Chapter 193 - 188: A Quiet Day in Ravencross
The next morning began without an alarm.
John woke naturally.
For a moment, he simply lay there, staring at the ceiling.
No emergency.
No shouting.
No monster attack.
No strange voice coming from an ancient ruin.
Just another morning.
He smiled.
"Nice."
He got dressed and headed downstairs.
The dining hall was already busy.
Adventurers were coming and going, merchants were eating breakfast before heading to the market, and several guild workers were discussing paperwork near the entrance.
John spotted Lythriel immediately.
She was sitting at a table with Sylvara.
Lythriel noticed him.
"Morning."
"Morning."
John sat down.
"Where are the others?"
"Aerion went to the smithy."
"Darius is at the guild library."
John nodded.
"Of course he is."
Sylvara laughed.
"He said he wanted to check something about the Silverwood."
John picked up a piece of bread.
"He’s taking this seriously."
"He always does."
---
After breakfast, John decided to explore the city alone.
Not because he wanted to separate from everyone.
He simply wanted some time to himself.
Ravencross was large enough that he could walk for hours and still discover something new.
He wandered through the central market.
The streets were crowded.
Merchants called out prices.
Carriages moved slowly through the roads.
Children chased each other between stalls.
Adventurers came and went through the guild entrance.
John found himself enjoying the atmosphere.
He stopped at a food stall selling grilled meat.
The smell alone was enough to convince him.
"How much?"
The vendor told him.
John bought two.
Then three.
The vendor looked amused.
"Hungry?"
"A little."
"You adventurers eat a lot."
John smiled.
"Long walks."
The vendor laughed.
"Fair enough."
John continued eating as he walked.
He passed a clothing shop.
A bookstore.
A magic item store.
A small bakery.
Then he stopped.
A sign outside a building caught his attention.
**Ravencross Training Hall.**
John looked inside.
Several adventurers were practicing.
Swordsmanship.
Archery.
Magic.
Hand-to-hand combat.
John smiled.
"Interesting."
He stepped inside.
---
The training hall was much larger than it looked from outside.
A large central area had been divided into several sections.
One area was for melee fighters.
Another for archers.
A third was designed for magical training.
At the far end was a reinforced arena.
John watched for a while.
A young swordsman was practicing against a wooden dummy.
His movements were decent.
But predictable.
John didn’t mean to judge.
It was simply something he had become accustomed to doing.
The swordsman suddenly stumbled.
John instinctively moved forward.
"Your stance."
The young man looked at him.
"What?"
"You’re putting too much weight on your front foot."
The man looked confused.
John demonstrated.
"If someone attacks your side, you’ll have trouble moving."
The swordsman adjusted his stance.
He tried again.
His movement improved immediately.
"Oh."
John smiled.
"Better."
The man looked at him.
"Are you a swordsman?"
"No."
"Then how do you know?"
John shrugged.
"I’ve fought a lot."
That answer was apparently enough.
The swordsman nodded respectfully.
"Thanks."
"No problem."
John turned to leave.
Then a voice called out.
"You give advice to everyone?"
John stopped.
A woman stood near the arena.
She was wearing light training armor.
Her dark hair was tied back.
She held a wooden sword.
"Not everyone."
She smiled.
"Just people who are doing something wrong."
John laughed.
"Fair."
She walked closer.
"You look familiar."
"I just arrived."
"Then maybe I saw you at the guild yesterday."
"Probably."
She held out her hand.
"Maris."
John shook it.
"John."
"Adventurer?"
"Yes."
"Rank?"
John hesitated.
"Why?"
She smiled.
"Curiosity."
John answered.
Maris raised an eyebrow.
"That’s higher than I expected."
John wasn’t sure whether that was a compliment.
"Is that a problem?"
"Not at all."
She looked toward the arena.
"You want to spar?"
John blinked.
There it was.
The inevitable challenge.
He almost refused.
But then he remembered something.
He had been wanting to see how strong the adventurers in Ravencross were.
A friendly spar wouldn’t hurt.
"Sure."
---
A few minutes later, they stood inside the arena.
A small crowd had gathered.
Not a huge one.
Mostly adventurers who happened to be nearby.
Lythriel had somehow found him.
She stood outside the arena with her arms crossed.
"You said you were just exploring."
John smiled.
"I was."
"And now you’re fighting."
"It’s a spar."
"That’s what you always say."
John laughed.
Maris raised her wooden sword.
"No magic?"
"No magic."
"Good."
John nodded.
The instructor standing nearby raised his hand.
"Begin."
Maris moved first.
Fast.
Much faster than the swordsman John had watched earlier.
Her first strike aimed toward his shoulder.
John blocked.
The impact was stronger than he expected.
He stepped back.
Interesting.
Maris immediately attacked again.
Left.
Right.
Low.
High.
Her movements were clean.
She wasn’t relying purely on strength.
She was experienced.
John smiled.
Finally.
Someone who could actually make him pay attention.
He blocked another strike.
Then another.
Maris suddenly changed her rhythm.
John barely avoided the wooden blade.
It passed beside his face.
"You’re good."
"So are you."
She attacked again.
John stepped aside.
Then tapped her sword with his own practice weapon.
She recovered immediately.
They continued.
Neither was using their full strength.
John deliberately kept himself within normal physical limits.
He didn’t want to overwhelm her.
Maris seemed to realize that.
"You’ve fought stronger opponents."
John nodded.
"Much stronger."
"You’re holding back."
"Yes."
She smiled.
"Good."
She suddenly increased her speed.
John’s expression changed.
He had underestimated her.
The next strike caught him in the side.
**Thud.**
The crowd reacted.
Lythriel covered her mouth.
John looked down at the wooden sword against his side.
Then back at Maris.
She smiled.
"Got you."
John laughed.
"Yeah."
He stepped back.
"Again?"
"Again."
---
The second exchange was shorter.
John adjusted his movements.
Maris attacked.
John redirected her sword.
One step.
Two.
Then he gently tapped her shoulder.
The instructor raised his hand.
"Point."
Maris lowered her sword.
"You’re faster than you look."
John smiled.
"So are you."
She laughed.
"That was fun."
John nodded.
"It was."
There was no resentment.
No wounded pride.
Just two adventurers testing themselves.
John liked that.
---
After the spar, Maris joined them outside the arena.
Lythriel handed John a drink.
"You got hit."
"Once."
"Still."
John smiled.
"She was good."
Lythriel looked at Maris.
"How strong are you?"
Maris shrugged.
"Strong enough to survive."
John liked that answer.
Maris looked toward him.
"You’re going to the Silverwood?"
John nodded.
"Maybe."
"Then be careful."
"Why?"
"Because the forest has changed recently."
Darius, who had apparently arrived during the spar, immediately looked interested.
"Changed how?"
Maris glanced at him.
"Monster activity."
"What kind?"
"Different species are moving closer to the roads."
Darius frowned.
"That’s unusual."
"Exactly."
John looked at her.
"Have you been there?"
"Several times."
"Anything else?"
Maris thought.
"There are places where monsters normally avoid."
"Recently, they’ve started entering those areas."
John’s expression became thoughtful.
"Territory displacement."
"Probably."
"Something may have pushed them."
Maris nodded.
"That’s what some people think."
Darius looked toward John.
"This might be worth investigating."
John smiled.
"Maybe."
---
After Maris left, the group headed toward the market.
Darius was already thinking about the Silverwood.
"We should gather more information."
John nodded.
"Agreed."
Lythriel looked at him.
"No rushing."
John raised both hands.
"I know."
"Good."
---
The rest of the day was spent preparing.
Aerion purchased better supplies.
Sylvara stocked up on medicine.
Darius collected maps.
Lythriel bought food.
John purchased a few practical items.
Nothing extraordinary.
No legendary weapons.
No mysterious artifacts.
Just things travelers actually needed.
By evening, they had most of what they needed.
They returned to the inn.
John sat by the window during dinner.
He watched the streets below.
The city had begun to glow under the evening lamps.
Ravencross felt strangely comfortable already.
Not like home.
He didn’t have a home anymore.
But perhaps that wasn’t necessary.
Maybe places didn’t need to become permanent to become meaningful.
---
Later that night, John went upstairs.
Before entering his room, he passed Lythriel’s door.
She opened it at almost the same time.
They both stopped.
"Going to sleep?"
"Yeah."
She smiled.
"Tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow."
She nodded.
"Good night, John."
"Good night."
She closed her door.
John entered his own room.
He placed his belongings down.
Then looked out the window one last time.
Tomorrow they would decide whether to join the Silverwood expedition.
It wasn’t a legendary quest.
It wasn’t connected to some ancient prophecy.
It was simply another road.
Another place.
Another chance to see something new.
John smiled.
That was enough.
For now.
---
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