Swords, magic, and martial arts

Soon the day arrived to depart, as agreed upon with the merchant Otto.

After several days of grueling, self-torturing training, Rhodes' Iron Shirt skill reached level 2 and felt like it was about to upgrade to level 3, significantly improving his resilience.

Rhodes tested it and found that it took considerable force to cut his hand with a regular iron dagger, which made him a little arrogant.

In the morning, Baron, unusually, got up early and, together with Rhodes, packed their gear and went to the inn to find the merchant Otto.

Baron's weapon was a double-edged steel axe, about the size of a millstone, which could be used for both offense and defense. Rhodes struggled to even lift the axe, let alone swing it.

Rhodes' weapon was an axe that looked similar to a regular lumberjack's axe, except that the handle was longer. Rhodes decided to get a new weapon after this mission; carrying such a weapon was rather embarrassing, making him look less like an adventurer and more like a woodcutter going into the mountains to chop wood.

Rhodes' armor was much better than Baron's; he wore iron armor, a suit of armor made of several rusty iron plates held together by sinew ropes...

This is basically the cheapest armor, which can be made with just a few iron plates and some sturdy ropes.

Baron felt that wearing iron armor would affect his agility, so he only wore fur armor with bear fur still attached.

Wearing the iron armor made Rhodes feel safer, but it also made him feel colder. Even though he was wearing thick clothes underneath, he was still very cold. He thought it would get better once he started moving around.

Rod even copied the agents he'd seen on TV by attaching a steel dagger to his leg, which resulted in Baron mocking him for it.

Baron and Rod arrived at the inn and met the merchant Otto and three other people at the entrance. The three people looked like the other adventurers hired by Otto.

Rhodes felt he had seen these three people before, but he couldn't quite place them.

"Isn't that 'Fire Axe' Baron and his little rascal 'Bear'?"

One of the three men, carrying a huge warhammer, with blue battle markings on his face and a build similar to Baron's, spoke.

Baron is most skilled with a giant axe and also knows a bit of fire magic, which allows him to burn his entire body and the axe with flames. Therefore, adventurers have given him the nickname "Fire Axe".

Almost all Nords worship fire, and although the nickname sounds a bit corny, it's actually a very good one.

Rhodes' nickname "brat" comes entirely from the fact that the Rhodes before his transmigration was too reckless and liked to provoke other adventurers he didn't know for no reason. If it weren't for Baron's strong support, he would probably be two meters away from his grave by now.

"Long time no see, Hammer. You haven't changed a bit," Baron said. "Is this your new companion?"

"Let me introduce you," Hammer said.

He pointed to the man standing next to him, a man with a cool expression, about 1.9 meters tall, carrying a huge recurve bow and a large quiver of arrows, and said, "His name is Sam, but everyone calls him 'Quickhand.' He's a very fast and accurate archer."

Hammer then pointed to the remaining person, who was even "slimmer" than Rhodes, standing only about 1.6 meters tall. He had two daggers at his waist and a black-green short sword in his hand. He looked like someone who was not a good person at first glance.

"He's the infamous 'Viper' Webber, you must have heard of him. I met them in the coastal province, and they're all trustworthy."

Rhodes suddenly remembered that the adventurer named Hammer, who was carrying a huge warhammer, was a good friend of Baron's during his adventures. The two used to spar, drink, and brag together because their fighting styles were similar and they both used huge heavy weapons.

Three years ago, "Warhammer" Hammer and "Fire Axe" Baron were always evenly matched. Then, Hammer went to the Coastal Province to help a friend. In the past three years, Baron's strength has improved by leaps and bounds. It's hard to say who is stronger now.

Rhodes had heard of the name "Viper" Weber before; he was quite famous among adventurers, though his reputation wasn't very good.

Almost all Nords despise those who coat their weapons with poison, believing that combat should be based on strength and skill, not on such despicable means as poison.

"Poison is for women," Baron once told Rod in a tavern.

After he finished speaking, a Nord female warrior in the tavern felt insulted and threw a wooden table next to her, large enough for seven or eight people to sit around, at him.

Fortunately, Rod dodged quickly, or he would have been crushed to death.

"Viper" is known for coating weapons with poison, but his stealth and combat skills are top-notch. However, this does not change most people's opinion of him.

"Why would you associate with such a scoundrel who uses poison?" Baron asked curiously.

"Viper" Webber was clearly displeased upon hearing this, but he didn't say anything. Sam, who was standing next to him, was about to speak up for him.

At this moment, the merchant Otto spoke up, looking somewhat displeased. "Warriors, now is not the time for reminiscing. You can talk about it on the way. Let's hurry and set off now."

"Sorry, let's hit the road now," Baron said, scratching his bald head.

Soon the group left the city. As soon as they left the city gate, Rhodes felt a cold wind blow past, making him shiver uncontrollably.

It's much colder outside the city walls than inside. Even with the Nordic body, it's still a bit too much for me. Next time, if I can choose a martial art, I'll definitely choose one that can heat me up.

"Which way should we go?" Baron asked Otto.

"Just follow me," Otto said.

"You don't look like someone from Fish Kingdom," Baron said.

"Why?" Otto asked.

"I can see you're not afraid of the cold at all; you're wearing even less than me," Baron explained.

"I have a magical piece of equipment that can protect me from the cold," Otto said.

"Why didn't you seek help from the guards of Icestone City when your goods were stolen? You could have probably spent less money by going to the guards," Hammer asked Otto, who was walking beside him, with some doubt.

"I have some contraband in my cargo, and the guards can't know that," Otto said.

"What contraband?" Hammer asked, his face full of confusion.

Hammer and Baron really do look alike; no wonder they became good friends—they were both born with extra points allocated to intelligence but not intelligence. Rhodes thought to himself.

"Don't ask so many questions. You just need to help me deal with those bandits," Otto said impatiently.

Rhodes was also puzzled. Why would a merchant from the Kingdom of Fish travel so far to the Kingdom of Nord to do business without any guards? And even if he didn't bring guards, he should at least bring some coachmen and other helpers. Most importantly, why wasn't his warm magical equipment stolen?

As Rod thought about this, he became even more wary of Otto.

Could it be that he's in cahoots with the robbers, luring us out to kill us and steal our money?

That seems unlikely. Only someone with a screw loose would trick a group of adventurers into robbing someone. Adventurers are poor but skilled fighters, and it seems impossible for them to rob a whole group of them.

Could it be that Otto really brought only a little something shady but highly profitable to sell in the Kingdom of Nord?

As Rod pondered this, he continued walking alongside Baron, seeing many animals such as deer and goats along the way.

At first, Sam, nicknamed "Quick Hands," was eager to try his hand at handling the animals. He had just taken an arrow from his quiver and placed it on his bow when Hammer, who was standing next to him, stopped him.

Sam never showed any intention to attack the animals after that, but his eyes still gleamed with longing.

"Sam used to be a hunter, so it's hard for him not to get the urge to touch animals," Hammer explained to Baron and Otto.

As Rod walked, he marveled at the beautiful scenery, something he had never seen before, though it was a pity it was so cold.

After walking for about an hour, Hammer asked again, "How much longer do we have to walk? By the way, how do you know where those bandits' hideout is?"

"When they robbed me, they not only stole my goods, but also tied me up in a cave. Those robbers lived in that cave. Later, most of them went out to rob passersby, leaving only a few to guard the cave. I took the opportunity to escape," Otto said.

"Wait, you said you escaped from bandits, so where did you get the money to hire us and stay in such a high-class hotel?" "Viper" Weber asked immediately after hearing this.

"I escaped after they got drunk that night. When I left the cave, I took my wallet and some of my equipment, but I didn't take my cargo because I was afraid they would wake up," Otto explained.

Otto took out his wallet, shook it, and showed everyone the gold coins inside, saying, "See? I still have the money to hire you. Now you can rest assured."

"The Viper" Webber didn't answer, he just nodded. The group continued on, this time along a forest path, not the old, pebbly road that could accommodate carriages.

After walking for about an hour, Otto told them to stop not far from a cave and gestured for them to be quiet.

"Let's keep our voices down from now on, so the robbers inside don't notice us," Otto said.

"I'll go in first," said "Viper" Webber, and started to walk into the cave.

"Let's go in together. If they find you first, we might not be able to save you in time," Otto quickly stepped forward and grabbed Weber.

"Weber is the best stealthman I've ever seen in all these years. I think it's a wise choice for him to go in and scout first. If we go in with him, we'll definitely alert the bandits, and we might get caught off guard," Hammer said.

"There are many magical traps inside the cave designed to target assassins. No matter how skilled he is at stealth, he will still be discovered if he is not proficient in magic," Otto explained.

"Alright then, let's go in together." Hammer and Weber both agreed with Otto's idea.

Armed and on guard, the group walked together into the cave...