The Achievement Junkie 185 Entering Aazoon

Though it did share the southeast edge of Reinolt's South Forest, the Aazoon Kingdom only owned that small strip of land in order to have a direct route to the Polt Federation. The majority of their kingdom was to the east of the South Forest. There, it was a frozen tundra with Icicle Mountains at its center.

The Aazoon capital, Frostburn City, was located in between the Icicle Mountains and very hard to reach for travelers that had never been there before.

Technically, Jack had been there before but it was through his computer screen. He'd much rather have a guide to make things go smoothly.

And even though Bowzer was still asleep, Jack wanted to test his new strength.

Thanks to the frenzied bears, everyone in the party had leveled up at least once, including their beasts. Some lucky people at the edge of their level were even able to go up two levels.

Eliza was the lowest of them all at lv. 31, but her Forest Dryad jumped to levels to reach lv. 33.

Jack and Bowzer were next, both at lv. 32. 

Happy to not be the weakest, Keela had also managed to skip through an entire level and reach lv. 32 while her Light Fairy was now lv. 34. 

Rydel was also lv. 32 now, happy to not be the weakest despite his age. His Wind Roc barely managed to level up, keeping its status as the strongest in the party at lv. 37. 

Muara and her cetus followed after that, at lv. 33 and lv. 35 respectively.

Finally, Maynard had been able to level up. And with his Thunder Cat, they both went up two levels. Now, they were both lv. 35.

It may nor seem like much after facing dozens of giant, frenzied bears and a pridelord, but it meant a lot to them. The higher the levels went, the harder it was to grind. For them to level up at all so quickly made them all happy.

Jack was the only one who was unaffected by the level gains. In his mind, he could've grinded for hours in-game and get there much quicker. Though the circumstances were different, they still affected Jack's perspective on leveling.

Now, the party was stronger and had a better sense of unity since they had already had their first battle. Entering a new country together would be perfect to help them bond and grow closer.

Glad to be on his feet, Jack was waiting downstairs in the tavern with the girls. Soon, Rydel and Maynard came down with a group of five men. That group of lv. 30's were the men that Rydel had convinced to become their guides.

When the leader of that group saw Jack, he hesitated and gave him a second look. "You're Jack, right? The new hero in the association?"

"Right. And you are?"

"Call me Karo. Me and my men will help you enter the Aazoon Kingdom."

"Can you take us to Frostburn City?" asked Jack.

Shaking his head, Karo replied, "Sadly, I can't. We, the Snow Guild, are based in Quazur. We can help you enter the tundra and take you as far as the Quazur, but from there you'll be on your own. But there are guides you can hire once you enter Quazur."

"Good to know, thanks." 

With a polite bow, Jack looked over the rest of Karo's party. They were well-rounded, but they were all warriors despite having long-ranged, mid-ranged, and close combat covered amongst the five of them.

"Well, let's hurry up and get going. We've got to reach Frostburn City as fast as possible."

Letting Karo and his men take the lead, Jack's party followed them out of town. Thanks to the lack of horses from the recent bear attacks, they were forced to travel on foot until they reached the border town inside Aazoon's borders.

It took them a couple of days, but they managed to get there without any trouble whatsoever.

Since the Reinolt Kingdom and the Aazoon Kingdom were in a trade agreement, the borders had no checkpoints and were free to cross. This made things a lot easier since both border towns were used to having visitors from the other country.

Once in the border town, the entire party had to purchase winter clothes. Originally, Jack wanted to commission some winter clothes made of Flat-nose Bear hide, but the border town lacked an artisan who could craft such a material.

Since that was the case, they didn't even stay the night and purchased some horses before leaving straight away. 

Traveling then sped up, especially because they all bought a snow stallion. If they wanted to cross the tundra on horseback, it would be impossible without a snow stallion, whose fur and muscles were thick enough to withstand the cold weather.

They crossed the last bit of grasslands over the next three days, enjoying the warm air while the could. On the fourth day, the party finally entered the frozen tundra.

With a change of clothes, everyone quickly bundled up and get back onto their snow stallions.

Jack was the only one to not change his clothes. With a thought, he activated Sterfen's Cloak and it became a warm snow jacket that covered his whole body. The more he used Sterfen's Cloak, the more he fell in love with it. It also solved his nakedness issue after using his flame body. Being a legendary item that could shapeshift, it was able to survive inside the flames, letting Jack stay clothed afterward.

He was very happy went he thought about that. At the moment after he was injured by the pridelord, the thought never crossed his mind. But now, he was eternally grateful that the cloak kept him from revealing himself to the women in his party. He would've never heard the end of it.

It was on the fifth day the party finally reached Quazur. 

It was a city, fully developed with its own stone walls to protect the citizens. Since it was the last city in the tundra and the closest major city to the Polt Federation, it was a major trade hub in Aazoon.

The Snow Guild was in charge of the city's safety and security. Every major city other than Frostburn City was run by a different guild or a noble family. But the overall rulers of Aazoon were still the royal family, who were on good terms with all noble families and guilds.

As a whole, the Aazoon Kingdom was far more unified than Reinolt, making it hard for Jack to believe that the syndicate had weaseled into the royal family.

"We're finally here, so now we'll say our goodbyes. There's a small guild of guides you can find in the town square if you're interested. If something happens to you while you're staying here, just tell the nearest member to come find me." Karo pointed at his chest, showing the insignia of the Snow Guild on his coat.

"Though there isn't a branch of the Adventurers Association in Aazoon thanks to its unforgiving weather, we've always been on good terms with them. Here, you'll be treated with the respect you deserve."

"Thank you, Karo. If something happens, we won't hesitate to call for you," replied Jack, bowing his head respectfully.

"Men, let's go!" With a shout, Karo led his five men toward the city gates and disappeared.

"Let's store the stallions for now. We'll need them for our travels and its cheaper that way."

Everyone agreed with Rydel and stored their horses. Then, they all walked toward the gate, holding a piece of paper that Karo had given them. Thanks to the paper, the party didn't need any inspection and was instantly granted access into Quazur.

It wasn't hard to find an inn, so they were settled down before sunset. 

While the others were getting ready for dinner, Jack left the inn to find an artisan to commission his bear fur coats. However, he failed to escape Daliea, who caught him sneaking out of the inn alone and would only keep it a secret if she could join him.

He agreed, but only if she did so in her goblin form. So, with some reluctance, Daliea cast an illusion and made herself look human.

In the town square, they found a small market with plenty of tents set up. Outlying those tents were some stores and shops.

Picking a store with plenty of high-quality goods, Jack and Daliea entered and made the order. They were told that the fur coats would be done in a week since Jack had ordered six of them.

Jack didn't want to wait so long, but he knew that the closer they would get to the Icicle mountains, the worse the weather would get.

Also, what the others didn't know was that Sterfen's hidden temple was supposedly on one of the mountain peaks. That meant they would need the best coats possible, so a week's wait was worth it.

Exiting the shop, Jack saw the open market. With so many new shops, he wanted to see if he could find anything good, especially for the hydra egg.

Chapter end