. He walked towards one of the tallest snowy hills, trudging to the peak and stared at the shore. Splayed out in front of him was the wide, dark blue expanse of the sea, stretching out far into the horizon.
Now that he had arrived and the sun had fallen in front of him, Emery decided to take a break from his near-constant walking and have a little nap on top of the hill. The shimmering stars above him and the sound of the waves gently lulling him to sleep.
When the morning came, he was awoken by his spirit reading. It warned him of a few figures steadily approaching his position.
Realizing the power that these individuals had, Emery decided to pretend to be asleep. Soon after, he could feel one of the figures nudging at him with a wooden pole.
"Mister… Are you dead, Mister?"
In response to his inquiry, Emery slowly opened his eyes. To his surprise, his sight was met with a group of five kids, all of which were no more than 10 years old, consisting of a girl and four boys. Although they were considerably young, their builds were quite large, especially when they were enhanced by the massive fur mantles they wore. A pang of nostalgia struck his heart: these kids really reminded him of his 5 friends.
Feeling that they harbored no ill intent towards him and were of no threat, Emery played along, filling the role of a traveler from the far east. Fascinated by his stories, one of the boys invited him to come to his village. The boy called himself Torfinn, he lived in a small fishing village with just over a hundred families.
Emery followed them with the intention of asking for information about Bergen Town, but the villagers were so enthusiastic to accept him with warm hospitality he felt it was too hard for him to refuse their goodwill.
Most of these people lived off the fish they caught from the sea or by herding sheep. Emery could tell they didn't have much to give. Yet, despite their situation, they were still more than happy to share the food they had with him.
At noon, he saw two dozen kids the same age as Torfinn playing a battle with wooden swords and wood polearms. Many of them got hurt, but none of them cried despite their injuries. And just before the night fell, the kids took him to listen to the town elder tell tales about faraway lands.
That dusk, the elder told a tale about a long voyage through the ocean to find the green and fertile lands of the east, where they would be able to farm and grow anything on the fields. It was something the people of this village lacked, a fertile land for farms.
The story the elder told was heard by dozens of the villagers. It appeared to be a common story that went around every other week, even so, they all intently listened to him regardless, listening to him every time without fail.
Some of the stories even involved gigantic monsters of both the land and the sea trying to stop the warrior's adventure. But in the story, the warrior would always win, even when he had to fight against the sea dragon Jormungand. The faces of all the kids and even some of the adults were filled with fascination as they listened to the warrior's story.
Emery found these people, the Danes, to be very interesting. Their love for battle and seafaring was deeply rooted in their culture and manifested even from the youngest children.
When night fell, Emery could see a group of men approaching the village from afar, a dozen of them. From what he heard the villagers say, they were the village's strongest men, who had just returned from hunting. From the distance, Emery could see two men carrying the body of a white bear.
"Father! We have a visitor!" shouted Torfinn, as he ran towards one of the men in the group, introducing Emery to who seemed to be his father.
When Emery saw the man, he could tell that this man who went by Torstein was not a simple man at all. He could sense that this man was a warrior no weaker than the knights in the Golden Knights of the Divine Order. It appeared the man could sense something in him as well.
The man unexpectedly invited him for dinner and to stay the night in his home with his family. Emery wanted to reject the offer, but the little boy pleadingly looked at him. With that look, there was no way he would not notice that Torfinn desperately wanted him to stay.
Emery sighed before finally compromising, "I guess I can stay for one night."
He genuinely thought that due to his sudden appearance as a stranger, there would be some inevitable questions about who he was, or maybe even a thorough interrogation regarding his identity, but none ever came. It appeared that what King Fjolrin said was true, the northerners were great hosts to guests, even to a wayfaring stranger like him.
That night, Torstein only discussed the eastern mountains. As he was interested to know the situation beyond the cold mountain pass.
In the morning, when the sun rose, Emery was awoken by the warrior Torstein.
"I hope you will be keen on some morning exercise."
Emery accepted the offer and soon after, many of the villagers came to watch.
While he had expected it the first time they met, the fact that the man indeed had a strength that was at least on par with that of a Silver Knight and a hidden strength that was definitely on par with a Golden Knight. It certainly piqued his interest, as the golden knights required the divine blessing of the sword Excalibur. He wondered if this man was what Fjolnir mentioned about the strength of pure Vanir blood.
The two went and sparred for quite a while, but the man was still no match for Emery's sword skill, even when he was not fighting with his full strength. Even so, the man named Torstein did not feel threatened. On the contrary, Emery could see that joy clearly illuminated his face. He was elated to finally meet a person who was able to outmuscle him.
While they were still in the middle of their spar, a ruckus could suddenly be heard from the direction of the sea. All the present villagers immediately headed to the shore to check the cause of the commotion.
On the fishing deck, Emery could see a ship. It was a war ship with a dragon head at its hull. On that ship there were around a hundred fully-armed warriors in identical uniforms. All of them were armed with a battle axe and a shield, and donned a grey cape.
The people of the village quickly recognized them, the sight filling them with great awe.
"It's the Jomsviking!"
The people of the village welcome them like heroes. But as his eyes turned to Torstein, Emery saw that contrary to the other villagers around, Torstein seemed to be greatly worried about the arrival of these people.
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Written and Directed by Avans, Published by NovelFull,