I Reincarnated as the World's Worst Healer-Chapter 77: Another Kingdom, Same Problems (1)

Little by little Ebony’s eyes began to open. She had woken up in the snow, outside the tower.

"What the hell happened?" she asked, worried, as she looked around. Among the trees and bushes she eventually found her friends.

Lucian, the green-haired elf, was lying on top of a bush full of thorns, so after the blonde woke him up he jumped to his feet with a start.

"Ahhh, damn it, that hurts! Why did I wake up in thorns? Why did we wake up at all? Wasn’t the rabbit supposed to kill us if we lost?"

Lucian, worried, looked at Ebony, who shook her head, since she had fallen asleep before the rest. She hadn’t won a single game.

Daniel then emerged from between the trees, holding his head. "Finally found you... How did you manage to beat the rabbit?"

They all looked at each other. No one knew how they had managed to leave that place alive, but something even more important was hidden in the backpack.

Lucian sensed something strange inside the enormous backpack, so while searching through it he found a piece of parchment. It emanated an incredible amount of magic for being just a piece of paper.

"That’s it!... That’s the piece we went there for," Ebony said, snatching the parchment fragment from Lucian’s hands.

She carefully examined every letter and every mark on the parchment. None of the engravings made any sense, but that didn’t matter.

"We risked our lives for that tiny piece of crap?!" Daniel asked while staring at the parchment in disbelief.

"Hey idiot, this thing is unique in the entire world. It’s the key to finding the Eyes of God, well... one part of the key," Ebony said as she tucked the parchment inside her clothes, close to her chest.

"Anyway, let’s hurry and find the military. We deserve our payment and, more importantly, it’s time to leave."

The group began moving through the forest, trying to hear the sounds of the military camp or at least find some clue about which direction to go.

After several minutes they found wagon tracks and, following the trail, they reached the camp where they had arrived a few days earlier offering their services.

However, when they arrived there was nothing. The camp had already been abandoned and all that remained was trash, like useless planks and extinguished campfires.

"That... that bastard tricked us!" the blonde shouted angrily, since she had been expecting her 100 gold coins, which were now reduced to zero.

"Calm down... It was a possibility. Military groups that hire mercenaries often don’t pay anything... After all, we can’t even complain. Since we’re not citizens of their country, just foreigners passing through..."

Lucian said, resigned to the reality of that world, since his decades traveling through the human world had hardened him against betrayal and lies.

After a brief outburst from the whole group, they eventually decided to follow the wagon tracks, since they still had to complete their mission and deliver the silver necklace to their client.

"I hope this job actually ends well. We deserve to get paid," Ebony said angrily with her arms crossed while they followed the road.

"Contracts in this world are practically unbreakable, so they have to pay us unless they want to die for breaking a contract with our guild," Lucian said while patting his friend on the shoulder.

After several minutes of walking, the group moved farther away from the tower where they had been, without knowing whether the raid had been successful or not.

And so they kept following the trail, for hours through the snow that never stopped falling.

...

After an entire day of walking, the group reached the edge of that territory. At the end of the snow-covered dirt road they saw a stone gate.

"Finally we’re here!" Ebony said in relief. Despite her endurance, she didn’t like the cold one bit.

"Try to calm down, alright? This time we’re not dealing with a merchant. We need to be careful if we want to enter their country."

"I know, I know..." the blonde said while resting her palms behind her neck.

When they reached the entrance made of piled stones forming an arch with magical runes carved into each stone, they saw the soldiers.

Behind the stone arch stood soldiers in full armor, and one of them, the oldest judging by his enormous white beard, stepped in front of the group of friends with his imposing two-meter frame and said:

"Papers."

Ebony, with a confused look, was about to make a sarcastic remark to vent her frustration, but Lucian quickly pushed her aside and presented their forged passports.

"What business do you have with the country of Ferig?" the guard asked with a serious expression, carefully watching the half-elf, who hid his ears under a hood.

Lucian felt the guard’s gaze suspecting his hybrid nature, but taking a breath he showed the palm of his hand where the seal of his guild was marked: the Pink Unicorn.

The soldier stroked his beard and after a sigh stepped aside, allowing Ebony and the others to cross the stone arch.

Just as they were about to pass through, a system message appeared to each of them.

[- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -]Player, you are about to cross a magical border. If you enter this territory you will be subject to the rules established by its rulers. If you disobey them, you may suffer severe punishments that may result in death.

Laws of Ferig:1st Law: Kill any Visitor (Hero) from another world.2nd Law: Do not kill (Executions may only be carried out by an executioner chosen by the king).4th Law: Turn over any hybrid to the authorities.5th Law: Do not steal.6th Law: Do not harm the King.[- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -]

"(So these are the famous Unbreakable Laws. Lucian said if you break any of them you can die because of authority magic... Sounds like a damn prison...)"

The blonde sighed and nodded her head, accepting the terms. After that, the three friends crossed the border.

Lucian adjusted his hood nervously. No one could know his identity as a half-elf.

After asking a soldier for the date, the group realized there were only three days left before their contract ended. This didn’t worry Ebony too much.

After all, they were in the southeastern border city of Ferig. Their destination, Sapphire Port, was only a day’s journey away.

They had plenty of time, so before continuing their trip they decided to buy a few healing potions, since the blonde had used almost all of them.

After a few hours of rest, the group continued their journey, leaving the city on foot.

"I can’t believe the Solar Knight Russel gave us ended up being completely useless..." Ebony complained, since she wanted to summon the mount their guild leader had given them.

"I already told you no... Daniel would scare it away with his... presence," Lucian explained, since Daniel was half-undead, something dangerous and unique whose mere presence frightened life spirits like the mount the blonde wanted to use so badly.

They kept moving forward until a voice caught their attention. A familiar female voice called out to them, forcing them to look behind.

"Hey idiots, didn’t think I’d find you here. Long time no see," said Veronica, the cat girl.