Wretched Seeker of the Absolute

After his encounter with Stan and the island of rebirth, which was at the northeast of the western continent, Balendon decided to bid farewell to them and moved towards the continent with the simplest wooden boat ever made, which they provided. "How we started, how we finish," he said to himself with a smile. He had a lot to think about and contemplate, but first things first: he had to complete his journey. It was a few kilometers between the continent and the island, nothing hard for someone like Balendon, of course.

After half a day, Balendon shouted, "Few kilometers my ass," in the middle of the sea. He could see some fish jumping above the sea as if they were giggling and mocking him. He started to paddle at the first light, and now it was midday, where the sun was scorching, and he had depleted all his water. Not that he needed to drink water since he could feed his body by converting world essence into nutrients, but he liked the feeling of drinking water, and converting world force for nutrients was not as effective as consuming them. He got angry, frustrated, and motivated to paddle faster.

It was evening when he saw the land and night when he landed. He was tired and could get rid of his exhaustion by either utilizing world force or sleeping on the cold, grassy ground. He decided on the latter. When it was dawn, Balendon realized things that he could not realize on the boat while sweating and pushing. The vast, bright green scenery with some mountains sprinkled here and there-it was peaceful. It was as people said: mana was scarcer around here compared to the north, to feel or utilize, but it didn't have any effect on Balendon since world force was still abundant.

The whole continent felt weak and peaceful. The sun was bright and was not blocked by auroran lights flowing through the sky. Even the sounds of birds chirping or waves hitting the coast were different. This was another continent for sure. While he could feel resemblance to nothing, even to his footing, on this soft soil. It felt like he could dig it and fall into it if he stomped harder. Way softer than the north! He walked around for a while like a child stepping outside for the first time.

The breeze smelled different, and it was soft. It felt like northern continent's air was cold, and the western's was warm and smooth. A person who would be born in the south and travel to the north would feel sharp but bearable pain in their chest every time they inhaled for a few months until their lungs adjusted. It wasn't a problem for the likes of Balendon, who were born in the north.

After some distance, he saw a ranch where both farmers and ranchers were working together. He approached them, saying, "Greetings, I wish you a pleasant day! May I ask you the directions for the nearest city, please?" as kindly as possible. Two farmers in front of him stopped what they were doing and looked at each other, whispering into each other's ears.

"Who is this guy, Drake? Why is he speaking weird?" The other one, looking slimmer, replied, "I don't know, Conrad, I don't know. Fella looks like he's coming from the sea with all that ragged clothing."

The bulkier one startled with the thought he had. "Could he be a midget spy?"

The other one also startled. "Keep it down, you fool! What if he is?! Don't you look at him? He looks like someone who can split us into half with his pinky!"

Balendon was amused by the conversation that the farmers thought he could not hear. One did not need enhanced hearing to hear. Farmers who were raised in honest environments did not know the meaning of 'being discreet' fully.

"Now that I look at him, he looks like a fine Elisyson. Let's ask him of the vow," Drake then proceeded with the first half of the vow with a very serious posture, which was followed by Balendon to the end.

Farmers were relieved and continued, "Sorry for the sudden check-up, friend. With the war going on, everyone is tense. Seeing you speaking weird and looking raggedy, we thought you were a spy." Without letting Balendon say it's all right, they quickly scraped up some fresh vegetables as an apology, which Balendon accepted by force, a kind one.

They proceeded with telling the directions to the Elisyson throne city in Andron-Aelin's Grace. It is said that when the portal Aelin created by bending the dimensions scattered civilization throughout the southern continents, Elisysons landed on Andron, founded the city, and named it Aelin's Grace to show their gratitude.

Balendon had to find someone who knew what happened to the ship he was traveling with. He had only one sword left strapped at his back after the other got broken by one of Stan's disciples. He had nothing else left and hoped for his wealth on the ship. Of course, he had asked for compensation and some provisions for his departure, but Stan dodged his requests with a sly smile. He had to get his 'belongings' back somehow.

Drake interrupted his thoughts by suggesting he get on the village carriage tomorrow, which was going to do trade in the city. Elisysons were hospitable. It was half a day to go and half a day to return on foot, but the carriage halved that journey.

Balendon humbly accepted the offer and slept in the village's guest house for the night after a day of helping farmers with the farm. Balendon could easily run that distance in mere minutes, yet he felt like he was on vacation in the western continent, thus wanted to take it easy.

The day after, he hopped onto the carriage to go to Aelin's Grace with a few farmers. The road to the throne city was perilous! Balendon never thought an average farmer group in the south would get attacked by wolves, bears, and bandits in order just to sell their goods.

Wolves got scared away as they all shouted. Bears, on the other hand, needed to be shot with makeshift arrows and swung at with a few torches. Bandits, who were standing in front of Balendon right now, were another story. Fifteen of them holding their daggers and various weapons, with their faces covered, were circling around Balendon, who challenged them if they did not go away.

He did not know the power level of southerners, thus was a bit nervous. He drew his sword and got the bandit's extra attention. One of them gasped in amazement, saying, "Whoa, that's a Lumenan steel sword! We are rich, boys!" Another charged towards Balendon.

It was a skill. These people were using neither world force nor life essence. It was pure and weak mana skills. Balendon parried the one charging but got stabbed by another one who had just appeared behind him. The dagger the bandit was using barely got into his skin, and the wound almost fully healed as the guy pulled it back. It was an honest "What the hell?!" before the bandit lost his head in a moment of surprise.

Enraged with this, another one attacked Balendon with an explosive arrow. Balendon's shoulder got grazed, and he bounced off a bit. While trying to get rid of this brief concussion, another charged towards him and thrusted his dagger towards Balendon's neck. With a split-second reflex, Balendon saved his artery from getting cut and grabbed the unlucky bandit by the head.

No details needed to explain here since one could imagine what would happen if Balendon grabbed someone's head during combat. He could see the morale of the bandit party going down from their eyes. They stepped back and gathered up. Their group had all sorts of weapon users, but mostly daggers, swords, and bows.

The few archers they had shot several special arrows that aimed to poison Balendon. It was a futile attempt against his physique and only shocked him. He felt little pain compared to the sea he fell onto. Another arrow exploded on his chest yet only tore away small pieces of flesh, which would heal up fast.

They thought Balendon to be some sort of healer, and Balendon did not want to draw attention. He leaped forward to kill the bandit in front of him. The bandit cast the same skill one of the savages had used to bounce the mercenary attack back at the ambush site. But against Balendon's strengthened blow, the guy split in half despite it.

Balendon learned that skills are only as strong as their casters. This defense skill was not absolute. Still, it was not enough to shake the morale or disperse the bandits. Although their skills put Balendon into a challenge, they were not able to do anything but leave a few scratches, which would heal in seconds.

After long and tiresome attempts, these bandits could not kill Balendon and lost three of their friends. Balendon had to turn this into a psychological battle; otherwise, if the bandits decided to attack the villagers, he would be powerless to defend them.

"You are weaker than the dogs we pet in the north! Scram!" Balendon realized that the people of the south were ignorant of the north, as it was hard to go and live there for them. Using this ignorance, Balendon raised a good question mark in their heads: "What else can the people born in the north do?!"

Suddenly, one bandit ran away, followed by another. Soon, they all ran away, leaving the dead bodies of their companions behind. Villagers looted their equipment and cut the bandits' thumbs to give to Balendon along with the money worth of the bandits' equipment.

Thumbs were for their bounties, and villagers explained how Balendon could claim them. For the rest of the journey, a normal human would get bored of getting praised and thanked, but Balendon was enjoying it shyly.