Chapter 34: Strike While the Iron Is Hot

Strike while the iron is hot.

Gavin gave Anna no chance to back out. At the crack of dawn, they set off, racing toward the city of Beldesk without a single stop along the way.

Here, Gavin fulfilled his promise. He helped Anna find a suitable caravan and sent letters to her parents and teacher respectively. Then, he secured a spot in an appropriate merchant convoy, joining them as fellow travelers.

After arriving in Asbrayven, this caravan would head north, following the distant mountains through Horuas and the Sunset Mountains, skirting the Goblin Marches, and passing through the Thune Swamps, the Far Sea Swamps, and the Rocklands before finally reaching Gavin's destination, Tifanton, marking the end of this three-thousand-kilometer journey.

Of the three merchant routes to Tifanton, this was the shortest, yet also the most difficult and dangerous. Once they crossed the Sunset Mountains and reached the Goblin Marches, the roads would no longer be dominated by humans, but by various monster communities.

Gavin chose this path because he was most familiar with it; he had traveled it at least three times, once even as a slave.

In his previous life, it was via this very route that he had been sold to the Zhentarim. This road was also a key area for future development by the Zhentarim.

The timing of his journey in his previous life was roughly similar to the present.

Therefore, what appeared to be the most perilous route to others was, in Gavin's eyes, the safest. At the very least, he knew where the pitfalls lay and where the opportunities were.

Most importantly, his short-term goal was focused on the Rocklands during the final leg of the journey. By retracing his steps, he could dig deep into his memories while simultaneously conducting a new round of planning.

The stretch of road before Horuas went quite smoothly for the caravan, as humans still held dominance here.

By the time they reached the western entrance of the Sunset Mountains, the members of the caravan had mostly settled into a rhythm.

In Gavin's view, the caravan was performing at an average level. All the independent merchants were veterans of many years, many having traveled this route three or four times. They were experienced and employed guards who were mostly old acquaintances. In contrast, Gavin's trio were unmistakable newcomers.

Fortunately, Gavin encountered an acquaintance within this caravan—someone he had met on a previous trip north. This merchant leader had connections everywhere, and those connections naturally became Gavin's connections very quickly.

In Horuas, they also ran into another caravan. Although they didn't merge, they traveled one after the other, never more than twenty kilometers apart, providing a sense of mutual support.

Normally, all merchants are in competition with one another, but when faced with external threats, they often unite to combat danger together.

Crossing the Sunset Mountains was a close call, but they emerged unscathed.

The "close call" wasn't caused by monster communities, but by a landslide triggered by heavy rain. Aside from a few damaged wagons and cargo, there were no casualties.

Since they had joined as fellow travelers, Gavin and his companions enjoyed relatively free movement within the caravan. Even if they left the group for a while and then returned, it was no problem at all.

The prerequisite was being able to catch up to the caravan, as their itinerary was not fixed; they moved and stopped as they pleased, sometimes forced to detour based on weather and road conditions.

Such situations tested the leadership and the merchants' experience most acutely; a wise decision could prevent a catastrophic disaster.

In this regard, Gavin considered himself inferior to those merchants.

Thus, he rarely intervened with unsolicited advice and minimized the number of times he left the group. Even when he did leave, he never stayed away for more than three hours. Even if the convoy had moved on, his tracks would be fresh and easy to follow.

Gavin operated on the principle of making friends. He provided help whenever possible, regardless of money; his main goal was to build connections.

The wild game he hunted or the wild vegetables he gathered were rarely sold for profit. Instead, he would simply call a group of people over to eat and drink on the spot.

They weren't exactly "true friends," but he had plenty of fair-weather companions. As long as he didn't ask for anything too extreme, the entire caravan was willing to grant him and his group great convenience.

For most of the journey, Gavin focused on his self-cultivation. This time, he was not alone; Vic and Anna accompanied him.

Through the influence and subtle osmosis of this journey, Vic—who had once been like a puppet on a string—finally found his life's purpose: to become strong. He wasn't quite at the stage of wanting to master his destiny, but he certainly refused to fall back into the slave life of one meal every other day.

Driven by this goal, he absorbed all the knowledge around him like a sponge, including physical training and melee combat skills—things many considered unimportant for a sorcerer.

Since Vic was willing to learn, Gavin was not stingy with his teaching. He specifically selected flexible, skirmish-style combat techniques that suited Vic's physical condition.

If possible, Gavin wanted to get a couple of gnome muskets or hand cannons for him for self-defense.

As for the one in Gavin's own hands, it wasn't that he was unwilling to give it up, but rather that the recoil was too powerful. Even he found it difficult to use; with Vic's small build, every shot would likely result in a broken bone.

Unfortunately, the caravans they encountered along the way had almost no contact with the gnomes of Lantun Island, let alone trading their goods. He could only ask them to keep an eye out; if they could obtain such items and the price was right, he would buy them in bulk in Tifanton.

This was purely a "cast a wide net" strategy. Whether there were fish or not, he would cast the net first; it was best if he caught something, but there was no loss if he didn't.

In any case, Gavin didn't hold much hope. The gnomes of Lantun Island were famously isolated. In his previous life, he had rarely seen firearms from there, let alone with Tifanton being thousands of miles away. The possibility of goods being transported was slim.

Rather than pinning his hopes on trade, it would be faster to find a suitable craftsman once he settled down and have them manufacture imitations based on the one he held.

As for his other companion, Anna needed no explanation.

She was like a bird released from a cage—incredibly joyful and bursting with energy.

In addition to undergoing high-intensity training with Gavin, she still had the energy to run around, looking at this and touching that, filled with curiosity and a studious spirit that demanded answers to everything.

Combined with her naturally simple, kind, and helpful nature and her charming face, her popularity in the caravan far surpassed Gavin's.

Gavin's connections with the merchants were somewhat utilitarian; he had decided to settle in the Rocklands, and these merchants were veterans of this route, meaning he would deal with them more and more in the future.

Anna, however, had no such ulterior motives; she simply loved helping others.

Although her healing spells had strange side effects, her conventional medical skills were beyond reproach. Minor ailments and injuries were cured instantly.

She didn't boast, but she was indeed an expert at concocting healing potions. Using only the various herbs collected in the wild along the way, she could easily brew many potions for minor wounds and light injuries.

The healing effect was quite good, with only one small flaw: after drinking her concocted healing potions, one didn't feel warm and comfortable throughout the body, but rather experienced a bone-chilling itch, as if countless insects were gnawing at one's bones and flesh from within.

Whether it lasted a few seconds or over a dozen, only those who had experienced that "life-or-death" sensation truly knew.