Swords, magic, and martial arts

Rhodes sat on the barrel and chatted with Quentin all night. Quentin had traveled all over the world and was very knowledgeable, having been to many places that most people would never be able to go in their lifetime.

After chatting with him all night, Rhodes gained a clearer understanding of the world.

There are actually two continents in this world, or rather, only two have been discovered so far.

However, the two continents did not communicate very closely, even though both continents were controlled by humans.

The other continent is to the west of the Kingdom of Fish, and it takes more than three months to reach it by sea. The continent where Rhodes is located is called the Land of the Gods by the people of that continent.

Everyone is used to calling that continent the Continent of Velen. This is because the Velen Empire once ruled the entire continent, and the continent got its name from it.

However, several hundred years ago, the Chaos Knights of the Land of the Gods sailed west and swept across the continent of Velen, leading to the downfall of the Velen Empire.

In the decades that followed, the people of the continent of Velen continued to rebel, which greatly reduced the strength of the Chaos Knights. They were eventually forced to withdraw from the continent of Velen and retreat to an archipelago to recuperate.

Now, the continent of Velen is ruled by the Second Velen Empire.

The continent of Velen is even more backward than the continent of Rhodes, still in the ignorant era of slavery, where slaves have no human rights whatsoever, and some slaves may never have a full meal in their entire lives.

Within the city, there were also gladiatorial arenas and amphitheaters, allowing slave owners to watch from the stands as gladiators fought each other and as gladiators fought wild beasts.

The continent of Velen is much smaller than the Land of the Gods, but it is far more dangerous, with all sorts of strange creatures roaming around. This is why the people of Velen call this continent the Land of the Gods.

"You've said all that, have you been there before?" Rod yawned.

"Not now, I only heard it from others, but I will go in the future, and I will also go to the western sea of ​​the continent of Velen until I reach the World Barrier," Quentin said excitedly.

"Alright then, once you get there, I can still tell people in the tavern that I know a warrior who successfully conquered the sea," Rod complimented.

"I like you a lot, kid." Quentin laughed and patted Rhodes on the shoulder.

"Where can I find something to eat on the ship? I'll eat something and then go to sleep." Rhodes stood up and stretched.

"I'll take you there later, and someone will come to take my place."

"Don't you have a first mate or anything like that on your ship?" Rod asked.

"What is a first mate?" Quentin asked Rhodes curiously.

"Never mind, it's nothing. So who takes your place when you sleep?" Rod asked again.

"It depends on my mood. I can send whoever I want," Quentin replied proudly.

From their previous conversation, Rhodes learned why Quentin seemed disrespected on the ship.

Mainly, he had such a good temper, and everyone on the ship was his younger relatives, either his nephews or his cousins, all of whom he had watched grow up. He didn't act like an elder in front of the younger generation, much like Baron and Rod. At home, he was the kind of adult that all the children loved.

Although the people on board outwardly didn't seem to respect him much, in crucial moments, everyone on board would completely obey his orders, even if it meant doing things they themselves considered foolish.

Compared to Baron, Quentin had a much better temper. No matter how much his younger generation teased him, he never lost his temper. He was like that with all Nords, even strangers.

If mercenaries or adventurers from other countries dare to mess with him, he will teach them a lesson and let them know that his big size is not for nothing.

This made Rhodes feel a little strange, wondering why there would be such a strange person.

"Uncle, go and rest for a bit, I'll take over for you." A young crew member went up to the deck and walked toward the helm.

"How many times have I told you? On the ship, you have to call me Captain, not Uncle." Quentin stood up unsteadily. He had drunk a lot of alcohol that night, more than Rhodes had drunk all day.

"No need to help me, I'm not drunk yet, I'm perfectly sober." Quentin shook off the young crew member's outstretched hand that was about to help him up.

"I'm going down to rest now, I'll take him down with me," Rod said, grabbing Quentin who was about to collapse drunk on the ground.

"Thank you for your help," the young crew member said apologetically.

Rhodes helped Quentin back to the cabin.

"Take me there, that's where we eat. I'll give my room to that girl. I'll just rest on the table after I finish eating," Quentin said, pointing in a direction.

Rod didn't understand why so many people liked to get drunk. He had experienced hangovers before; they were unpleasant and bad for the liver.

As you enter the dining room, the air is filled with the aroma of roasted meat.

"You guys are lucky to get to eat John's barbecue on your first day." Quentin found a chair with a backrest and plopped down in it.

"What kind of meat are you grilling?" Rhodes walked over, picked up two plates, and sat down next to Quentin.

"Lamb, my favorite is John's roasted lamb, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. One bite and your mouth is filled with the aroma of meat juices." Quentin described while drooling.

Quentin picked up his knife and fork and began to work on the roast meat on his plate.

With one cut, Rhodes saw blood gushing out of the meat, and Quentin dipped the meat in the blood and ate large mouthfuls of grilled meat.

"Why aren't you eating?" Quentin asked, glancing at Rhodes.

Even after traveling for so long, Rod still couldn't get used to eating such undercooked food. It wasn't that he was afraid of parasites, but mainly that he couldn't overcome his own mental barrier.

"I'll just have some bread instead. You can have this plate too." Rod pushed the plate towards Quentin, then took a few more loaves of bread from the basket.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony," Quentin said with a smile.

After eating a few loaves of bread, Rod returned to the large cabin where the crew lived, found his assigned bed, and fell asleep immediately, ignoring Baron's attempts to speak to him.

……

"Time to get up." Rod heard someone calling him to get up while he was still half asleep.

"Go have dinner first. If you want to sleep, we can continue after you finish eating." Rod heard it clearly; it was Baron's voice. He was shaking Rodon as he spoke.

Rod could only sit up in bed helplessly.

"You go first, I know where it is. I'll go wash up first," Rod said, rubbing his eyes.

Rod quickly washed up using the things in the room and then went to the room where he had eaten breakfast that morning.

Almost everyone on the ship is now gathered here, along with the crew and a few other passengers who also traveled on the ship.

Apart from Messiah, there was no other woman on the ship, or in her room like her.

"Come sit here," Baron said loudly.

Unlike this morning when the room was almost empty, it's now a mess, and if you don't speak loudly, the other person can't hear you at all.

"When we get to Gulfstream City, how about we go to that tournament?" Baron said after Rhodes sat down.

"Shouldn't we be escorting Messiah back to Radiant City? We don't have time to participate in this tournament." Rhodes looked at Baron with confusion.

"This was suggested by Messiah. Their knightly order is short of money, and now they've come across a great opportunity to make money, which she doesn't want to miss. The prize for first place in the group tournament is 10,000 gold coins. If the four of us find one more person, we can participate. Even if the 10,000 gold coins are divided equally among the five people, each person will still get 2,000 gold coins, which is more profitable than selling that dragonman's corpse last time," Baron explained to Rhodes.

"Oh well."

……