In the Great Plains of Oosuma, Autumn rode his golem stallion with his bag strapped to its back. He placed his feet on the stirrups that were inbuilt on the golem and posed himself to reduce the maximum draft as he could. He kept his head down but faced forward.

He wore a metal visor that looked completely solid from the front but in truth, it was invisibly transparent from the inside.

Unlike the times in Thororg'gon's castle Autumn now wore comfortable clothes that are suitable for travel and did not have any vibrant colors.

A long two-handed curved sword hung on his waist which resembled a j.a.panese Nodachi. Unlike the j.a.panese sword that is made out of Tamahagane, this one was made out of Orichalc.u.m and Adamant.i.te alloy steel with a hint of Indrite in it. The sword was a masterpiece in the eyes of regulars but in the eyes of its original owner, Thororg'gon, it was a piece of the sharp metal stick.

(A/N: Orichalc.u.m, Adamant.i.te, and Indrite are fictional metals.)

Dragons are biologically greedy and receiving something from such a greedy person must mean that the item was either a defect or worthless. However, trash in a pile of treasure will automatically be the highest quality trash.

It wasn't only applied to his sword but everything that he currently possessed. In eyes of Thororg'gon and his subjects, Autumn received trash level items but as mentioned before for the rest of the world his possessions were if not highest but at the least decent quality.

Autumn slowed down his golem to rest and took out his map. He pointed at the mountains and referred them on his map. Once he was sure of his location he turns his golem towards the direction of first doc.u.mented settlement on his map and rode his golem as fast as he can.

He rode straight with full speed only slowing down near the landmarks and redirecting towards his destination.

When the sun was down and darkness started to fill the land he would take out his magical lamp and place it on the slot that was located the head of the golem.

After traveling for weeks only stopping to rest and eat Autumn reduced his speed when he noticed the glow on the Golem's core started to faint, he searched for an open area not far from the main road and decided to spend the night there.

He climbed down the Golem and took down his bags from the back of it.

"Collapse." He faintly said while touching the golem.

With the sound of crumbling metals, the golem contracted itself into a ball and fell on the ground instantly. The golem was replaced by an orb that has an amethyst core covered with golden plates. Autumn touched the orb and it shrunk into the size of a ping-pong ball. He placed it inside a leather pouch before putting it into a wooden box.

The box miraculously disappeared inside the inner pockets of his coat without leaving any impressions.

The box and his coat were magic items that were enchanted with spatial magic. It allowed them to store more than their physical capacities without any disadvantages.

Autumn found it very appealing that he owned a box that has the dimensions of a brick but has the carrying capacity equivalent to a large chest. No matter how heavy the items inside the box were its weight did not exceed 1kg.

The same applied to his coat which was a magician's coat. It had many pockets that are connected to interdimensional storage which is only accessible to its owners or highly trained thieves.

The night came and Autumn cooked himself a meal. He did not prepare anything fancy and ate dry bread and roasted jerky.

After he was done eating he spread a blanket on the ground and lied down on it while using his bag as a pillow.

He stared at the starry sky and remembered the time when Charlotte taught him astronomy. 'Staying at the observatory was fun,' Autumn thought to himself.

Autumn pointed at the North Star and ran his finger along its neighboring stars to form a pattern similar to the Ursa Major with few displaced stars.

"Amon." He said while pointing at the constellation. "you must be feeling lonely too right, just like me."

He recalled the time when Charlotte told him the story of Amon.

According to her Amon was a hunter who was forcefully conscripted into war and left his wife behind. Kings changed and so did the kingdom but the war did not stop and he never returned.

Ursula, Amon's wife, was taken back to her family when there was no from her husband. Though her family brought in many suitors she never remarried.

In the end, Ursula died of old age while waiting for her husband to return. The above constellations represent the story of Amon and Ursula.

Autumn has been traveling nonstop ever since he left Thororg'gon's underground castle.

After spending time in the underground castle Autumn started to like it there and made many friends. He was now good friends with the maids and his teachers.

On the day Autumn was leaving everyone came to say goodbye. Autumn wanted to finish his mission as soon as possible so that he can visit them again.

....

....

....

"Hey, are you alright?"

Autumn can't remember when he fell asleep but he woke up suddenly when somebody shook him.

The moment he woke up he placed his hands on his sword and examined his surroundings.

He was greeted by a man who was in his early thirties.

The man startled and took a few steps back. Behind him, Autumn saw two equally scared women. Autumn calmed himself and removed his hands from his sword.

"I am sorry I disturbed your slumber." The man took his hat to his chest and apologized.

"No no it was my fault to sleep in an open area without any camp. You were only worried about me." Autumn replied to his apology.

"Even though, I should have considered. I am sorry."

"Please don't worry about it, it was my fault."

Before the conversation turn onto an infinite loop of apologies the woman who seemed to be the wife interrupted them.

"Honey, don't you think that we should invite him for breakfast."

Understanding his wife's cue he added, "Would you be willing to have a meal with us?"

"I wouldn't want to impose." Autumn politely denied.

"Don't worry about it, it would be my pleasure to host you as my guest."

"I can't do that."

"Please you have to."

Before the conversation again turns into a loop his wife interfered, "If my guess is correct Mr. traveler, you heading to the Littlewoods village right?"

"Yes, your guess is correct. Littlewoods is my first destination."

"If you would like we can offer you a ride in our carriage." She pointed at a horse cart that was parked on the other side of the open area.

"I can't…"

"Don't worry we have enough s.p.a.ce for one more traveler." Before he can reply anything the wife preemptively cuts his words.

Autumn understood he cannot win against this woman, he took a defeated sigh and agreed.

"I didn't catch your name young traveler." The man asked.

"My name is Autumn, I am a recently graduated monster hunter who is currently looking for some jobs."

"Monster hunter you say." He said while raising his brow.

"Yes." Autumn Cautiously answered.

"Well! I am Musket and this is my wife Hilda and daughter Agnes."

"Please to meet you." The wife greeted with a soft smile while the daughter tried to hide behind her mother.

"Please don't mind my daughter. She is shy and doesn't have many friends around her age."

"It is perfectly fine, at her age I didn't have many friends too." Autumn tried to convey that he wasn't offended but instead was looked at with pitied eyes.

"Eeeheemm." Musket cleared his throat and continued, "I think we should start preparing food what do you say, Mr. Amon?"

"That would be nice."

"I hope you don't hate steaks, Mr. Autumn," Hilda asked.

"I don't but I would like to prepare something too if you don't mind?"

"Ara! You know cooking Mr. Amon?"

"Yes, I had been cooking for myself ever since I was young."

The pitied looks from the man and his wife continued while their young daughter kept herself hidden behind her mother.

They started preparing the meal and Autumn also contributed. He took out a pack of dried meat wrapped inside large dried leaves.

He placed a pot on the trivet and poured water into it. When it started boiling he put the chopped dried meat into the water and covered it.

He looked at Hilda and her Daughter frying the steak on an iron pan. He can't help but smile when Agnes was doing all she can to help her mother.

"Here Mr. Amon have a drink." Musket said while offering a gla.s.s of alcoholic beverage to Autumn.

"Isn't it too early for this?" Autumn reluctantly took the gla.s.s.

"NoseGoober, it's never too early for a Dwarven sugar Spirit." He said while pouring himself another gla.s.s from a small handheld barrel.

(A/N: NoseGoober is a slang word that loosely means, "blimey" or "bs".)

"Honey don't drink too much you are the one who has to drive the cart." Upon smelling the scent of alcohol Hilda turned their way and advised.

"Okay, I won't." He answered, "That woman always ruining the fun." He mumbled.

"What did you just said?" She asked threateningly.

"Nothing dear I said I won't."

"I thought so."

Autumn found it funny but held back his laughter.

He took a sip from his gla.s.s and swallowed it. The alcohol was strong and it burned his chest while leaving a sweet distilled taste in his mouth.

Autumn wasn't foreign to the taste of alcohol and had many experiences. If he had to grade the Dwarven sweet spirit then it would be in his top tier list but he always hated lukewarm alcoholic beverages.

Autumn raised his gla.s.s and cast a spell on to it. Droplets started to form on the surface of the gla.s.s and mist started to flow upwards.

He took another sip somehow this time the taste drastically improved. He had a delighted expression on his face that made Musket wary of him.

Autumn did the same for Musket and he could not help but scream in joy. He took a large sip and gulped it instantly before releasing a loud breath.

He enthusiastically offered the chilled liquor to his wife and she seemed to have enjoyed it too.

Musket was too excited and if his daughter was older he would have given some to her too.

In all this Anges looked at her father with jealousy and glared at Autumn before pouting and turning away.

"Please don't feel bad for her she is always like that."

Autumn couldn't not feel bad for her. he took out a wooden tube-shaped container from his bag that resembled a bamboo culm and poured out a gla.s.s of clear liquid. He chilled the gla.s.s with his spell and offered it to Agnes and also to her parents.

Agnes took a sip from the gla.s.s. A smile crept her face when the liquid touched her tongue. She immediately emptied the gla.s.s and held it out asking for more.

Hilda and Musket also took a sip and their faces gleamed with happiness.

"What is this sweet drink? It tastes like heaven." Musket drank it in a gulp and praised it.

"Do you know what a sweet bell is?"

"Isn't that a flower?"

"Yes, it is a flower that has sweet nectar. Well, this is a solution of two parts sweet bell nectar and one part steam water." He said while pouring them another gla.s.s.

"It must have taken you ages to gather this much."

"I happened to stumble upon a field of sweet bells on my here. It isn't hard work once you know what to do."

"Can I have some more?" Agnes asked. She was showing more of her childish sides.

"You shouldn't be so greedy, Agnes. Please forgive her."

"Please don't scold her. Kids should act childish sometime." He said while handing her a filled tube.

"I am sorry Mr. Amon she is just too much sometimes. Agnes, you thank Mr. Amon."

"Thank you, Mr. Amon." She said with a cheerful smile.

"Now go and watch the fire call me when you need me."

"Okay, mother." She said and left them.

Amon took out some more tubes of Sweet bell nectar and gave it to Musket. "You should have some too, as thanks for letting me be with you all."

"please there is no need."

"Please don't be shy and take it." They were both very reluctant. "If you find a person who knows Dry brewing then you can make great wine out of it."

"I that case I guess we should accept it." When he heard that Musket took the tubes without any hesitation.

"Ouch, what happened?" He said to his wife who just slapped his arm.

They laughed and had a close conversation while Hilda went to help her daughter in cooking.