​In the late afternoon, on a bumpy dirt road heading toward Wiltshire town, Ian sat quietly on the wooden floorboards, staring intently at the system notification that had just chimed in his mind.

​[DETECTED THAT EMMA THORNE BROKE THROUGH TO LATE STAGE OF SKIN CULTIVATION. REWARDED 50 PROSPERITY POINTS]

​’Finally... It seems like Emma broke through. I guess she is a bit on the slow side, huh? Or maybe she just doesn’t cultivate as seriously as Emily or even Ivory,’ Ian thought, looking at the familiar blue message panel floating in his vision.

​’System,’ Ian thought. Immediately, a larger panel displaying his current status appeared.

​[Name: Ian Thorne]

[Age: 17]

[Lifespan: 73]

[Martial Arts: None]

[Cultivation Arts: Abyssal Dragon Jaw Forging Technique]

[Martial Stage: First-Stage of Dragon Jaw Forging Technique]

[Prosperity Points: 115]

[Prosperity Shop]

[Notifications]

[External Members: 4/20]

​’With Emma’s breakthrough and Isaac’s constant progress, it adds 100 points to the 15 points I already had left over. I wish someone else broke through too, so I could finally have enough points to buy a single martial art,’ Ian sighed internally.

​He then closed the system panel and looked forward at Isaac.

​"I know Uncle Vincent gave us a cheap carriage with no roof, but don’t you think you are taking this a bit too far?" Ian said, staring blankly at Isaac, who was actively practicing the Adamantine Ox Hide Technique in a deep horse stance despite the bumpy ride. "Even the coachman is looking at you weirdly."

​"It’s a cart," Isaac said, not breaking his stance.

​"A what?" Ian asked, looking confused.

​"You said carriage, and I’m telling you it’s a cart. I’m correcting you," Isaac said calmly.

​"Okay... Does it even matter anyway?" Ian asked.

​"It does matter. A cart transports goods, whilst a carriage transports people. And for us—unregistered junior adventurers from a poor local village who only have thirty silver coins to our name—can’t afford a carriage because we are poor. We could only ride on this cargo cart," Isaac said, finally dropping his stance and sitting down on the wooden planks.

​".... " Ian just stared at Isaac, completely surprised and he didn’t say anything. ’He really is getting into the character role, huh,’ Ian thought.

"Anyways...why did you stop just now? I have been pestering you to stop since this morning, and you acted like you didn’t even hear me."

​"It’s just because we are getting close to the town," Isaac said, pointing toward the silhouette of a settlement in the distance.

"Already, that was fast that we would arrive at night" Ian exclaimed.

​"Wiltshire... a town under the Willson Family. It doesn’t look like much though," Ian said as they finally arrived at the outskirts of the town. "The town doesn’t even have a wall compared to other towns I have seen." ’Or at least, in the memories of the past Ian,’ he added in his mind.

"You know, I’m starting to wonder what you were studying when you were young because some things you ask are really common" Isaac complained

"Ha-ha-ha... it was only about running businesses and accounting. I thought I would take my father’s place in the business sector but look were we are now. Things changed really fast, and now we are searching for strength," Ian said chuckling and pausing letting what he just said sink in. "Now tell me about this small town."

​"Sigh...well, because the Wilson Family is only of Baron rank, they can’t own a fortified town. Only Viscounts and above are allowed to do that," Isaac explained. "That is why this town is lacking a lot of basic infrastructure. They have not been permitted to build it."

​"And this town is only possible because of the Adventurer’s Guild located here," Isaac added. "With adventurers coming and going in the Great Forest this village turned into a small town and businesses also became a boom here you see."

​"Mmm... I see," Ian muttered, taking in the sight of the unpaved streets.

​"Young Lords, Sir Vincent instructed that I should not escort you deep into the town. I’m sorry, but my journey ends here," the coachman called out, bringing the cart to a halt.

​’Of course he would want us to be treated like this,’ Ian thought with a sigh.

​"It’s okay, you can return now," Ian said, hopping down onto the dirt road.

​After the coachman turned the cart around and left, Ian looked over at Isaac. "Which place should we visit first?"

​"Let’s go to the Guild first and register. Maybe we can stumble on a job, and after that we find an inn to sleep for the night then waking up tomorrow, we can just head straight into the forest," Isaac explained thoroughly.

​"Next time, just say ’the Guild.’ I don’t need all the details," Ian said, immediately heading toward the nearest passerby to ask for directions.

​They were quickly directed to the guild, which was located toward the border of the Great Forest. It took less than a ten-minute walk to get there. They did not stop anywhere to sightsee, mostly because the town was not really on the beautiful side.

​"This should be the Guild," Isaac said, stopping and looking up at a large wooden insignia hanging above double doors. It depicted a warrior holding a greatsword in one hand and a monster’s severed head in the other.

​"Let’s get this over with..." Ian said, walking to the front. "I’m starting to get hungry."

​"Yeah, you are kinda right about that. I haven’t eaten anything since this morning, since Vincent rushed us," Isaac said, agreeing with Ian.

​"I see we finally agree on something for once...."

​BOOOM!!

​Just as Ian reached out to open the heavy double doors, he was suddenly smashed and sent flying backward by something that came crashing through the door from the inside.

​"Haaaa... Dammit, who is throwing things outside?" Ian groaned, wincing in pain. ’Although I can’t easily get hurt or get open wounds anymore because of my Skin Cultivation, I can at least still feel the pain, though,’ Ian thought while trying to get up.

​But before he could even stand, the thing that had smashed into him also started scrambling to get up, desperately trying to run away. It was a young boy.

​"Zena!! Did you really think I wouldn’t find you?" A large man with a furious expression and a heavy axe strapped to his back walked slowly out of the broken doors, glaring at the boy who was trying to flee.

​"Tsk... asshole..." Zena muttered in a low voice, pushing himself off the dirt to run.

​"Oooh... you are not going anywhere," Ian said, annoyed. He reached out and grabbed Zena by the leg, tripping him.

​"Let go of me, asshole!!" Zena screamed. Tears were flowing down his dirty face, but his eyes burned with a deep, fierce anger. "Are you also one of them?!"

​"What are you tal—"

​Before Ian could finish asking his question, the large man with the axe walked forward with a wide, cruel smile.

​"Ha-ha-ha... thank you, my friend, for catching this murderer. I have been searching for this brat for a whole week, and who would have thought he was hiding inside the Guild Hall all this time?"

​"Murderer?" Isaac asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked down at Zena.

​"Yes... this boy killed my little brother, and I’m gonna make him pay for that dearly," the man said seriously.

​The moment he finished saying that, he stepped closer to Zena and violently punched the boy in the stomach with his full force.

​"Ooof... cough... cough... cough!" Zena collapsed onto his knees, coughing up saliva as his eyes turned red from the intense pain.

​With all this loud commotion happening, a crowd of spectators quickly started surrounding them from everywhere in the street.

​"Friggy finally caught him. At last, now we can live here in peace," one man in the crowd said with a relieved sigh.

​"Yeah... one night, he stormed into my house claiming we were hiding that brat," another villager complained. "To make matters worse, they messed up my whole house looking for him and didn’t even apologize for it."

​Some people in the crowd continued to complain about Friggy’s past behavior, but they were all at least glad that Zena was finally caught.

​Friggy smirked when he heard what the spectators were saying. "It seems the people of Wiltshire are glad that you are finally caught," he said, staring down at Zena.

​By now, another one of Friggy’s friends had stepped forward, grabbing Zena roughly by the hair to hold him in place.

​"You were truly a menace to society. I bet you are regretting it now and thinking you made a huge mistake," Friggy mocked, looking at Zena, who was still glaring daggers at him.

​"LIKE HELL I WOULD REGRET IT! IF I GOT THE CHANCE AGAIN, I WOULD DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN! HE IS LUCKY TO GET A QUICK DEATH AT THE END, COMPARED TO WHAT HE DID... TO WHAT HE DID TO MY SISTER!" Zena screamed at Friggy like a madman. He thrashed wildly, acting like he was completely ready for death as he desperately tried to break free from the hand pulling his hair.

Suddenly, Friggy’s expression darkened. Without warning, he pulled his fist back and violently punched Zena in the face two times in a row.

​Smack! Smack!

​The brutal blows instantly drained whatever fight the kid had left. Zena’s head slumped forward, completely lacking the strength to even look up anymore. A swollen black eye formed almost immediately, and thick blood flowed continuously from his mouth as he coughed weakly onto the dirt.

​Friggy leaned down, tightly grabbing another fistful of the boy’s hair to pull his battered face close.

​"Actually... you know nobody just cares," Friggy whispered coldly.