Alex started the next day by continuing to pull his sled wagon along the road.
As always, it was very exhausting and boring.
About two hours later, Alex saw the first merchants pass him again on their fancy carriages. The merchants introduced themselves, and the guards following the carriages also shot a short greeting to Alex.
Luckily, no major event took place for the next couple of hours, and Alex safely arrived in the Southern Wild.
As Alex saw the gates of the town, he rubbed the sweat off his forehead.
However, Alex quickly stopped as he noticed his own action.
'Sweat?' Alex thought as he looked at his left sleeve. 'It's been a while since I actually sweated from exertion. The surroundings are always cold enough that I didn't need to sweat.'
Alex pulled his right hand out of his cloak and felt the surroundings.
'It's getting warmer,' Alex thought. 'Even more, it almost feels too hot under my coat.'
'Seems like I'm close to leaving the Ice Wyvern Zone.'
Alex continued pulling the sled wagon towards the Southern Wild. The town didn't really look special. It was like a town after it had gotten warmer after a heavy snowfall.
In short, it looked muddy and dirty.
When Alex came to the northern gate, the guards stopped him and looked through his stack of Ice Wood for anything illegal. Their investigation was pretty thorough, taking nearly five minutes.
"Why do you want to enter the Southern Wild?" the guard captain asked with practiced ease.
"I'm just in transit. I'm selling this Ice Wood in Warrior's Paradise for my entrance exam," Alex answered. He had noticed that several people knew about the Warrior Academy and its entrance exams, which was why he didn't add anything to his explanation.
The guard captain looked with surprise at Alex's face and squinted his eyes.
"Huh, you looked way older at first glance," the guard captain said. "Alright, you can enter."
"I've got a question," Alex said.
"Sure," the guard captain said leisurely.
"Are there any dangers between here and Warrior's Paradise?" Alex asked. "I've spent the last night in the wilds between here and the Central Wild, and that was too close for comfort."
"Oh?" the guard captain uttered as Alex got his attention. "What did you encounter?"
"General Stage spider," Alex said, "and not the weak General Stage kind. It was azure and had eight icicles for legs. It moved very quietly through the night, and it nearly got me."
The guard captain's eyes narrowed. "You saw an Icy Grave Widow?" he asked.
"I don't know the name," Alex answered.
"Tch," the guard captain spat to the side. "Of course it had to be an Icy Grave Widow. We've been searching for the cause of the nightly disappearances for a while now, but no one saw anything. They either come back without having encountered anything too dangerous or don't return at all."
"I thought we eradicated that pest a couple of months ago, but apparently, we missed some of the young," the guard captain added. "Thanks for the intel. You've been a great help."
"No problem," Alex said.
"You said you were going to join the Warrior Academy, right? Are you interested in taking part in the hunt for the Icy Grave Widow? You seem pretty strong, and we could need someone like you," the guard captain said. "Of course, you will also be paid generously."
Alex was a bit surprised by the offer, but he immediately shook his head. "Sorry, I'm not suicidal. If that thing were in the earlier levels of the General Realm, I could accompany you, but it's definitely stronger."
"Listen, your survival would basically be guaranteed," the guard captain added. "We generally send several warriors in the General Realm to deal with Icy Grave Widows. It's not about if we get it or if we win the fight, but when."
"Sorry, I still have to decline," Alex answered. "I've lived in the wilds for a long time, and I'm still not very comfortable around other humans. The thought of putting my life into the hands of others is something that I'm not comfortable with."
After some seconds of silence, the guard captain only sighed. "Fine, it's your decision after all. Anyway, as a reward for telling us about the Icy Grave Widow, I'll give you some information for your future journey."
"Thanks," Alex said.
"After you leave through the southeastern gate, you will have to travel for about two days to reach the next town. The town is called Blizzard's Edge due to its proximity to both Zones."
"On the path to Blizzard's Edge, you don't really have to be careful of any powerful beasts. The Elemental Mana is weak in the atmosphere, and beasts don't like that. You will, at most, see some early or middle Soldier Stage beasts, and those shouldn't be a problem for you," the guard captain explained.
Alex nodded.
"However, the weak presence of beasts makes this place a haven for bandits. There's a known bandit camp located somewhere between here and Blizzard's Edge, but we haven't been able to find the camp yet."
"Their leader should be a Late Soldier Stage Warrior, but he only very rarely robs people himself. He has lackeys for that. The most powerful bandits you have a chance to meet should be a group of five led by a Middle Soldier Stage Warrior."
Alex's eyes narrowed while the guard captain continued.
"However, you will probably not come across such a group," the guard captain added. "The leaders of these squads are experienced, and they would quickly realize that you're not an easy target. The goal of the bandits is to make some easy money, not to fight someone to the death. You're not an easy target, and they will see that with one glance. Attacking you is too risky."
"So, if you meet any bandits, they will most likely be a group of newbies, and they won't be a danger to someone of your power."
Then, the guard captain's eyes narrowed.
"However, that may be even more dangerous for you than meeting an experienced group of bandits," the guard captain added.
pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ Alex lifted an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Newbies have a certain aura of inexperience, fear, and nervousness on them," the guard captain explained. "To an experienced warrior, they seem more like a group of rascals than bandits."
"Many warriors can't bring themselves to kill these newbie bandits and will only heavily injure them or scare them. They will most likely also throw some life advice at them."
"However, people that have become bandits have already fallen to a level of poverty we can't even imagine. All the life advice we can throw at them is useless. They won't accept the life advice someone gives them but will only get angry at the person."
"The newbies will then inform their higher-ups about the target, and you will meet with more powerful bandits. Even more, they know about your power now, and the group that will meet you will be comprised of many Middle Soldier Stage warriors."
The eyes of the guard captain pierced into Alex.
"If you meet any bandits, you can't allow them to escape," the guard captain said with severity.
"If someone tries to rob you, you must kill them. Otherwise, you're playing needlessly with your own life."
"The danger of this road for you are not beasts or powerful bandits, but your own innocence."
"I hope you can come to terms with killing some people that you will perceive simply as a bunch of kids."