Kyle took a deep breath.
He probably would have managed to create his own tunnel in time, but it wouldn’t be nearly as roomy as this one.
Originally, he wanted to create a small hole and just crawl inside, but this guy had created an entire tunnel with a single strike.
“There were no reports of Skysand clouds!” the other guy shouted in frustration. “I’m going to give the weather guys a piece of my mind when I’m back!”
“Thanks,” Kyle said.
“What?” the guy asked in surprise.
“Thanks for digging the tunnel. Mine wouldn’t be nearly as comfortable,” Kyle said.
“Ah, don’t mention it,” the other guy said while waving Kyle off. “We’re in the same boat.”
The guy looked at Kyle more closely.
“You’re a bit weak to be traveling through the wilds. What’s your Realm?” he asked with a raised brow.
“Late Adept,” Kyle answered.
“Ah, another Adept!” the guy said as a smile appeared on his face.
Then, he pointed at himself. “Name’s Mandrake, and yes, my parents named me after a plant. They were farmers. I’m an Initial Fighter.”
“I’m Kyle,” Kyle introduced himself.
“Kyle, why are you running through the wilderness as a Late Adept? It’s like you want to die. Life’s worth living, you know!” Mandrake spoke loudly.
“I’m not doing this because I want to,” Kyle said. “I need to go to the Big Bazaar, and I don’t have the money for an escort.”
“What? So, you just run through the wilds as a Late Adept? You’re nuts!” the guy shouted.
But the next moment, he hit Kyle’s shoulders with a smile. “But I like that! If you succeed, this is going to do wonders for your momentum!”
“Momentum?” Kyle asked.
“Ah, forget I said anything! This is not something that you’re supposed to know yet. It’s bad if you know,” Mandrake said.
Kyle just raised an eyebrow.
He wanted to ask Theodor about this momentum thing, but he couldn’t really ask him right now.
Otherwise, Mandrake would think Kyle was insane.
Well, even more insane.
“Where are you from?” Mandrake asked.
“Forest Haven Cradle,” Kyle said.
“Thought so,” Mandrake answered. “It’s crazy that you managed to survive until now.”
“It wasn’t easy,” Kyle answered with a sigh.
“I believe that!” Mandrake shouted.
Kyle winced a bit.
Mandrake was loud, and his shouts echoed inside the small room.
“What do we do now?” Kyle asked.
“We wait,” Mandrake answered. “In an hour, the Skysand Cloud should be gone.”
Kyle nodded.
“By the way, mind if I ask a question?” Kyle asked.
“We have nothing to do for the next hour, and we’re stuck here. Some conversation wouldn’t hurt,” Mandrake shouted.
“How did you create such a perfect tunnel with one strike? You don’t seem like a miner,” Kyle asked.
“I used Earth Smash,” Mandrake answered.
“Earth Smash?” Kyle asked.
“Yeah, what about it?” Mandrake asked.
“What’s that?”
“What do you mean?” Mandrake asked with a raised brow. “I thought you were an Adept.”
“I am, but I’ve never talked to another Adept or Fighter before,” Kyle said.
Mandrake’s eyes widened. “Then, how did you become an Adept?”
Kyle told Mandrake the fake story Theodor made up.
“Ah, I get it. Yeah, those guys are crazy,” Mandrake answered. “They make trouble in almost all of the Cradles.”
Kyle did his best not to look confused.
He hadn’t expected that Mandrake would buy his story just like that.
’I guess there’s a group that causes trouble in the Cradles, and he thinks I was kidnapped by them.’
“You got lucky,” Mandrake said. “Not many people get a Fighter Ritual for free. You should really join a Fighter Guild and get a proper education on how we fight.”
“That was my plan,” Kyle said. “That’s why I’m traveling to the Big Bazaar. I want to go to the mainland and join a Fighter Guild.”
“Good man!” Mandrake shouted. “If you manage to traverse the wilderness as a Late Adept, any Fighter Guild will accept you!”
“Are you part of a Fighter Guild?” Kyle asked.
“Nah, I’m currently on a trial to become a lieutenant in the Sand Army,” Mandrake answered.
“Oh, so you’re working for the Kingdom directly?” Kyle asked.
“Yep. It’s a good job, but the trials aren’t easy,” Mandrake answered as he leaned his back against the wall.
“What do you have to do in this trial?” Kyle asked.
“I have to earn 50 Ether Stones by retrieving valuable resources from the wilderness,” Mandrake answered. “I’ve been hunting dangerous beasts for bounties.”
“You have to earn money to pass your trial?” Kyle asked.
“Yeah, risk and rewards always go hand in hand,” Mandrake said. “Earning 50 Ether Stones isn’t easy.”
At that moment, Kyle remembered something.
’Well, I can’t make use of it anyway.’
“A couple of kilometers to the north is a buried Abyss Eye, and there’s a vein of Stygian Graphite near the bottom. The eye was buried by the Skysand cloud earlier. I’m not sure if it’s still alive, but if it is dead, you should be able to earn quite a bit of money by mining the Stygian Graphite,” Kyle said.
“Stygian Graphite?” Mandrake asked.
Then, he took out a little booklet.
“What rank does it have?”
“Rank B.”
“Rank B?” Mandrake asked, closing the book. “That’s beyond my pay grade. I’m not even going to try to get that!”
“Oh, sure,” Kyle answered.
He just wanted to help Mandrake a bit, but it seemed like it didn’t work out.
“But thanks for the tip anyway,” Mandrake said. “I can forward that to one of the Guilds and get a reward. That should net me a couple of Ether Stones.”
“Oh, that’s good to hear,” Kyle said.
Mandrake looked at Kyle for a bit as he scratched his chin.
“What Affinity do you have?” he asked.
“Metal,” Kyle answered.
Mandrake hummed for a bit.
BANG!
Then, he slapped his thigh loudly.
“You want to learn Earth Smash?” he asked loudly.
Kyle’s eyes widened. “You’re willing to teach me?”
“It’s a basic technique. You can get it for a couple of Ether Pebbles from any Fighter Guild,” Mandrake answered. “Technically, I’m not allowed to teach you, but even if it gets out that I taught you, I will just have to pay a small fine.”
“You gave me a valuable tip. Teaching you Earth Smash in return isn’t an issue.”
“So, you want to know?”
Kyle grew excited.
His first Fighter Technique!
“Yes, please!”
