A vast, boundless forest.
A snow-covered road wound through the trees. Several carriages traveled slowly through the snow, their wheels rolling over frozen earth and gravel with dull clattering sounds.
This was a large merchant caravan escorted by adventurers. It had departed from the Asura Kingdom and headed north, passing through a dangerous region called Dragon's Whiskers.
"Dragon's Whiskers."
A great forest situated between the Asura Kingdom's northern border and Red Dragon Upper Jaw Valley.
Because the Asura Kingdom had built walls around its perimeter and driven out all the monsters within its borders, this region had become a habitat for many monsters.
It was also the ideal hiding place for bandits, criminals wanted by Asura, and vicious villains.
Danger lurked everywhere here, with monsters, bandits, criminals...
That was why very few people passed through.
But merchants pursued profit. Since trading between Asura and the three great northern magic duchies brought extremely lucrative returns, some caravans were still willing to take the risk.
For safety, they usually hired adventurer parties to escort them along the way.
The ones who had accepted this caravan escort commission were a seven-member adventurer party called "Stepped-Leader," plus one rookie F-rank adventurer.
Setting aside the rookie adventurer who had only gotten in by paying out of his own pocket, there was the composition of the adventurer party.
Seven people in total.
Two swordsmen, two warriors, two healing magicians, and one attack magician...
It was a very common combination among adventurer parties.
Their leader, Soldat Heckler, was an Advanced Swordsman of the Sword God Style who had also reached the Intermediate Rank in the Water God Style. He was currently an A-rank adventurer.
Aside from the adventurers, the other carriages were all loaded with goods and also carried a mixture of merchants and passengers.
Yet in the adventurers' carriage leading the way, one figure seemed out of place.
The reason was simple.
He had barely spoken along the way and always liked to sit alone in a corner, staring out of the carriage.
Also, everyone else in the party was an adult, while he alone looked like a boy wearing grown-up clothes.
Like a husky among a pack of wolves, he stood apart from the rest.
This boy was none other than Rog Greyrat.
He had a very handsome, bright, good-looking face, but the boy liked to keep his eyes narrowed, always giving him a languid air.
Although Luo Ge had kept a low profile throughout the journey and never caused trouble, his young age always drew attention.
Out on the road, some troubles simply could not be avoided.
"Hey! Isn't that brat over there way too young? Looks like he's underage, doesn't he?"
"If you ask me, he's probably another brat who fought with his parents and ran away from home."
"I've seen plenty of brats like that. He might end up dead out there one of these days."
Listening to everyone's chatter, Luo Ge kept his eyes lowered and his mind still, not taking it too seriously.
Amid the whispers, Soldat suddenly approached. "Hey, don't you get bored sitting by yourself...? Why not come play a few rounds?"
Luo Ge glanced at the people gathered in the carriage, gambling to relieve the tedium of the long journey.
He really wasn't particularly interested.
He hadn't wanted to engage with him either, but preferring less trouble to more, he still replied as though going through the motions, "Um, I'll pass."
He had thought the other man would take the hint and leave, but Soldat spoke again. "By the way, you're an adventurer too, right?"
"Yeah, I only registered at the Adventurers' Guild recently, but I suppose I count as an adventurer?"
"Oh, and I'm still F-rank..."
"A rookie?"
"So you're still a rookie, then? But that doesn't add up. This commission was supposed to be A-rank."
"How did a rookie like you get this job?"
Everyone else looked over curiously too.
Luo Ge didn't hide it. He told them, "Money. I paid to join."
"Huh?"
Everyone was dumbfounded.
They all looked at Luo Ge as though he were an idiot, their contemptuous expressions saying he was, just as expected, a young nobleman out to experience an adventurer's life.
Although they said nothing, Luo Ge could sense their contempt.
Luo Ge couldn't be bothered to explain either. He hadn't joined the caravan because he feared danger, but because he worried he might get lost. That was why he had resorted to this.
Soldat, who had approached him to start a conversation, also froze briefly before immediately looking skeptical.
"Hey!"
"Rookie, are you out of your mind? If you want a taste of life, go somewhere else. You actually came to be an adventurer?"
"Do you think being an adventurer is some children's game of playing house? People can actually die..."
"A noble brat like you... Anyway, if you aren't prepared to die at any moment, I'd advise you to go home sooner rather than later."
The string of reprimands sounded not just unpleasant, but downright grating.
An ordinary person might have formed an utterly terrible impression of him after that. Even Luo Ge would have.
But ever since gaining the Transparent World, many things in the world no longer held any secrets for Luo Ge.
At least, it was quite easy to pick up whether someone was giving off goodwill or malice.
For example, despite the scolding words of the man before him, he actually bore little malice.
So Luo Ge replied calmly, "Actually... don't let my age fool you. Not only am I proficient in the swordsmanship of all three major styles, but in terms of combat strength alone, I reckon my Sword God Style has already reached the level of a Sword Saint."
He was telling the truth.
His current combat strength already far surpassed that of an ordinary Sword Saint. But without mastering the Sword of Light, he was essentially still only an Advanced Swordsman.
Sword Saint, Sword King, Sword Emperor, Sword God...
In theory, these were not actually cultivation realms, but titles symbolizing strength.
Only the Sword God could grant the titles once one's strength qualified, and each style's selection criteria differed greatly.
Luo Ge was an unaffiliated swordsman, and Ghislaine, a Sword King, had once said that the Silent Blade he had unleashed before was already very close to the Sword of Light in speed.
His combat strength had also fully met the requirements. Since he could already call himself a Sword Saint at five years old...
There was even less of a problem now that he was eight.
However...
When everyone heard Luo Ge actually call himself a Sword Saint, the carriage fell silent for an instant.
Then even louder laughter erupted.
They nearly laughed themselves to tears.
"Ahahaha?!"
"A Sword Saint?"
"Pfft, are you kidding? A brat that young says he's a Sword Saint?"
"That's hilarious! Are kids these days all such big talkers? Even if he'd started training in the womb, that would be impossible!"
"Soldat, I remember you're only Advanced Rank in the Sword God Style, right? This kid actually dares to call himself a Sword Saint. Is he supposed to be stronger than you?"
"Rookies these days... Hmph! They really don't know the immensity of heaven and earth."
Facing the flood of mockery and doubt, Luo Ge's expression remained unchanged, his heart equally unruffled.
There was really no need to waste time and energy getting into a fight over something so trivial.
If it didn't concern him, he would stay out of it.
Just letting him sit quietly by himself in the corner... was perfectly fine.
Perhaps it was Luo Ge's reticence.
Everyone soon lost interest in him. The focus of their discussion shifted away from Luo Ge, and each became absorbed in their own business.
Some gambled, while others drank and chatted together...
The conversation turned to the women in the brothels, discussing which had bigger breasts, which was prettier, which had a better figure, and so on.
Luo Ge alone leaned beside the carriage window, watching the snow swirling outside, an endless expanse of white.
He remembered.
The journey he had made with Ghislaine last time, and the scene of their encounter with the Dragon God, one of the Seven Great Powers.
Even now, Luo Ge could not forget that day.
He had nearly died at the Dragon God's hands.
Gently covering his chest with one hand, Luo Ge took a deep breath, trying to settle himself.
A few days later.
After the caravan passed safely through Dragon's Whiskers Forest, with almost nothing happening along the way, Luo Ge habitually reached back to feel the backpack on his back.
He intended to check whether the little fellow was hungry. If he hadn't repeatedly stressed not to come out at random during these days in the carriage, the little fellow probably would have gotten restless long ago, right?
Just as Luo Ge was about to put some food inside...
He felt around.
Then, wait...
Oh no.
Why was the bag empty... Could the little fellow have sneaked out while I wasn't paying attention?
What he had worried about had really happened.
Luo Ge's heart tightened. Just as he was about to get up and search...
A startled cry suddenly came from inside the carriage.
"Ah!"
"Fire! That's hot!"
Soldat jerked his hand back as though he had touched something scalding. Immediately afterward, a burst of flame rose behind his backside.
He paced back and forth inside the carriage, his backside on fire.
"Oh!"
"What's that thing? It can breathe fire!"
Someone seemed to have spotted something and couldn't help crying out.
A red lizard monster was setting fires inside the carriage. It was the culprit behind the blaze.
As the flames rapidly spread...
The carriage immediately descended into chaos.
Seeing that a large fire was about to break out, the party's three magicians acted simultaneously.
They began chanting water magic spells to extinguish the fire.
But the next second...
They were still half a beat too slow.
A ball of water flew over and struck the source of the fire precisely. The flames spreading through the carriage were extinguished in an instant.
Rubbing his backside, Soldat reflexively praised, "Nicely done... Leint, that's just what I'd expect from you."
But the magician named Leint scratched his head. "Huh? Captain... I didn't cast that."
"Um! It wasn't us either."
The other two magicians holding their staves each shook their heads too.
"It wasn't you three?"
"Then who was it?!!"
Soldat was baffled. If it wasn't those three, who else could it be?
P.S. I'm begging for free gifts. Please tap the update reminder and help boost the numbers so I can keep writing. I'm counting on you, godfathers.