Single Spell Sorcerer-Chapter 54: Departure

Eight days remained before the trial of the 10th Carriage—the Maze—was to be reset. Jax had planned to leave when there were seven days remaining, so now was as good a time as any.

Jax bought what he could before he was to leave, preparing everything he might need. He even reserved a seat in the afternoon carriage that morning. After everything was settled, there was nothing else to keep him in Seacrest City.

So Jax went to find Julian and get their deal canceled.

He waited in line with the newly joined people until it was his turn. The old man still sat inside, continuously using the spell on every person that joined. It seemed to be the reason why he had to use the opal stone all the time.

Julian looked at the document with information on Jax. "Well, it looks like you’re paying your dues on time. Give me your hand, I’ll remove our deal."

Jax reached out toward the man, palm upwards, revealing the softly written ’Julian’ above it. Julian grabbed his palm and, in an instant, undid what he had done over a month ago.

"It is done."

Jax left the building and made his way toward the training arenas. He wanted to say his farewell to Danny, without whom he wouldn’t have found his current spell. It had been a long time since he had seen the man too.

Danny wasn’t around in the training area again. Frowning, Jax asked another trainer who would probably know.

"Danny? Have you not heard? He is dead."

Jax paused. "Dead?"

The trainer nodded. "It’s been about two weeks since he died."

"Dead how?" Jax asked, a little unsettled by the news.

"We’re not sure. The party he went with brought back the news, so we don’t really know much at all," the trainer said.

Jax found the news hard to swallow. It was no secret that people died every day in this world, but when it was someone who was an acquaintance, the news became a little more important.

"I see. Thank you for letting me know."

It appeared he would never get to say his thanks.

Jax left the training center, making his way toward Loma’s shop. He found Loma working in the shop and told him that he was leaving.

Loma chuckled. "Have you gotten bored by these monsters? Are you going to fight some other monsters?"

"Monsters?" Jax asked. "I suppose. I’m going to the next Maze."

The man paused. "But you’ve only been here for a month."

"I have, but it is time, so I came to say goodbye."

Loma fell silent for a while, failing to process. "Did you really get so strong in just a month?" he asked. "I’ve been trying at it for over a year now, and still i’m barely anywhere."

Jax frowned. "Do you not use your Navi stones to improve your Navi stage?"

"I try with what I have, but without being registered, it is quite difficult," Loma said. "Besides, I need those few Navi stones I get to pay for my place, and bring food to the table for my parents. I cannot leave just yet."

Jax couldn’t really understand Loma’s issues. He didn’t remember if he had any family to take care or not. All he knew was that he had to save someone, but that someone could be anyone. If he had a family, he wondered, could he leave them back and go through the other carriages, likely never returning before they were dead?

Jax felt bad for the man. "I cannot empathize with you, but I do wish you good luck. Maybe you will one day leave too, and I will see you in the other carriages."

Loma smiled. "Good luck to you too. I’ll hopefully see you again."

Jax nodded and left.

He arrived next at the western gates where there were carriages to take him to the Saltport City. Once he was there, he would have to take one more carriage to go to Trimheart City, which was where one of the gates to the Maze was located.

Jax found the carriage that he had paid for and got onto it. As more people filled in, he looked back at the gate and the city. He had no memory of any other place, so this would be the first city he would ever remember.

Jax looked at the people who were in the carriage, seemingly many of them doing the same thing he was. They were headed to the Maze as well. He was asked by someone else too, so he answered.

Beyond that, however, he didn’t say anything. He didn’t like entering conversations with others and instead chose to be by himself.

The carriage left in the afternoon and would reach Saltport City. The city was just three hours away if one simply walked, but Jax decided to go in the carriage. It seemed the better choice to him.

The path that led to the Cobweb Forest and the city diverged a little in, taking the scenic route next to the ocean. There was some uphill travel for a while before it became downhill and a smooth ride.

After nearly two hours of carriage ride, they arrived at Saltport City.

The city had a wide stretch of whiteness near the ocean where people extracted salt from the water. The smell of salt was particularly strong in this place for that reason.

It was late afternoon when Jax walked out of the carriage, the sky glowing orange. He would have to find a place to stay for the night, and he could leave tomorrow.

Sadly, carriages chose to never leave after dark.

Since the fields all around the 10th Carriage reset after dark, there were times when the fields had a surplus of monsters, and some even came out of their area, attacking others for that reason.

As such, all carriage owners chose to wait at least until sunrise to leave so they could see the monsters coming, at the very least. Most, however, waited until midday when the many warriors and sorcerers had killed most of the monsters, making the pathway much safer afterward.

Jax quickly found a tavern for himself to stay in. Once he found a room, he left to roam the city in the evening. He stopped by a place to eat before roaming even more. He went to a weapon shop to see what they had, but there was nothing at all.

He went to potion shops next, but the potions here were just the same as the ones in the city he had come from.

The last thing Jax checked was to see if there were any Elemental stones to be found. However, it seemed there were none. Whatever drops one got from the boss every day were either getting hoarded or used already.

After roaming around the city, Jax returned to the tavern and immediately went to his room. He needed to absorb some more Navi and then go to sleep.

After continuing for almost half an hour, Jax was finally done with a very long batch of string next to his feet.

"I should do something about all of it that remains in the end, shouldn’t I?" Jax asked.

"You could always sell them and see if anyone will buy," Gemma said.

Jax nodded. "I’ll think about it once I’m in the next carriage."

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