Chapter 17: Ironcross Mountains

“I am gracious that you wish to give me this 57 silver. However, you truly want me to hand the salaries of the entire village to Tom?” Old Man Albert asked in surprise. “I haven’t let him touch this much money.”

“Yes. I don’t think your grandson will become a proper young man if you don’t give him opportunities to become responsible,” Ryan said. “What had he been doing before this?”

“He works in the fields like everybody else, but he would slack off sometimes.” Old Man Albert tugged his gray beard. “His parents were the ones who first wanted to start an Adventurers Guild here and become adventurers themselves… but they died during one of their trips to Ironcross Mountain, Master Ryan. That’s perhaps why I spoil him a little.”

“I see. Well now is a chance for him to become a man,” Ryan said with a smile. “You don’t have to coddle him any longer, Mister Albert. I’ll whip him up into proper shape.”

‘I didn’t expect that I’d hear something about Tom right away, but I guess that’s why he wanted an Adventurer’s Guild—to preserve his parents’ legacy. Fortunately for him… I’m here.’ Ryan thought.

“Thank you so much, Master Ryan.” Old Man Albert bowed his head.

“Grandfather, Master Ryan! We’re back!” Tom’s voice called out from the hallway. With him came two men equipped with hunting equipment.

“Good morning, Master Ryan!” the two respectfully greeted in unison.

“I am Spike,” the young man with dark spiky hair said.

“And I’m Doran,” the slightly older man said.

Both of them were equipped with the same weapon, which was a recurve bow. On their side, they had an assortment of daggers too.

“Good morning, gentlemen. The two of you will be escorting me, Joan, and Tom to Ironcross Mountain’s borders. Shall we head off now?” Ryan said.

The two looked at Ryan in shock, unable to say a word for a moment.

‘He wants to go to Ironcross Mountains? Does he have a death wish?’

‘Is it because he was exiled as a Prince that he decided that he wants to die in Ironcross Mountain?’

“You’ve received two grimoire points,” the Grimoire called out to Ryan.

“Yes, Master Ryan.” The two couldn’t refuse or turn him down. “But there will be a bit of walking.”

— — — — — — —

The Ironcross Mountainswas a decent distance away from Stonefall Village. Ryan and his group took about roughly two and a half hours on foot before reaching the base of the mountain that was surrounded by a forest.

'Man, this was a lot of walking.' Ryan wiped the sweat off his brow and glanced at his companions.

Spike, Doran, Tom, and even Joan didn’t look a bit winded.

‘I need to build my stamina.’ Ryan thought. The people from Stonefall Village were hardy.

“Master Ryan? Can I ask you a question?” Tom asked.

“What is it?”

“Why do you always have that book around you?”

“Oh! This is for note-taking. You can take this trip as us surveying the area,” Ryan said before he turned his gaze towards the mountains.

The Ironcross Mountains had extreme heights, far higher than the largest mountain range on earth. Meanwhile, the forest was densely covered in a multitude of thick evergreen and deciduous trees.

A lot of them resembled oak and other tree variants in the English medieval age.

“Please stay away from the perimeter of the forest, Master Ryan. Even though it’s a little far away from the Beastkin Territory, sometimes, there are… Kobolds in the area.”

“Kobolds ?” Ryan asked with interest.

“Yes. We usually don't see them around the area since they prefer caves, but they sometimes lay nasty traps.” Doran explained with a grimace.

“I see. Well, I was actually planning to head up a little deeper inside Ironcross Mountains. We’ve traveled all the way here. It wouldn’t make sense to just admire it from a distance and then go back, you know?” Ryan said.

“Are you sure, Master Ryan? Master Albert… er, Mister Albert has prohibited us from entering too deep into the forest or Ironcross Mountains. It is extremely dangerous.” Spike said with obvious reluctance showing on his face.

“He did not stop us earlier, didn’t he?” Ryan said.

Doran and Spike realized that the young man spoke correctly.

“If the two of you have weapons, what’s there to be afraid of? Kobolds are just small creatures,” Tom said.

“There are other creatures—not just Kobolds, you know?” Doran said but then shook his head. There was no use arguing. “Please allow us to go first, Master Ryan.”

“No need for that. The two of you primarily use recurve bows right? It means that you two are better off behind me to hit creatures from a distance and be given more time to reload. I can take it from here with Joan,” Ryan said.

‘It’s important to build respect among my people, and one of the tricks to do so is to show them that I can handle myself. Joan is here to protect me in case anything were to happen, but I also know my way around the sword. Hey, Builder… I can use you even if you aren’t in my hands right?’

“Of course! My range is quite spectacular!” the Grimoire said arrogantly.

“Alright, hold on to this for me, Tom, and follow close behind.” Ryan passed the Grimoire to Tom.

Tom’s eyes widened as he held the beautiful book with his hands, looking at it with reverence before glancing at Ryan in shock.

‘Even though he has been holding this book the entire time… he now trusts me enough to hold it for him?’

“There we go. Let’s head inside.” Ryan pulled out his sword.

It was a longsword, about 40 inches in length and made from good iron steel. Its hilt was designed simply but also tastefully.

While it was possible for him to have owned a better sword, enchanted and made from better materials, the former Sixth Prince of Finis Kingdom had never received such precious gifts.

In terms of talent, whether it be physical or magical, Ryan lagged behind his older brothers, so he was left with this.

‘I should upgrade this once I have a chance. Ironcross Mountains is no doubt filled with a ton of resources, including iron—well, obviously. Otherwise, it wouldn't be named that way,’ Ryan thought.

He took a deep breath and then stepped inside.