Chapter 57: Sacrificing Something For Something

When Arnold realised that he would be caught if he didn’t do anything, he knew he had to sacrifice something for something.

It’s either he lets the guards capture him and take him back to the messengers who would deliver him to the Steel Empire, giving him a pure chance of a terrible death. Or... He agrees to join the Wanderers and at least gets to wander around the Reach before figuring out a way to escape.

For sure, there was already one more favourable condition, and that was to truly join the Wanderers.

"Okay, let me out! I will join you! I promise!"

Arnold shouted loudly enough to let them hear him, but at first, it felt like they had abandoned him so suddenly. Or perhaps they had already left.

’F*CK! Can’t they just wait to see if I can change my mind? What a disgrace!’

Soon, the guards were already drawing near, reaching him, and Arnold was already about to lose it.

"Come on! Get me outta here! I promise to join you. I’m fucking serious right now. They are coming to get me!" Arnold shouted again.

And of course, it still looked like they had ignored him or disappeared. Arnold was already beginning to lose hope, and well enough, he was already considering having to face the guards.

At least, he wouldn’t surrender without a fight.

And just then...

The rope ladder suddenly dropped again, and when Arnold noticed it...

He threw himself at it at once.

When the approaching men noticed that the same ladder had been dropped again, they increased their pace at once, and this time, even crazier.

Arnold hadn’t dared to waste time waiting for the Wanderers to draw him out. He had been using the steps on the ladder the whole time.

But then, what had made it more tense was that the guards started launching attacks from a distance.

Fireballs. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Energy Hits.

Many other magical attacks that Arnold couldn’t fully grasp their nature. At that point, he was only concerned about getting to the other side, and well enough, it hadn’t taken that long before he had crossed to the other side, and for the very second time, he escaped the wall of Strength City.

But that couldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for the Wanderers. The wall was so gigantic, over seventy feet tall. It would take someone several minutes before getting to the top, and obviously another several minutes to descend from the other side.

Anyone who dared to jump from the top would undoubtedly break an arm or sustain a very serious injury. That was why the Wanderers were sure they had dropped Arnold far enough to have him fall from about thirteen feet.

Perhaps they hadn’t decided to abandon him anyway, knowing that he might have a change of mind and want to join them. Surprisingly, it had happened just that same way.

When Arnold dropped down, the two Wanderers were still there, and for sure, they were the ones that had saved him again.

But Arnold was surprised by how they were able to do all these.

They couldn’t see from the walls. They couldn’t see inside the city. So how were they able to detect his position and most especially have the strength to pull him up so fast???

It was already looking like a mystery to him, but he knew he shouldn’t go straight to asking any questions at that point.

"Do you want to join now?" the girl asked with a shaky smile on her face this time, and she watched Arnold nod his head in agreement the very next moment.

"Good choice. Now you are one of us. A Wanderer. Not an Entrant. You will get your tattoo once we get to The Camp," the boy said with a smile, one that had failed to captivate Arnold repeatedly.

"Where’s the Camp?" Arnold hesitated before asking.

"Not quite far from here. About fifteen miles away," the girl said, smirking.

’A Camp? Fifteen miles away? And you call that not far???’ Arnold couldn’t believe it.

This just had to do with the name they were called. The Wanderers are said to be people who don’t settle for one base. They travel from one place to another, hunting from one monster zone to another.

They are a similar copy of a legion, but Legions are usually more organised and rare. The last famous legion had travelled beyond the Reach and hadn’t returned after fifteen years.

And as for the Wanderers, there hadn’t been a time when they talked about going beyond the Reach. They were only interested in what the Reach had to offer, and that was basically enough.

"So, let’s get going before those punks come looking for you around here."

They took Arnold with them and set out for The Camp, leaving the giant walls behind and heading west.

Just like that, Arnold had sacrificed what looked like his freedom to gain freedom from somewhere else, and at that point, he just hadn’t started regretting it.

*****

After several minutes, Roman was back at the main point of Strength City. He himself couldn’t define what kind of courage he had gathered, but he knew for sure that it was all going for a good result.

The Blossoming Grass, a name that had captivated him completely. Something he wanted to know the final result of, even in the middle of chaos.

He had a 100% chance of becoming an Alchemist as well, but it wasn’t bad to learn from an old veteran, right?

Roman wasn’t only taking this risk because of the knowledge after all, he was taking this risk because it was really, really fun.

It was not like the guards could easily capture him if they had the chance. He could always try to get himself out of every mess. He could just decide to summon all Soul Servants and cause chaos in the city.

But what good would that do when North comes to realise it was him? Wouldn’t he be removed from the Dominion Legion Group Chat and probably be pursued around the Reach by the whole team???

He had to consider that, and on a normal thought, there was no way he could even think about doing that.

At a point, Roman had walked quite deep into the bustling city, and soon he just happened to spot a young lady with short black hair carrying a black bag.

"Hey!"

"Hey, over here."

He called out at once, and immediately, she heard and noticed him.

But while he was gladly expecting her to approach him...

She moved a few steps backwards...

And zoomed off.