This fellow was suspicious.
He was never part of an academy, and he had never been part of a Fighter Guild.
Yet, their Sorcerer said that he helped him against the Forest Muncher.
These things were not easy to deal with.
They were big and fast.
Some random guy from some random Cradle couldn't do that.
One of the Fighters looked at the other and sent him a meaningful look.
"We have an outpost in Hillscape, but if you want to join, you have to travel to Starkhold, which is about 100 kilometers to Hillscape's east," he said.
"A hundred fucking kilometers," Kyle said with a sigh before looking at the horizon.
It was already evening, and he wanted to go to sleep soon.
'Now, I have to travel another hundred kilometers. That's like… I dunno… somewhere between 50 and 90 miles or something.'
'I don't wanna run for another three hours.'
"Thanks," Kyle said after a bit. "Guess I got some more walking to do."
"James, my tracking Spell only lasts for so long," the Sorcerer said to one of the Fighters.
The Fighter nodded before looking back at Kyle. "Glad to meet another Fighter. Maybe, we will go on a mission together in the future. Excuse me, but we have to get going."
Everyone said their goodbyes, and Kyle continued on his way.
As he walked away, he threw a look at the merchant, who was inspecting his destroyed caravan beast.
Kyle just shrugged and kept walking.
"They are suspicious of your origins," Theodor said.
"I noticed," Kyle answered. "They weren't exactly subtle with their expressions. Is that a problem?"
"It's not up to them to judge your origins and allegiance," Theodor answered. "They are just regular members. Their directions are somewhat trustworthy."
"Somewhat?" Kyle asked as he kept running down the street.
"I don't know a lot about Fighter Guilds, but I would assume that you can also join one by registering at an outpost. Yet, they have told you to skip the outpost and go to another city."
"I remember Starkhold. That city already existed back when I was still alive. It's probably the biggest city in the surrounding 100 kilometers or so."
"My suspicion is that they sent you there so that you meet with stronger members of the Fighter Guild. If there is anything suspicious about your origin, the higher-ups will find out."
"Is that a problem?" Kyle asked.
"No," Theodor said. "Just go to Starkhold. Registering with the headquarters is easier, and it should have more missions to choose from."
"Sure thing, Boss," Kyle said.
Kyle continued running for another hour and finally reached Hillscape.
By now, the sun had already set.
Hillscape was a town on top of a big hill.
The town itself was probably around two kilometers in diameter, and it had several fortifications.
The surrounding three kilometers were all farmland, and Kyle could see plenty of farmers walking back into their houses after a hard day of work.
Kyle entered Hillscape without any issues and searched for an inn.
'I want to sleep in an actual fucking bed for once. I'm tired of sleeping in the wilderness.'
He quickly found a beautiful inn near the edge of the town and asked for a room.
When he heard the price, he became concerned.
"I don't have silver," Kyle said. "I only have Ether Pebbles."
The employee called the manager over, who was super nice to Kyle.
In the end, Kyle gave them one Ether Pebble and got two gold and a hundred silver in return, in addition to the room.
When he entered his room, Kyle's eyes widened.
'This is big!' he thought.
Kyle got almost an entire floor to himself, and there were plenty of amenities in the room.
There were a bunch of furs, nice wooden furniture, a fireplace, and even a pool made of stone.
"Don't be so surprised," Theodor said with annoyance. "You paid with Ether Pebbles. Normal people do not pay with Ether Pebbles."
"While you are pitifully poor for a Fighter, you are rich for a normal person."
'I'm rich,' Kyle thought.
Then, he smiled widely.
'Feels nice!'
'This place doesn't have wi-fi or electricity, but damn, it sure is better than my shitty ass apartment in LA.'
Kyle removed his armor, took a dip in the pool, and went to sleep.
It felt so good to sleep in an actual bed again.
For the past week or so, he had slept in the wilderness.
"Wake up!"
Kyle's eyes shot open, and he jumped out of bed.
Was there a beast?!
"You slept enough! Get going!" Theodor shouted in annoyance.
When Kyle realized that there was no danger, he groaned.
'Fucking Theodor. Why can't you just let me sleep?'
Kyle put his armor back on and was about to leave the inn.
Yet, Theodor stopped him.
It was still dark outside, and they should wait for the day.
"Then, why the fuck did you wake me up?!" Kyle asked in annoyance.
"Sleeping more than necessary is wasted time!" Theodor shouted. "You can spend your time learning more about mining and smithing!"
Kyle groaned again. "Sure thing, Boss."
'Fucking slavedriver.'
After having knowledge crammed down his throat for a couple of hours, Kyle went on his journey to Starkhold.
He had to run for almost three hours, but for once, nothing of note happened during this journey.
It was just a smooth ride from point A to point B.
When Kyle saw Starkhold, he stopped for a moment.
"Whoa," he said.
There were four tall mountains in front of Kyle, and all four of them were very close to each other.
About three-fourths up, there was a huge plateau that connected all of the mountains.
That was where Starkhold was located.
Starkhold was at an altitude of around 1,500 meters, and it was around six kilometers wide.
There were a bunch of gigantic walls and watchtowers around it, and Kyle could also see several tall buildings covering the mountains themselves.
'This looks like straight out of some high-fantasy RPG.'
'Fantasy land actually makes its name proud, for once.'
Then, Kyle remembered his reason for being here.
'Finally, I can join a Fighter Guild!'
'I will no longer be unemployed!'
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