Eugene stood up after finishing rinsing his mouth and walked toward a brown horse with white hair that was tied beside another horse of the same color and breed.
Ned took the other horse and mounted it, and the two of them began riding between trees and tall green grass.
"So, where are we going?" Eugene asked, struggling a little with riding the horse as he looked around.
In contrast, Ned looked relaxed, clearly used to riding horses.
"We're going to circle the surrounding area to make sure there's nothing strange or dangerous."
"How long will it take until we're done?"
"Hm… about five hours."
"Five hours?! Why?"
"We'll be circling more than one village, and there are also rough terrains and dense forests."
"Ahhh… my god, this is going to be boring," Eugene sighed, his tone filled with irritation while his face looked displeased.
…
After more than half an hour of riding around trees and ground caves, they reached a sandy path that led to the first village.
The village was rather small, surrounded by medium-height stone walls. The smell of bread and cakes filled the air. The houses stood close together, colored in a mixture of white and brown, with horse stables and one large school building in the middle.
"The situation looks normal," Ned commented while standing slightly on the horse's back and looking around the village.
"Grrr…"
Both Eugene's and Ned's stomachs growled.
"Is there a bakery nearby?"
"Of course. Can't you smell the delicious bread and cakes?"
Ned climbed down from his horse, and Eugene followed.
Ned tied the horses to a brown wooden fence near a medium-sized wooden restaurant that had a small bell on the door.
Tiiiin.
The bell rang as they entered.
Immediately, several villagers inside the restaurant began whistling, clapping, and smiling.
Eugene walked toward the old waiter—bald, with green eyes—to order food, while Ned simply waved at the people and enjoyed the moment.
"I'd like buttered bread with jam, and some tea with milk."
"Are you one of the new temporary trainees?" the worker asked while cleaning a cup.
He was wearing a white shirt over another sleeveless brown shirt, with a brown neck tie and long black trousers.
"Yes, I am," Eugene replied as he sat on a rotating leather chair.
"And I'd like a plate of grilled meat, some bread, and plain tea with mint," Ned said as he sat down, a smile still on his face.
Eugene rested his head on the wooden table while looking at Ned.
"Are you done with your nonsense?"
"Heh, yes. It's strange that you're ignoring all this even though your arrogance was obvious yesterday."
"First, I'm hungry, bored, and tired. Second, that applause was for you, not me."
"It's not for me personally. It's for anything related to the Border Guard—a form of gratitude and appreciation."
The old waiter brought the food.
Eugene began eating the bread and drinking tea. The food was warm and delicious.
Meanwhile, Ned ate quickly and greedily, with a few pieces of meat stuck around his mouth. The meat was hot, soft, and warm, while the red tea carried a refreshing mint flavor.
After finishing, Eugene felt a bit more energetic.
While rinsing his mouth with water, he asked,
"So where are we going now?"
Ned pointed toward a lighthouse in the distance.
"After we finish circling the village, we'll activate that beacon."
"Why?"
"So it can light the road for traveling merchants, nearby villagers, and animals."
They mounted their horses again and rode through the village streets—past houses, restaurants, and horse stables—before exiting through a back gate toward the beacon.
"On an island, among molten lava, and through deep forests…" Ned sang enthusiastically.
Eugene held binoculars and observed the surroundings.
During that moment, he caught sight of a quick white light moving between the trees.
"Hey, Ned."
Ned stopped singing and looked at him.
"I saw a light moving between the trees. Should we ignore it?"
"No. It might be a lost person… or something worse."
"And what's worse?"
"A Neptaron creature."
Ned narrowed his eyes slightly, mixing childishness with a bit of seriousness.
"And what kind of creature is that?" Eugene asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's a tall red creature with holes in its body. Its eyes are empty. It feeds on trees, animals, and sometimes humans when it's hungry. It also has a white horn on its head that lights its path."
Eugene felt a small tension in his chest the moment he heard it eats humans.
"Where did you see it?"
"There… between those tall trees with blue leaves."
Ned rode his horse forward, with Eugene following behind.
As they went deeper into the forest, the daylight gradually disappeared until the place was filled with silence and darkness.
"You seem nervous and scared," Ned joked.
Eugene raised one eyebrow while riding beside him.
"No. I'm not scared at all."
"Hahaha… sure, sure. Don't worry. As long as I'm here, you won't get hurt."
"Man, shut up. I bet you'll run the moment you see it," Eugene mocked.
Ned raised his eyebrows, but before he could respond, his horse stumbled.
He lost his balance and fell.
"Ouch!"
Ned landed on his face before rolling onto his back.
"What the hell was that?"
"Hahaha! That was hilarious," Eugene laughed.
Ignoring Eugene's laughter, Ned stood up and turned on a lamp attached to his waist.
The light revealed the enormous, wide roots of a tree.
"Why are this tree's roots so huge?" Eugene asked as he climbed down from his horse.
"I don't know."
"No… no… chop wood to start a fire… no… chop wood to start a fire…"
Eugene turned his head left and right, trying to determine the direction of the voice.
"Do you hear that song?" he asked in confusion.
Ned circled the tree, trying to identify its species.
"Probably a woodcutter or something."
"So it's something normal."
"Yes. Most woodcutters sing when they get bored."
"I've noticed that many people in this region sing a lot. Why?"
Eugene mounted his horse again, and Ned followed after failing to determine the cause of the massive roots.
"Because this is a simple region compared to massive places like the capital. Also, most farmers here usually have either a strong singing voice, poetry, or something similar."
Eugene raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"Because it helps raise morale when fighting sound-sensitive monsters in this region. And it also helps people find each other if they get lost."
Ned and Eugene continued their path until they reached the place where Eugene had seen the light.
Ned lifted his lamp and illuminated the area.
"See? There's nothing."
"We should have ignored it," Eugene said while looking up at the sky. The tree branches here were not as dense.
"At least we confirmed nothing was wrong."
Ned turned back toward the road, with Eugene following.
Once they exited the forest, they continued until they reached the beacon.
It was a tall stone tower with a wooden door.
Ned climbed down and gestured for Eugene to do the same.
They entered the tower.
Inside was a long spiral stone staircase. They climbed until reaching a red wooden door.
When they opened it, they found a large room. In the middle stood a white crystal surrounded by a dark glass sphere.
"When you want to activate the beacon, you hold the glass sphere that contains the crystal and start turning it."
The crystal slowly rose until it reached the center of a massive transparent glass sphere above them.
Then Ned pulled a lever.
Golden light moved through tubes until it reached the crystal above.
The moment it did, the crystal began glowing brightly. The light intensified as it struck the dark glass, then reflected into the massive transparent dome.
The entire place flashed with powerful light.
Eugene instinctively covered his eyes.
When he opened them again, his vision still slightly blurry, he said while rubbing his eyes,
"Wouldn't it be better to turn this on at night?"
Ned turned his head, placing his hands on his waist.
"Yes, if we were somewhere empty or far from the border. But we activate it here because heavy snow falls from afternoon until noon the next day… and also because of the dense forest you saw yourself."
Ned walked out of the beacon tower, with Eugene following.
Once they descended, they mounted their horses again.
They continued traveling between villages—sometimes racing each other for a while, sometimes stopping to eat food, sometimes passing by gardens and orphanages.
The sight stirred a strange feeling inside Eugene.
Maybe because I'm an orphan… haha, he mocked himself internally, though a faint sadness crossed his face.
Every time they passed near women, Ned would stop to play music and sing. Most women would blush and laugh, ignore him, or sometimes gather nearby, turning the moment into a small dancing celebration.
The day continued like that until their shift ended and another group arrived to begin the night patrol.
While riding back through falling snow, Eugene spoke while holding a cup of hot coffee a girl from the last village had given him.
"You're a real womanizer."
He spoke calmly while snow kept falling onto his hair and shoulders.
Ned lay relaxed on his horse with a long green straw in his mouth, eyes closed and a snowy cloak covering him.
"And who on this planet doesn't like women?"
Eugene glanced at him sideways with a mocking smile.
"You misunderstood me. I mean you like many women. A normal person loves only one."
Ned replied in a childish, dramatic tone,
"I loved one girl in the past… but she betrayed me and broke my heart. Now every shard of my heart loves a different girl."
Eugene burst into laughter, nearly spilling his chocolate drink.
"What about you? Do you love a girl?" Ned asked, looking at him with one eye open.
Eugene lifted his chin proudly as he took a sip.
"No. I haven't found a girl worthy of capturing my beautiful and rare heart."
His tone carried playful arrogance.
"My god, the way you talk… it's like your heart is made of gold and there's nothing like it in the world."
Eugene shrugged and took another sip.
"Well… it is."
The wind grew stronger, snow fell heavily, and the light from Ned's lamp illuminated the path ahead.
Once again, the sound of singing echoed from the forest.
…
When they arrived back at camp, the first person they saw was Eig.
He said in a dry tone,
"Five minutes until training begins."
Eugene raised an eyebrow while Ned sighed in boredom.
Five minutes later, the night training began.
They ran around the camp, practiced sword sparring, push-ups, squats, crawling drills, climbing exercises—continuing nonstop for more than two hours under freezing cold.
"Ah… ah… ah…"
Sweat poured from Eugene's body, freezing instantly in the cold while every muscle ached.
"Damn… this routine is exhausting."
Boooooo.
Eig blew a loud horn, making Eugene quickly stand up and continue the exercises, which lasted another hour.
Finally they stopped and began eating.
The new knights—including Eugene—had trembling hands, headaches, and dizziness. The older knights, however, were already used to the routine and didn't look nearly as exhausted.
Meanwhile, the second group—around one hundred people—began training as soon as the first group (Eugene and Ned's group of about thirty) finished.
The table was filled with rice, meat, bread, juices, pies, and water.
But Eugene was so tired he simply ate without enjoying the taste.
"Haha… slow down or you'll choke," Ned said, his voice muffled because he was speaking with food still in his mouth.
Eugene replied, exhaustion dominating his voice,
"Doesn't Eig get tired supervising us and them for more than six continuous hours?"
"No."
Ned took another bite from a plate of sliced chicken flavored with a spicy sour seasoning.
End of Chapter