Chapter 11
He made necessary preparations for the time if that wild snake ambushed them if they were too focused on fighting the fox . It was Josephine who started out to attack the Fox while Eva would hurl fireballs at the Fox however it won't work much as it was FireFox so this time they thought it would take a fight of attrition to tire the fox out and then kill it .
The fight started with Josephine bashing the fox with her shield and trying to hack it with her greatsword from the sides . Josephine succeeded in Bashing the Fox but was not able to hack it with her sword because that fox was too fast and avoided the mortal strike . After making some distance from the group the Fox first attacked with a fireball to Josephine . Josephine defended herself with her shield and again rushed in to attack it . Eva's fireball didn't do any damage to it . John looking out for the snake first took out his bow and aimed at the fox, he then filled the Arrow with wind magic and shot it at Fox . The arrow Moved in a very fast manner and hit the Fox in its leg . It pierced the fox in the leg and it became quite easy for others to take it down . John didn't take any other action apart from that one move . Now he was only looking for the snake and when the snake would ambush them . As Josephine was about to land a killing blow on the Fox the Snake Finally made its move on her . This time John had already fired his arrow with fire magic and then later a knife stuck on the Snake' throat before killing it . coincidentally it was later found out that the snake he killed before was actually the Purple snake which he needed . Ambushed by the snake Josephine and others were shocked however what shocked them, even more, was the reaction of John . His Actions were very fast and precise . After this combat, Eva and her team had a renewed opinion of John and his archery skills . The things that shocked them the most was his ability to use multiple magic on the arrows and infuse it . Although magic was only a supportive element it had quite an effect when it came to overall battle . Josephine successfully killed the FireFox and then they started collecting the necessary materials required from their bodies . John only collected blood and poison from the Purple Snake . He then later helped them in harvesting the Skin and blood of the fox to the Team . Fire Fox's Skin sold for quite a lot in the cities .
While they were Travelling they slew quite a lot of beasts and collected all the required materials . John wasn't quite interested in these items however he did try to take Herbs which he found useful on the Journey .
It was evening and they found a place for Camping . This time John sensed that a pack of animals were stalking them from quite a distance it seemed that they chased them via the smell of blood and their own unique smells .
During this time a group of Snow wolves were tailing them . John made everyone aware of their current situation and told them to prepare for a big fight this time . During the whole journey Sally hadn't made a move but this time she moved and started preparing her wand and few talismans . Talismans were usually prepared by magicians before the battle so as to use for big magic so they don't have chant them or get distracted while focusing their mana .
As the Group of Wolves neared them both Eva and John started attacking them before they could come near them . Both used fire magic . She used the fireballs and firelances while John infused Fire magic inside his arrows and shot them . They already shot 10 of the wolves down while they still needed to kill 10 more . This time Sally moved and used her big magic after preparing for enough time and shot multiple Ice arrows on them . Although it was Ice element they were still vulnerable to Physical Damage . They got pierced by the ice arrows and hence became immobile . Meanwhile, the snow wolf king was still in the back watching from the sidelines . As the wolves approached them only 3 were left and Josephine took on 2 while John moved forward with his knife infused it with his Fire magic and then engaged the remaining wolf . He first dodged its attack then directly pierced the knife inside Snow wolf's eye as the most efficient means of engaging the wolf then he later pierced the wolf in its head and killed it . Meanwhile, Josephine and Eva were engaging the 2 wolves Sally was looking out for John if he would be in some Problem . Watching the moves of John, Sally was very surprising in the sense that he moved and acted like an experienced hunter and killed it cleanly .
Then later he moved to help both of them and they cleaned the remaining Snow wolves without a lot of effort . This time Snow Wolf King didn't attack and instead retreated inside the Forest . After making a camp they made their food, they decided later to take turns in keeping watch over the camp .
While they were sleeping John still had his senses on his surroundings, it may be because of his six senses body refining technique and super fast calculative brain that it became an instinct for him that he could sense malicious entities that were nearby in his range . The Night had gone without a hitch after the fight with snow wolves previously . Every one of them took turns to switch who will guard during the night for any incidents .
The next morning they again set out to hunt the monsters that they needed .
Today Eva, Josephine, and Sally took John's Combat seriously and decided their positions appropriately . Both Josephine and John were the Vanguard whenever they get into combat with Wild and Magical Beasts . Josephine was quite happy with the situation subconsciously and was in a very jolly mood .
This day they hunted Tiger magic beast which was quite deep in the forest . It was quite a hassle to kill it as this tiger magic basic could use the light magic itself every time it got injured . It was John who dealt the main finishing blow by piercing both the head and heart via Multiple Fire Arrows .
Chapter 12
This day they hunted Tiger magic beast which was quite deep in the forest . It was quite a hassle to kill it as this tiger magic basic could use the light magic itself every time it got injured . It was John who dealt the main finishing blow by piercing both the head and heart via Multiple Fire Arrows .
As they traveled the forest they moved east and so they got near the East sea city . They first hunted the animals they needed but John still didn't get the Three-legged black crow . What was unusual this time was that there were quite a lot of beasts in the forest this time around . This was noted by Josephine, Eva, and Sally . John didn't know about the flow of animals in the forest . He thought it might be the normal number of animals . There were quite a lot of dangerous beasts this time around when they entered the forest . Eva and her Team even thought that it was good that John was with them this time or there might be quite a few injuries this time around . Because of the long journey of 5 days, they decided that should just rest in East sea city while they were near it .
East Sea city,
They neared the City and got into the city after paying and showing their ID proofs . John got his ID proof of North-Frontier town by Sam .
After entering the City,
"H . . . aah I am so tired my body is aching . I seriously need a Bath and a place to rest . " Eva said stretching after they entered the City .
"Well, lets first Check in to the Inn and later we can check the Markets for any new things they might have this time around," Sally said in an easy going tone .
So they headed towards the inn to first rest and Bath then later check out the market and sell their catch and just keep the important stuff that they need for the village . After checking they first rested and did their own things .
John then came inside his room, took a bath and then decided to check the system .
John checked his notifications bar where saw that he got a medium sized gift box and a place where he saw that authority level had risen and brain activity increased .
He then opened his gift box to look for the rewards .
[Ding . . . ! Congratulations on getting the blueprints of Steam engine]
Then he decided to buy 16 small gift boxes worth 16000 exp points from the system .
He opened the first gift box,
[Sorry this gift box didn't contain anything . try your luck next time around] came the voice of Sarah inside his head .
For the next ten gift boxes, he got the same answer which irritated him a lot . he thought he should have rather exchanged the Exp points for WDS points previously .
After everyone was ready they then headed to the Market . After heading to the market they first decided to sell their catch . John didn't take the money as head taken the other body parts of the animals he needed . While they were in the market Eva slightly furrowed her brows as she saw a person at some distance away from them .
This person was none other than the second son of Baron Mendez . His name was Antonio Mendez . He was a normal aristocratic silk-pant who lived in the imperial capital from his childhood where he studied most of his knight knowledge and mingled in aristocratic circles from a young age to increase his political and business connections .
Like any other aristocrat, he had his fair share of women who he dumped them later on because of interests and their status . Although Polygamy was normal in this world but aristocrats still minded that the people they married should either be a noble or at least their family owned a big business . It was all about interests when it came to aristocratic circles . Antonio was interested in Eva because of two things, one was her beauty and other was her family connections and her grandma who could even make potions which could increase the longevity of people . Eva knew about her situation since a young age and hence always hated the aristocratic circles . She only stayed in imperial capital to complete her Magic training and then live with her grandma in the countryside . She didn't like her main family as well as they always tried to use her as a chip to improve their family interests and hence she escaped from capital as soon as possible .
Antonio approached the group and greeted Eva first,
"My my miss Eva is as beautiful as ever, you are here again in East sea city in a matter of 10 days . I guess you are having good hunts nowadays . so what brings you here today?"
"It is none your business of what I do and where I do, Hmpfh " Eva didn't give him any face because of his inquiry and fake smile . She knew what his intentions were anyways .
To this Antonio didn't mind anything as he knew what her social standing was anyways and then later he greeted the other team members to which Josephine only nodded with a fake smile while Sally ignored him .
At last, then he later came to John .
He was quite surprised that there was a man in this team as he knew the temper of these women . Plus he also saw that this man had quite a good relationship with Eva and her team from the way they conversed . To this, he was quite infuriated in a sense what did Eva saw in him and not him . However, he didn't show his thoughts outside and thought about how to make this man understand his position . Plus he also noted that this guy didn't even have a high-quality sword so his position might not be too good anyway . He was at least not a noble or high knight from the imperial city .
So To retain a bit of superiority in front of these women he thought maybe he should embarrass this fragile good looking man in a duel where he can shame him fairly without anyone questioning him and make him show his position .
"Friend from your attire you look like a swordsman . How about we have a duel in the city to exchange pointers? How do you feel?" Antonio asked John in a friendly manner so he doesn't find his malicious intentions .
From the start, John watched everything from the sidelines and thought he should go along this play and accepted the duel . From the start, he watched the ruthlessness in the eyes of Antonio so in this fight he decided that he won't show him mercy .
The women didn't show any expression but Eva and Josephine were still worried that he might get injured as he had only shown his knife skills and not sword skills when they were hunting previously . As for Sally she was convinced that John won't lose after watching him fight for a few days . She knew how terrifying John's senses were unlike the other women, they thought his senses came from his instinct of fighting but Sally knew better as she saw him over the days .
They then headed to the Duel grounds .
Chapter 13
From the start, John watched everything from the sidelines and thought he should go along this play and so he accepted the duel . From the start, he watched the ruthlessness in the eyes of Antonio so in this fight he decided that he won't show him mercy .
The women didn't show any expression but Eva and Josephine were still worried that he might get injured as he had only displayed his knife skills and not sword skills when they were hunting previously . As for Sally she was convinced that John won't lose after watching him fight for a few days . She knew how terrifying John's senses were unlike the other women, they thought his senses came from his instinct of fighting but Sally knew better as she saw him over the days .
They later headed to the Duel grounds .
John wasn't nervous for the duel, On the other hand, it was Eva and Josephine who were nervous because they knew that Antonio was one of the powerful knights from the Imperial city . Although John was strong they didn't watch him fighting with a sword nor did they know his sword skills so they were quite worried about the duel .
From Eva's point of view, as she knew Antonio quite well and understood how the nobles dealt with things, she was sure that he would try to at-least cripple him as he thought of him as nothing more than a mere commoner . Worried that John might take it just as a common duel she approached him and told him in a worried tone "John, be careful of Antonio while you are dueling him because from what I know he is a well-renowned knight in the imperial city . And it just so happens even the third Prince Hector has taken note of him . In 2-5 years he might even become High Knight and become a part of his army as a commanding officer leading at-least a Company of 200 soldiers at-least . You should at least try to protect yourself well and not underestimate him . "
This time John was quite surprised and happy by Eva's worried tone but told her in a carefree manner "well I don't think there would be any problems in the duel . Just to make sure I don't get injured I will be extra careful and save my light magic to heal myself for an emergency . "
Watching this unfold both Sally and Josephine were surprised by Eva while from Josephine's eyes John could see that she too was nervous but she couldn't express herself .
John approached Duel grounds in a carefree manner so that the team doesn't get nervous .
Antonio, his butler and his batch of bodyguards watched this unfold while they were preparing for the duel .
Watching this Antonio was surer now that he must dispose of John or else he will snatch Josephine in front of his eyes .
Duel arena was 50m by 50m enough for a duel between people whether they were knights or magicians . People on the sidelines watching the duel arena recognized that Antonio was going to duel someone .
"Hey who is the new unlucky guy dueling Antonio this time around," Someone from the crowd said .
"I heard it was Antonio who proposed the duel this time around from his guards and it seems that it was because that guy was in the team of Miss Eva . " Other guy said
"No wonder Antonio challenged him to a duel . That guy might not know that Antonio had placed his sights on Miss Eva from a long time ago . I guess it's his misfortune this time around for meeting Antonio in the wrong place . " Said the guy who just came here . People looked at John with pity .
While all this commotion was going on, Joseph was in East sea town to supply his 2nd batch of soaps to his family merchant ship . While John was out in the forest . Joseph had again bought and ordered a new batch of Soaps from his Rose Soap factory .
Watching the commotion he too was interested in what was going on and heard that Antonio was going to duel someone so he thought maybe he should watch what was going on .
Watching John on the stage he was quite surprised why someone like John would be challenged by Antonio . However, hearing from people why the duel was going on he understood what happened . he only hoped that John would at-least get unscathed as he knew that John at-least had the strength of a normal knight but he was still worried as he didn't if John had the necessary skills to fight Antonio .
In the dueling arena was the man supervising the duel . He was a middle-aged man who worked for quite a few years already over here . This arena was anyways maintained by Mendez family .
As both of them entered the arena . The supervisor vaguely didn't answer all the rules as Antonio asked him . He was making sure that if things go differently he would use a magic scroll just to be on the safe side . John also noticed the rules were vague but didn't mention about it because he felt it anyways suited him better with his magic .
Chapter 14
The supervisor vaguely didn't answer all the rules as Antonio asked him . He was making sure that if things go differently he would use a magic scroll just to be on the safe side . John also noticed the rules were vague but didn't mention about it because he felt it anyways suited him better with his magic .
It was only stated that it would be a knight's duel with their swords . Many people in the crowd understood what was going on between Antonio and the supervisor .
As soon as the Duel started, John didn't move instantly but waited for his opponent to move so that he could gauge and understand his movements better just so he be careful and attack appropriately later on .
Seeing that John wasn't moving he thought that his opponent might have got cold feet or he might be approaching this duel very cautiously . Having no choice he first charged towards John with his shield and sword with medium strength just to see how he reacts to his movements . To which John dodged his attack to right with minimal movements and attacked Antonio from his sides with his sword to which Antonio Instinctively reacted and held up his Shield to protect his rib-cage . After this attack, Antonio instantly understood that his opponent had very high reflexes . From his attack, he gauged that even with the armor he would have broken almost all of his bones from the rib-cage and he would have struggled to win the duel later on . After the first attack, Antonio decisively made the distance between him and John .
Many in the crowd were astonished by this especially those who had discerning eyes and the same was true for Joseph as well who was watching from the sidelines .
This time John made his move as soon as Antonio moved back . John intended to finish this duel as soon as possible . He was a guy who didn't like hassling around a lot . As Soon as he moved closer to Antonio he saw a ruthless glint in Antonio's eyes .
He was skeptical but he still charged forward . Antonio then started using his full strength and met him head for the first sword clash between . As soon as the swords clashed there came a thundering voice of Sparks between them and it was Antonio who moved back a few steps after this single combat of strength .
After this contest of strength Antonio well understood that John was quite a strong fighter and even stronger than himself so if he had to win against him then it would be in terms of technique, speed or the magic scroll . Speed-wise John was faster than himself .
John didn't give him space for time and to adjust himself . John started using his improved version of Flower swordsmanship . As Antonio got cornered, in this last moment he couldn't bear this humiliation of being in a passive position at this stage and hence he used his magic scroll of Earth lance and used full force to attack John . This attack was full of murderous intentions . Seeing that something was off after watching Antonio's actions, John moved toward the left and barely escaped from the earth lance, Then came the barrage of attacks from Antonio . Seeing that his attack of earth lance failed he was quite enraged . This time John showed no hesitation when he attacked him across his chest . His attack was filled with fire energy and as soon as it contacted Antonio's armor it still couldn't help him and his internal organs got injured . After the attack, Antonio landed outside the Arena and fell unconscious . This attack wasn't enough to kill Antonio but it was still enough to cripple him for the next 2 months at least .
All the people below the arena were stunned by this development and started thinking who was this guy who had such good skills .
Watching this his guards and servants hurriedly went to Antonio and watched that he was only unconscious and had injuries on his chest .
Even The butler of Antonio looked angrily at John and said to him after approaching him "Boy you have certainly offended Young master after ruthlessly injuring him . There was no need for such a ruthless attack . There will be consequences of these injuries . "
The name of the butler was James . His family always served the Mendez family from a long time of his grandfather's era and hence the position . He was an old man in his fifties with gray hair and a normal build .
John completely ignored him and said "Weapons don't have eyes when it hits people, Old man . The same thing could have happened to me if I wasn't careful of that sneaky Earth lance at the end . "
Be glad that you are the son of a baron that you are still alive thought John in his mind for Antonio . This was the first time John saw the ruthlessness of the aristocrats first hand after coming to this world . He was very sure that if he wasn't careful he would have at-least been crippled .
After the duel, Eva and Josephine made a sigh of relief as if a stone was lifted from their hearts
Watching the debacle Joseph Morgan Approached the duo and asked John "John, I didn't expect you to be here dueling with Young Master Antonio"
"Your skills in the arena surprised me quite a lot . Your swordsmanship was quite unique with some similarities to Flower swordsmanship Technique . "
Chapter 15
Watching the debacle Joseph Morgan Approached the duo and asked John "John, I didn't expect you to be here dueling with Young Master Antonio"
"Your skills in the arena surprised me quite a lot . Your swordsmanship was quite unique with some similarities to Flower swordsmanship Technique . "
Butler didn't expect that John would have Joseph of the Morgan family as his acquaintance . Before John could even reply Butler first asked Joseph .
"I didn't think Mr . Joseph knew this guy . "
"Well, we had some business earlier so we got to know each other . It was Jack who introduced me to him" Joseph deliberately mentioned Jack as he understood the situation John was in right now after the duel . However, he was very sure that Antonio and his men wouldn't lay their hands on John directly now that they knew that he was one of his acquaintances .
Butler then turned to Eva and said to her in a displeased tone, "We will now take our leave now that the duel is over . " He then turned to the guards and then left with the unconscious Antonio from the arena .
After the Duel Eva and Josephine then met Joseph who was John's acquaintance . After making their greetings they got to know about each other .
Joseph had just come here after taking back the second shipment of Soaps from John's factory to the port and making another order of 10,000 soaps to Gordon . While he was in the market he saw that there was commotion so he came here to look at it and saw that it was John having a duel with Young Master Antonio .
Joseph actually warned John and her team that they should quickly escape the North-frontier town as it would be problematic in 6 months when the winter comes because this time the situation was quite different from earlier years . This year the wild animals were more than 10 times then it was earlier .
"From the information I received, it seems that Baron Mendez has decided to completely abandon the North-frontier town and wait for the situation to settle after winter . Although the situation right now is not so serious but after winter when food becomes scarce then it would be a different scenario . " Joseph said to them
Hearing this they were shocked at the development . They only thought the activity of the animals had only increased recently but didn't think that it was such a situation .
After thinking for a while John asked Joseph "Joseph will it be possible to buy the north-frontier town from baron Mendez if I pay the necessary price to him? You see I feel at home over here at North-frontier town and I hope that I can at least do something for the town . "
Joseph then replied to him after some thought "Well its quite easy if you want to buy the North-frontier town from the Baron but after that debacle with Antonio, I think it would difficult to buy it from him at small money though . but I can still help you in negotiations as a mediator from my family connections . "
"You see North-frontier town's yield at most is 1000 gold worth at most in a normal working year for the Baron . Plus later there are maintenance costs of roads which amount to 400 gold if done . That is the only cost that the baron mostly pays"
"usually he would mostly always try to sell his domain to most merchants at 6000 to 10000 gold coins but merchants aren't really interested because we don't see value in this land . I think it can be negotiable between 8000 to 12000 gold if we try it . What do you think?"
John directly agreed to Joseph and then later asked him for raw materials of Steam engine, Guns and Guns powers . He agreed to bring in these materials next time came to North-frontier town for his next batch of Soaps for a price of 8000 gold .
After saying their goodbye's .
"It seems John you know a lot of skills apart from archery and knife skills or your knowledge capability," Sally asked John after a long time in smiling way yet teasing as well .
Eva and Josephine were quite skeptical but thought it might be his natural talent that makes him better at learning things .
"I just a know a little bit of everything," John said to sally with a poker face as he didn't want to get caught in something which he cant explain . Sally didn't bother him much as she knew everyone has their own secrets and asked the team to go towards the market as they still haven't finished the shopping . While Eva and Josephine were in a hurry as they wanted to prepare for the village before winter came . They were quite worried about the village after getting Joseph's information .
As John also needed a Three-legged Crow's blood he soon got in the search of the blood while he joined them to the market .
After searching for a while He got into a shop . It was a big shop with 2 storeys which almost had everything .