It had been two long days since they began the journey to Sindra in the worn-out carriage. Nolan lay on top, arms behind his head, staring at the gray clouds drifting through the forest sky.
"The bandits are still tied up. Not a single groan from them," he thought. "They haven't eaten in two days. Not that they deserve it."
He sighed. "I hope we reach Sindra today. I'm tired of sleeping out here… and it's not easy to fall asleep with a bunch of girls watching me it makes me really nervous and unable to sleep.
Down below, Celia steered the horses with steady hands. Suddenly, her ears perked up. She turned her head sharply.
"Master! Master!" she shouted.
Nolan sat up with a grunt. "Celia, stop calling me that," he said. But then he heard it too.
A low growl.
Then another.
Rustling in the brush.
"Monsters again?" he muttered, standing to his feet on top of the carriage.
A pack of red wolves emerged from the trees—ten of them. Fangs bared, eyes glowing, their snarls rising in chorus.
He looked down toward the side of the carriage.
"Zuru," Nolan said firmly. "Get them."
The boar stepped forward without hesitation.
But as Zuru began to run, something strange happened—his body began to shift.
His muscles bulged. His legs thickened. His skin darkened and hardened like stone. His tusks grew longer, sharper. His eyes narrowed with focus.
He had transformed.
One of the red wolves lunged—but its teeth clanked uselessly against Zuru's armored hide.
Another came in from the side. Zuru turned and slammed it with a shoulder, sending it tumbling through the undergrowth.
Then the rest attacked all at once.
But Zuru was faster. Stronger.
He crashed through them like a boulder, throwing one into a tree, flipping another with his tusks, then stomping down hard on a third. The others tried to retreat—but Zuru chased them, cutting through the pack like a force of nature.
In minutes, it was over.
The clearing fell silent, the red wolves defeated—some limping away, most unmoving.
Zuru turned back toward the carriage, breathing steady, his body still glowing faintly from the transformation.
Nolan exhaled slowly. "You've gotten scary strong…" he said with a grin. "Sindra better be ready for us."
As the carriage rolled steadily down the dirt path, Nolan sat cross-legged on the roof, gazing into the trees. The wind tugged gently at his cloak, and the rhythmic clatter of wheels was almost enough to lull him to sleep.
"Let's see how far we are," he murmured to himself.
Closing his eyes, Nolan activated Search—the skill that let him scan the surroundings for life, movement, or structures.
A moment passed.
Then his senses lit up.
People. Lots of them.
Buildings. Houses. Roads. A massive cluster of activity up ahead.
A village. A big one.
His eyes snapped open.
He quickly stood up on the roof of the carriage and called out, "Celia!"
She looked back, steadying the reins with one hand. "Yes?"
"Are we close to Sindra?" he asked.
She nodded, a small smile on her face. "Yes. Sindra isn't far from here anymore."
Nolan felt a rush of relief. Finally. Sindra.
The idea of entering the village after all the chaos filled him with hope—and hunger.
"At last. A roof. A bed. A hot meal. Maybe even a bath…"
He stretched his arms and looked at the road ahead, eyes sharp with new purpose.
"Time to become an adventurer."
And just as his stomach growled, he chuckled to himself.
"Please… let there be good food waiting." He thought.
After several more hours of travel, the treetops began to thin, and the outline of towering stone walls came into view.
"That must be Sindra," Nolan muttered, standing on top of the carriage.
The sight of civilization filled everyone with a quiet sense of relief. The carriage slowed as it approached the massive gate that stood like a fortress barrier before them. Two knights stood guard—one armed with a long silver spear, the other gripping a broadsword at his side. Both wore polished armor, gleaming under the late afternoon sun.
As the carriage drew closer, one of the knights stepped forward, raising a hand.
"Halt! Identify yourselves!" he shouted.
Celia gently pulled on the reins, bringing the horses to a stop.
Nolan jumped down from the top of the carriage and stepped forward confidently.
"I'm here to visit Sindra—and to become an adventurer," he said.
The knights exchanged glances.
"Adventurer? That's not how this works," one of them replied sharply. "You can't just walk in. Where's your identification? Your adventurer's card?"
Nolan fell silent. He didn't have one—yet.
He glanced at Celia, who was still seated at the front of the carriage, her eyes downcast. A brief shadow of doubt crossed her face.
Before he could respond, one of the knights squinted at Nolan's outfit.
"Wait… where did you get that suit?" the knight with the spear asked, eyeing the pristine fabric of Nolan's clothes—unusual for someone traveling with a wagon full of passengers.
Nolan replied calmly, "A friend gave it to me."
They studied him with suspicion, then gestured toward the carriage.
"We need to check the wagon."
Nolan nodded. "Go ahead."
The knights moved to the rear of the carriage and pulled back the canvas covering. Inside, they found fourteen demi-humans and elves seated together, some resting, others watching nervously. In the center, tied and bound, were several battered-looking bandits—pale, weak, and stripped of their weapons.
The moment their eyes landed on one of the unconscious men, one of the knights leaned in.
"Isn't that…?"
His voice tightened with sudden realization.
"It's him—the trafficker we've been hunting!" he exclaimed.
He turned to the other guard. "That's Cain! The one with a bounty on his head!"
The knights stepped back in disbelief, then the one with the spear turned to the wall.
"Open the gates!" he bellowed. "Let them in!"
The massive doors creaked and began to swing open, revealing the bustling streets of Sindra beyond.
"Who are you, exactly?" one of them asked. "You're traveling with a group of about fifteen… demi-humans and elves? And those men back there—" he nodded toward the tied-up bandits, "they're wanted. Especially him."
He pointed at Kane, the bandit leader.
"There's a bounty on that one's head. You took him down?"
Nolan scratched the back of his head with a sheepish grin. "Yeah… something like that."
The knight held his gaze for a moment, then cracked a smile and nodded.
"Impressive. You can go in. Ride through."
Celia gave the reins a soft tug, and the wagon began to roll forward. The massive gates of Sindra finished opening, revealing the vibrant life of the village beyond.
As they entered, Nolan glanced back at the tree line.
Zuru wasn't following. The giant boar remained hidden just within the shadows of the forest, watching silently. He wouldn't be entering the village—not yet.
But that didn't worry Nolan. Thanks to his SSS-rank ability granted to him when he first arrived in this world, he could summon Zuru to his side in an instant, no matter the distance.
"Rest up, buddy," Nolan thought with a small smirk as he looked toward the woods. "I'll call you when I need you."
And with that, they rolled into Sindra—finally inside the village that would change everything.