I swept back my hair and tied it into a short ponytail. I felt like I should use this hairstyle more often. It kept my hair out of the way and looked nice to me. We trekked through this seemingly endless forest until we reached a dirt trail. What relieved me was that there were recent carriage tracks on the trail. Then I felt my relief go away, which way did they lead? I needed to know so I could ask the occupants of the carriage for a safe path to Setia. I wanted a break from fighting and the long journey to Setia would suffice.

I deliberated for a while before choosing my right and heading that way down the road. The others followed suit and we ran for quite a while before finding the carriage ahead of us. It was currently moving and looked built for luxury. Why do I encounter nobles everywhere? Shaking my head, I approached the carriage and ran to its front. I needed those directions and I didn't care about annoying a noble or two.

The driver was a female knight, one carrying a mace and shield. A blonde ponytail hung out the back of her helmet and she had a full set of plate armor with a white and gold mantle equipped. She wore a helmet with a slim visor and some holes around the mouth area. The female knight didn't seem to notice me until I called out to her.

"Hey! I need to ask you a question! Please stop the carriage!" I yelled out to the carriage driver who then turned her head to look at me. She had a surprised expression as if she had just noticed me right here. This is why I don't wear those stupid helmets.The carriage slowed down and I slowed down along with it.

The carriage slowed down and I slowed down along with it. Once it stopped, the female knight hopped down from the seat and took her helmet off. I got a good look at her features and saw the crest that was clipped onto her mantle. Her hair fluttered a little in the light breeze and she stared at me. The crest shone with a golden sheen in the sunlight.

"I'm Michael, and this is my team. Jane, Rose, and Lance. Say, what's your name?" I waited for her answer, and after a bit of deliberation, she answered.

"I'm Lena. I'm the bodyguard for the VIP in this carriage. What did you want to ask me?" Lena got to the point. I quickly got to my point as well.

"Can you give us directions for a relatively safe path to the Setia Dynasty?" Lena crossed her arms and started thinking. I hadn't realized it, but Lena was just as tall as Jane, maybe even taller. I just stood there awkwardly while waiting for her response. I started hearing some shuffling noises inside the carriage, then a woman stepped out.

"Oh? And who might you be, adventurer?" The woman made eye contact with me and sized me up. She was around 1.65 meters tall and had curves in all the right places. Her hair shone a golden blonde and she had similar golden colored eyes. Her beauty was on the level of Jane and Rose which made me rightly assume she was a high-ranking noble.

"It's more polite to introduce yourself first, ma'am." I made a small, polite bow with a confident smile on my face. I didn't want a bad first impression since she might have a lot of power in a different kingdom. We could always use more places to travel.

"Oh my, a polite one aren't you? Tell me, how old are you?" Her question was a bit strange but I replied honestly.

"I'm 30 currently. Why?" I had a feeling about her motive behind the question but wanted to confirm it. I was correct.

"I'd like to recruit you, you're a powerful AAA-rank adventurer who would gain very much glory fighting for my kingdom." She inched a little closer to me which caused Jane to cling to my right arm defensively. I sighed wearily which caused her expression to twitch a little.

"I'm already in a relationship with Jane. I also don't want to be tied down to a kingdom, so I'll have to reject your offer. Also, I'm only an A-rank adventurer." As I say this, I pull the card out from my pants pocket and show it to her.

Name: Michael Adkins Class: Controlled Berserker of the Greatsword Arts Race: Human, Male Level: 109, A-rank Titles: Greatsword Enthusiast, Gifted By God, Controlled Berserker Class Effects: +240 to Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Vitality, Control; Doubles at level milestones; Going into a controlled berserker state increases your stats by a factor of 2x; Blind rage increases stats by a factor of 4x Attack: 1862 Defense: 805 Health: 2950/2950 Mana: 1200/1200 Health Regen: 1.475/sec Mana Regen: 0.6/sec Strength: 300(+580) Agility: 125(+515) Dexterity: 140(+520) Vitality: 155(+240) Intelligence: 90 Wisdom: 120 Luck: 30 Leadership: 32 Control: 70(+240) Rage: 23 Combat Skills: Greatsword Mastery, One-Handed Greatsword Mastery, Arm-Blade Mastery, Throwing Mastery, Heavy Armor Mastery, Ice Magic Mastery, Ice Spear, Ice Flechette, Ice Flechette Mastery, Conjured Shield, Conjured Shield Mastery, Wind Enchant, Pain Tolerance, Evasion, Sneak Attack, Danger Sense, Deflect, Controlled Berserking, Blind Rage Secondary Skills: Bartering, Persuasion, Cooking, Trap Disarming, Camping Title Effects:

Greatsword Enthusiast: 1.2x Attack with Greatswords, 1.3x Durability with Greatswords, 1.1x Attack Speed with Greatswords

Gifted By God: 2x modifier to Strength, Dexterity, and Agility; Maximum Greatsword Mastery; 2.5x Experience Modifier

Controlled Berserker: Allows you to control your anger and direct it onto one enemy, creating an intimidating aura; Controlled Berserking bonus increased to 2.5x from 2x

My status had seen a large increase since I'd reached A-rank. The class bonus had increased again and I felt overpowered. I didn't mind since I would be able to more easily keep the others alive, but killing things quickly was a tad bit boring. Though it probably looked pretty cool for one man to hold back an army of monsters by himself.

As I continued fantasizing about what I looked like holding back an army, the noble lady cleared her throat which snapped me out of it. She had a surprisingly angry look on her face as if she hadn't expected me to refuse her offer. I looked back at Lena and asked her for the directions again.

"Well, there's the Merchant's Road. It's a path between our kingdom and the Setia Dynasty. Our kingdom is the neighboring one. The name of it is Aucipis. The Merchant's Road connects both kingdoms and leads straight to the capitals." Lena explained this all to me and I took a few seconds to process it. I nodded and shook her hand, signaling to the others to keep moving. As I was about to set off, a hand grabbed my wrist and I stopped in my tracks.

The others did too and turned around to see what happened. I turned around to see the noble lady holding on.

"Please reconsider. My kingdom is in dire straits and I need you to help me. I'll compensate you handsomely." Her desperate pleading was interrupted by Lena.

"My lady! We cannot tell them of this, what if they're spies for another kingdom?" Lena exclaimed. I felt a little annoyed since I wanted to get to Setia already. The noble lady then let go with a crestfallen face.

"Sorry for bothering you. Well, if you do plan on it, please come visit the kingdom. I'd like for you to come over." She started climbing back into the carriage, but before she went inside, she turned back around. "I never told you my name, did I? I'm Anna Aucipis, part of the royal family." She then entered the carriage and Lena got into the driver seat. She cracked the reins and the carriage sped off.

I turned back around in the direction of the Setia Dynasty and our group sped off in that direction.

As night fell, we arrived at the border of the kingdom and were granted access to enter. Entering, we looked around at the sight of this little town inside the fort. There were all kinds of people here. A variety of humans, demihumans, dwarves, elves. Maybe there were more than that. I walked around like a country bumpkin admiring everything. The buildings all had an oriental look to them and paper lanterns were hung for some light. Honestly, it looked beautiful and I couldn't wait to see the capital city if just a small border town looked like this.

I looked around for a place to stay and spotted one down the street. It was a nice and quiet place. Probably because everyone was sleeping. We entered and saw an elderly woman sitting there at a counter. She was reading a book and noticed us when we walked through the door. Were my boots louder than I thought?

While I thought about my plated boots, Jane and the others arranged rooms for us. We were all getting separate rooms since the landlady wanted us to use the extra space she had. I got a tag with my room number on it and walked with the others. We'd gotten consecutive rooms and found them while wandering the halls. I opened the sliding door to my room and went inside, closing the door behind me. There was a small kotatsu with seat cushions in the middle of the room. A tea set was placed on the table, which I obviously indulged in.

After a small tea break, I remembered the rooms all had separate baths and I decided to take one. Storing my gear and weapons, I took off my combat clothing and left a set of comfortable casual wear to put on after the bath. I stepped in and slowly relaxed in the warm water. This bath was basically heaven and served as a great stress release from the bit of traveling we did to get here.

I closed my eyes and almost fell asleep in the bath. I opened my eyes back up and stared at the night sky. There were two moons and many stars in the sky tonight. I couldn't help but think back to the times I gazed into the sky like this at night. I would climb onto my roof and just sit there, wondering where life would take me.

More and more memories of Earth came back and I felt myself tearing up. I realized now just how much I actually missed everything back home. I cried a little before washing my face and calming down. I was probably not getting back home for the rest of my life and accepted that fact.

I got out of the bath and dried myself with a towel that was nearby. Once that was done, I dressed in my casual clothes and went into another room that had a futon. Slipping into the futon, my weariness overwhelmed me and I entered the realm of deep sleep.

When I woke up, I felt refreshed and rubbed my eyes. I got up and arranged the futon to look normal again. Standing up, I put on all my gear and placed my sword on my back. Opening the door to the main room, I saw everyone sitting around the kotatsu chatting while enjoying tea. They stopped talking and turned to the door where I was standing. Like me, they all had their gear equipped and were ready to leave.

"Anyone know where the bathroom is? I need to wash my face." I threw out a question casually and Jane pointed to a side door I never noticed. I entered the room and did all the necessary processes to freshen myself up. Exiting the bathroom, I placed my sword beside my while sitting down. I guess we could relax a little before we left again.

I enjoyed some tea that Jane brewed while chatting with the others. It was a nice little bit of peace that we rarely got to enjoy these days.

"Say, Michael. Aren't we basically a married couple?" I heard Jane's excited voice next to me and almost choked on my tea. I coughed a little and put down the cup.

"Where's that coming from?" I looked at her speechlessly since her question caught me off guard. She smiled and chuckled a little before clinging to me.

"You know. We're already wearing rings made for lovers and we've been in bed together a couple times. There's also a mutual promise between us to stay together forever. Am I right?" Jane brought up what we'd done before and I had a moment of revelation. Weren't we already basically married?

I sighed and looked down in defeat. "I guess we're already married. No kids though. At least, not until we settle down." I said to her and a satisfied smile appeared on her face. She only hugged me tighter, which I didn't mind.

"Hehe, you're the best husband ever." Jane started snuggling up against me and I just stared at the cute foxgirl with a gentle gaze. I looked at Lance and saw him staring at us with an envious gaze. I laughed a little and looked at Rose who had an equally envious gaze. She looked away and mumbled a little.

"Why can't Lance be that compliant..." I didn't hear the rest of what Rose said but she kept an indignant face on. I looked back at Lance and saw him resting his head on his knees. We sat there in awkward silence for a while before I decided it was time for us to leave. We got up and headed to the front entrance where I asked the lady for directions to the capital. We were at the eastern part of the border and the city was about 500 kilometers west of this part of the border.

I thanked the lady and our group went to the western gate to leave. Once we made it through the queue of people, we sped off towards Setia's capital city.