The Master of Uradan

Five hundred people were inside their carts, each pulled by a karga as they moved under the sun. Among them, standing out from these wooden transports, Rohan was sitting on a horse, walking along with the Chief Clan sitting in the shadows of the cart on his left.

Last night, after this man and his family, had answered some of his questions, as well as explained to him some information about the Barren Lands, the son who was named Deidros had prepared some food.

Seeing the meat inside his plate, and a few roots, it didn't take long for Rohan to understand what animal it was coming from. It was one of the snakes he had seen earlier.

The young man, with a smile, had then explained to him what these beasts were. They were called fire snakes, and such a name was given to them because of their color, but above all for the venom they possessed.

Indeed, although they weren't dangerous for humans, and the only deceased were young children or old people, their bites were still one of the most painful out there. It was said to be as painful as if the area that had been bitten was cooked under fire for a few minutes.

It was also at that time that his sister showed a scary mark on her ankle with an expression of pride as if it was an honor to have it.

It was a red mark spreading in a large area, with two dots in a red darker than the rest of the pattern. Rohan had immediately understood at that time: she once had been bit by this animal.

Maybe it was because of this encounter when she was little that she seemed to be that fierce, or even deranged?

In any case, the dish was a pretty good one, and for Rohan who was eating dry meat for a few days, it was a welcome food. After the meal, the trio was kind enough to give him a place to sleep.

This place was like a room, delimited by the brown fur making up the whole tents, and separating this one into several parts.

At some point, before Rohan put himself to sleep inside these furs, he had the bright idea to leave the warmth to stroll around. Even thinking about it was enough to make him shiver. The night was way too cold!

Thinking back about this night while mounted on his horse, Rohan felt his heart going numb. If he wasn't lucky enough to meet this Blackwolf Clan, he would have to sleep on the outside, while resisting against such a cold.

After the sun had woken up that morning, and after the clan members had disassembled the whole encampment, they took back the road. Rohan didn't know where they were going. He didn't have the choice but to follow them anyway, so he didn't even take the time to ask questions about it.

They still had two months before heading toward the mountain, so he would have to occupy himself during this period. But there was a problem.

Of course, he couldn't take out the books about wizardry before these people, and he was also reluctant to meditate in front of them.

The reason was that once all the meridians were formed, what he would need to do now to rank up was to create a vortex at the place where the meridian was connected.

As he would create his first one where he had connected the first meridian he had opened now a few years ago, it means he would have to create it inside his right palm.

But the problem was that the creation of vortexes was a bit more complicated than the opening of meridians, and the waves of mana created by it were easily felt by any mana users if they were a bit sensitive.

That means that even Rohan didn't think about his protection while he was meditating, there was some risk to be discovered.

And since the Chief clan was a rank 3 Beginner Warrior, the risk was far too high. As Rohan had already shown them his warrior's emblem with a 3 on it, he didn't want to break his disguise.

After all, he felt it would be too conspicuous for the young warrior if he showed them his real strength. And because of that, he would also have to pay attention to take off his sleeves.

All these interferences didn't let him make the choice. He had to forget about any power up for a long time unless he found a way at some point while still following them.

He had thought that this trip would be an easy one, but now that he knew that even an Intermediate Warrior was nothing before the four clans living near the mountain, he would have to be extra careful.

He didn't even have any plan on how the hell he would be able to enter their damn mountain. From what he understood, it was a sacred mountain kept day and night under their sight.

Maybe he should go back to Blanche to bring with him Horim, at least he would be feeling better after reaching this pill of rock called a mountain.

Of course, that was only if he would be able to survive the route and more especially this burning sun that was drilling a hole inside his head protected by his dusty cape. Walking alone or with these nomads didn't change anything about this result.

He didn't even know where the hell they were going. Maybe another place with more rocks under a hellish sun and an icy night. Actually, what was even the goal of these nomads? Why were they traveling every day? Rohan didn't know, and as he was bored, thought about it for a few minutes.

But boredom grew and grew again in his mind until he couldn't do anything but take out a book from his bag. It was the one about botany that he had already begun to read and learn.

He squinted his eyes as he try to read under the heavy light of the sun, transforming the white pages of the books into bright candles.

This trip would without a doubt be a fun one.

Rohan refrained from sighing and began to read through all these plants described and drawn.

On the side, Darias was watching with a curious look at this young man leading his horse with one hand and reading with the other one. For what reason did a warrior coming from the nobility class wanted to see the great mountain? It was a question that had appeared on his mind since last night.

When the warrior had said to them that he was here only because he had read about history talking about this place and was thus curious about it, it was easy to understand that he was a nobleman.

How could the child of a commoner learn about such a thing? Even knowing how to read was extremely rare.

He was curious about this young man, but he didn't seem to be a dangerous individual. So it wouldn't hurt to let this warrior tag along.

More importantly, a rank 3 Beginner Warrior would be able to help them a lot.