Ben finally agreed to the task Roubaul had given him. He will start the job 3 months after his 16th birthday. So he would have 1 year to explore Fiore, find the Magic Library, and learn from all the magic books that were stored there.
He also found out why it would take him a year to finish this journey. It's because Roubaul told him not to use his car and go on foot. The old man said that he needed to walk because he was exploring Fiore.
It would be a waste if he explored the kingdom, which wasn't very big by car. He needed to know how it felt by exploring on foot than exploring by car. Only then will he be a true explorer. This is also his first time exploring the world, so he needed to do it traditionally first.
For the next 3 months, Ben prepared himself and Bella for the journey. He was also going to enjoy his time with Wendy and Carla to the max because they wouldn't see the 2 for 1 year. It would be the longest they were apart since they met for the first time 5 years ago.
He also informed Mira of his plans to explore Fiore next year. They had gotten close over these last 6 months. But Ben didn't make a move on her, deciding to wait until they were a little older. He still had a lot of things to do and didn't want to pursue a relationship at the moment.
Ben kept training his Slayer Magic and put the Curses on the back burner. Strengthening his Slayer Magic was more important than his Curses. He would surely face many dangers on his journey and strong magic is what he needed rather than a new power like Curses.
The Dragon Slayer Magic is strong already, so he focused on his Devil Slayer Magic. Ben tried to use all his Dragon Slayer Magic spells with his Devil Slayer power. This way, he won't need to make new spells and just modify the ones he already had.
After 3 months, it was finally Ben's 16th birthday. He celebrated it in the village first by partying with everyone. They always held birthday parties for everyone in the village and the parties for the younger members were bigger than the ones for adults.
"Will you really leave tomorrow?" Wendy asked with a sad expression as she sat on Ben's lap and hugged him while burying her face in his chest.
"Yeah, we will leave tomorrow as planned. I will leave the guild to you." Ben said as he rubbed Wendy's hair.
Wendy still didn't want Ben to leave tomorrow. It was rare for her to be selfish like this because she normally agreed with Ben's decisions. But now he would be gone for a year, the longest time he would be away from the village.
That's why she needed to be selfish in order for her brother to stay. However, even Wendy's pledge wouldn't change Ben's decision. After 3 months, he finally realized why he needed to go on this journey. He can't stay in his comfort zone by staying there because he wouldn't grow that way.
That night, Ben slept with his sisters. They slept together for the last 3 months because they wouldn't have that chance for a year. This would be the last time for Wendy and Carla to sleep with Ben and Bella before they left tomorrow.
The next day, Ben and Bella would finally begin their journey. Wendy and Carla can't stop crying and keep holding on to Ben's clothes to stop him from leaving. Everyone sighed, but they knew what the girls were feeling.
"Wendy, Carla, you need to let him go. It's not like he won't come back." Roubaul told them.
"*sniff* But master." Wendy said, sniffling.
"Instead of trying to stop him, you should support him. Tell him to be careful and call you often. You need to pray for his safety rather than stop him." Roubaul advised.
Wendy looked down while sniffling.
"Be careful Ben nii-san, Bella. You need to call us every day." She said.
Ben smiled and rubbed Wendy's hair.
"Alright, we'll be careful. I don't know about calling you every day, but we will call you often." He said.
"NO! YOU NEED TO CALL US EVERY DAY!" Wendy angrily yelled.
Everyone was surprised to hear Wendy get angry and raise her voice. It was the first time she had yelled like that.
Ben was also surprised.
"A-Alright, we will call you every day." He said.
"Promise?" Wendy asked, extending her pinkie to Ben.
"I promise. You also need to continue training and not slack off while I'm not here. Don't just play around with Carla." Ben said while locking his pinkie with hers.
"I-I know." Wendy stammered in embarrassment.
Bella and Carla also join them and make the promise together. Ben picked up his big backpack before bidding farewell to everyone in the guild. Bella sat on Ben's shoulder and then they left the village. Ben's journey had finally started.
To start, Ben would explore Waas Forest, where his village was located. He explored a majority of it, but not every side. There are dangerous places that he couldn't visit in the past and he didn't have time to explore those places.
He will explore the entirety of Waas Forest before exploring other places in Fiore. It would be strange if he didn't explore his home while he explored other places.
Ben walked deeper into a forest and went to a place that he had never visited before. He went to the border between Fiore and the country of Seven. He will explore the location around the border and the northern beach.
When Ben and Bella went to the border, they encountered magical creatures like usual. Ben just attacked and repelled the creatures that were hostile towards them. The creatures here aren't that strong because it's still near their village. But it will be different as they go further to the north.
Ben walked for hours before he finally reached the border. The border was a long rocky mountain that extended from Clover Town to the northern beach. It was not a tall mountain, but it is full of dangerous cliffs and creatures.
Of course, Ben wanted to climb it, but he needed to fill his stomach first. He put his backpack down and took out the prey that he caught on his way here. Then he roasted it with his magic before eating it together with Bella.
"We'd reach this place in a hour if we used our car. Damn, I also haven't built a new car." Ben said while eating.
"Milk." Bella said.
"Alright, alright, here's your milk. We will need to come up with another way to supply you with milk from now on because we'll be in the wilderness most of the time." Ben said.
"Buy milk." Bella replied as she drank it.
"We won't go to a town every day, so we can't buy it easily. That's why we will stock your milk when we are in a town and you also need to reduce your consumption." Ben pointed out.
Bella was horrified after hearing that she needed to reduce her consumption. But she knew it was necessary if she kept drinking milk every day. So she nodded and drank her milk slowly to make sure it lasted longer.
After eating, they start to climb the rocky mountains. Ben didn't have a lot of experience at mountain climbing, so he had a hard time. Then when he climbed the cliff, some troublesome creatures appeared, Wyverns.
"Damn lizard." Ben was pissed off.