Further inside the Greydell castle, in an office of the main mansion.
"So what did you find?" Asked Baron Alric Greydell.
An emotionless old man answered as he read the information on a piece of paper. "Osric. 22 years old. Became an adventurer just a few months ago and has been rising the ranks rapidly. He grew up in an orphanage in the slums here. Apparently the third young master accompanied one of our knights and soldiers to the orphanage to look for useful kids. Osric was deemed talentless and useless to us. He joined the orphanage at five years old and there is no information on his parents."
"Is that all?" Alric asked his head butler.
"I don't see anything useful in his childhood. He was just a weak orphan who was studious compared to others and got bullied. My apologies for not finding out more, my lord."
"Tsk. How does it make sense for such a nobody to grow in such a short time? There's no way that the knight who was dispatched back then could've overlooked something."
"What about his current situation? Tell me more about that."
Alric Greydell held his long grey hair gently as he intently listened.
"Understood. Osric currently leads a small adventurer party. They are comprised of himself, a porter, another E-Rank adventurer in similar age, a new youngster who's just 18 but presumed to have a mana seed and lastly the new addition of a veteran D-Rank mercenary Garrick. The last two were recruited through the underground arena controlled by the Stoneclaw Gang."
"He also recently beat and killed one of the champions there, which raised his reputation tremendously."
The baron frowned coldly.
"Useless idiots. Why do I leave those gangsters in charge of the arena, if they can't even control their fighters?"
"I have too much on my plate already. Worrying about some growing adventurer is a waste of my time."
"I agree, my lord."
"You said that Reginald went to that orphanage in the past?"
"Yes."
"Then they might have met. It's possible that idiot got in the way of our knight doing his job properly. Have my useless third son go to the Stoneclaw Gang to figure things out and clean up this mess."
"Understood. What should I tell him to do about Osric?"
"Tell him to try and recruit him. If he can't do it even by force, then get rid of him. But the arena comes first. Make sure he gets things to run smoothly again."
The head butler bowed. "Yes, my lord." And turned to leave.
The 51 year old noble looked out of his window. The sun was covered by dark clouds and the buildings below the castle were covered in thin snow.
'My plans are starting to grow closer. I can't worry about useless little things happening in this disgusting place. I also have to worry about my sons starting to fight for my position.'
He then coldly glanced at the far away monster forest.
'I should also check on the goblin project.'
—
Kilometres away from the Greydell castle, near the monster forest—
Garrick and Dustin arrived at a small path that some herbalists use.
"Apparently this is where that herbalist died to the Feral Dog." Dustin said.
"Hm. It's idiotic to come here themselves when there's so much danger lurking around for them." Garrick said.
"They can't afford to send a request to the guild, so they come here themselves. After all, to make real money in their profession, herbs from normal forests don't cut it." Dustin answered.
"Makes sense. They should still be able to protect themselves though."
"Let's find that Feral Dog now, so that you can kill it. Do you know how to track?"
"I think so. I haven't been taught, but I usually find tracks easily."
'Guess he really has good eyes.'
"Alright. Don't rely on me. Although I could easily help with tracking, it's better to do it yourself to polish your skills."
'Plus I haven't actually been to the Ashbrook monster forest before. None of my mercenary work required me to go inside it.' He thought to himself.
—
Back in the city, Osric was already inside the library.
He was currently walking between shelves, trying to choose which book he wanted to read first.
Osric paid an entry fee of 10 copper for a day pass. It was rather cheap to read as many books as he wanted for a day inside.
'Hm. Really valuable books and information wouldn't be in such a place anyway. Those would be in private libraries of nobles.'
After browsing for a while, Osric decided on the books he planned to read throughout the week.
First were the Monster / Ecology / Tracking books.
Common Monsters of the Ashbrook Region.
Tracks, Trails, and Territorial Signs.
The Nature of Monster Territories.
After that came the Medicine / Herbs / Survival books.
Practical Wound Treatment.
Basic Herbal Remedies of Aldreth.
Common Causes of Death After Battle.
Then he picked out the Geography / Politics / Regional Knowledge books. These were less important to him right now but still necessary.
The Roads and Territories of Western Aldreth.
A Historical Overview of Aldreth.
And lastly, Osric picked some Mana / Knight Theory Books.
Foundations of Mana.
The Knight's Path.
Limitations of Late Awakening.
Osric's understanding of all these aspects was still lacking, despite his superior knowledge to most commoners.
'Everything that can help me currently as an adventurer comes first and is most important.'
'But those mana and knight theory books look especially interesting. I look forward to reading those.'
This was one of Osric's first steps in his growth besides combat.
These eleven books he picked out and dropped on a table inside the library were going to be a huge step forward for Osric.