Chapter 16: Irreconcilable Differences
The week of travel flew by. Kaleb wasn't able to talk much during the trip, as he spent all his time focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. He was kind of happy that Ameri spent all of his time at the front of the group as the guide. While the distraction might have been nice, he didn't want his young friend to notice him struggling so much. He knew Ameri would take more of the burden if he saw Kaleb's plight, and Kaleb already felt bad about Ameri taking half the job of the porter on top of being the guide.
As for the rest of the group, no one really interacted with Kaleb during their walk. There were 12 members of the Diving Hunters, plus Ameri and Kaleb made 14 in their group. The only ones who would talk to Kaleb during their journey were the playful Captain Salarime, who would mainly show up to tease him, and the solemn Vice-Captain Elroth.
Elroth was the main envoy between the Hunter's group and porters. While Salarime was always at the front leading the party, just behind Ameri, Elroth would take up the rear, just in front of Kaleb. They didn't talk during their march but, when Kaleb would lag behind, Elroth would slow his pace as well. He made sure to always keep the young man in sight during their travels.
When they were done walking for the day Elroth would sit next to Kaleb and Ameri and talk with them. It didn't take long for them to tell Elroth about how the two had met in the desert and about Kaleb's amnesia. Elroth listened to their thrilling tale with a neutral expression, but afterward he began to help answer any questions Kaleb had.
"What's the difference between Hunters and Adventurers? They both seem to be titles for warriors, but what is the difference?" Kaleb asked as they sat around the fire one night.
"OH! Right! I haven't even told you about what we are yet!" Ameri exclaimed smacking his forehead.
"Adventurers are warriors who gather together and form guilds while Hunters are warriors who are sponsored by merchants who run conglomerates." Elroth answered him simply before Ameri could answer.
"It's more than that!" Ameri protested. "Adventurers are warriors who are in love with challenge! They travel the world looking for new and exciting places and monsters. They explore old ruins, uncover mysteries, defeat mythical beasts and live a life of freedom and adventure."
"It is true that Adventurers do make most of the maps. They are also known for taking on higher level monsters more than Hunters." Elroth agreed blandly.
Kaleb wanted to refocus the conversations on something Elroth had first told him.
"What do you mean by sponsored?"
"Hm?"
"You said that Hunters are warriors sponsored by merchants, but aren't they just hired by them?" Kaleb asked, knowing that Elroth wasn't someone to misspeak.
"No." Elroth told him decisively. "Merchants don't just hire Hunters. They choose Hunters who have high potential and they groom them to become stronger. For one thing, Hunters take contracts from many different merchants but they only belong to one conglomerate. The reason for this is because of Ascenders. When a warrior becomes a Ascender they can give two people the status of Follower. Followers are also allowed into the Pillars and can do business there."
"So, a merchant will sponsor and groom warriors so when they become Ascenders they will give the merchant one of the Follower positions. That allows them to bring their business into the Pillars." Kaleb summarized.
"Precisely."
Ameri jumped to his feet, "It's not only that! Hunters are driven by money, it's why they join conglomerates in the first place. They're greedy! They don't take on difficult missions unless they can gain something out of it. They only do missions that make them profit! My dad used to say that an Adventurer uncovers the wonders of the world and a Hunter exploits them!" He paused, awkwardly looking at Elroth.
"No offense Elroth." He said averting eye contact and sitting down again.
Elroth watched his outburst without changing expression. He then turned calmly back to Kaleb.
"Also, you should know, Adventurers and Hunters don't get along." He told Kaleb, as if nothing had happened.
"Wait, Ameri don't you work for a merchant? Wouldn't that make you a Hunter?" Kaleb asked his young friend still staring at the ground.
"That's different!" Ameri protested. "Numen just looks out for me."
Kaleb decided to move on, seeing Ameri's obvious irritation at the question.
"Wouldn't high level monsters have better cores and therefore be more valuable? Wouldn't Hunters want to hunt those monsters if they are only interested in profit?" He asked, to take the focus off Ameri's career choice.
"No," Elroth told him. "Though there are some powerful Hunters who may accept those contracts, for the most part Hunters will only take group exterminations. It has to do with the cost versus the benefit. A high level monster only has so many cores, so you can only sell them to a few people. Also, while many high level monsters do have valuable body parts, there is no guarantee that they do. So a Hunter would have to take far more risks to hunt a creature that has only a few guaranteed valuable parts, that he can't guarantee anyone will buy since they would be extremely expensive."
"That makes sense." Kaleb said. He personally felt that the Hunters way of life made a lot of sense. Low risk for high profit. What was the point of risking everything for a gamble? Of course Kaleb wouldn't tell Ameri his thoughts on the matter.
'So, the Adventurers dislike the Hunters because they think they are all sellouts and the Hunters dislike the Adventurers because they believe them to be delusional.' Kaleb thought, putting the matter to rest in his mind.
The group continued on in this daily routine and reached their destination without much incident.
'It does make sense that it is a fairly safe route if Ameri can travel it once a year without any issue,' Kaleb concluded in his mind.
They were in the foot hills leading up to the mountains and as they cleared the tree line the sight took Kaleb's breath away.
The mountain face jutted sharply out of the ground in a steep rise, climbing higher than the clouds that dotted the sunny sky. A large cave opened up at the base, so large that a whale would have no trouble swimming inside. In the open meadow in front of the cave, where the trees cleared, flowers covered the landscape. The bright array of colors danced in the wind, reflecting the sun light so that the field seemed to sparkle. The effect dazzled the eyes of those who watched.
While everyone stood in awed silence, Ameri made his way to Kaleb's side.
"Welcome to my parents grave, the Mountain Tomb." He told Kaleb in a solemn voice. His eyes watched the breathtaking scene but there was no joy in his eyes, only a deep and haunting sorrow that Kaleb couldn't fathom.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
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