Chapter 2059: Erol in Alterra
There weren’t a lot of missions that led directly to Alterra’s Mercenary Hall. In fact, there were only very few official ones. Most missions heading to Alterra were set up by outsiders hoping to lessen travel time for their own people.
Alterrans themselves rarely had to summon mercenaries at all—there was simply no need to. For the most part, those who set up a mission likely received posts of a teammate asking for them to set one up.
It was quite costly, but it was the preferred mode of many who wanted to go farther away and not travel for several days.
However, it had to be said that the Alterrans themselves wouldn’t use it if it were just from Ferrol or Bleulle. If it weren’t too far away, they’d prefer to walk and train by the way.
It mostly stemmed from the fact that they were a bit stingy. The cost of posting a mission could buy a lot of things in Alterra, after all.
It was why, unless foreigners had people within Alterra, people from outside likely wouldn’t be able to enter through the Mercenary Hall. Most of them went by foot from Ferrol, Bleulle, or other nearby Halls.
That said, the fact that Alterra’s Mercenary Hall remained one of the most active halls among towns, despite this limitation, was extremely impressive.
Erol and the others got lucky this time. When they traveled Eastward, they already heard of Alterra, so they assumed it was nearby. Who’d have thought it would still be beyond 10,000 kilometers away?
Xeno wasn’t a very connected place, especially since it was so difficult to travel and so expensive to send communications. At first, they thought they had misunderstood that Alterra was actually nearer than they thought. Who’d have thought it was really far away?
They belatedly realized how far-reaching the town’s influence was. It was almost comparable to Holt City, right?
Using the known ’pathways’ of the mercenaries from that region (some of which were actually set by Dune Town on their way home), they jumped another territory which could head directly to Alterra...assuming there was a mission they could take.
They got lucky in terms of missions. They found a mission set by other mercenary teams, applied, and ended up being accepted by accident.
It was from a team called the Swagen Mercenary Team. A lot of them were apparently going to and fro that they just set semi-permanent missions.
The missions were quite unique, too, usually getting a certain item—possibly useless, like a handkerchief—from a certain Swagen team member currently in Alterra. The reward was low, and the cost of posting the mission must have costed 10 times more, making it an odd request.
Anyway, at the time, the person who set the mission was a little drunk and got careless. He ended up approving some ’unknown names’ who took the mission.
Erol’s group arrived in Alterra and saw a large, bustling scene. The buildings were beautiful, there were plants everywhere, the roads were wide, and they had special modes of transportation.
They were both level 2 towns, how could there be so much difference?
Most importantly was...the food!
They thought the food that Miss Althea offered back then would be rare and exclusive, available only for people like elementalists, so they were prepared to ask around for the source at a later time, who’d have thought that the food they had been lusting after would be available right as they exited the array?
Before they even got out of the mercenary hall, their hands and stomachs were already full.
There was even a small plaza and park outside the Hall, and there were even more stalls there.
Alterran food was really unforgettable. They almost forgot they had a mission!
Fortunately, they still had the mind to remember this. Erol was an informant by trade, so they went and investigated ALterra first.
While tasting a lot of the delicacies—and there were so much more than they could’ve ever imagined—they found out that Althea and Garan were Ministers here!
Someone almost spat his food when they found out. Fortunately, they loved the taste too much and their own tongues caught it, afraid a bite would go to waste.
The reason for their departure was not widely spread, and people were mindful of what they shared with people, and they did not pry too much either. They had a feeling that prying too much could get them in trouble instead.
They went around for hours and had been shocked and amazed at every turn. Then they found out that Althea and Garan had been largely responsible for this place, and had a huge amount of power. It was unbelievable.
One had to know that if one were to compare how influential Alterra was as a territory, a single minister here—not even the Lord—should be as powerful as the Lord of other towns.
It was quite amazing, and Erol, who had prided himself as someone who had seen a lot, was surprised.
"To think I made him cook..." one of Maika’s people whispered at the side, remembering how he begged Garan to cook a barbecue because he couldn’t get it right!
"To be fair, they cooked and just gave us some by the way..."
"Still..."
"This is good, isn’t it? This means they’re approachable. They can really help us."
"What do we have to offer though? Even if they’re approachable back then, it doesn’t mean they’d remain the same if the entire territory is involved," Erol said. He was the one with the most clarity, as always.
He and the others looked around. Before coming here, they thought they could have a negotiation first, and maybe do some IOU oaths.
However, the more they saw, the more it was clear that this place lacked...nothing—at least nothing they could offer.
The group sat on the park benches for the rest of the day, brainstorming, all while keeping their stomachs full.
They didn’t dare to think people would help them just because they were acquaintances, they had to offer something good. This was a territorial dispute. No one would want to get involved unless there were major advantages attached.
It was around here that they heard some people ranting from the side. After studying Alterra, they knew that these people had just come from a day of hunting. "It’s really difficult to level up after level 20! Too much!"
"Yeah. No wonder people seemed stuck at this level their whole lives!"
When they were new, they found that they were leveling quite fast, especially compared to aborigines. It felt like they could easily catch up to the locals within a few years.
However, it became clear that their rate would also slow down at some point, and many had already stagnated in less than three years after they arrived.
They vaguely recalled the couple mentioning something about the undead being the perfect prey for Althea, who was in her early level 20s at the time, and how it would help her level up and catch up with the others.
There was a long moment of introspection among the group, and it was Erol who shot up first. "That’s it!"
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