Chapter 50: Setting Out!

"Since the destination is decided, the next step is to figure out how to get there." Once Seabuckthorn finished cheering, Karim brought up another crucial question: "Have you thought about how you'll travel?"

"We've actually considered that," Oron nodded. "There are only a few ways to travel long distances: on foot, by airship, or via sandskiff. Airships are convenient but far too expensive, and you might miss out on many of the joys along the way. Sandskiffs are only useful in the sea of dunes and can't venture deep into the great desert. Coupled with the fact that Barubare isn't all that far, I think walking is probably the most suitable choice."

"That's a fair point," Karim agreed, nodding. "Walking has the lowest cost and offers the most flexibility. If you ever really need to use a vehicle in the future, you won't have to stress over what to do with your original transport. Still, crossing the desert entirely on foot is somewhat difficult. You need to prepare a vast amount of supplies, and you have to meticulously plan your route and schedule to ensure you reach an oasis for replenishment before your fresh water runs out."

"Indeed," Oron nodded.

Having originated as a desert nomad, he naturally understood the hardships involved, which was why he had seemed somewhat hesitant when answering the question.

"However, I have a brilliant idea!" Karim flashed a wide grin. "Join a caravan! When caravans cross the desert, they are frequently attacked by monsters like Velociprey and Cephaloprey, so slightly larger caravans always hire hunter guards. You can forget about the massive merchant guilds—they already have fixed partnerships with specific hunters and don't care for outsiders. Smaller caravans are much easier to talk to. To save money, they sometimes hesitate to hire full-time hunter guards, and if hunters want to travel along with them, they're more than happy to oblige. Caravans have pack animals like Aptonoth and camels that can carry massive amounts of supplies, so route selection becomes much more flexible."

Oron was tempted. Compared to traveling alone on foot, moving collectively through the great desert offered vastly higher safety and comfort.

"Do you know of any suitable caravans you could introduce us to?" Oron asked Karim.

Karim scratched his head. "I do know some, but I've been working odd jobs in Loc Lac for the past few months, so I'm not up to date on their schedules. I'll go ask around for you. Just remember not to mention to anyone yet that you're planning to head to Barubare on the way; let them post the commission through the Guild, that way you can probably score an extra cut of the guard pay."

"I really appreciate the trouble," Oron said, pressing both hands against his thighs, bowing slightly, and expressing his gratitude sincerely.

The other man was being so enthusiastically helpful that Oron felt almost embarrassed.

"Don't mention it! Who knows, maybe I'll even get to piggyback on your success."

Karim laughed cheerfully. "I've saved up a bit of money these past few months, and it's about time I restarted my journey as a traveling merchant. If you guys are choosing to go to Barubare... well, there's actually some decent business to be had there this season. Maybe I'll apply to be a cook or something for the caravan you pick, and we can look out for each other along the road."

At this, Karim patted his chest with a lingering look of dread. "I definitely don't want to run into monsters again and end up having to ditch my cargo just to run away, losing everything down to the last copper."

Oron's face also broke into a slight smile.

His relationship with Karim wasn't close enough for one to unconditionally give to the other. If Karim were purely helping him out of unilateral charity, Oron would have felt awkward and even suspicious.

However, since the other man could also benefit and make things convenient for himself in the process, Oron felt much more at ease.

***

Karim was a man of high efficiency. The very next day, he brought a middle-aged merchant in his forties to the assembly hall tavern to meet with Oron.

Judging by their conversation, this caravan leader had apparently intended to pinch pennies, take a risk, and skip hiring hunter guards altogether, but Karim had persuaded him that he needed one, claiming he could introduce a cost-effective and reliable hunter.

When Karim saw Oron, he put on an act of, "Oh! What a coincidence that you're here too! Let me introduce you," leaving Oron's eye twitching uncontrollably.

A merchant's tongue...

Still, being naturally cautious, Oron kept his guard up and gave the Mustache Guild Master a heads-up about the matter beforehand.

Just as things were quiet, the Mustache Guild Master sauntered over. Upon seeing the small, elderly man, the middle-aged merchant visibly tensed up.

Guild masters across the various branches were mostly retired hunters, but this mustache man was different. Before becoming the Guild Master of Loc Lac, he had been an extremely famous, prominent merchant.

Loc Lac's current prosperity was largely thanks to him, which meant that while he held little intimidating authority in front of hunters, he commanded immense prestige among merchants.

Countless merchants viewed him as an idol; judging by the way Karim didn't know where to put his hands, he was likely one of them.

With the Mustache Guild Master keeping an eye on things, the signing of the guard commission went remarkably smoothly.

From the caravan leader's perspective, he had hired a reliable, Guild-certified 2-star hunter at a quite affordable price.

From Oron's perspective, he had found a caravan to hitch a ride with and could even earn a guard's salary.

From Karim's perspective, he had secured an autograph from his idol.

A triple win!

With the guard commission signed with the caravan, the departure date was locked in for just two days later.

Oron went out a day early to let his acquaintances and friends know, telling them not to bother coming to see him off. Otherwise, being surrounded by a crowd giving him endless advice before leaving would make him look entirely inexperienced, which would be terribly awkward.

Karim, just as he had stated earlier, joined the caravan in the capacity of a cook.

This caravan wasn't massive, but it wasn't small either. It consisted of a little over a dozen people, six sand-sled Aptonoths, and more than a dozen camels, stretching out in an imposing procession several dozen meters long.

Heaven knows how he negotiated with the caravan leader, but the latter allowed him to bring a camel's worth of cargo, which left Karim ecstatic.

The advantage of being part of a caravan was that food, water, and other daily supplies along the way were handled by the caravan itself. While this portion didn't amount to much money, it significantly reduced Oron's personal load, allowing him to carry much more goods.

Thus, if they could smoothly reach Barubare, he was confident he could double his startup capital.

The same went for Oron and Seabuckthorn as caravan guards. Their personal luggage was already minimal, making it a light-travel journey that would allow them to take things easy along the road.

In the blink of an eye, the day of departure arrived.

Before dawn, Oron brought Seabuckthorn to the vicinity of the city's exit to rendezvous with the other members of the caravan.

Karim arrived even earlier than them. Aside from the cargo loaded on his camel, he also carried a bulging, massive backpack on his back.

Oron chuckled and said, "It looks like what you're carrying on your back isn't much less than what the camel's holding."

"You have to suffer a bit to make more money!" Karim grinned broadly. "Besides, most of the stuff in this pack isn't trade goods—it's ingredients. Since I'm the caravan's cook, nobody's eating poorly on this trip!"

Hearing him say that, Oron couldn't help but recall the night they were besieged by the Nibelsnarf, and the pan-seared bacon Karim had treated him to. A wave of anticipation swelled within his chest.

With everyone present, the cargo neatly stacked on the sand sleds and pack animals, all preparations before departure were complete.

"Let's move out!" the caravan leader shouted loudly.

Just as the convoy was about to pull out, several people wearing Citadel Patrol uniforms suddenly intercepted them. "Hold on! Random inspection!"

"Huh?" the caravan leader hurried over, looking nervous.

Random inspections? Was this a new regulation? Or were they deliberately making trouble for some reason?

Only Oron's face twitched, and Seabuckthorn's whiskers twitched twice as well. They were intimately familiar with those guys.

Nuri walked through the convoy with a stern expression, while Asa and Hazzah forcefully pried open an Aptonoth's mouth—heaven knows whether they were checking for cavities or doing something else entirely.

In barely a minute, this bizarre inspection came to a hasty end.

The caravan leader stood there completely bewildered. What kind of inspection was that? Judging by their behavior, rather than looking like troublemakers, they seemed more like they were just messing around...

"Everything's fine," Nuri nodded at the caravan leader, then glanced back at Oron and Seabuckthorn within the convoy, a hint of a smile breaking through his stern expression.

"Let's go, we'll escort you for a stretch of the road."